Defensive Adwords
Defensive Adwords Will Save You Money
As an affiliate, it is inevitable that at some point in your journey, you will begin to use Google Adwords to promote your site and the affiliate programs you represent. Most think of Google Adwords as an offensive promotional tactic. Many get caught up in the “glitz and glamour” of impressions, clicks, click through rates, and the like and forget about what really matters: conversions, revenues, and profits! They build keyword lists, ad copy, and landing pages for glitz and glamour. They talk about how many impressions they get and how many clicks, but does any of this matter if you forget about revenues and profits? Hello no! All you are doing is wasting your time and money. Being defensive with Adwords will not only save you time and money, but it forces you to concentrate on what is really important: profits and revenues.
What is Defensive Adwords?
Defensive Adwords can be best defined as building Google Adwords campaigns that focus on deterring errant clicks, browsers (we want buyers), and any other controlable factor that would lead to a non-converting click. The goal of Defensive Adwords is make Google Adwords campaigns that are only attractive to the converting user.
Okay….Give Me an Example
Let’s say I am an affiliate for Dell and I am running a Google Adwords campaign for the Dell XPS M2010. The first thing I do is build a list of factors influencing a potential sale of the Dell XPS M2010. For instance, how much does this unit cost, any special promotions, what price are competitiors selling at, what promotions are they running, is their an alternative product out there, etc. The reason for this is to find out why some would buy this unit from you, but also to find out why someone would not buy from you. So I spend sometime researching the competitve offers and I find out two things: I don’t have the best price, but I have a great payment option.
Ive Done My Homework Now What?
Now the we know why someone would (payment option) and would not (price) buy the Dell XPS M2010 for us, it is time to create a the Google Adwords campaign. Let’s assume that you have already done proper keyword research and have built an acceptable landing page for the product. It is now time to create your Google Adwords copy. Here is an example I would use for this product.
Dell M2010 $2999.99
Purchase for only $90/month
Fast Safe Ordering, Quick Shipping!
www.xxxxx.com/dellm2010
First I started by letting the perspective buyer know the price of the Dell M2010 up front. If my competitors are advertising a lower price, then I want the user to know my price is higher, so don’t click if you are just looking for the best price. Remember, we want buyers. Second, I put the awesome payment option. Since no one else is offering this payment method (with everyone else you have to pre-pay), I let the user know that if you don’t have all of the money right now, you can still purchase the unit (even though it is priced higher). Third, I built in user confidence in the transaction, followed with the ability to get the Dell M2010 quickly.
There are a ton of additional examples of how to employ the Defensive Adwords technique, but this post is winded enough, so I won’t add anymore.
Defensive Adwords Summary
1. Think revenues and profits, not impressions and clicks.
2. Find out why a user would want to convert and why they would not convert.
3. Write ad copy that both shows the reason why someone would not buy (no conversion), and why the would buy (convert).
4. Never write ad copy just to get a user to click (ok, dont lie).
5. Make sure your landing page and offer match your Adwords copy.
Many of you would say that Defensive Adwords heavily relys on the landing page, and it’s ability to convert the user. While this holds some truth, the fact of the matter is the better job your Adwords copy does of filtering browsers, the better any landing page will convert. I have seen users buy a ton of goods off crappy pages because the ad sold them. Regardless, you should be cognizent of the quality of your landing page and strive to make it the best possible, but your ability to make your ad copy sell to the right buyer, is the most important factor of all.
