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Google Adwords Success Interviews: Make Your Profits Soar!
- By Illuminating SEO
- Published 12/3/2008
- Google Adwords
- Unrated
An Interview With Chris Carpenter of AdwordMentor.com
Interview By Jason Anderson Achieve Net Profits
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.
Jason: 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 that 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.
Jason: 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 that 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.
Jason: 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 title. 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'.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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 aspossible. 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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 ecommerce. 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 ecommerce 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.
Jason: 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 Overturedid 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: Thank you VERY much for all the valuable information you've passed on
Chris. It has been a real pleasure talking with you.
Interview By Jason Anderson Achieve Net Profits
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.
Jason: 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 that 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.
Jason: 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 that 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.
Jason: 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 title. 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'.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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
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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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 aspossible. 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: 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 ecommerce. 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 ecommerce 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.
Jason: 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 Overturedid 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.
Jason: 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.
Jason: Thank you VERY much for all the valuable information you've passed on
Chris. It has been a real pleasure talking with you.
