|  A
Novel Approach to Using Google Adwords:
One
of the things I really like about an advertising
platform like Google Adwords is the ability to
micro-target campaigns.
In
the past, if you had a very specific item you
wanted to sell or promote, the only avenues were
direct mail, print advertising or TV / radio.
But those are expensive, mass-marketing tools.
About
a year ago, I was on the hook for a day care spot
for our daughter.
We had signed up with this amazing place in north
Boulder, but then a spot at a place two minutes
away opened up.
Instead
of driving 30 minutes each way (back and forth)
for a total of 1 hour each day, we found something
a lot closer.
But
I was stuck with a committment for $450 per month
to the other place, unless they were able to fill
the spot.
There's
high demand for quality daycare in Boulder, as
there is in many towns. But I didn't want to wait
an entire month and be stuck with the bill.
Local,
Micro-Targeted Ad Campaign:
So
I leveraged the Google Adwords, and created a
very basic campaign.
Now
I'll be the first to admit that I have a bit of
an advantage: I've been working with the Google
Adwords system since it first came out in 2002,
and the system is second nature to me. However,
this is a more compelling, easier-to-apply example
than the 750,000 keywords we manage for a site
like DiscountDecorating.com.
And
the campaign's goal was not to drive a lot of
signups for the center. It was to drive a single
signup. So the strategy was a bit different
than a normal campaign.
1.
Geo-Targeted to Boulder, Colorado:
To
get started, I first choose a geo-location target:
20 miles surrounding the 80304 zip code in Boulder,
Colorado:
2.
Keyword Selection:
Next,
I selected broad keywords that would expand the
reach.
Here's
a list of some of the keywords I choose:
preschool
preschools
preschool in Boulder
preschool daycare
child care service
education preschool
kids preschool
preschool montessori
day care Boulder
day care Boulder CO
preschool Boulder
need preschool
Here's
a graphical view of the keywords in the Google
Adwords interface:
I
created exact match, phrase match and broad match
variations, with 85 keywords in total. Again,
we do this quite a bit, so this is something I
have a tool that can expand keywords quickly and
easily.
I
also added in some of the common negative keywords
(such as free) to prevent the ads from showing
up when those keywords were displayed.
3.
Wrote Ad Copy.
Third, I created a couple of ads, based on previous
experience of knowing what might work:
I
like asking a question, as it's engaging.
I
also like to include the phone number in the ad,
too, as it allowed me to get more traffic, but
not have to pay for a clickthrough through Google.
4.
Set An Ad Budget & Let It Run.
I then set a budget of $20 per day for three days
(what I was willing to spend), and then let the
campaign run.
Campaign
Results:
From
August 12 to August 15, the campaign had:
Advertising
Impressions: |
 |
3,707 |
Clickthrough
Rate: |
|
0.19% |
Number
of Clickthroughs: |
|
7 |
Average
Cost Per Clickthrough: |
|
$0.20 |
Average
Position of Ad: |
|
3.8 |
Total
Advertising Outlay: |
|
$1.41 |
(Plus
my time, of course. It took me about an hour to
get this set up. And then probably an extra hour
of time watching it.)
Within
three days, the center had received many phone
calls, and the spot had filled (getting me off
the hook).
It was the best $1.41 I've spent in quite a while.
And I helped someone find the spot that they needed.
Summary:
Even
if you think Google Adwords won't work for your
overall sales budget, a micro-targeted campaign
can often create significant impact.
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