PPC advertising is displayed in the right column of most Google Searches. Advertisers specify which keywords they want to appear for, what geographical area they are to appear in, and how much they are willing to spend each time someone clicks on the advertisement. There is only a $5 charge to start an account, there is no minimum budget, and you are not charged when the ad appears, only when it is clicked.
To sign up for an ad-words account go to http://adwords.google.com/
When selecting keywords the default setting for keywords is “Broad match”. This is usually your best option for local PPC advertising. The other two options are “phrase match” and “exact match.”
- Broad Match – Lets say you are advertising for the keyword “Online Marketing” under broad match. This would qualify your ad for any search involving those two keywords. So if someone Googled “looking for marketing for my online business” this would qualify even though the exact term “Online Marketing” is split up.
- Phrase Match – Under phrase match the keywords “Online Marketing” must appear together in that order. So if someone Googled “looking for marketing for my online business” the ad would not qualify. If someone Googled “looking for online marketing for my business” then the add would qualify.
- Exact Match – For exact match the ad will only appear for the exact terms you specify. So the only search where “online marketing” would appear for is “online marketing”.
The reason we recommend broad match for local advertising is because it will often take up to 1000 appearances (also know as impressions) for an ad to be clicked on. Most Google Searches are greater than 3 words so using phrase or exact match will drastically reduce the number of times your ad qualifies. If you are only advertising within 10 miles of your business, you will have a tough time appearing enough to get clicks.
