If you’re an advertiser on Google AdWords, Bing Ads, or any other pay-per-click advertising network then you know that you can target users by location and also by the devices that they’re using. For example, you can show your ads to users who live in the U.K. and are using a tablet computer.

Now if you’re an affiliate marketer who is engaged in direct linking (linking to advertiser’s landing pages from search marketing campaigns) then you can save money and improve your conversion rate by tweaking your pay-per-click campaigns so that you get the maximum return on your investment.

As you probably know, your affiliate network uses cookies to track sales and leads. It means that if a user clicked your advertisement from a mobile device and he later chooses to sign up from his PC then most probably you’re not entitled for a commission (depending upon how the affiliate program works).

That exactly is the reason why I choose to show my ads only on desktops and laptops whenever I start an affiliate marketing campaign on pay-per-click search engines. And I make sure that I don’t target all the locations even though there can be potential users in those countries. Since pay-per-click advertising is not cheap (because cost per click has increased a lot for competitive keywords) you have to laser target your traffic so that you’ll get a strong conversion rate.

You can ask yourself whether they’re going to sign up from their mobile device. If the campaigns I’m promoting requires billing information (credit card number, PayPal, etc.) then I choose to show my ads only to desktop and laptop users.

If you’re running a legacy AdWords campaign then you can easily target desktops and laptops only by going to Campaign > Settings > Desktops & laptops, mobile devices and tablets.

Now if you’ve upgraded to Enhanced campaigns then you can still target desktops and laptops only by going to Campaign > Settings > Devices. Change mobile bid adjustment and set bid adjustments for "Mobile devices with full browsers" to “- 100%”.

If you’re still running a legacy AdWords campaign then I suggest you to upgrade to enhanced campaign as Google will upgrade all legacy campaigns to enhanced campaigns starting from July 22, 2013. You can learn more about AdWords Enhanced Campaigns here as they answered few useful questions about upgrading.

Advertisers on Bing Ads can go to Campaign > Settings > TARGETING OPTIONS > Advanced targeting options > Device and you can select Desktops and Laptops, Smartphones, and Tablets.

You can apply your common sense when you promote affiliate products via search engine marketing campaigns. Your focus should be to get the maximum leads/sales and not clicks. And the key is to select the keywords carefully as it can directly impact the performance of your campaign.

For example, if you’re promoting a web hosting company and are bidding on the keyword “web hosting” then you may get tons of traffic but it could be the least targeted keyword since people who search that term may not be looking for a web hosting plan. Instead think about keywords like “buy web hosting”, “buy cheap web hosting”, etc. Tip: Google AdWords Keyword Tool is your friend.

Now that said, if you’re promoting your own products and services then you have to focus on all devices since you primary goal is to get maximum targeted traffic.

Happy Marketing!

Affiliate Marketers: How To Tweak Your Pay Per Click Ad Campaigns is a post by Minterest

Pay Per Click advertising (or simply PPC Advertising) is an Internet Marketing model where advertisers pay only when their advertisement is clicked.

The most popular Pay Per Click advertising networks are Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter (now known as Bing Ads).

What’s interesting about the pay-per-click advertising model is that there’s no minimum spending requirement. For instance, you can set a daily budget of $5 and maximum cost per click (CPC) as 5 cents. And you pay only when someone clicks on your ad. It’s that simple!

Last Updated: Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

Free Pay-Per-Click Advertising Credits

Most of the pay-per-click advertising networks (Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Microsoft adCenter, Ask.com, BidVertiser, Miva, etc.) offer free ad credits to attract customers. So, here are the various PPC networks and their available free ad credits. Sign up today!

Microsoft adCenter Coupon (USA)

Free Credits: $25
Initial Deposit: N/A
Promo Code: N/A
Sign Up URL: Microsoft adCenter Free $25 Credit

Microsoft adCenter Canada Coupon

Free Credits: $25
Initial Deposit: N/A
Promo Code: N/A
Sign Up URL: Microsoft adCenter Free $25 Credit

Microsoft adCenter UK Coupon

Free Credits: £30
Initial Deposit: N/A
Promo Code: N/A
Sign Up URL: Microsoft adCenter Free £30 Credit

Microsoft adCenter France Coupon

Free Credits: €30
Initial Deposit: N/A
Promo Code: N/A
Sign Up URL: Microsoft adCenter Free €30 Credit

Microsoft adCenter India Coupon

Free Credits: Rs. 500
Initial Deposit: N/A
Promo Code: N/A
Sign Up URL: Microsoft adCenter Free Rs. 500 Credit

Yahoo! Search Marketing Coupon

As you probably know, Microsoft & Yahoo! formed the Yahoo! and Bing Search Alliance. So now, you can create a Microsoft adCenter account (now known as Bing Ads) to advertise on the Yahoo! Bing Network. The  Yahoo! Search Marketing is now available only to premium advertisers.

Google AdWords

Free Credits: $100
Initial Deposit: $25*
Promo Code: N/A
Expiry: September 30, 2013
Sign Up URL: Google AdWords Free $100 Credit

*Get the additional $75 worth of advertising when you spend $25.

BidVertiser Coupon

Free Credits: $20
Initial Deposit: N/A
Promo Code: N/A
Sign Up URL: BidVertiser Free $20 Credit

Free Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Credits Worth Over $200 is a post by Minterest

Dear Google AdWords,

You’re the uncrowned king of online advertising but you’ve terribly disappointed me long time back when you suspended one of my AdWords campaign for the so called “Landing Page and Site Policy violations” or “Landing Page Experience” when I didn’t actually do anything really wrong.

It’s alright! That was a long time ago. But today, I just wanted to highlight some of the Google AdWords Advertising Policies and showcase some ads to confirm whether that’s how you define quality and landing page experience.

Okay, according to you “Advertising should be accurate and truthful”. I understand that you do want to improve user experience. Now let me paste few screenshots of ads which I see whenever I Google for “AdWords Coupon” related searches.

Google AdWords’ terms and conditions for online advertising promotional credits clearly says “The promotional credit is non-transferable and may not be sold or bartered.”

But, What about the following Sponsored ads?

Google SERP for the keyword “AdWords Coupon”

…and

Google SERP for the keyword “AdWords Voucher”

Now, What about “Relevance, Clarity, and Accuracy”?

It says the ad text must be relevant, clear, accurate, descriptive and must not be confusing.

• Your ads and keywords must directly relate to the content on the landing page for your ad. When users see your ad, they should be able to understand what kind of product, service, or other content they’ll find on your site.
• Products or services that are promoted in your ad must be reflected on your landing page.
• Ads can’t have any missing lines of text, excessive spacing, or extremely bad grammar.

It means our ads and keywords must be directly related to the content on the landing page, right? Okay, so I searched for “AdWords Coupon” once again.

Now what do you have to say about this ad?

Sponsored ad related to “AdWords Coupon”

…and its ‘landing page’ (http://www.grtjewels.com/)

Landing Page Experience – Ad related to “AdWords Coupon”

Honestly, how does this makes sense?

That’s not all, you do have a “Grammar and Spelling Policy” too, right?

It says you don’t allow ads with incorrect grammar or misspellings which is not limited to wrong words, wrong verb tense, misspellings etc. You created this policy to provide a positive user experience right?

Now, what about this…

…and this ad?

Oh, ‘Googles’, come on!!

And you DON’T allow ‘Arbitrage’ as well, right?

Google AdWords doesn’t allow the promotion of websites that are designed for the sole or primary purpose of showing ads. This practice of promoting sites where the main purpose is to get users to click on ads is called arbitrage.

But Take A Look At The Following Ad

Sponsored Ad focusing ‘Click Arbitrage’

…and its so called ‘landing page’

Landing Page Experience – Ad related to “AdWords Coupon”

Finally, The Landing Page Experience

• Landing page experience refers to how good we think someone’s experience will be when they get to your landing page (the web page they end up on after clicking your ad).
• A good landing page experience can help you gain the trust of your customers and keep them coming back to your site. Get more mileage out of your landing page by making it easier for visitors to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or do other things you want them to do on your website.

Okay, I searched for “AdWords Coupon” once again:

Sponsored ad related to “AdWords Coupon”

Wow! That’s a super descriptive ad and is not infringing any trademarks, right? Okay, but what about its ‘landing page’ (shown below) and how’s it related to that specific ad and keyword?

Landing Page Experience – Ad related to “AdWords Coupon”

Conclusion

So, dear Google, “Spammers are really gaming the AdWords today” and they’re just inflating the costs of those paying advertisers by tricking your system. They must all be using fake AdWords accounts and advertising using free coupon codes. I have been tracking this for a long time and noticed that every time I do pay-per-click related searches these ads appear but with different landing pages.

All I want is that, “You go and figure it out!”

Sincerely,

A Microsoft fanatic (on behalf of those paying AdWords advertisers)

Dear Google, Here’s How Spammers Are Inflating The Costs Of ‘Real’ Advertisers is a post by Minterest

When I wrote the blogpost “How To Make Money Online With AdWords Without A Website” I got few comments and e-mails about whether Google AdWords allows direct linking. That is, are we allowed to link directly to advertisers (using our affiliate URLs) from AdWords ads? In a word, Yes! But wait, they do have some advertising policies so here are the AdWords advertising terms, guidelines and the landing page policies every digital marketer should know.

According to Google,

[quote]Advertising should provide a positive experience to users. Showing users the right ads at the right time can truly enhance a user’s experience.[/quote]

Google AdWords Ad Approval Process In A Nutshell

When you create an AdWords campaign it goes through an approval process. Each ad copy (ad text, keywords, landing page) is reviewed individually by Google. If they find an issue, you will be notified with a possible reason for ad disapproval. Every time you create or edit an ad copy it will be reviewed automatically.

Google says they usually approve or deny the ad within 3 business days. From my analysis, I found that text ads targeting Google network are approved quickly (within hours or sometimes instantly as they’re automated) and image ads usually take longer since they are displayed on Google’s partner network and publisher websites.

Different  AdWords Ad Status Messages

Under review – Your ad is still being reviewed.

Eligible – Your ad’s still being reviewed, but it can show on certain pages.

Disapproved – There’s an issue with your ad and it can’t show right now.

Approved (adult) – Your ad’s approved, but it can only show in certain countries and sites where adult content is allowed.

Approved (non-family) – Your ad’s approved, but it can only show in certain countries and sites where this type of content is allowed.

Approved (limited) – Your ad’s approved, but it can only show in certain countries and devices where this type of content is allowed.

Google AdWords Advertising Policies & Terms

Image Credit: Free Digital Photos

[quote]Affiliate Marketing Is NOT Dead On Google AdWords[/quote]

Google’s Affiliate Auction Policy

Google’s affiliate policy is that they will display only “one ad per search query for advertisers sharing the same top-level domain in the display URL.”

It means that if you’re an affiliate marketer and are promoting, let’s say GoDaddy.com, then your ad won’t be shown since ‘GoDaddy’ is a trademark owned by GoDaddy.com and they run the ads for almost everything related to domain names and web hosting.

For example,

If you’re promoting GoDaddy Web Hosting (targeting the keyword ‘GoDaddy Coupon”) and are linking directly to GoDaddy.com from AdWords using your affiliate URL (e.g. http://www.godaddy.com/ref=12345) as the destination URL then according to Google the following URLs are equivalent:

• http://www.godaddy.com/ref=12345
• http://godaddy.com/ref=12345
• http://hosting.godaddy.com/ref=12345
• http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ref=12345

And the following URLs are considered distinct as they’re all different top-level domains:

• http://www.godaddy.com/ref=12345
• http://www.godaddy.co.uk/ref=12345

Also, make sure that your landing page is not an exact/identical copy of another advertiser’s landing page.

Google won’t show multiple ads for identical or similar landing pages at the same time; if another advertiser’s ad leads to a landing page that’s similar to yours, and his keyword has a higher Ad Rank, his ad will show instead of yours.

Google’s Display URL Policy

In Google AdWords the display URL (up to 35 characters) is the website address that’s displayed in your ad (i.e. the visible URL). AdWords’ display URL policy is that the domain of your display URL must match the final landing page (i.e. the webpage a user sees after all redirects).

For example,

If your destination URL is http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ref=12345 and the final landing page URL is http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx then your display URL must be “godaddy.com” or “www.godaddy.com”.

Google’s Destination URL Policy

In Google AdWords the destination URL is the URL that loads when a user clicks on your ad. Don’t get confused with landing page URL which is the final page a user sees after all redirects. If your destination URL doesn’t redirect then both the destination URL and the landing page URL are the same. AdWords’ destination URL policy is that your landing page shouldn’t lead to an error page or an under construction page. Also, it must not lead to an e-mail address or a file (image, audio, video, PDF documents etc.)

Google’s Landing Page Experience

In Google AdWords, the landing page experience refers to user experience. You can improve the landing page experience by improving your ad’s Quality Score. The Quality Score is Google’s measurement of “how relevant your ads, keywords, and landing page are to a person seeing your ad”. You can improve your Quality Score by writing relevant ads, creating original content and with easy website navigation.

Google AdWords Advertising: What’s Allowed, What’s Not

• All AdWords ads should be accurate, truthful and must not be misleading.
• All advertising claims (coupons, special offers etc.) must be up-to-day and must match with the content of your website.
• Your ad text must be clear, relevant, accurate and the targeted keywords must match with the content on the landing page.
• Google AdWords doesn’t allow ad text with incorrect grammar (wrong words or verb tense) or misspellings (e.g. “hear” instead of “here”) with certain exceptions like “nite” instead of “night”, “info” instead of “information” etc.
• You’re not allowed to give incentives in exchange for a click (e.g. offering a freebie something in exchange for a Google +1).
• If you’re showing image ads then it must comply with Google’s text ad policies and should also comply with AdWords’ image ad policies.
• If you’re into financial services (e.g. payday loans) then your ad must comply with special policies as Google has certain guidelines with respect to promotion of financial services.
• Google doesn’t allow ad texts with excessive capitalization unless it’s a standard variation (e.g. SONY, UK, 1-800-MICROSOFT, MSFT, etc.)
• Google AdWords doesn’t allow ads that imply an affiliation, partnership, or any special relationship with advertisers.
• You’re not allowed to use trademarks on your ad texts without prior consent from trademark owners.
• Google AdWords doesn’t allow ads that promotes doorway pages.
• Double Serving: You’re not allowed to advertise the same website or business from across multiple accounts targeting the same or similar keywords.
• Google AdWords doesn’t allow the promotion of parked domains (a domain monetized with only ads) or websites that are created for the sole purpose of showing ads. (i.e. AdSense AdWords Arbitrage is a strict no no).

Read: AdSense Policies & Webmaster Guidelines: Everything You Need To Know

What Happens When You Violate AdWords Policies?

In most cases, when you violate AdWords’ terms and/or policies you’ll get detailed notifications giving you an opportunity to make the necessary changes. If the requested changes are not made then your account will be suspended.

If your ad is disapproved then it means that the ad and/or keywords doesn’t comply with Google’s advertising policies. You need to identify the reason and get it fixed so that they will review the ad once again and will approve you.

If the domain is disabled or the ad is suspended (most probably because of landing page and webmaster guideline policies) then it means that the domain violates Google’s advertising policies and/or webmaster policies and can no longer be advertised until you fix the problem.

Finally, if your AdWords account is suspended (can be temporary or permanent) then all your ads will be suspended and you’re no longer allowed to advertise on AdWords. All the related accounts (and future accounts) will be suspended automatically.

Note: Once your account is suspended permanently it’s pretty difficult to get a manual reply from Google.

Google AdWords Advertising Policies: What You Need To Know is a post by Minterest

As you probably know there are tons of websites, blogs, and e-books on the Internet which is all about “How To Make Money With Google” but I bet none of those websites or e-books is going to tell you ‘exactly’ how they’re profiting from Google. I have gone through almost all of those top results on Google for the keyword “Make Money With Google”. And I have noticed that some of those top results are spammy, some are selling eBooks and others have simply introduced Google AdSense (you know AdSense, don’t you?).

It’s okay but all they tell you is to create a website, write content, place ads, and drive traffic. There ends everything. Now, have you ever come across an ad that says “Make Money With Google”? If so, then it’s all about Google’s advertising programs called Google AdSense and Google AdWords. But unfortunately most of those ads were scams and Google eventually banned all those advertisers.

Image Credit: Marketing Pilgrim

Google Advertising Programs: Google AdWords & Google AdSense

Google AdWords is Google’s flagship advertising platform and Google AdSense is an advertising network that allows publishers like you and me to earn money by displaying relevant ads on our websites.

It’s not possible to make money with Google AdSense without a website (unless you join some of those revenue sharing websites or forums). Again it takes time, dedication and most importantly you have to write quality content.

So just forget about that as I’m going to show you exactly how to make money with Google AdWords (or Microsoft adCenter) even when you don’t have a website or can’t write the content by yourself. All you need to do is sign up for an Affiliate Network and pay-per-click advertising networks like Google AdWords or Microsoft adCenter. You can get started for free by joining a couple of affiliate networks and can kick-start your campaigns using free pay per click advertising credits (or you can contact me for free advertising credits).

What is Pay Per Click advertising?

Pay Per Click (or Cost Per Click) advertising is a form of online advertising in which the advertisers pay only when someone clicks their ad. Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter (which is a single platform for advertising on Bing and Yahoo! Search) are the leaders in Pay Per Click advertising which connects you to millions of potential customers who is looking for your product or service. To get a better insight on pay-per-click ads & it’s working check out How Does Google Make Money.

Step-By-Step Guide To Make Money Online With Google AdWords (For Beginners)

Before I start let me remind you a couple of things. I’m not going to make you rich overnight and it’s not one of those  “Get Rich Quick” schemes as I don’t promise any guaranteed income. But since it worked for me it should work for you as well.

Affiliate Marketing Without A Website [Example]

Affiliate Marketing is an internet marketing channel in which advertisers (or companies who offer a product or service) pay publishers on a pay-for-performance basis. Unlike Google AdSense you don’t need a website to get started although it’s recommended. You’re only paid for results (and not for clicks) which could be a sale or a lead (user fill a form and complete registration). Learn What Is Affiliate Marketing And How Does It Work.

In A Nutshell: Affiliate Marketing + Pay Per Click Advertising

1. Join Affiliate Networks (Commission Junction, ClickBank, ShareASale etc.)
2. Apply for various affiliate programs in a niche (e.g. Payday Loans, Web Hosting etc.)
3. Promote the affiliate program that offers maximum payout and with a good track record.
4. Sign up for Google AdWords and/or Microsoft adCenter (use free coupons)
5. Start your ad campaigns by creating ads and the right keywords (use long tail keywords).
6. Your ads appear on major pay per click search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.
7. Potential customers click on your ad and completes a lead/sale.
8. You earn the commission via your affiliate network which tracks the lead/sale.

Now, I’m going to show you exactly how to make money online without a website by promoting Payday Loans’ affiliate programs, as an example, on Google AdWords (you can do the same on Microsoft adCenter and/or other pay-per-click advertising networks).

1. Join Affiliate Network(s)

The first step to making money online without a website is to join few affiliate programs via an affiliate network. Check out the Top 10 Affiliate Networks For Affiliate Marketing. I personally recommend Commission Junction (widely known as CJ) as it’s the most popular affiliate network and is the preferred affiliate platform of Apple, Dell, Yahoo!, HP, Lenovo, AT&T, E*Trade, Mint, Western Union and other top brands. Join Commission Junction for free as a Publisher.

2. Apply For Various Affiliate Programs

Okay. Now you have joined Commission Junction. Right? Let’s say you want to promote few of the “payday loans” affiliate programs on Commission Junction (there are tons of payday loans affiliate programs on CJ offering anywhere between $30 to $100 per approved lead).

Just log on to CJ Account Manger (your welcome page) and navigate to “Get Links“. Enter “payday loans” in the search field and review all the programs listed there and apply for the one which have the maximum EPC (What is EPC?). Let’s say you have applied for “PaydayLoans Pay Big” affiliate program which pays up to $70 per approved lead. If they denied your application then you can contact their affiliate team via CJ Mail or by sending a direct e-mail to their affiliate manager (CJ displays the contact information of all advertisers in “Advertiser Detail” window).

3. Promote The Affiliate Program With Maximum Benefit

I have selected “PaydayLoans Pay Big” affiliate program since it offers good commission with high EPC. That’s not all they offer commissions for new as well as previous customers. Also, they represents three of the top converting payday lenders so a single application gives access to more programs and options.

Once you join an affiliate program you will get the affiliate links (tracking links) from CJ which you have to promote by various means – Google AdWords, Microsoft adCenter, Banner ads, Text Link Ads, Blogs etc.

4. Sign Up For Google AdWords (Or Microsoft adCenter)

Now, sign up for Google AdWords and/or Microsoft adCenter. You can get started for free as both Google and Bing offers free coupons to its advertisers. Sign up for adCenter here and get coupon credits worth up to $50 free which you can use to advertise on Bing and Yahoo! You can contact me for free AdWords coupon (limited number only).

Watch the above video to setup an AdWords account and check out the official Microsoft Advertising Help for adCenter video tutorials.

5. Start Your Campaign(s)

I assume that you have created an AdWords or an adCenter account. Now, it’s time to create your first ad campaign. Let’s say you’re promoting the advertiser “PaydayLoans Pay Big”.

It basically involves 5 steps:

(a). Choose your target locations, networks (search or display network) and devices (desktops, mobiles, tablets)

Use your common sense while choosing these options. If you’re promoting payday loans then your target country must be U.S only since the product which you’re promoting is for U.S citizens only. And the devices should be desktop and laptop computers. Why? Because those affiliate networks usually don’t track sales via mobile devices or tablets and hence you won’t get a commission for that.

(b). Choose your budget per day and maximum cost per click you’re willing to pay

Make sure that you split your monthly budget wisely. I suggest you to try automatic bidding at first so that you get an idea about what others are paying top placements.

(c). Create your ads (write an effective ad copy that sells)

I used the following ad copy to promote the affiliate program of payday loans provider WeGiveCash.com (a CJ advertiser) which worked well for me on adCenter. Why adCenter?

(d). Select keywords that match your ads to potential customers

Keyword selection is the most important part in a pay-per-click advertising campaigns. If your campaign is about “Payday Loans” then most people go for the top keywords like “payday loans” or “payday loans online” itself. Of course there are the most important keywords one should focus but it doesn’t mean that they will convert like other long tail keywords do. If a person is searching for “Payday Loans” then he/she may be looking something else as well. But if someone is searching for “cash advance payday loans in one hour” then most probably he/she is looking for a loan in one hour. So your focus should be to target those customers. Download a list of over 2,000 keywords related to “Payday Loans” by clicking here.

(e). Enter your billing information

Finally, enter your billing information like your name, address, credit card information etc. You can sign up for an AdWords account even without a Credit Card by choosing the manual payment option and can run your campaigns by applying a coupon code.

AdWords don’t accept PayPal but adCenter advertisers in the U.S. have the option to use PayPal as the payment method. Others have the option to pay via Credit Cards or Debit Cards or Virtual Cards (Prepaid).

Need More Help? Try Google AdWords Help Center!

6. Your Ads Appear On Google

Once you start your campaign and created your ads Google’s bots will review the ads and will approve or deny in minutes. If your campaign is approved then your ad will appear on Google’s search results page.

7. Customers Click Your Ad

Customers search for keywords (related to payday loans) that you have selected and your ad will be shown to them. They click your ad and it leads them to the advertiser’s website where they may apply for payday a loan.

8. You Earn A Commission

Once the payday loan application submitted by the customer is approved by the advertiser you get a commission. Most of the payday loan affiliate programs pay only for approved loans. But I guess there are others which pays for leads as well. It means you get paid even if the loan application is denied.

BONUS: Earn $30 Only For Activating A “Payday Loan Affiliate Program” On CJ

I used the advertiser “PaydayLoans Pay Big” in this whole case study. Now is the right time to join their affiliate program on CJ as they’re offering $30 to all affiliates who activates their affiliate program.

The promotion will be available during the month of July only. You must place compliant contents of all the three payday lenders they represent. Your bonus will be credited to your CJ account at the end of the month once they verify that your website has the contents of all the three lenders.

If you have any queries then feel free to drop a comment below and I’ll be happy to assist you.

Learn Exactly How To Make Money Online With Google AdWords Without A Website is a post by Minterest

What do you mean by Keyword Research? It’s nothing but the practice of finding search terms (called Keywords) which people enter into the search engines to find webpages. It’s a practice which is mostly used by Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals while writing content in order to achieve better rankings on Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for the keywords which they are focusing.

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

When it comes to Keyword Research Google AdWords Keyword Tool is the right choice for every webmaster and SEO professional. Google AdWords Keyword Tool is a free Keyword Research Tool by Google which is meant for it’s advertisers. If you’re a newbie then you must be familiar with the terms used by Google AdWords Tool. It includes terms such as Search Terms, Competition, Global Monthly Searches, Local Monthly Searches, Keyword Ideas, Match Types etc.

So let me begin by explaining the Google AdWords Tool terms you need to know:

Search Terms / Keywords

Keywords are words or phrases that people enter on Google Search to find webpages.

Competition

Competition column shows the number of advertisers worldwide bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google and It’s not the number of searches conducted by people. Competition can be Low, Medium, or High.

Match Types

The traffic volume that appears in the Global Monthly Searches & Local Monthly Searches column for a specific match type is an approximation of the traffic that a keyword gets in a month on Google with that match type.

• Broad Match: The sum of the search volumes for the keyword idea, related grammatical forms, synonyms and related words.
• Phrase Match: The sum of the search volumes for all terms that include that whole phrase.
• Exact Match: The search volume for that keyword idea.

Global Monthly Searches

Global Monthly Searches are the approximate 12-month average of user queries for the keyword on Google search. It’s is specific to your keyword Match Type selection.

Local Monthly Searches

If you specified a country or language for your search, this is the approximate 12-month average number of user queries for the keyword for those countries and languages. It’s specific to your keyword Match Type selection.

Source: Google AdWords Glossary

How To Do Keyword Research?

Let’s say you have a service website. So which Keywords should you focus on? The first thing I would do is look at my competitors website and see what keywords are they targeting (called Competitive Analysis). And then I do the Keyword Research using Google AdWords Keyword Tool. And once the Keyword Research is done then I define my Target Audience. I recommend you to try alternate Keyword Research Tools as well. That is from Microsoft adCenter, WordTracker etc. And, you may try more Keyword Tools by Google such as Google Trends and Google Insights for Search.

How To Use Google AdWords Keyword Tool For SEO Keyword Research

Suppose you’re selling Google AdWords Coupon for UK Citizens and you want to find keywords related to that. If you go to Google AdWords Keyword Tool and enter the search phrase “Google AdWords” then you will get tons of Keyword Ideas related to the search term “Google AdWords”.

Now, you need to filter those keywords. So what you should to do is choose the location United Kingdom under “Advanced Options and Filters” and make sure that you check the option “Only show ideas closely related to my search terms” otherwise it will show so many unrelated keywords. Click “Search”. Voila! You have the keyword ideas now.

Again, you need to find out the most relevant Keywords out of the suggested ones. Once you’re done you have to do another Keyword Research using the new keywords suggested by Google.

In this case, let’s say you chose the keyword “AdWords Coupon” from the keyword ideas and now you conduct another keyword research using the keyword “AdWords Coupon”. Make sure that you choose the option “[Exact']” under Match Types. Why?

There you’re! Now, choose all the keywords you want to focus. In this case I would pick “AdWords Coupon, Google AdWords Coupon, Free AdWords Coupon, AdWords Coupon Code etc.”

The Complete Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Life Cycle

BONUS: More Keyword Research Tools by Google

Google AdWords Keyword Tool [Competition Analysis]

Google AdWords Tools are meant for AdWords customers but you can still use most of the Google Keyword Tools as they are all free. Now, when you do your Keyword Research you can see a “Competition” column. What exactly is “Competition”? You think it’s about how many people are actually searching for a particular keyword. Well, you’re wrong. The “Competition” column is for Google AdWords advertisers. It shows how competitive a particular keyword is. It can be Low, Medium or High. It shows how many advertisers are bidding on that Keyword. If it’s “Low” then it means that only few advertisers are bidding for that keyword. If it’s “High” then it means that a large number of advertisers are bidding for that keyword.

Basically, this is really useless for writers (unless you want to bid for the keyword) as it has totally no effect on traffic or getting your article to the first page of search engine results.

So in general it’s useless for you unless you’re an AdWords advertiser. But I still consider that while doing Keyword Research. If the Competition is High then it’s difficult to achieve Top 10 ranking on Google Search Engine Results (SERP) page. If the Keyword Competition is Low then it means that we can achieve Top 10.

Google Trends

Google Trends allows you to compare the search volumes of two or more keywords (up to five keywords). Google Trends also shows news related to the keywords/search terms. If you have a news blog then Google Trend’s new flavor is the best Keyword Research Tool. Let’s say you have a tech blog then you can use the Google Trends to find out “Hot Searches” so that you can publish more articles related to Hot Search Keywords. Use Hot Searches to see a snapshot of what people is searching right now.

With Google Trends, you can compare the world’s interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over time. Google Trends also shows how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and in which geographic regions people have searched for them most.

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of the search terms in all years.

Google Insights for Search

Google Insights for Search is much like Google Trends. It provides better insights about the keywords which people use on Google Search. Unlike Google Trends, Google Insights for Search also provides a visual representation of regional interest on a country’s map. It displays top searches and rising searches that may help with keyword research. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

You can see how searches for “Michael Jackson” and “Steve Jobs” peaked when they died. Learn more about how to use Google Insights for Search.

Google AdWords Traffic Estimator

Google AdWords have a Traffic Estimator which shows the ”Estimated Daily Clicks“ for AdWords advertisers. But you can still use Google AdWords Traffic Estimator to get an idea of potential clicks you’ll get if you hit Top 10 or whatever.

Recommended Posts:

• 101 Google Products & Services You Probably Don’t Know
• Why You Should Advertise On Microsoft adCenter (FREE adCenter Coupon)

How To Do Keyword Research Using Google AdWords Keyword Tool? is a post by Minterest

Quick — How Does Google Make Money?

When it comes to Microsoft we all know how they make money. Most of their revenue comes from the flagship products – Microsoft Windows & Microsoft Office. As you can see from the chart, Windows & Office sales accounts for 60% of Microsoft’s revenue. But have you ever wondered how Google makes money?

I have asked many of my friends about Google’s business model. But no one exactly knows how Google makes money.

Thirty seven billion dollars ($37 bn). Guess what? That’s the 2011 revenue of the search engine giant Google. But how is that really possible when they don’t have any tangible products or when they don’t charge a penny for most of their products/services? Then, where does this revenue come from? Well, it’s advertising, and again advertising – Google AdWords & Google AdSense to be precise. In fact 97% of Google’s revenue is from advertising.

Who is actually spending these billions on search ads? The following info graphics is the answer – Google Revenue Sources & Breaking Down Google’s 2011 Revenues.

But Wait, I Don’t See Any Ads On Google

Google’s homepage is almost empty with no contents or ads. (Reason?). And, everything you use from them is absolutely free whether it’s Search, Gmail, Orkut, YouTube, Apps, Docs, Picasa, Maps, Earth, News, Analytics, Blogger or the so called 101 Google Products And Services You Probably Don’t Know. Then how the hell do they make big bucks?

It’s all about advertising. Google has a very popular auction based advertising program called – Google AdWords. With Google AdWords you can advertise your business on Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page). That is where all the revenue comes from.

If you have noticed carefully during any of your searches on Google, there is a section called “Ads”. These are obviously contributions by advertisers who pay Google every time you click on any of those. So if you search for “loans” or say “insurance” on Google then you’ll  find ads relevant to loans or insurance itself.

The following screenshot shows the ads appeared when I searched for “car insurance”.

That’s not all. Google has an advertising program called – Google AdSense – that allows publishers like me (and probably you) to make money by displaying relevant ads on our website/blog. When it comes to monetizing every webmaster/publishers prefers Google AdSense.

It’s Really A Win-Win-Win Situation

The thought of making money without any tangible products can be difficult to absorb but its essence lies in Google’s innovation. Google gets the money from their advertisers. And, the advertiser pays only when someone clicks on their ad. This is contrary to traditional banner advertising where advertisers are required to pay whenever their ad is displayed on a banner network. The consumer who is searching for a particular product sees only relevant ads. So it is this advertising that creates a win win win situation for Google, Advertisers & Consumers.

If You Still Don’t Know How Does Google Make Money

In Google’s Own Words…

Today, the majority of our revenue comes from advertising.

Advertisers are increasingly turning to the Internet to market their products and services. Google AdWords, our auction-based advertising program, enables advertisers to deliver relevant ads targeted to search queries or web content to potential customers across Google sites and through the Google Network, which consists of content owners and websites. Our proprietary technology automatically matches ads to the content of the page on which they appear, and advertisers pay us either when a user clicks on one of its ads or based on the number of times their ads appear on the Google Network.

We distribute our advertisers’ AdWords ads for display on the Google Network through our AdSense program. We share most of the revenue generated from ads shown on a site of a Google Network member with that member.

Source: Google Investor Relations

Okay. So How Much Does Google AdWords Charge Per Click?

The price an advertiser pays for a click (known as Cost Per Click or simply CPC) usually depends on a lot of factors. Google is using a kind of bidding system. You select the keywords for which you want to show ads so that when someone searches for those keywords on Google, your ads will be shown.

Let’s say you own an insurance company and want to find customers. What you do is bid on keywords related to “Insurance” like “buy insurance, life insurance etc. So whenever someone searches for “buy insurance” or “life insurance” your ads will be shown.

The price you need to pay Google depends on the competition for that particular keyword(s). Now if there are many other companies bidding for the same keyword then most probably you’ll have to outbid them. The Cost Per Click (CPC) varies from 0.01$ to 100$ or maybe even more.

Holy Google! Advertisers are paying as high as $50 per click for insurance, mortgages and loans related keywords.

Did You Know?

About 69% of Google’s revenue comes from ads running on Google’s own websites including Google, YouTube, and Orkut, about 28% of the total revenue comes from ads running on Google’s partner sites via Google AdSense. And the rest comes from Google Apps subscriptions, Gmail paid storage, Google search appliance sales, etc.

The most bizarre thing about Google’s business is that they hardly have any tangible products. Then what is it that they sell? Traffic, yes you got it right, they sell real traffic.

So now you know that the biggest search engine is also the biggest advertising company in the world. Do you want to advertise your business on Google? You can kick start your trial campaign with a $75 FREE Credit from AdWords. Read (Free Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Credits).

How Does Google Make Money? is a post by Minterest

Google vs Bing

I’m pretty sure that If someone ask you to name two search engines, it’s more likely that you mention Google and then maybe Bing.

My default search engine on all the three web browsers – Internet Explorer 9, Google Chrome & Mozilla Firefox – is Google and will be Google itself unless Bing offers me all the advanced search features of Google. Bing does offer an advance search function but only with limited options.

However as an Internet Marketer when it comes to marketing I use Bing and only Bing. Simply because it offers better Return On Investment (ROI). Bing’s conversions are CRAZY as it sends you laser targeted visitors.

Microsoft adCenter vs Google AdWords

Why do I prefer Microsoft adCenter and not Google AdWords?

Google AdWords – it’s highly competitive as almost all marketers target Google and it is becoming even more competitive as more and more advertisers are joining in. So it’s more likely that a wealthier company would outbid you. Try the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, It gives you an idea about the competition for a particular keyword on Google. Besides, the traffic quality on Google is poor when compared to Yahoo! or Bing.

Google’s search results and sponsored ads are heavily manipulated by Search Engine Marketing companies. So unless you use advanced search you’re not going to find what you want. On the Search Settings page I have set the “Results per page” to 100 as the top results on Google for popular keywords are mostly spam.

What you should know about Bing?

Bing is the default search engine on Internet Explorer which is the default web browser for all Windows Operating Systems. That is exactly what makes Bing the default search engine for over 30% of all Internet users.

• Search Engine demographics shows that Bing users are older, wealthier and less tech-savvy.
• Searchers on Bing are likely to spend 26.8% more than the average searcher in the U.S. according to comScore.
• Bing receives most of it’s traffic from US.
• Bing’s ad exposure has increased after it’s recent merger with Yahoo! Search.
• Keyword bidding is not as expensive as in Google AdWords.
• Conversion rate, and hence Return On Investment (ROI), is much higher than Google AdWords because of the quality traffic.

However, the traffic you receive from Bing will be very less when compared to Google as globally the combined market share of Bing – Yahoo is only around 10% while Google holds over 70% market share worldwide.

Now, why is that so? I suppose it’s because of the fact that Bing is the default search engine on Internet Explorer. So Bing users could be Microsoft fanatics (I’m one among them but I still use Google for the above mentioned reason), employees of Microsoft, people who don’t know how to change the default search engine of their web browser, and Bing lovers.

Why you should target Bing?

Just because everyone is advertising on Google doesn’t mean that you should focus only on Google. It makes much more sense to focus on the quality of traffic than quantity.

I started my first Microsoft adCenter campaign using a Free $200 Microsoft adCenter Promo Code (which is no longer available) and the results were outstanding. My keywords were related to “loans” which is highly competitive on Google. I used very targeted keywords and so even though the traffic that I received was less, the conversion rate was exceptional.

Advertise on Bing and Yahoo for FREE – Microsoft adCenter Promo Code

Kick start your Microsoft adCenter campaign today with a Free Microsoft adCenter Promo Code! Make sure that you use the appropriate link to sign up. That is, if you’re from UK then you need to use the sign up link for UK only.

If you’re from US, Sign Up here & get Microsoft adCenter Coupon worth $25.
If you’re from Canada, Sign Up here & get adCenter Credit worth $25.
If you’re from UK, Sign Up here & get adCenter UK Coupon worth £30.
If you’re from France, Sign Up here & get adCenter Coupon worth €30.
If you’re from India, Sign Up here & get adCenter Promo Code worth Rs. 500.

Microsoft adCenter Promo Code Details: Bing credits is applicable for new adCenter advertisers only and any portion of Bing credits not used within 90 days from the date you signed up will expire.

Why You Should Advertise On Microsoft adCenter And Not On Google AdWords is a post by Minterest