Be your own Google AdWords consultant!
Split testing is essentially the science of making small changes and comparing the results – with a view to making improvements in performance. On the Internet the goal is usually to increase conversion – mostly sales but it could just as easily be to take a trial offer or sign-up for a newsletter.
The beauty of Google AdWords is that it has split testing capability virtually built in.
Before I go any further I should point out that it is against Google Terms of Service to reveal your click through rates, so the following examples are all hypothetical and do not relate to any actual results.
If you are running an ad campaign on Google it stands to reason you want the click. You have set the maximum you are prepared to pay per click and a daily budget. You have chosen your keywords and there is a landing page just waiting for visitors from your ad. Let’s assume your website is effective, it is well written, holds the readers attention and is converting your visitors.
Your AdWords ads however, aren’t getting the clicks. If you are bidding 10 cents on a keyword that has a top bid of $4.80 and you ad is being displayed at position 583 then there is nothing to improve as there is nothing to measure – people simply aren’t seeing your ad.
If however you are bidding 22 cents and your ad is being displayed between 1-3 and you are unhappy with the click through rate then there is a LOT you can do about it – you can split test.
More on writing AdWords…
Here’s a hypothetical example…
Let’s say we run an ad something like this:
How to Use Split Testing
Small changes / big difference
Easily double your conversion
www.bestsplittesting.com
In Google AdWords campaign summary under “Ad variations” we can very easily “clone” this ad by clicking “+ Create new ad: Text ad”
We can now change one element starting with the headline and create more ads like this:
Improve Online Conversion
Small changes / big difference
Easily double your conversion
www.bestsplittesting.com
Split Testing Exposed
Small changes / big difference
Easily double your conversion
www.bestsplittesting.com
We are only changing one element which makes it easy for us to compare the performance of each ad. You may also want to go to EDIT CAMPAIGN SETTINGS > ADVANCED SETTINGS and change the ad serving setting. By default Google sets it to “optimize” this means the “better” performing ads get more exposure over time. You will be deciding which are the best ads to run yourself once you have some data to make a decision on, so change it to “Rotate: show all ads equally”.
Let these ads run for a thousand impressions or so and you will have a good idea of their relative performance.
If you are short on ideas for new headlines click on your keywords tab and sort by CTR so the highest percentage is at the top. Try creating some new headlines using these top performing keywords. Another place to get ideas is to go to Google or Yahoo or MSN and type in some of the keywords you are bidding on and look at the ads that are displayed.
The difference in performance can be significant. Let’s say our three ads performed like this: 0.0%, 0.43% and 0.06%. We would take the second ad clone it several times and change the second line:
Improve Online Conversion
Free trail our software
Easily double your conversion
www.bestsplittesting.com
Improve Online Conversion
Blast sales to the next level
Easily double your conversion
www.bestsplittesting.com
Improve Online Conversion
Run your business like a pro
Easily double your conversion
www.bestsplittesting.com
We would now run these ads for another 1,000 impressions and check our results, then change the third line.
The beauty of split testing and refining your ads this way in Google means you can take your best performer and confidently distribute it on the smaller (cheaper!) ad networks for pennies.
P.S. When composing your ad remember the tried and tested A.I.D.A. principle:Attention > Interest > Desire > Action
Another approach is “Identify problem” > “Agitate problem” > “Offer solution”, this 1-2-3 approach can work well as the Google ad effectively exists on 3 lines.
To you increased click through!
Noel
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
How to increase Google AdSense revenue...
There are plenty of ways to legitimately make more money with AdSense. If you familiarise yourself with Google’s TOS before implementing anything you read here or anywhere else on the Internet you will be well covered.
If you intend to click your own ads or have someone else or a robot do it for you then time is against you – Google will eventually close your account and you will have lost perhaps the easiest and most powerful way to quickly monetise any site that attracts legitimate visitors.
Getting the most out of your AdSense ads has become something of a science in itself and there is a wealth of material available (paid and free). I will share with you one technique I have used to increase my ad revenue from AdSense in the region of 400% with the same amount of visitors.
Click here to learn how to make money with AdSense.
If you intend to click your own ads or have someone else or a robot do it for you then time is against you – Google will eventually close your account and you will have lost perhaps the easiest and most powerful way to quickly monetise any site that attracts legitimate visitors.
Getting the most out of your AdSense ads has become something of a science in itself and there is a wealth of material available (paid and free). I will share with you one technique I have used to increase my ad revenue from AdSense in the region of 400% with the same amount of visitors.
Click here to learn how to make money with AdSense.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Strengths, interests and niches ...
None of these on their own will bring you’re online business long-term success – you actually need all of them – regardless of what the niche bashers and opportunist haters say.
Let’s take a look...
Strengths – what are YOUR strengths?
Often overlooked and taken for granted, your strengths are your natural abilities and the skills you have developed over time. Qualities you bring to bear on situations where you clearly demonstrate an advantage over others, with what seems like little effort.
Interests – what are you interested in?
It’s as simple as that. What interests you, fascinates you, can hold your attention easily for an hour or more and doesn’t leave you feeling tired. What is it you find so interesting that when you start talking about it other people fall asleep? These are things that interest you, they may not interest everyone but other people with a similar interest will be equally fascinated.
Niches – small specialized groups of people or markets that may, or may not, be catered for.
First of all, the problems…
Strengths
Have you ever known someone that really was outstanding in one area but never seemed to apply themselves? We all know or have known someone like this – it may even have been ourselves at some point. The thing is it just doesn’t matter how good you are at something, if you have no real interest or any real desire or motivation it won’t take you anywhere.
Interests
What interests you may not interest someone else, in fact anyone else. Your level of interest and enthusiasm for your subject will make little difference.
Niche
By their very nature niches come and go. What was once a small interest group can become mainstream, what was once an underserved market may eventually be catered for.
How they work together...
Let’s take a look...
Strengths – what are YOUR strengths?
Often overlooked and taken for granted, your strengths are your natural abilities and the skills you have developed over time. Qualities you bring to bear on situations where you clearly demonstrate an advantage over others, with what seems like little effort.
Interests – what are you interested in?
It’s as simple as that. What interests you, fascinates you, can hold your attention easily for an hour or more and doesn’t leave you feeling tired. What is it you find so interesting that when you start talking about it other people fall asleep? These are things that interest you, they may not interest everyone but other people with a similar interest will be equally fascinated.
Niches – small specialized groups of people or markets that may, or may not, be catered for.
First of all, the problems…
Strengths
Have you ever known someone that really was outstanding in one area but never seemed to apply themselves? We all know or have known someone like this – it may even have been ourselves at some point. The thing is it just doesn’t matter how good you are at something, if you have no real interest or any real desire or motivation it won’t take you anywhere.
Interests
What interests you may not interest someone else, in fact anyone else. Your level of interest and enthusiasm for your subject will make little difference.
Niche
By their very nature niches come and go. What was once a small interest group can become mainstream, what was once an underserved market may eventually be catered for.
How they work together...
Strength is not something you exert continuously (you would become exhausted), you do it from time to time. When you employ your strength against people that are less strong – you win. The spaces in between these moments of you winning are your interest. Something that interests you has you running while your competitor is walking. The niches that COME and go (my emphasis on COME) are the opportunities that you can leverage your strength and interest against to accelerate the growth of your business from time to time.
This is what I mean...
Sunday, July 16, 2006
How to list your web site on Google
So you still want to get your website listed?
I was explaining this to a friend of mine a few weeks ago (as well as the logic behind it) and he asked me almost in amazement “how do you know this?...” My answer was something like “erm… I don’t remember, I just know, I read it somewhere”. An answer from someone who has clearly spent too much time online.
If all your sites are indexed by Google and you know everything about everything then you won’t be reading this, if on the other hand you would like to see your domain appear in the Google search results instead of:
“Your search - www.yourdomain.com - did not match any documents”
… then read on, this technique should get you listed in Yahoo! and MSN as well.
So to get listed in the search engines you will need to do the following:
I was explaining this to a friend of mine a few weeks ago (as well as the logic behind it) and he asked me almost in amazement “how do you know this?...” My answer was something like “erm… I don’t remember, I just know, I read it somewhere”. An answer from someone who has clearly spent too much time online.
If all your sites are indexed by Google and you know everything about everything then you won’t be reading this, if on the other hand you would like to see your domain appear in the Google search results instead of:
“Your search - www.yourdomain.com - did not match any documents”
… then read on, this technique should get you listed in Yahoo! and MSN as well.
So to get listed in the search engines you will need to do the following:
- Create a blog at blogger.com
- Write an article with a text link to the site you want listed (and post the article on your blog)
- If you don’t have them already then create an email account at Yahoo!, Hotmail and create an account at Google
- Copy the xml link in Blogger and add it to your Yahoo email, hotmail and Goggle Reader
- Ping your blog at pingomatic.com
Wait for search engine spiders (about 2 weeks or less)
A quick explanation
Search engines like fresh content to serve to their visitors, blogs are often updated frequently and do not normally have a business focus like say a .com
So rather than submit your .com domain to the search engines you can “let” the search engines find you.
When a search engine indexes a website (or a blog) it will usually follow through to the links – i.e. your site.
Google owns Blogger, it stands to reason that Google indexes the content from all the blogs at Blogger.com (Blogger has it’s own search engine – this engine wouldn’t work if the blogs hadn’t been indexed;o)
Yahoo will index the news feeds you will put in your “My Yahoo!” likewise MSN will index the link you put in your hotmail account, same with Google Reader.
When you create a new post in your blog and alert the blog indexing services using pingomatic – Yahoo!, MSN, Google will all see that a news feed has been updated and will come along to read it (in my own experience) much sooner than they would have come to look at the website if you had submitted it directly).
Click here for a step-by-step guide (with screen shots) on how to list your web site on Google.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Financial leverage a definition…
Following my previous post about leverage I thought it might be interesting for some people to have a concise definition. This is from the Oxford Dictionary of Business...
Financial leverage See gearing.
Gearing (capital gearing; equity gearing; financial gearing; leverage) The ratio of the long-term funds with a fixed interest charge, such as *debentures and *preference shares, making up a company’s capital to its *ordinary share capital. A company is said to be high geared when its fixed interest capital is dominant and low geared when its capital is predominantly in ordinary shares, especially in relation to other similar companies. A high-geared company is considered to be a speculative investment for the ordinary shareholder and will be expected to show good returns when the company is doing well. The US word leverage is increasingly used in the UK.
Gearing adjustment In *current cost accounting, an adjustment that reduces the charge to the owners for the effect of price changes on *depreciation, *stock, and *working capital. It is justified on the grounds that a proportion of the extra financing is supplied by the *loan capital of the business.
Gearing ratios (leverage ratios) Ratios that express a company’s capital *gearing. There are a number of different ratios that can be calculated from either the *balance sheet or the *profit and loss account. Ratios based on the balance sheet usually express *debt as a percentage of *equity, or as a percentage of debt plus equity. Income gearing is normally calculated by dividing the *profit before interest and tax by the gross interest payable to give the *interest cover.
Leverage 1. The US word for *gearing. 2. The use by a company of its limited assets to guarantee substantial loans to finance its business.
Leveraged buy-out (LBO) The acquisition of one company by another through the use of borrowed funds. Usually the acquiring company or individuals use their own assets as security for the funds. The intention is that the loans will be repaid from the cash flow of the acquired company.
…and these are from the Collins Concise Dictionary…
Lever 1 a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum, used to transfer a force to a load and usually to provide a mechanical advantage. 2 any of a number of mechanical devices employing this principle. 3 a means of exerting pressure in order to accomplish something. 4 to prise or move (an object) with a lever
Leverage 1 the action of a lever. 2 the mechanical advantage gained by employing a lever. 3 strategic advantage. 4 power or influence 5 the US word for gearing (sense 3). 6 the use made by a company of its limited assets to guarantee the substantial loans required to finance its business.
Financial leverage See gearing.
Gearing (capital gearing; equity gearing; financial gearing; leverage) The ratio of the long-term funds with a fixed interest charge, such as *debentures and *preference shares, making up a company’s capital to its *ordinary share capital. A company is said to be high geared when its fixed interest capital is dominant and low geared when its capital is predominantly in ordinary shares, especially in relation to other similar companies. A high-geared company is considered to be a speculative investment for the ordinary shareholder and will be expected to show good returns when the company is doing well. The US word leverage is increasingly used in the UK.
Gearing adjustment In *current cost accounting, an adjustment that reduces the charge to the owners for the effect of price changes on *depreciation, *stock, and *working capital. It is justified on the grounds that a proportion of the extra financing is supplied by the *loan capital of the business.
Gearing ratios (leverage ratios) Ratios that express a company’s capital *gearing. There are a number of different ratios that can be calculated from either the *balance sheet or the *profit and loss account. Ratios based on the balance sheet usually express *debt as a percentage of *equity, or as a percentage of debt plus equity. Income gearing is normally calculated by dividing the *profit before interest and tax by the gross interest payable to give the *interest cover.
Leverage 1. The US word for *gearing. 2. The use by a company of its limited assets to guarantee substantial loans to finance its business.
Leveraged buy-out (LBO) The acquisition of one company by another through the use of borrowed funds. Usually the acquiring company or individuals use their own assets as security for the funds. The intention is that the loans will be repaid from the cash flow of the acquired company.
…and these are from the Collins Concise Dictionary…
Lever 1 a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum, used to transfer a force to a load and usually to provide a mechanical advantage. 2 any of a number of mechanical devices employing this principle. 3 a means of exerting pressure in order to accomplish something. 4 to prise or move (an object) with a lever
Leverage 1 the action of a lever. 2 the mechanical advantage gained by employing a lever. 3 strategic advantage. 4 power or influence 5 the US word for gearing (sense 3). 6 the use made by a company of its limited assets to guarantee the substantial loans required to finance its business.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Gustavo’s homemade leverage machine… (means no excuses for you!)
Today I was just a street away from home when I saw this guy, or maybe “the” guy that delivers those free leaflets through your door, you know the guy I’m talking about (you’ve probably seen him in your area;O)
Recently I’ve been calling up newspapers and magazines to get prices for an insert (just yesterday in fact) so I thought I’d ask the guy how much it costs to deliver door to door. He shows me a small business card: these are £35.- per thousand and a larger sized printed flyer: these are £45.- per thousand.
I get talking to the guy and it turns out he has three main clients – all estate agents – and he delivers to fairly well to do areas in London; namely: Ealing, Golders Green, Finchley Central, also Cricklewood and Hendon (maybe not so well to do).
The guy tells me he has been in London for three years and has not taken a single day off… you know what? I believe him.
So where is the leverage?
When I met him he was delivering a flyer for an estate agent AND a business card. The business card was a taxi service. He is leveraging his real estate flyer route to deliver the taxi business cards.
The taxi business cards cost him nothing extra to deliver, he was going that way anyhow, and get this, at an extra £35.- he has nearly doubled his earnings. With another one or two mail pieces he could easily triple or quadruple his earnings – he is really only limited by the amount of stuff he can carry in his rucksack.
Now I’m not saying this is an easy number by any stretch – it’s going to take the best part of a long days hard labour to deliver a 1,000 of these things but with a little friendly solicitation to businesses, shops and restaurants along his route he will easily pick up more customers.
The guy has a choice:
a) Work his backside off and barley scratch out a living in London of £35.- a day
b) Work his backside off and earn a very respectable £900.- a week leveraging the work he was doing in the first place
You also have a choice… What will it be?
Recently I’ve been calling up newspapers and magazines to get prices for an insert (just yesterday in fact) so I thought I’d ask the guy how much it costs to deliver door to door. He shows me a small business card: these are £35.- per thousand and a larger sized printed flyer: these are £45.- per thousand.
I get talking to the guy and it turns out he has three main clients – all estate agents – and he delivers to fairly well to do areas in London; namely: Ealing, Golders Green, Finchley Central, also Cricklewood and Hendon (maybe not so well to do).
The guy tells me he has been in London for three years and has not taken a single day off… you know what? I believe him.
So where is the leverage?
When I met him he was delivering a flyer for an estate agent AND a business card. The business card was a taxi service. He is leveraging his real estate flyer route to deliver the taxi business cards.
The taxi business cards cost him nothing extra to deliver, he was going that way anyhow, and get this, at an extra £35.- he has nearly doubled his earnings. With another one or two mail pieces he could easily triple or quadruple his earnings – he is really only limited by the amount of stuff he can carry in his rucksack.
Now I’m not saying this is an easy number by any stretch – it’s going to take the best part of a long days hard labour to deliver a 1,000 of these things but with a little friendly solicitation to businesses, shops and restaurants along his route he will easily pick up more customers.
The guy has a choice:
a) Work his backside off and barley scratch out a living in London of £35.- a day
b) Work his backside off and earn a very respectable £900.- a week leveraging the work he was doing in the first place
You also have a choice… What will it be?
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