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Don’t Leave Your Pocketbook Open for Google

I have to say that even though I have seen some businesses be hugely successful using Google AdWords, I have also seen some who have not. Based on this, I strongly advocate not leaving your pocketbook open to Google as they will try to spend every cent you allocate for clicks.

These are my tips for business owners:

1. If you are new to AdWords set aside a budget of $500 to $800 for clicks for a 30 day period for a testing time frame of at least three months.

2. Don’t start on AdWords until you have conversion tracking in place to measure leads generated by AdWords.

3. If you do not have a website analytics program installed, install free Google Analytics at least two weeks prior to hiring your account manager. Help them do a better job by identifying what is happening on your website in regards to traffic and keywords.

4. Use a professional account manager for your AdWords keyword research, ad text creation, and account management. The input that a professional manager can give you will help you to better understand how to market your business more effectively based on click activity and trends that they see happening from the activity in your account.

5. Don’t give up after just 30 days of traffic. Plan on really giving it a go for three months. Then if you do not see results from an increased number of leads, close your pocketbook and move out of Google AdWords and try another marketing approach. You may want to consider organic optimization, email marketing, blog advertising, or even print media advertising depending on your product or service.

It simply makes good business sense to feed with your cash investment things that provide a return for your business. Do not fall in the trap of paying Google for clicks on AdWords if the activity is not providing results, but be realistic about the results you can expect from your AdWords program as well.

AdWords can really work for you, I’ve made it happen for clients, but for some, AdWords is simply not the most practical approach. You will however not know if AdWords is for you unless you really make an honest try.

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Google Friend Connect New Easy Interaction for Your Website

I am not a programmer and simply do not aspire to be one. I consider my expertise to be in other areas, but that does not mean that I do not want to add cool new interactive features to my website that typically require a strong knowledge of web programming. This is why I am so interested in checking out Google’s new Friend Connect.

Created just for people like me, Friend Connect lets Google do the heavy lifting for you. You can now install into your source code cool little mini applications that allow for users to become members on your website, add comments about a page or your website, and to rate your content. It is the beginning of a very neat interactive component that I am sure many will actively embrace. More applications and sharing tools are sure to be created as Friend Connect allows people to add programming-like elements into their static website without programming or database integration.

Friend Connect allows users with a Google account (which Google early on nearly forced on everyone who advertised in AdWords and when Gmail was initially introduced, so many users already have one), Yahoo accounts, and even AIM accounts. You can visit our website today to check out what we’ve done with Friend Connect integration. Just visit our resources section and click any top tip link to see just a bit of how we are using Friend Connect.

Although every page in our website is not using Friend Connect, we see it as a content interaction tool and so on some of our content pages which are really focused on teaching or sharing we want to help others to share our information and leave comments.

Friend Connect is easy to install for users who understand HTML, but not for the person who does not update their own website. You can find out more about Google’s new Friend Connect by visiting the official Friend Connect website.

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Google’s New Friend Connect

Finally I have finished integrating Google’s new Friend Connect into my website content pages. If you don’t know what Friend Connect is, it is a new programmer-free social interface that allows any website to use hi-tech programming features to allow site visitors to interact with the content. The key is that with Friend Connect you do not need to have any programming skills.

I have used the page review rating and comment module in many pages of my website. You can visit our instruction section to click through the various pages to see how it looks and how it works. Click into a few pages and you can see how the modules act and work on the page. Leave a comment, mouse over the stars and leave a rating and you can do so anonymously.

Personally I found the application after a few dry runs, extremely easy to work with and simple to install. There are several modules you may want to consider for your use. You can install a comment module that even allows video upload, a website rating module, a page comment and rating module, and a friend network module. For my needs, I am only using the page rating.

One thing that I have found is that it is best to only have one comment or rating module on a page otherwise the application gets confused.

It is easy to style the modules anyway you want from inside Friend Connect and then style the <div> that contains the content back in your source code. Implementation of Friend Connect is still best for webmasters or people who know their way around source code.

I consider the application a new exciting way to interact with website visitors. Take a look and tell me what you think by clicking comments below.

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One of only 236 Google AdWords Qualified Professional in the World

Nancy McCord is a Google AdWords Qualified IndividualI have been a Google AdWords Qualified Professional for nearly four years which is just about as long as Google has had the program for professional AdWords managers. Recently I found out that I am one of only 236 AdWords Qualified Professionals in the world. Wow, actually I thought there were more, but according to the www.Google-Advertising-Professionals.net that’s all there are.

You can check out their directory and find a professional who can speak and write in your own language. If you’re based in the United States, call me first at 301-705-7303, to receive first class service. In fact I just set up an account this past week for www.LeadBoosterClub.com and here’s the unsolicited comment that Kathy Goughenour sent to me after we had set up her account and helped her fix her website in preparation for her new AdWords campaign.

You need to rename your Google AdWords Quick Start Plus program to Faster-Than-a-Speeding-Bullet program.  Nancy started work on my Google AdWords program Thursday morning and by Friday evening she’d set up my Google account, written 4 landing pages, rewritten my home page, generated what seemed like thousands of keywords, researched my competition, written 12 (it could have been more, I lost count) brilliant Google ads.  Saturday morning she put the Google AdWords campaign into action.  Whew!  I was worn out watching her work.  I forgot to mention that she’d never heard of my business before.  She grasped my business concept, understood my target audience, and made me feel that anything was possible.  Thank you, Nancy McCord, for making me believe in miracles, again.  I believe.

Kathy Goughenour President – www.LeadBoosterClub.com

Thanks Kathy for your kind words. Google AdWords services are one of our core businesses. I love working with Google AdWords. I consider each client’s needs like a big puzzle – how best can I create a program to get results, not just clicks, but real leads.

So if you’re looking for one of only 236 Google AdWords Qualified Professionals to help you, and a passionate one focused on your success, look no further.  For more information we invite you to review our AdWords set up and management program.