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A Beginners Guide
to Google AdWords
www.google.co.uk/adwords
WHAT IS ADWORDS?
Google AdWords is an advertising
platform that allows advertisers to bid
on keywords in order to deliver relevant
and targeted visitors to your web site.
AdWords is a pay per click auction model
where bids are set per keyword and you’re
charged only when your ad is clicked.
When you search for products or services
on Google you’ll probably be aware of
the top results being Ads, these are paid
for Ads from advertisers using Google
AdWords.
WILL MY LOCKSMITH BUSINESS
BENEFIT FROM ADWORDS?
Most locksmiths are looking for new and
innovative ways to advertise their business.
It’s well known that Google is the dominant
search engine throughout the world which
is why Google AdWords is so popular.
AdWords is a shortcut in getting results fast!
Setting up your campaigns correctly and
following Google’s best practices, however,
are essential to get the best from AdWords
and limit wastage.
HOW DO I SETUP MY
FIRST CAMPAIGN?
Setting up your first campaign can
be daunting: there are many options to
consider.
1. Choose a campaign type – we
recommend Search Network Only.
It’s advisable to remove the tick for
Include search partners.
2. Choose the geographic area you’d
like to cover. This is a vital step to
ensure you’re not advertising in areas
you do not want, or cannot cover. A
vital setting which we see locksmiths
overlooking on a daily basis is the
Location options (Advanced). We
highly recommend you consider these
options very carefully, the correct
setting for most locksmiths covering a
specific region is People in my targeted
location
3. Choosing your bid strategy is
important. A manual bid strategy gives
you the most control and is best to start
with. In the future, experimenting with
different strategies can help you refine
your results.
4. Structuring your AdWords into
Campaigns and subsequently AdGroups
is the best way to section each area and
service type. For example, you may be a
locksmith who covers Hertfordshire but
provides auto locksmith services as well
as domestic lockouts. In this example
you’d create a campaign for each core
service and then break this down into
towns and areas. This type of structure
will give you granular control over your
keywords and ads.
5. Now you can create your first Ad! If
you’ve never written an ad before we
recommend a little research to make
this task easier. Search for keywords
that you’re interested in and see how
competitors have written their ads.
Never copy another ad word for word
and never click competitor’s ads as this
will inevitably cost them for the click!
6. Next you will need to choose your
keywords. There are a few match types
to choose from but to start choose
exact match keywords. This match
type means the keyword has to be
typed in exactly as you define. This
is safer because other match types
(typically broadmatch) allows other
keywords to trigger from the chosen
keyword, example: ‘locksmith Carlisle
jobs’. Choosing more keywords as you
become more familiar will expand your
reach.
7. Set your maximum cost per click.
This can be a minefield but our
recommendation is to start low, at a
comfortable level to test the market.
Essentially, every keyword is a market
within itself. Locksmith