How to Use Google AdWords [Infographic]

Allen Finn
Last Updated: November 27, 2022 | Paid Search Marketing
HomeBlogHow to Use Google AdWords [Infographic]
how to use google adwords

In a way, AdWords is a lot like college.

You show up on day one doe-eyed, forced to decide whether you’d rather dominate the books or the beer pong table. (If you’re a savant, perhaps you’re capable of doing both simultaneously.) If you study and learn and adapt and grow, you come out the other end successful – in college, this means a degree; in AdWords, it means obliterating your KPIs and your business goals.

Unfortunately, there’s another path, too. A dark, treacherous, expensive path, littered with bong rips and Nintendo cartridges: the one where you fail to plan and grow sufficiently. In scenarios such as these, both AdWords and higher education have the capacity to turn your bank account into an unmanned fire hose.

And nobody wants to see that happen. I don’t want to see that happen. In fact, I want the exact opposite. I want to be the parent beaming in a sea of other, less stoked parents, as you receive your diploma, not the one moving your Nerf hoop and flat screen TV back into the childhood bedroom where you’ll drift through your twenties in a balding malaise.

To improve your chances of AdWords dominance (and avoid becoming a dropout), we’ve put together this infographic detailing every step between you and PPC success, from goal creation and keyword research to counting bread on the deck of your mega-yacht.

how to use google adwords infographic

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #1: Establish Account Goals

What are you using AdWords for? Lead generation? E-commerce? Brand building? How you structure your account and the features you take advantage of will hinge on your response.

To learn more about establishing realistic goals for your AdWords account, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #2: Determine Audience

Developing personas is essential. What do your ideal customers do? Where do they do it?  When are they actively searching? On what device?

To learn more about developing customer personas and defining your audience, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #3: Conduct Keyword Research

By bidding on keywords relevant to your business, you can place your ads in the search results when people are searching for what you offer. Keyword tools can help you discover cost, competition, and volume for search terms at every stage of your sales funnel.

To learn more about conducting keyword research, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #4: Set Budget & Bids

You’ve determined which keywords to bid on: time for some math! If the average CPC looks too high, get granular: volume will decrease, but so will cost!Make sure to spend most of your AdWords budget on keywords that convert at a high rate! But make room for testing and brand-building, too.

contextual display costs

To learn more about setting AdWords budgets and bids, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #5: Structure Account

The name of the game is relevance, folks! Your account is made up of campaigns, each with distinct goals. Within each campaign you need tightly knit ad groups, each featuring just a handful of keywords and hyper-relevant ads.

To learn more about structuring your AdWords account, check out these resources:

Step #5.5: Quality Score is King

Quality Score is Google’s way of grading your keywords and ads in terms of how relevant they are to users. Small ad groups and highly clickable ads raise your Quality Score, which lowers how much you pay per click while raising your ad rank!

 

Quality Score Impact

To learn more about Quality Score, check out:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #6: Write Killer Ads

Maximize CTR by ensuring every text ad has a pair of compelling headlines, a call to action, and includes the keyword you’re bidding on. Extensions make your ad bigger and more informative. And remember: Emotional ads get more clicks.

To write Expanded Text Ads that actually convert, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #7: Design Great Landing Pages

This is where people who have clicked your ads either convert or they don’t! Follow these guidelines for high-performing landing pages:

To learn more about designing great landing pages, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #8: Implement Conversion Tracking

Place the requisite code on your website and then use either AdWords or Google Analytics to create conversion goals

To learn more about conversion tracking, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #9: Grow Remarketing Lists

Build your remarketing lists as early as possible. This will allow you to keep your product or service in front of prospects even if they don’t convert on their first site visit.

Best PPC articles 2015 remarketing

To learn more about growing your remarketing lists, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #10: Routine optimization

Test everything! A/B test your ad copy and landing pages. Adjust bids based on keyword performance. Add negative keywords to eliminate unqualified search queries.

To learn more about account optimization, check out these resources:

How to Use Google AdWords, Step #11: Profit!!!

You did it! Between mimosas on your yacht, keep your PPC strategy on the cutting edge by reading industry blogs (like ours!).

And finally, to learn more about profit…

The Easy Guide to Maximizing Your AdWords ROI

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Already enrolled in AdWords? Want to see where you really stand? Get your performance graded FREE! The AdWords Performance Grader is a fast and easy way to see how your account is performing compared to similar advertisers.

wordstream adwords performance grader
Meet The Author

Allen Finn

Allen Finn is the co-founder of Toasted Collective, a cannabis-focused digital agency. Many moons ago, he worked at WordStream, where he reigned as fantasy football champion for some time.

See other posts by Allen Finn

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