8 top tips for advertising with adwords

There are many ways to promote your T-Shirt Shop. Google Adwords is one. Below is a brief introduction to Google Adwords followed by my 8 tips to success. This is not meant to be a definitive guide, merely a starting point if you are looking to get into Pay Per Click (PPC).

Google Adwords allows you to place advertisements that appear on the right hand side when you search on Google. You decide for which keywords you want your advertisement(s) to appear and how much you want to pay for each click. You then set a daily budget and when its reached your ad will no longer appear. It can be a great way to get targeted traffic to your site.

Remember, there are lots of ways apart from PPC to advertise your site. Whilst Google Adwords, if done correctly can prove to be very profitable, you should always set yourself a budget and stick to it! It should be noted that there is the potential to lose money with Google Adwords. So, for those of you feeling brave enough to take the plunge, here are my 8 top tips for advertising your t-shirt shop on Google Adwords.

1.Be niche: Make the most of the keyword features such as exact match or phrase that Google Adwords offers: e.g. [funny t-shirts] or “funny t-shirts” instead of just funny tshirt. This way you can reduce the amount of unwanted traffic from people clicking your ad.

2. Negative keywords: This is an often overlooked feature of Google Adwords. If someone searches for “wet t-shirt contest” and you are bidding on t-shirt without the negative keywords “wet” then your ad will show up! Try to come up with negative keywords your self, or check your logs to see what people are searching for. The Yahoo Keyword Tool is also very useful for coming up with keyword variations: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

3. Specific Targeting: Make sure you have selected the correct territories for your add to appear in. Simple mistake, but easy to make! You don’t want your ads appearing on Google France if your site is only in English…

4. Deeplink: Make sure you ad links directly to the page that’s of interest, not your homepage. If your are bidding on cartoon t-shirt, then link to a page showing your cartoon category. Sounds simple enough, but most people just send people to their homepage. If a visitor does not find what he is looking for straight away then they will quickly leave your site.

5. Be Interesting: Write an interesting ad that captures peoples attention and makes them want to see your website. But be careful (especially when buying keywords in broad match): However, make clear what your website is about and don’t make any promises your site can’t keep.

6. Bold Keywords: Make sure that the keywords you are bidding on appear in your ad. This way they will appear bold, and stand out from your competitors. See example below for “buy t-shirts”

7. Have more than 1 different ad for each campaign. Preferably 3 or more relating to one search term! Google will then show your ad which achieves the highest click through rate the most often. Experiment with different phrasing to get the most clicks.

8. Read Around: Look for special Adwords tricks and tips such as the “Arrow trick” to increase click through rates. There are many websites/forums that discuss the ins and outs of Adwords. If you are thinking of spending serious money then be sure to do your homework…

Look for more advice and guides on the blogs in the future. If there’s anything you want covered let us know!