This week's post is about Google Adwords and I'll be laying out the steps for how to create an Adwords account and begin a campaign.
Google Adwords is the service that allows people to have their ads appear in Google search, partner networks, etc. when certain keywords are used. Unless you block ads on every site you go to you've probably seen them before.
Someone who wants to use this service would go to the Google Adwords home page and click Start.
They will then be asked to create a user name. At this point the user may use an existing Google Account or create a new one. Then they will choose a currency. If the user selected an existing Google Account to use with Adwords they will be able to log into their Adwords account immediately after creation. If the user created a new Google Account then Google will send the user an e-mail and the user will have to follow the directions in it to verify the account.
Now the user can create an ad campaign.
First the following settings for the campaign must be set: the language, the geographical location(s) the ad should appear in, the networks it should appear in (i.e. Google Search, Google's search partners, and/or Google's content partners), the devices it should appear on, the amount the user wants to spend per day on the ad, and the maximum amount the user wants to pay per click on the ad (abbreviated by Google as CPC, cost per click).
Then the user will enter the content for the ad itself. A Google Adwords Ad consists of a headline, two lines of descriptive text, the URL to be show in the ad, and the URL the ad will actually go to when clicked. The ad must comply with the Advertising Policies** set by Google.
**I highly recommend that anyone who wants to use Google Adwords read this since there are a few rules you might not expect.
The user can now choose which keywords to associate with the ad campaign. They can also choose negative keywords: keywords that will prevent their ad from being displayed if they are used.
But before the campaign can begin billing information must be entered.
The user will enter the following information in Billing preferences: Country/territory and time zone, payment method, and billing information. (Yes, that's how Google described it: enter your billing information in Billing preferences. I'm guessing that they mean a billing address but what they need may differ depending on the payment method.)
The user will then be prompted to accept the Terms and Conditions. They will then be able to save and activate the campaign. The amount of time it takes Google to activate a campaign depends on the payment option selected. (The option to prepay via bank transfer was the only method that specifically states that there will be a delay on the page about payment options.)
Now the user has a Google Adwords campaign. There are tools to help you choose which keywords to buy and how much to bid. How often the ad appears depends on your CPC bid for the keywords, the daily budget for the campaign, and the quality of the ad as determined by Google.
There is a flowchart of the process below. It's rather wide so you'll have to click on the image to see the whole thing.
