Google AdWords is both the best and worst thing that happened to Internet advertising. It’s a system that makes it possible, for the first time in the history of the world, to deposit five bucks, write a couple of ads, and instantly get access to over 100 million people—in less than 10 minutes. In fact
it may be the first and best thing to do to get traffic to your site.

On the one hand, with only $5 and 10 minutes, you can start buying traffic for your website. On the other hand, with only $5 and 10 minutes, you can start buying traffic for your website. I’ve heard enough stories of someone naively setting up an AdWords account, letting it run, and discovering at the end of the month thousands of dollars charged to his credit card.

AdWords has nuances. And most people have a rough time at first. I know I did. I didn’t lose my shirt like some people have. But I also couldn’t get anywhere with it. And this was back in the day. Now, practically every AdWords niche is so competitive, you can pay 5 or 10 dollars for a single click. And if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll run out of money pretty fast. And have nothing to show for it.

But AdWords can also be one of the most powerful tools in your website arsenal. In particular, AdWords can be a goldmine of inexpensive and near-instantaneous marketing information. Here are just some of the things AdWords can reveal to you about most markets.

1. What are your customers looking for? Your AdWords ads are triggered from search phrases that users enter into the search engine. They type into the search engine what they’re looking for, in their own words. By examining what words triggered, you know what people are looking for and how they describe it. Examine your web access logs to find out even more specifically what phrases users are using to get to your website. Combine these with conversion tracking to see what members of your mailing list originally had typed into a search engine in order to find your web site.
2. What words and phrases resonate with them? AdWords ads are tiny, only 4 lines long. Every word counts. That’s a blessing, not a curse. Because it means you can try different wordings, have AdWords test them for you, and see which one gets more clicks. Are you wondering what you should name your new company? Or what the title of your new book should be? With a little up-front investment, you can quickly do a real market test to answer these questions. And you can have those clicks go to a page on your website where you ask for their email addresses and offer to send them an email when you have more information on the project. It’s even easier to extend these tactics to an already profitable business.
3. How many people are in your target market, and how interested are they in what you have to sell? You direct your AdWords ad to a page that offers visitors an entry-level product. It doesn’t even have to be your own product. It could be something you’re reselling. Or it could even be an affiliate product. Or you ask visitors to sign up for a free email list, or to request a free report or guide. Or you could ask them to fill out a survey. And you see how many people buy the product, or opt-in to receive your emails or your free paper, or fill out the survey. This gives you an idea of how hot the market is for the product or service. And the AdWords investment will also tell you how much you need to invest to get their attention.
4. Where are they physically located? To get this information, you look at visitors’ IP addresses. Most web analyzers can tell you what countries visitors are from. And Google Analytics can tell you a lot about how visitors from different cities or countries respond differently to your content. Given raw access logs, a clever webmaster can give you even more detailed stats. Combine this with an opt-in form, and find out where your mailing list comes from. Autoresponders like AWeber can report subscribers by geographical location. If you haven’t run that report on your opt-in list, you should. You may be surprised at the results.

These are the kinds of secrets Perry Marshall reveals in his free 5-day AdWords email course and his Definitive Guide to Google AdWords. Of course, he goes into much more depth. He tells you how not to get ripped off by AdWords. He explains how to pay only for the clicks you want. And he divulges some of the most powerful features of AdWords, including how to reduce your cost per click, even while getting more clicks.

Check out Perry Marshall’s 5 Days to Success with Google AdWords free 5-day email course.

-TimK

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