MSN adwords (step by step)

How to set up an MSN Adcenter account

By Manny srikanth

Get started with MSN’s new sponsored search engine Adcenter; a step-by-step guide.

MSN’s adCenter is the new guy on the block when it comes to pay per click campaigns. Like the other sites, when you sign up for an account with them, you only pay for your ads when a potential customer clicks on them. You set your own price per click and target your ads to the customers you want to reach. There are tools that will let you get keyword suggestions, information about the people who view your ad and detailed reports about your ads performance.

Working with MSN adCenter will prove successful just as Google’s AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing, so it makes sense that you’ll want to get on board. Here’s how you do it.

1. Direct your web browser to http://www.adcenter.microsoft.com/signup.aspx and enter your customer and billing information. Note: In order for your application for an MSN adCenter account to be processed you will be charged a one time, non-refundable $5.00 fee.

2. Login and create your first campaign. You will login with the username and password that you created when you signed up.

At this point, you’ll enter the name of your campaign – so that you can keep track of each PPC campaign that you run. You’ll also enter the start date and end date (if you have one) for the campaign, as well as determine how your PPC campaign will be targeted. You can choose to allow your ads to be visible to anyone who searches for your keywords or you can limit the visibility to people in countries that you select. If you want your campaign to reach an even more targeted audience, you can narrow it down to people within specific cities within a country. Not only that, but you can select which days of the week your campaigns will run – and if it’s not enough for you to have viewers only see your ad on Fridays, you can limit your campaign from 2:00 – 5:00PM on Fridays.

3. Once you’ve determined who will see your ad when, it’s time to write your ad.




You’ll be able to create your ad’s title and description and insert your URL at this time. You’ll want to be sure to include the features and benefits of your product or service. You’ll also want to make sure that you use your keyword in both the title and the description. You can modify or delete any of the ads in your campaign whenever you’d like.

4. Choose your keywords. As with other PPC sponsor sites, you’ll want to be sure that you choose the right keywords and key phrases for your campaign. You’ll want to choose popular keywords – both in their singular and plural versions. You’ll want to combine relevant terms to create key phrases. And, of course, you’ll want to consider such words as “buy,” “order” and “purchase” to make sure that you bring visitors who are ready to commit to the sale.

You’ll be able to add keywords or phrases one at a time or in groups. You’ll also be able to look at charts that show you the popularity of the terms you choose.



5. Set the amount that you will pay for each click someone makes on your ad. Before you assign these values, make sure that you know what your budget for the PPC campaign is. DO NOT place bids that are more than you will be able to afford to pay. As is the case with a number of similar services, the placement of your ad will depend on the price you’re willing to pay, but just because you do not have the top position does not mean that your campaign will not work.



And, as you can see, you will be able to get an idea of what your overall cost for the campaign will be based on the cost per click, the number of impressions and the click through conversions.

Once you have finished this step, you will be able to save your ad. Congratulations – once your ad is ready, you’ll have taken the steps needed to launch the ad.

You can launch your campaign now, or wait until you’ve written all of your ads to launch them all at once. Just remember that you can make changes when you need to, and you can track your progress using the adCenter tools. And when you’re ready to launch your next campaign, you’ll just need to follow the same steps that you took after you set up your account.

Here’s to your success!

Google adwords (step by step)

AdWords Getting Started

By Manny Srikanth

Step-by-step guide with screenshots and helpful tips

Getting started with Google AdWords is as easy as following the step-by-step instructions listed below.

Before beginning, let's take a moment to discuss how AdWords works.

Essentially, Google is selling you advertising space on their search pages.

For example, a search on Google for the phrase “batteries” will look like this:

The “Sponsored Links” in blue at the top and down the right hand column before the organic search results are ads placed by advertisers using Google AdWords.

In this case, each of the sponsored links are advertisers who bid on the keyword “batteries.” Once your account is set up, your ads will appear for the search terms on which you bid. You will only be charged for each person that clicks on your ad.

Where your ad will appear in the Sponsored Links will depend greatly on two things:

(1) how much you are willing to bid for the position; and
(2) how highly your ad converts (in other words, how many clicks your ad gets per impression).

This will be discussed in greater detail below when you are ready to set your bids and prepare your first ads.

Setting Up A Google AdWords Account

1. Head on over to http://adwords.google.com to sign up for an account. It's as easy as clicking on the “Sign Up Now” button.

2. The next screen will give you the option of Starter Edition or Standard Edition. Choose Standard Edition. It has more features that will make managing your campaigns easier.

3. Target Customers. We will now identify our target customers. Leave this screen exactly as it is and continue to the next screen. This will show your ads with English as the language. You will then be shown a screen to choose which countries will view your ads.

The United States has already been added. While you may add any number (or all) of the list shown, it is preferable to begin by adding Australia, Canada, United States, and the United Kingdom only. Your visitors are more likely to be targeted buyers if they are from English speaking countries with higher incomes. Go ahead and choose those countries now.

4. Create Ad. This is the section where the magic begins. It is time to create your ad. While it is tempting to be creative, your first ads should be relevant and something you would be tempted to click on.

You want to list features and benefits that are strongly relevant to what your target market is seeking. The ad consists of a headline, two lines of ad copy, a display url, and the destination url (the webpage the customer will actually see). Using batteries as an example, your ad would look something like this:

Note that the ad mentions the keyword “batteries” several times. This helps increase relevancy which will ensure that potential customers know your site contains the information they want. Google also rewards relevancy.

Notice that the relevant keyword is used in the display url. If your keyword is not in your domain name, it is very helpful to add the keyword here since Google bolds the keyword in your ad each time it appears.

Go ahead and create your ad now. You can modify it, or create new ads, at any time.

5. Choose Keywords. The importance of choosing the right keywords cannot be overstated. While it is tempting to choose the keyword with the most searches, this is often not the most profitable. You will pay more for these keywords since there are so many other bidders. You will be much better off with a less searched keyword that is more tightly targeted.

Take your list of keywords and run your main search phrase through to see additional words you might want to use. In the example above, entering “batteries” presents several choices you might use.

If applicable, be sure to use both singular and plural versions of your keyword. For instance, here we will use both “rechargeable batteries” and “rechargeable battery”.

Another keyword choice is your keyword with the word “buy,” “order,” or “purchase.” After all, it doesn't get much more targeted than a customer already in the mindset to buy. Your list will probably be longer, but as you can see, in this example there are 5 appropriate keywords selected.

6. Set Pricing. This is where you set your bids. Your bid is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for each click on your ad. You want to bid high enough to place well in the listing but still make a profit.

Do not, let me repeat, DO NOT bid more than you can afford. If your ad converts well, Google will then place your ad higher in the listing. Google, as the owner of the space, will place the ads in the order of advertisers providing Google with the most money.

If you want your ad in the first, or top three positions, as a general rule, you will pay a higher cost per click. If your ad has a high click-through (many people clicking on your ad), the amount you pay will decrease. Google would rather have an ad that 10 out of 100 visitors click on at $0.50 than an ad 2 out of 100 visitors click on at $1.00. Google makes $5.00 in the first case and $2.00 in the second case. So do not worry if the bid screen's estimate shows fewer clicks than you had hoped for, stick with a bid in your budget and your ad's relevance will help it rise in the listings.

You will need to enter your daily budget and your maximum cost per click. The cost per click (CPC) is the amount you are willing to pay each time someone clicks on your ad.

Again, stay within your budget and do not spend more than you can afford. Once you have entered these two items you may click on “View Traffic Estimator” to see how many visitors Google expects each keyword to generate based on your budget. This screen will look like this:

You may change the CPC, up or down, and see what effect it will have on the estimated traffic. You may also add or change keywords and phrases later as you refine your campaign. Go ahead and enter your bids now.

Once you have entered billing information, congratulations! Your first AdWords campaign is set!

We hope you have found this AdWords Quick Start Guide useful and informative.

Remember to stay within your budget and to keep your ad copy relevant and your AdWords campaigns will be well on their way to being successful and profitable campaigns.

yahoo adwords management (step by step)

How to set-up a Yahoo! Search Marketing account

By Manny srikanth

A step-by step guide with screen shots to get you started with YSM.

Like other search engines, Yahoo! offers the opportunity to conduct pay per click campaigns. With a pay per click (PPC) campaign, advertisers pay to get ads for their products and services listed at the top of the search results.

The “Sponsored Results” in both the shaded rectangle and in the right hand column are the search results based on YSM advertising campaigns. The placement of these ads is based on the bid amount the advertisers have placed on the keywords used, and advertisers are charged only when someone clicks on their advertisement.

If you have a product or service that you want to promote using Yahoo! Search Marketing, you’ll need to set up an account and develop your ad. Here’s how you do it:

1. Direct your web browser to http://www.searchmarketing.yahoo.com and click on “Get Started Now.” You will be given two options on the next page: Fast Track Service and Self Serve. Select the Self Serve option to set up your YSM account and click the red button at the bottom of the Self Serve info column.


2. Set up your YSM Account. This is a multi-screen step. You will need to input your country, which will also serve as the country that your advertisement will target. If you are planning to target other countries too, you should look at Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom first as most searchers from those countries speak English and have the income necessary to make online purchases.

3. Select Relevant Keywords. With YSM, you will be able to assign your keywords into one or more categories. You will be able to get suggested Keywords for your advertisement title and description using the keyword selector tool (but be careful, some of the suggestions that you are given may not help you to get paying customers – they are suggestions only) or enter the keywords that you have already chosen to use.



You will want to be sure that you look for relevant, targeted keywords that will bring you customers, but not to find only keywords with a great deal of competition. In addition, you’ll want to be sure that the keywords you select are relevant to your product and will bring you targeted customers. In some cases, this means that keywords and key phrases that you use in your campaign will include the words “buy,” “order” and “purchase.”

4. Create an ad using your keywords. With Yahoo! Search Marketing, you can create a single title and description for all of your keywords, or you can create a separate title and description for each of your keywords.



You will have a reminder of your category and keyword, a character counter for the title, the description and the URL of your site, and will be able to view your ad as search users would. And, you can make as many changes as you need to in order to make sure that your ad is strong.

5. Once you’ve written your ad, set your bid amounts. Your bid is the maximum amount that you are willing to pay each time that someone clicks on your ad. You’ll be able to see the amounts that those whose ads place in the Top 5 have bid. You’ll be able to use those amounts to determine what your bid should be.

Yes, you want to place as high as possible in the listings BUT – and this is really important – you do not want to bid more than you can afford. Remember, you will be charged each time a potential customer clicks on your ad whether or not they buy something while they’re at your site.

The YSM site provides you with a number of calculations on this page to help ensure that your campaign does not go over your budget. You will be able, based on your estimated daily and monthly budget amount to see an estimated monthly search volume – how many people YSM expects will search for your keywords) – as well as an estimate of the number of visitors you will get from your ad.



6. Now that your keywords are determined, your ad is written, and you have set your budget for your YSM Account, you will need to enter your contact and billing information. Once YSM knows who you are, where to find you and how you’ll be paying for your campaign, congratulations! Your YSM Account is set up and your ad campaign can begin.

As this campaign continues and you begin others, keep the following in mind:
Bid on keywords that will attract buyers to your site, but don’t focus your energy on competing with others who have a much bigger budget than you do;
Always be mindful of your budget;
Watch and evaluate the performance of your campaign and make changes as they are necessary.

We hope that this guide to opening a Yahoo! Search Marketing Account and launching your first campaign has been informative and helpful. Congratulations for taking the first step and beginning a marketing campaign; here’s to your success!