Google AdWords

[bynicki]

Does anyone out there use Google AdWords?

Have you found it increases hits to your website? I have been reading about it and just wondered if anyone uses it and what you think of it.

[Minky Magic]

Hi Nicki

I have recently filled out all the info but i'm not sure how much my monthly budget should be?? They recommend a minimum of £30 and anything under that would not get many hits...if any! I'm really unsure what to do now.... and even when your web gets viewed there's obviously no guarantees they will buy. I'm really not sure, what are your thoughts?

Marie xx

[bynicki]

I know what you mean. I think it is a bit difficult to set your own budget. What if you reach the maximum do they just not show it anymore that month?.

I just don't know whether its worth it. It seems like you have to spend quite a bit to get seen and as you say it doesnt mean they're going to buy.

Nicki. x

[Minky Magic]

That's exactly what they do! As soon as your budget is spent they no longer list you. Also the less budget you have the lower down the list you are. So in my case for example, if my keywords were Bead Jewellery and other companies had place higher bids for those words, I may be on the last search page out of 1000's! I really had no idea this was how it worked, I seriously believed that once your site was up and running you would automatically get listed........how niave!!!

Anyway, saying all this, once I have set up a way to take payment I may still give it a go for a few months at a lower rate and just see what happens.

Will let you know

Cheers Marie x

[glasskanvas]

If you're going to do it it's best to read up as much as you can about it on 'techie' websites otherwise it can just be an expensive mistake. My budget was way over £50 for a while and while I got more hits it didn't really do anything for me. I've just cancelled adwords because I don't have the time to really make it effective....just my twopenieth

[fragg1es]

I did try it for a couple months when I had my freeweb site. However it can be a complete waste of money and expensive as jewellery keywords can cost. If you make sure your homepage, listings etc etc have good keywords and descriptions you should never need them.

I would only suggest doing it if you can afford and sustain it for a while to see whether it works for you.

Also if you do go ahead and use them try a broad range of keywords at first see which ones are popular and narrow it down to more specific keywords i.e:

Jewellery - Handmade Jewellery - Handmade Beaded Jewellery (as a rough guide)

Good luck :)

[Minky Magic]

Thanks for that info, I think that's probably what I expected to hear...more hits but no more returns. I will definately give it more thought...........

[mishmosh]

I recently signed up for google adwords and it has been a great success. It has doubled traffic to my site and increased orders. For me it has been much more worth while than print advertising as you can target people very specifically - which I would argue with 'niche' market high quality crafts is teh way forward.

[creativeclare]

We`ve just cancelled adwords. Hubby actually is a Adwords Certified Professional (his employer put him through a short course on maximising adwords) and knows everything about it that there is to know but we still found it a waste of money!

[Pelenna]

I use adwords to good effect - I don't think I would've had any sales in the first few months without it, as I had too few visitors. Definitely need to target 'long tail' keywords to keep costs down, for me this is things like 'moda patchwork fabric' as opposed to broad keywords like 'patchwork'. Also make sure the landing pages (where the ads link to) are relevant to the keywords - don't just land everyone on your homepage, take them to the exact product or category they were searching for.
Remember, if you can get it right it's not an expense as such, as it should be bringing in more money than you spend.

[aurrida]

adwords is a very effect marketing tool, for some. but, you will need to understand how to target your campaign (adword jargon), manage your key words, jargon again.

i sell pens. if i use the keyword Fountain pens and i want it placed in the top 3 adverts it will cost me 86 euro cents a click. called cpc, cost per click, more jargon. you can do your own math!

i would say if you can add this sort of marketing cost to your product then its great.

dont give up, you may have a product that the cpc of a relavant keyword is cheap, or even better someone buys one of your products every few click.

check out adwords, it has a very good calculator to show what things will cost. it may be, as already said, a way to get started.

like all marketing it suits some but not all. for some, google is very effect.

they offer a free 50 pound intro, its free why not use it?