Using AdWords to reach mobile consumers

Video: Mobilise for Performance with Separate Mobile Campaigns

More and more South African consumers are accessing the internet through their mobile phones and smartphone penetration is growing at a fast pace.

The mobile internet provides a powerful way to promote your business to consumers at the exact moment they are searching for you. They may be around the corner of your shop and looking for your product; in a competitor store researching prices; or on the road and looking for a service or accommodation nearby.

With mobile ads, they can visit your website when they need it most, or simply click to call and speak to you directly. As with standard AdWords advertising, you only pay when they click.

Is your website optimised for mobile?

The very first thing to consider before jumping into mobile advertising, is to make sure that your website is mobile friendly. How does it display when viewed on a small screen? Is there a clear and simple navigation on the home page directing users to your main features? How quickly does it load?

Find out more about how to optimise your website for mobile at www.howtogomo.com.

Using Google AdWords to target mobile smartphone users

The ads you've already created using Google AdWords, can also be shown on high-end devices such as iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers. This includes your text ads and image/banner ads (although only certain sizes, the most popular being 300 x 50, and no Flash-based ads).
However, in order to ensure these ads appear on mobile devices you'll need to make sure the campaign is opted into "iPhones and mobile devices with full Internet browsers" in the campaign settings. Follow these steps:

1. Sign in to your AdWords account.
   
2. On the "Campaigns" page, on either the left side or in the center of the screen click the name of the campaign you want to adjust.
   
3. Select the "Settings" tab.
   
4. Under the "Networks, devices, and extensions" section, click edit next to "Networks and devices."
   
5. Select "Let me choose..."
   
6. Check or uncheck the box next to "iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers."
   
7. Click "Save" when you've made your selection.
   

Create a mobile-only ad campaign

Advertisers who create mobile-specific campaigns typically experience better performance from their mobile ads. This usually happens because separate mobile ads campaigns allow advertisers greater control over the following aspects of their campaigns:

• Bids: Bid differently for your ads on high-end mobile devices. Many advertisers want to use more aggressive bids for their mobile campaigns since fewer ads are shown on each mobile search results page (two at the top and three at the bottom of the search results page).
  
• Budget: Using a separate campaign allows you to define a budget specifically for your mobile advertising. Allocate more budget to campaigns that perform better on mobile, and decrease budget for those that don't.
  
• Keywords: Test different keywords. Your keywords may perform differently on mobile devices than they do on desktop computers. For instance, people searching on a mobile may use shorter keywords because of the small keypad. With a separate mobile campaign you can control which keywords trigger your ads on mobile devices without compromising your desktop campaigns.
  
• Ad Creative: Use mobile-specific calls to action in your ad text. A separate mobile-only campaign allows you to customise your ad text to mobile users such as "Request a quote from your phone" or "click to call".

To create a mobile-only campaign, simply create a new campaign targeted only to iPhones and mobile devices with full Internet browsers. Note: make sure you opt out of "Desktop and laptop computers" for your new campaign.

If you are migrating a combined desktop and mobile campaign to a mobile-only one you'll want to copy over your keywords. To see your best performing mobile keywords, use the Keywords tab and segment by Device. You'll also want to make sure the old, existing campaign that you copied your keywords from is opted out of high-end mobile devices once your new campaign is up and running. We recommend using AdWords Editor to copy a campaign.

Create mobile targetted ads

Now create ads that truly appeal to users on mobile phones. Match your ads to the needs of a mobile user so they're compelled to take action. Remember, they're probably on the move or need something immediately. Does your site have a store finder so users can locate you quickly? Mention it in the ad. Can your business take transactions or handle customer service over the phone? Include that too (find out how to enable call extensions to allow customers to click on your ad to call you). Then use the Ad Preview Tool to see how your ads compare to your competitors.

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