Does Google AdWords scare you? Don’t be afraid, with a little understanding you’ll find that’s it actually very friendly.  There seems to be a lot of mystery around AdWords and for anyone setting out to run a campaign I highly recommend that you watch this short tutorial.  You will also find the Google AdWords website offers simple, step by step instructions and video tutorials to help you the whole way though. In my experience, there are two things that people tend to find particularly frightening when it comes to Google AdWords.  The first being the budget and the second is understanding Google Analytics.  For more insight…keep reading.

Budget

One of the benefits of using Google AdWords is that setting the budget is entirely up to you.  This means that if you are considering using AdWords as one of your advertising platforms you can run a short trial that is relatively low risk.   More information about setting your budget. 

A word of warning. As a person working on a contractual basis or running the campaign of behalf of someone, it is unlikely that you will be the person who enters the billing details.  Google AdWords budgeting is flexible in the sense that you can change it on a daily basis and  in the words of AdWords  “helps you maximize your return on investment (ROI) by looking out for days when search traffic is higher, and then showing your ads more often on those days. When this happens, your total daily cost could be up to 20% more than your usual daily budget – but AdWords prevents your campaign from overspending for the month as a whole based on a monthly charging limit”.

However, what it won’t do is stop charging you if you have not selected the option for the campaign to stop after your total budget has been reached.  Therefore it is imperative that you triple check that an end date has been set in the billing department and pause your ads once you have reached your limit (just to be sure!).  If you’ve heard horror stories about limits getting blown believe them, it is a tiny oversight that cost cost you a lot of money if you’re not prudent.   More tips on how to avoid Digital Marketing Horror Stories

Google Analytics

I would highly recommend any business that is running an AdWords campaign to connect to Google Analytics as it will be a valuable tool when you are evaluating the success of the campaign.  In the simplest form, Google Analytics is a tool that is used to track the behaviour of people visiting your website.

It provides real insight that will help you to build your audience, sell and convert customers and perhaps most importantly, provides real information that you need to act on your insights   Read more here  One of the greatest things about Google Analytics is that if your website  generates 10 million or fewer hits per month, then Google Analytics is free, making it ideal for any small business. Even if you are not running an AdWords campaign I suggest you sign up –  It’s a no brainer really!

I hope that you have found this helpful and in my opinion, the best way to understand Google AdWords is to jump in and get going.

Good luck!

When building a brand, it is widely recognised that blogging plays an important role which is why the following article How to Write Interesting Content for a “Boring” Topic is a must read for any marketer facing a case of writers block.

Industry expert Patrick, says that in some ways blogging is the new marketing as it it’s a way to develop a community, grow a loyal fan base and build a brand.  His article How Blogging has affected Business and Marketing and why it’s essential discusses this concept in depth and provides a helpful insight into how blogging can help a business build their audience. Therefore, it is evident for a business to improve their digital marketing, or for a business they must put on their blogging hat.

Sometimes it can seem daunting staring at a blank page but if you follow these basic writing guidelines you’ll be well on your way to developing great content for even the most “watching paint dry” type topic.

If you are clutching at straws about what exacting to write about start by asking yourself some questions about the topic based on the good old Who, What, When, Where, Why and How approach.  You may find that by asking the right question you are motivated to write some compelling copy.

Once you have written your first blog, you will find that it gets easier over time and that you’ll develop your own style and perhaps take a few more risks with your writing. The key is that practice makes perfect, so aim to write on a weekly basis.  Here is a fantastic article that will provide you with A Simple Plan for Writing One Powerful Piece of Online Content per Week

I’d love to hear from other bloggers out there, how often do you blog?