I Need Help Setting Up My 1st Adwords Campaign -Please

[stephen620924]

Hi Warriors,

I run a small (new) website design business in South Africa. I charge really low design fees (from as little as $200 for a basic site up to $699 for an e-commerce site)

I want to start a Google Adwords campaign (my very 1st) However, I'm dead scared of wasting money on a failed campaigns (I don't have much money anyway so i need to make the very most of limited resources here )

I've just finished reading Perry Marshall's "Definitive Adwords Guide" but honestly this book just confused the crap out of me (it's a great piece of work just way over my head- it seems)

Look I know very well that the web design field/niche is highly competitive but there's massive scope for cheap web design in South Africa (and of course my main aim is to eventually "up-sell" my clients on services like sem, seo ppc and social media etc, once i've built them a cheap site)

Can I ask some of my fellow warriors for some expert guidance to get my adwords campaign started please?

Thanks (in advance)
stephen strydom
PS. I think I still have an adwords voucher from hostgator which I can use

[Prady N]

Originally Posted by stephen620924

Hi Warriors,

I run a small (new) website design business in South Africa. I charge really low design fees (from as little as $200 for a basic site up to $699 for an e-commerce site)

I want to start a Google Adwords campaign (my very 1st) However, I'm dead scared of wasting money on a failed campaigns (I don't have much money anyway so i need to make the very most of limited resources here )

I've just finished reading Perry Marshall's "Definitive Adwords Guide" but honestly this book just confused the crap out of me (it's a great piece of work just way over my head- it seems)

Look I know very well that the web design field/niche is highly competitive but there's massive scope for cheap web design in South Africa (and of course my main aim is to eventually "up-sell" my clients on services like sem, seo ppc and social media etc, once i've built them a cheap site)

Can I ask some of my fellow warriors for some expert guidance to get my adwords campaign started please?

Thanks (in advance)
stephen strydom
PS. I think I still have an adwords voucher from hostgator which I can use

As you have already read perry marshal's guide you must have basic idea of adwords.
I will suggest you to
1) start with very small, targeted list of keywords may be 20-30 keywords with exact match only(as this is competitive niche & has thousands of searches with broad match you will spend your budget in minutes). Create tight adgrouping with 8 -10 keywords & write your ads accrdingly.
2)choose keywords which are long tailed but have reasonable search volume in google keyword tool eg. ecommerce website designer
3) start with small budget. may be $5-10 per day.
4) Put google analytics & conversion code on your webpages & track your campaign. (Don't start your campaign without this step)
5) Workout your life time customer value. Set your cost per lead goal & spend your money accordingly.
6) Your site must have good content. Don't start campaign with one page sales letter as you may get banned within no time
I hope this info will help you.. best of luck

[Defunct]

Originally Posted by stephen620924

Hi Warriors,

I run a small (new) website design business in South Africa. I charge really low design fees (from as little as $200 for a basic site up to $699 for an e-commerce site)

I want to start a Google Adwords campaign (my very 1st) However, I'm dead scared of wasting money on a failed campaigns (I don't have much money anyway so i need to make the very most of limited resources here )

I've just finished reading Perry Marshall's "Definitive Adwords Guide" but honestly this book just confused the crap out of me (it's a great piece of work just way over my head- it seems)

Look I know very well that the web design field/niche is highly competitive but there's massive scope for cheap web design in South Africa (and of course my main aim is to eventually "up-sell" my clients on services like sem, seo ppc and social media etc, once i've built them a cheap site)

Can I ask some of my fellow warriors for some expert guidance to get my adwords campaign started please?

Thanks (in advance)
stephen strydom
PS. I think I still have an adwords voucher from hostgator which I can use

What exactly were you confused about?

You pick keywords, tightly theme them in ad groups, set bid prices and write your ad copy according to the keywords.

That's Perrys method and it still works well.

The Adwords voucher from Hostgator won't work in SA.

Just start small and you can fix it up as you go along, in South Africa you need to use broad, phrase and exact match.

Message me privately if you are really stuck, I can assist you.

[stephen620924]

Hi & thanks for the reply!

could I ask you to explain why you say "..in South Africa you need to use broad, phrase and exact match" won't broad matches lead to big expense for me?
Also would Facebook ads not perhaps be a better idea?
Thanks
stephen strydom

[stephen620924]

Hi!
Thanks a lot for the info I really appreciate your help!
What do you think about using Facebook ads instead of google adwords?
Regards
stephen

[wolfmmiii]

Originally Posted by stephen620924

Hi & thanks for the reply!

won't broad matches lead to big expense for me?
Also would Facebook ads not perhaps be a better idea?
Thanks
stephen strydom

Yes, broad match can get expensive. I'm not sold on Facebook yet. I know some swear by it but folks who are on Facebook are typically not in buying mode. That being said, I do think Facebook can be a cheap way to build brand awareness.

[Defunct]

Originally Posted by stephen620924

Hi & thanks for the reply!

could I ask you to explain why you say "..in South Africa you need to use broad, phrase and exact match" won't broad matches lead to big expense for me?
Also would Facebook ads not perhaps be a better idea?
Thanks
stephen strydom

Hi Stephen,

Because I've done Adwords in ZA for the last 6 years.

Broad match isn't more expensive and is needed here as most of your traffic is going to be on long tail keywords that get 10 searches a month.

Facebook ads can be more expensive than AdWords as it is just a glorified content network, where as if you are clever with Adwords on the search network you can break down your account much better and track it better too.

If you structure your account as suggested in the Perry Marshall guide it works well, keep the broad match or at least modified broad match.

There isn't enough traffic on exact match alone in smaller countries, you really need phrase and broad match to get full benefits.

[Mohit Anand]

Hi Stephen,

Did you run the Adwords campaign? If yes, how was the response?