Setting
Up a Google AdWords Account Step-by-Step
Setting Up a Google AdWords Account Step-by-Step
Okay, take a deep breath. Settle into the chair in front of your
computer and get ready to go. Follow these steps exactly:
1. Navigate your browser to: https://adwords.google.com/select
and click on the 'Sign Up Now' area.
2. Select the appropriate language and geographical targeting –
'Regions and cities' if you are a local business, 'Global or nationwide'
if you serve all regions (we'll use this setting for our example).
Click the 'Save and Continue' button.
3. Next you choose your countries. If you are a North American
business, I highly recommend selecting 'United States' only. To
do this - go to the right hand box entitled 'Selected Countries'
and highlight 'All Countries' with your mouse. Then click the 'Remove'
button. The 'Selected Countries' box will now be empty. Go to the
left column and highlight 'United States' - then click the 'Add'
button. Click the 'Save and Continue' button.
4. Now you name your ad group and create your first online ad.
Don't worry - you can always go back and edit your ad at anytime.
Just have fun with it for now! To get started, think up a name that
you want to call your first group of ads. Type this name into the
box labeled: 'Name this Ad Group'.
Now go to section A: 'Create Ads' just below. You simply fill in
the boxes and Google does this cool 'automatic update' that shows
you what your ad will look like as you are filling in the boxes.
When you have an ad that you like - click the 'Save and Continue'
button.
5. Choose the keywords that will trigger your ad. If you sell 'Unix
Web Hosting' then start with that keyword. If you sell ASP.NET Hosting'
then start with that. Once you have typed in a search term, you
can always use the 'Keyword Suggestion Tool' link on the same page
to expand your list. Google will automatically suggest words that
may expand your traffic. Be sure to do a reality check against this
list - it's automated and some terms may not be appropriate for
your business. Once you have a list of keywords, click the 'Save
Keywords' button to continue.
6. Choose your maximum bid. I always set this to $.05 (five cents)
to start. This is Google's minimum bid amount. You can always change
it later if you need more traffic. Type in .05 and click the 'Calculate
Estimates' button. Ignore the resulting estimates - they are almost
always wrong. Simply click the 'Save and Continue' button. At this
step Google will ask if you want to create another ad group - simply
bypass this step by clicking the 'Continue to Step 3' button.
7. Now you specify you daily budget. I suggest being conservative
here as well. You can always increase this later. For now - figure
out how much you can spend each month for traffic and divide by
30. Put in an amount that is this number or even lower. I usually
start with $5 per day as a maximum. When you've decided, simply
click the 'Save and Continue' button.
8. Entering your contact information and password. This step requires
you to give Google a valid email address that you can check - in
order to send you to the final confirmation and billing step. Fill
in your email and pick a password that you can remember - preferably
one that has at least 1 numeral and is difficult to duplicate easily.
When you've filled in your information, click the 'I agree - Create
my AdWords account' button.
At this point you should see the following message: ''Thank you
for signing up with AdWords. Please check your email (you@youremail.com)
for a message from Google containing a link to our verification
program.'' Follow the link in that message to confirm that we have
your correct email address.
9. Check your email and finish setting up your account. Go to your
email and retrieve the Google email. Follow the link inside - this
will verify that your email is valid. Then simply login to your
AdWords account using the email address and password that you supplied
in the last step.
10. Once you log in you will see the following message: ''Note:
Your account hasn't been activated. Payment information is required
in order to run your ads. Please provide your payment information
on the Billing Preferences page in the "My Account" section.
Typically, your ads will begin running almost immediately after
you submit this information.'' Simply follow the 'Billing Preferences'
link and enter your credit card information. When complete click
the 'Save Changes' button.
11. Your AdWords account is now live! You will see traffic from
your ads coming to your site almost immediately if you have selected
popular keywords.
Then entire process described above can easily be completed in
less than 2 hours. I did it myself in less than an hour. Good luck
and remember if you ever have any problems with the account running
through too much cash - you can simply 'pause' the account giving
you time to reduce your bids, or delete keywords. While you won't
become an AdWords expert from this start up guide, you will begin
to see highly targeted web traffic come to your site in less than
one day!
If you follow the five steps outlined above, you'll be on your
way to a great new business venture!
About the Author Derek Vaughan has extensive
online marketing experience including marketing ecommerce at ESPN.com.
and NASCAR.com, and directing marketing for Affinity Internet and
Aplus.Net in the highly competitive web hosting arena. He is currently
a partner at Website Hosting Directory (www.websitehostdirectory.com)
and Cheap Web Hosting Directory (www.cheaphostingdirectory.com)
part of the TechPad Agency network of web hosting related sites.
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