SMB Newbie Hangouts on Air: How to structure your account to optimize for website lead generation

Editor's note: This is our first post in a series on SMB Newbie Hangouts on Air, where experts on the AdWords support team are hosting short Hangouts on Air to walk SMBs through AdWords-related topics. Here on the Google and Your Business Blog, we'll be providing a wrap-up of the Hangouts. This particular post is cross-published from the AdWords Google+ page. To learn more and see the schedule for upcoming Hangouts, check out the AdWords blog.

AdWords Specialists Will Lindemann, Sarah Green, and Divya Vishwanath hosted a Hangout on Air yesterday as the first installment of the SMB Newbie Hangouts on Air series.

We shared some awesome optimization tips for lead generation sites — how to format your website, how to use features like conversion tracking and remarketing, and how to write effective ads. If you missed it — don’t worry! — you can watch the full 30-minute Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel.

Earlier in the week and during the Hangout, we collected your questions. Here are a few things we addressed:

Can you match conversion data to a specific customer?
In accordance with our privacy policies, you can’t exactly match conversion data to a specific customer, but you can drill down to figure out exactly which keyword, ad, ad group, and campaign yielded the conversion. That information is really powerful to use in modifying your ads/keywords and adjusting your bidding strategy.

What’s a good conversion rate?
Conversion rate is relative based on industry and business; there’s not a hard-and-fast benchmark for the metric. In determining a good conversion rate, consider whether or not you’re getting good ROI from your advertising endeavors. In addition to conversion rate, cost-per-conversion is also a useful column to enable on your reports in order to compare to profit on an average sale and determine whether or not your advertising is advancing your bottom line.

How do you import Google Analytics goals into AdWords? What if I only have the option to import a few goals and not all of them?
If you don’t have the option to import all your Analytics goals into AdWords, it’s usually because an AdWords click hasn’t resulted in that specific goal completion. Here are other requirements for importation that you’ll want to make sure you’ve completed.

In thinking about account structure, would you set negative keywords on the campaign or ad group level?
It depends. If there are keywords like “free” or “jobs” that you don’t want triggering ads in the whole campaign, then set the negative keyword at the campaign level. If there are keywords that you want triggering ads in one ad group but not another, set the negative keyword at the ad group level. You can also set up negative keyword lists and apply them to multiple campaigns (more info here).

Do you have any ideas for increasing the volume of impressions received?
Depending on your larger advertising aims, expanding your targeting to the Google Display Network or increasing the bids on your search keywords could increase the volume of impressions you receive. We’ll be talking about optimizing for brand awareness in our next Hangout on Air, so you should tune in for more ideas!

To learn more about how to get started with AdWords, visit our Help Center, check out the AdWords Community forum, or call us at 866-2-GOOGLE if you already have an AdWords account.

And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT, Thursday August 30, when we discuss how to optimize your account for brand awareness. Other Newbie topics in the pipeline include driving e-commerce sales, driving phone traffic, driving local traffic, and gaining video exposure. Stay tuned!

Posted by Courtney Pannell and Will Lindemann, SMB AdWords support team

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan