This week’s “Ask the Mompreneur” features an interview with Richard Alfonsi, Google’s VP of Global Display Sales and Strategy.
Ask the Mompreneur:
How can small business owners use Google AdWords as a tool to develop a keyword strategy for their company websites?
Richard Alfonsi:
When people search, they enter what’s called a keyword phrase. If you’re looking for great apple pies in Charlotte, then you would search using the keyword “apple pie.” This change presents a huge opportunity for businesses large and small. Online advertising can help you reach new customers as they’re searching for products and services like yours. Here are a few quick and easy things that businesses can do to build keyword campaigns that effectively target the right customers.
Think like a customer
Selecting the right keywords in Google AdWords can help you reach the people that are most interested in your products, and most likely to become your customers. Here’s how it works: Choose keywords that are relevant to your product, and then AdWords will show your ad when people search for those keywords or related words on Google. When picking keywords, brainstorm all the words that a customer might think to use when searching for your products. Don’t forget relevant keyword variations, like common misspellings or singular and plural versions.
Need some suggestions?
The AdWords Keyword Tool can show you how popular your keywords are, and help you discover other relevant keywords that you didn’t think of.
Measure, measure, measure
It’s important to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns so you can optimize and tweak your keyword lists. Google Analytics is a free tool that shows you at an anonymous, aggregate level how people found your site, what they’re clicking on within your site, and what ultimately drives them to become a customer. This helps you see what’s working and what isn’t, so you can make the most of every advertising dollar.
Have more questions about AdWords? Learn more at the North Carolina Get Your Business Online event in Charlotte on February 24th. To register for the event, please visit www.NorthCarolinaGetOnline.com.
To get your business featured in this column, please email your entrepreneurship, parenting, or work life balance questions or guest blog suggestions to Charlotte executive coach Dr. Jennie Wong, founder of Limelight Executive Coaching.
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