Pay per click marketing
tactics from the 'Google Cash' guy
Chris Carpenter has been working online since
1995. He and his family live in Puerto Escondido,
Mexico during the summer (surf season) and
in Park City, UT during the winter (ski season).
They love to travel, and love the flexibility
that their online businesses give them.
In this informative interview, Jason Anderson
of AchieveNetProfits.com talks to Chris Carpenter
about PPC (pay per click) advertising using
Google's AdWords. It's a very worthwhile read
-- thanks Jason.
ANP: Thanks for taking the time to speak
with me Chris. You've written the well known
book Google Cash, which talks about using
Google AdWords. Can you tell us a bit about
what Google AdWords are, and how did you
first start using them in your online business?
Chris: Google AdWords is a Pay Per Click
(PPC) advertising system maintained by Google.
If you use Google you have probably seen the
AdWords. They appear as little text ads next
to search results on Google. They also appear
on Google's partner sites like: AOL, Ask Jeeves
and others. Google AdWords allows you to create
your own ads. You choose keywords which tell
Google where to show your ads. You only pay
when someone clicks on them. You have total
control over every aspect of your campaign,
and real-time reporting tells you what's working
and what isn't. It's a relatively safe way
to advertise because you can put limits on
daily spending.
I first started using them to bring targeted
traffic to my and my client's web sites. And
now I use them to send targeted traffic to
other web sites I am an affiliate of. If a
purchase is made, I receive a commission.
ANP: What are the advantages of using AdWords
over other PPC search engines like Overture?
What disadvantages are there?
Chris: One advantage for using Google AdWords
over other PPC search engines like Overture
is that Google AdWords
lets you setup a display URL and destination
URL in your AdWord. This enables you
to use your affiliate links in your Google
AdWord. When someone clicks on your AdWord,
they are sent to the merchants web site with
your affiliate id in it. If someone makes
a purchase you earn a commission. This is
an advantage over Overture because it precludes
the need for a web site. Overture requires
that you own the web site that you are sending
traffic to. Therefore, with Overture you cannot
send traffic directly to your affiliate link.
You have to build a web page first.
 Another
advantage of Google AdWords is its algorithm
for ranking adwords. It allows the small mom
and pop shops to compete with the large corporations.
Here's why. Cost Per Click (CPC) is not the
only factor that Google looks at in determining
the ads ranking position. Google also looks
at the ads Click Through Rate (CTR), and ranks
ads based on a formula which uses the CPC
and the CTR. This allows an ads rank to improve
without increasing the cost. The better your
CTR, the higher up on the screen your ad will
be placed.
This levels the playing field. For example,
Wal-Mart can't come along and bid $50 per
click per keyword and drive the smaller businesses
out. There also has to be an interest in that
product which is determined by the CTR. Paying
a high CPC alone will not guarantee you a
number 1 position in Google AdWords.
In Overture it will. The more you are willing
to pay per click, the higher your ads ranking
will be on Overture.
ANP: In most advertising the headline is
the most important part. Have you found
this is the same in AdWords?
Chris: Yes, this is definitely true for AdWords.
It is important to use your keyword in the
titles. Using your keyword in the title
of your AdWord can more than double your CTR
over a title without the keyword. Here is
an advanced Google AdWords tip about this
that you won't find in any of Google's help
files.
In Google AdWords, if you have a campaign
with several keywords, you can only have one
title and one description for all of your
keywords. It is proven that your CTR goes
up when the keyword is displayed in your title.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could have AdWords
automatically insert your corresponding keyword
from your keyword list, into the title and
description? For example:
Say you have an Adgroup with the keywords:
blue shoes
green shoes
red shoes
black shoes
And your title is: Buy shoes here
When someone searches for "blue shoes",
your title will display: Buy shoes here.
Your CTR would greatly increase if your title
was: Buy blue shoes here.
Now there is a way for you to do this. You
could do this in your title:
Buy {KeyWord} here.
And you can also do it in your description:
We carry many {KeyWord}.
For example, if a user searched for "blue
shoes" your AdWord would look like this:
Buy blue shoes here.
We carry many blue shoes.
So, in the Google search results {keyword}
would be replaced in your AdWords listing
with the keyword the user searched for, as
long as it is in your keyword list.
For more information on this please read
my newsletter, 'Google Tips'. You can read
'Google Tips' online at: http://www.happygoogling.com
And you can subscribe to it by sending a
blank email to: mailto:newsletter@googlecash.com
ANP: That's a very handy thing to know
Chris - thanks! What steps do you follow
when you are writing your ad? How do you
manage to cut it down to only three lines,
while still making it appealing to the viewer?
Chris: I begin by writing my ad in paragraph
or sentence form. I use the keyword/s in the
title (headline) and in the text if possible.
In the ad I state what it is the customer
should know. Then I work on reducing and refining
it.
I also look for other successful AdWords
Ads, find the formula in them and then make
my own ad. Here's an example of 3 different
headlines:
"How
to turn ideas into dollars."
"What the IRS doesn't want you to know."
"What your doctor isn't telling you."
Do you see the formula?
These catch phrases are easy to remember.
Each phrase entices its reader with curiosity,
desire and motivation. And best of all, this
simple formula has been proven successful
over time and can be easily fitted to any
AdWords campaign.
How to ___________ and ___________.
What ___________ doesn't want you to know.
Get more ___________ for/in less ___________.
Using this formula your headline should do
three things:
* Catch your customer's eye (use your keywords
in your ad, they are highlighted by Google
AdWords).
* Elicit emotion / desire.
* Express what the customer will gain or achieve
with your product or service.
ANP: What tips do you have for getting
a great click-thru on your ad?
Chris: The tighter the fit between the keyword
and your AdWords Ad, the better the CTR.
For example, let's look at the keyword/phrase:
surfing vacation
Go to Google and search for 'surfing vacation'.
Right now there are three AdWords on the right
side of the screen:
Surf at Swell
Shop Swell's huge selection of
Surf product. Then go surfing!
www.swell.com
Free Surfing E-Book
Surfing tips and information for
riding the perfect wave.
www.wealty-info.com/surfing.htm
SurfMaps.com Surfing Maps
Find surf spots worldwide, buy surf
maps, books & original Surf Reports
www.SurfMaps.com
None of these AdWords ads are a very tight
fit for: surfing vacation.
I could easily dominate that niche by adding
an AdWords ad that reads something like:
Surfing Vacation
Info for your Surfing Vacation
Surf Travel, Surf Spots, and more.
Often times I can
find very competitive areas that have poor
/ broad matches between the keyword, their
ad and their product. When that is the case
- I find a product that fits the keyword better.
Then I write a better, tighter ad (with the
keyword in the title, etc.). The end result
is that my ad moves up to the top of the AdWords
at much less CPC than the others are paying.
ANP: That's another great tip Chris! Looking
at the opposite side, what sort of things
will kill the click-thru on your ad?
Chris: Using too general and broad of terms.
Having your ad display for a keyword that
is not tightly related. The surfing vacation
example above is a good example of this. If
you look at the AdWords above for surfing
vacation – you will see that none of
them mention 'surfing vacation'.
These ads surely do not get a good CTR for
the keyword/s: surfing vacation. There is
nothing there about a surfing vacation.
ANP: How do you go about tracking the response
of each of your ads, so you know which ads
are performing and which need work (or even
removing)?
Chris: I am mainly
concerned with achieving a high CTR.
I work on creating the tightest and most relevant
campaigns possible. A perfect fit between
the keyword, the ad, and the product, those
are the keys to getting a high CTR.
I don't have a good method of tracking. Ideally
I would like to know which keyword and which
AdWord's ad result in a sale. The problem
I run in to is that I can only track until
the person leaves my AdWords Ad's link. Once
they are on the merchant's site, I can no
longer track them and I have no idea if they
buy or leave. That would be a valuable tool
– click tracking that can even track
what happens once they leave your link and
are on someone else's site.
ANP: What methods do you use to make sure
your advertising costs are kept under control,
while still getting a high number of clicks?
Chris: I just keep an eye on my campaigns.
I used to set daily budget limits at or below
the suggested budget limit. Now I set my budget
limits much higher than the suggested limit.
This way my campaign will receive as many
clicks as possible. I log in every day and
look at my results. If a campaign is receiving
a lot of clicks but no sales, then I pause
the campaign and either try a different product
to promote, or just delete the campaign.
ANP: How do you go about selecting the
keywords you are going to advertise on AdWords?
Chris: I use many methods to brainstorm possible
profitable campaigns. I research my hobbies
and interests. I read the news and try to
predict trends. I read the Lycos 50 (http://50.lycos.com/)
a daily report on Lycos.com by Aaron Schatz.
He talks about the top 50 keyword searches
on Lycos and makes predictions.
I constantly research
search trends online. A couple of resources
are: Google Zeitgeist (http://google.com/press/zeitgeist.html)–
information that tracks Google user search
behavior, and the Yahoo Buzz Index (http://buzz.yahoo.com/)
– which reviews trends at Yahoo.
ANP: Is it possible to use the techniques
learned in Google Cash to venture into other
areas of e-commerce?
Chris:
The Google
Cash system is a great, quick entry
to the world of e-commerce. In my opinion
it's all too easy to get sucked into
an entry-level program that could take
months to bring to the marketplace.
Google Cash provides one with the possibility
of generating a good income within a relatively
short time period.
An important factor to remember about the
Google Cash system is that you only get one
shot at the customer. They either buy or they
don't but either way they are gone.
However, if you send them from your AdWords
ad to a web page you created pre-selling the
product, and offer a free newsletter, etc.
Then you can have a customer for life.
I see Google Cash as an extraordinarily useful
tool to dive into the waters of e-commerce
without huge investments and unreasonable
time spent waiting to see results. Once you're
in the waters, the
combination of the "Google Cash system"
and a web site and a few other marketing methods
are the answer to longevity in the e-commerce
business.
ANP: How do you think AdWords will change
and evolve in the coming years. In particular,
do you think they will ban linking to an
affiliate link, like Overture did several
years ago, or bring in a policy where your
ads are reviewed before they are displayed?
Chris: That is a good question that I am
always pondering. I don't have an answer.
All I know is that I have been asking myself
that for the past 2 years. I almost didn't
develop the whole Google Cash system because
of how quickly the Internet changes and I
didn't know how long Google AdWords would
be around. Thank goodness I didn't let the
potential for change stop me from developing
the Google Cash system. If I had it would
be 2 years later and I'd still be sitting
on my laurels, asking myself how much longer
this will be around.
The time to get started is now. Even if/when
Google AdWords evolves and changes in the
future, we are on the ground floor now, and
could very well adapt and evolve with the
changes and grow into something even bigger.
ANP: One final question Chris - are you
working on any other projects right now?
Chris: I get emails everyday from people
describing how they are buried in debt, tired
of working paycheck to paycheck with nothing
to show for it, etc. etc. They ask if Google
Cash will solve their problems.
We are in the process of writing another
ebook that we hope to release in October.
It is a total system to achieving financial
independence. It is like no other ebook out
there. It is the system that Heidi and I created
and followed to get ourselves out of debt,
out of the rat-race and living our dream.
We did it quickly and have shared the system
with a few people who reached financial independence
even more quickly than we did.
I am really excited about this. I think that
it will help many people get out of debt,
and escape the cycle of living paycheck to
paycheck, and help them live as they wish.
ANP: Thank you VERY much for all the valuable
information you've passed on Chris. It has
been a real pleasure talking with you.
Copyright 2003 Jason Anderson. All rights
reserved. AchieveNetProfits.com.
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