Posts Tagged ‘google adwords’

There’s been a lot of buzz recently about the value in using Facebook ads instead of Google Adwords for your PPC ad needs. This is something that many people discovered over two years ago when Facebook first launched their ‘social ads’ in November of 2007 and progressed it on into the site ads that they have today.

The truth is that Facebook ads cost about half of what Adwords do. You can also get a more targeted ad from Facebook, by selecting age groups and locations to advertise to, in addition to any key words that you designate. So the question becomes: “How do I use Facebook ads to promote my site”?

The first thing is to identify who your target market is. If you are promoting a product that cures acne, you will not be wanting the middle-aged market but would set your sites on teenagers.

The next thing will be to ensure that you have good ad copy. You can get all of the demographics right for your audience, but if your ad copy sucks… No one will click on it!

If you want your ad to really pay off, be sure that when the ad is clicked that the product your pitching has a good sales page. There’s no sense in taking the time to write a good PPC ad and target it to the right audience if the sales page isn’t going to hook them when they get there. A good sales page will have be one that gives the prospect multiple reasons as to why they need that item and then follow it up with a price and copy that makes it seem to be a real value to the prospect.

If you are using the ads to drive traffic to your own site, the same rules apply as above. Good demographics, good ad copy and a top converting sales page or content. If its your own site or product, you have more flexibility than you do when promoting someone elses. If something isn’t working on your sales page, you can always rework your pitch, whereas with someone elses product, you have no control over their sales page.

One other point to consider is what you have to pay for your ad. The more highly targeted your ad, the more you will probably have to pay for clicks on it. Like Google Adwords, Facebook uses a bidding process to determine what you pay per click. The more popular the keyword and the most popular demographic groups are going to have more bidders for them and the cost will be higher.

Its best to start small and do a test ad to see how well it converts, before sinking a ton of money into an ad campaign. The same goes with Adwords or any other network that you may try. Test first and if it converts well enough to make you money, then expand the campaing and put more money to it.

The same ad copy that works on Adwords may not work on Facebook, so if you’re thinking of dropping all of your Adword campaigns and transferring them to Facebook, then do it carefully. If you’re making money with the Adwords campaign, transition it slowly to see if its going to make you more money. Chances are it should, but nothing is guaranteed. Always test first.