Gone are the days were “buzz” and “hype” were unquantifiable and impossible to tie back to ROI.
You can use the following simple five-step plan to create a brand awareness campaign on the Google Display Network.
1. Identify your goal(s)
Identifying your goals is always a good starting point.
- Are you looking to increase the brand loyalty of your existing customers?
- Are you hoping to have more of your target audience engage with your brand?
- Are you trying to create more positive affiliation with your products?
- Is it all the above?
Whatever your goals are, always start by identifying them as clearly and specifically as you possibly can. From that point on, every action you take, every ad you write, and every penny you spend should aim toward achieving your predefined goal(s).
2. Define your Metrics
Next, you’ll want to define the main metrics to focus on for your brand awareness campaign. Generally, those are:
- Impressions: How many searchers actually saw your ad.
- Reach: The number of searchers exposed to the ad
- Frequency: The number of times they saw the ad.
- Interactions: What searchers did with the ad, including things like clicks or conversions.
3. Find Your Target Audience
Placement targeting on the Google Display Network can be very powerful, allowing you to reach your target audience all across the web. Tools like AdWords Placement or the Google Ad Planner allow you to expand your reach to sites where you’re most likely to reach your target audience based on topics of interest, as well as demographic segmentation.
4. Get Creative With Your Creative
Goodbye boring text ads, hello rich media. One of my favorite things about rich media ads is experimenting and testing which format works best with which message. Whether you choose to use text, images, animation, or video, you’ve got endless creative ways to capture your target’s attention and engage them with the content of your ad.
5. Budget for Success
Last but not least comes the money. Generally speaking, it’s best to stick with CPM bidding if your goal is maximum exposure. If, however, your “interaction” goal is to drive searchers to your site, you should be using CPC bidding instead. If you’re unsure what to set as CPM max, start at what you would pay if you were using CPC and start gradually increasing it.
Remember, your CPM can either be set at the ad group or placement level. Start at the ad group level, then as you get to know which sites are performing better for you, you can increase your placement bid there.
Summary
So there you have it. A simple five-step plan to increase brand awareness using AdWords.
Have you had much success with that strategy in display versus search? Are there any other channels you find more effective in building or increasing brand awareness? Share your thoughts and comments below.