Chapter 1
What AdWords Offers
This chapter describes the advertising channels available (the advertising “networks,” as Google calls them) and the benefits and major features of the 22 different ad types that Google offers. Such an overview enables you to align your campaign ads with your marketing objectives from the beginning, rather than running simple ads until you stumble upon better ad types as you learn the AdWords application.
More specifically, the chapter covers the Search Network and the Display Network, along with the Google Shopping, Ad/Mod and YouTube “networks” that Google considers part of the Display Network. It covers the most common uses and major capabilities for the AdWords ad types, and notes special technical, marketing or timing characteristics that require upfront consideration before use.
AdWords currently offers four major networks (a network being a set of designated Internet sites) and many different types of ads within each network. The networks have different technical requirements for ads, through some networks overlap.
The four networks are shown on p. 2.
When you create an ad, you must specify which network you want to use.
Note that Local and Mobile Ads run on all networks. Google does not consider these ad types but, rather, options that work with the various ad types.
However, because Local and Mobile Ads are so important to marketers, we discuss them separately for each network, so you have the setup information you need to accomplish your specific goals.
The following pages describe the major benefits and features of the many ad types that show on each network.
Figure 1.0 Google networks overview
SELECTING THE RIGHT NETWORK FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN
Selecting the right network for your ads is one of the most important decisions you make. Use these best practices guidelines to help you make your choice:
1. Use only Search Network Ads until your ads are bringing buyers (buyers, not visitors) to your site.
• Search Ads bring more traffic, faster, since the searcher is actively looking for your product, service, etc. Thus, you have a more focused opportunity to test and refine your ads. Once your ads are making money for you, you can expand your campaign and budget.
2. The Search Network is your first choice if you want to sell a product.
• The Search Network puts your ad before people who are actively searching for your product, service, organization, etc.
• The Display Network is a less attractive channel for selling a product than the Search Network because it targets people not actively looking to buy.
3. The Shopping Network is your best choice if you sell scores of different products. The Shopping Network lets you connect an e-commerce site with AdWords, making it practical to run ads for hundreds of products.
• The Shopping Network requires creation of a file (a feed) of product information that you must upload and maintain. This may be a daunting task for someone with limited technical skills or support. The number of products you want to advertise must be large enough to merit the labor required to support Shopping Network Ads.
4. The Display Network is your best choice if you want to:
a. Generate leads, reach new groups of prospects or spread the word about special events and sales promotions. The Display Network is also useful for services, expensive or complex products that people research, evaluate and contemplate before buying.
— Display Network ads are attractive for lead generation because people reading about a topic related to your product often respond to an ad offering more information about that topic. Further, the ads are inexpensive in comparison to other lead generation channels, such as trade shows and telemarketing.
— To use Display Network ads effectively, you must know your audience and keywords reasonably well. Otherwise, you pay for many clicks that do not bring buyers. Use Search Ads to learn about your prospects for a period of time before you move to Display Network ads.
b. Sell a product or service that has a long sales cycle. Display Network ads keep your name in front of your prospects, so they remember you when it is time to research or purchase your product.
c. Research your market and find your prospects. The Display Network lets you reach prospects outside the sites you already know. By using automatic placements, a choice within targeting method for Display Network ads, AdWords finds sites your prospects frequent and gives you the list of those sites. This enables you to learn of sites where you can advertise directly or, possibly, contribute content likely to be read by your prospects.
d. Test different value propositions, messages and ad copy to determine which resonate best with your market. Display Network ads are an inexpensive alternative to surveys or focus groups for researching your best, most lucrative positioning, value proposition and messaging. By experimenting with different ad copy, you gain valuable insights into the messaging that resonates with prospects, th...
