There are 2 simple landing page rules which are based on logic:

1.  Make the landing page relevant to the ad.

Repeat the keywords in the ad on the page, so the viewer knows they have come to the right place.  Keep a consistent tone of voice, too between the ad and the web page they arrive on looking for more information.

So an ad referring to one specific product will not be so effective if the landing page is a company home page and more of a general overview.  Treat your landing page like a mini website even if it is sitting within a large website and keep it focussed.

2.  Set up different landing pages for individual ads or clusters of ads.

It all depends how refined your research is, but give yourself the best opportunity to discover what works.  You can then discard the poorer-performing ads and test the best against new ads.

Website technology is so simple these days, there is little or no barrier to having multi-variants of web pages.

Use the free Google tools to ensure you provide a satisfying experience when your prospects search for your keywords.   This is all logical, but sometimes we can get lost in the detail and forget to keep things simple.

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Adwords can be a “waste” of money if you do not have mastery over your campaign.

Whether or not you have a bottomless marketing budget (and who has?!) Google Adwords is the perfect way to experiment with keywords. All the Google tools available for free means that you can test every detail of the ads, and landing pages. I am often asked about the attitude required to be successful with Adwords and it certainly includes being willing to keep on learning and have a scientific approach based on results about campaigns to keep and to abandon.

I really enjoy the fact that Google rewards intelligence and persistence. It levels the playing field between big companies and entrepreneurs, and creates opportunity.

The cost paid per click is influenced by your campaign performance. Typically in television advertising you have to pay more for advertising round a popular show, so although you get more leads you have to pay a higher price. The wonderful thing about Google is that if your campaign is successful and delivering relevant results you end up paying less per click, you get a better position on the page, and effectively can beat competitiors who are paying more.

All this needs to be set up with a scientific approach to detail, but the quality of your copy and the emotional appeal of the product all play a large part. Finding the tone of voice and the emotional needs of your prospects is not a black art but it is art.

Add that to a sophisticated scientific approach to your campaign and your Google Adwords campaign will seem less like a black art, and more a martial art.

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Most people who are connected with marketing on the internet know that the searches on the right of the screen have been placed there as advertisements I have found that not so many realise that the top few entries on the left hand side (often in a shaded background) are also ads.So far so good. Searching to find relevant information on the web is what has given Google mastery over the internet and contributed to their 20 billion revenue in us dollars. Google has gained their position by delivering better more relevant results faster.

Back in the old days before the internet, advertising focussed on interruption. You would be reading a newspaper or magazine, and see an advertisement, and be encouraged to get in contact- effectively interrupting what you were doing before. Or you would be watching television, and as you dash out to put the kettle on when the ads appeared you could be interrupted from the tea-making. You watched the sports car racing through beautiful countryside, wanted to have the same experience yourself, and find yourself wanting to buy that very car. (That’s the theory, and it was very effective).

Google offers both types of advertising. The search type through the search network, and the interruption type through the content network. However, there is in fact minimal interruption as the content network only offers ads relevant to the web page you are on. An ad for a sports car would only appear on webpages relevant to motoring, and not, for example, for skiing holidays or knitting patterns. However, the ad in the content network cannot be as finely tuned to the them of the webpage, as you have less control over where the ad will appear.

Google Adwords is about learning every aspect of the approach you have chosen, until you have achieved mastery. I would encourage you to keep your campaigns completely separate, as your headlines and ads will be crafted differently, and the viewer will be in a different frame of mind. Newcomers to Google Adwords often think that the more techniques they employ the better the results will be. In my experience that is not the case, and it is better to perfect one before moving on to the other.

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We’ve maintained the core functionality of these tools, but have added some new features that we hope will make them more useful for you. If you use English as your AdWords interface language you may have noticed that you already have access to these tools, and availability to all English advertisers as well as other languages will be rolling out over the next few weeks.

The updated Keyword Tool (beta)

This new version of the Keyword Tool combines the functionality of the Keyword Tool and the Search-based Keyword Tool. This means you’ll get keyword ideas based on keywords you enter, your website content, and user searches – all in one place. Also new is the ability to search by any combination of a keyword, website/URL, or category – instead of having to perform each of these searches separately. Additionally, you’ll be able to see all match types for a keyword at the same time to help you compare statistics for each match type. When you’ve got your final keyword list together, you can download a selected keyword, all keyword results in the table, or all keywords (for certain queries).

The updated Placement Tool (beta)

As with the updated Keyword Tool, you can now search for placements by any combination of keyword, website/URL, or category. For example, you can search for placements that are only on youtube.com that are also video placements and that are also in the automotive category. Under Advanced Options, you can also further filter placements by Country or Language, Impressions Per Day, Included Ad Sizes

[Original article on Google Adwords Blog]

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