The Complete Guide to Google Advertising - Including Tips, Tricks, and Strategies to Create a Winning Advertising Plan [Paperback]

As a professional photographer (photojournalist for a daily newspaper), having an internet presence was a little easier for me because my employer and our IT department promote my photos some. When I started expanding my freelance business this year however, I was at a loss at how to promote myself other than getting a website. I'm a baby-boomer and overwhelmed at the pay-per-click and all the different ways to generate money on the web, but this book explains it in a way even me, the technically challenged, can understand! I'm a photographer so I'm a visual person, so naturally the best part of this book were the illustrations. You actually get to see the screen shot (what something looks like on your computer monitor) of Google Ads, what the ad will look like on a cell phone and so on. Definitely a plus for me since I get most of my information and understand things visually. The next best part is the bulleted items and the step-by-step approach. You really don't have to be intuitive about this - they take you through it and don't assume you know big chunks of things about the process.

I didn't know how keywords really worked before reading this book. I went to the Google site for help and didn't understand it there, but this book I do get. Google ought to pay you guys for this and post this online instead of what they have!! The tips, tricks and secrets chapter is great! I'm intimidated enough by the internet - but this is like having your own geeky friend (one that actually can communicate in English) walk you through it. I can't emphasize enough how great a help the illustrations are. They really do take the fear factor out of it - I can look at the book, look at my computer monitor and know I'm on the right track. There's stuff in here I didn't know I didn't know, like combating pay-per-click fraud and all kinds of website url's to go to for more information - although this book pretty much covers everything I need to know right now! One of the IT guys at work kept talking about SEO, and now I not only know that means Search Engine Optimization, I know what that means and why it's important! Meta tags, keywords - wow. It's all in here. If I, an aging boomer with no tech background can read and understand this - anyone can. Excellent! MUCH better than the Dummies books on the same or similar topics too. They not only tell you what TO DO, but what NOT TO DO - like replicating meta tags. I thought that would be a good thing to duplicate stuff - obviously not. So, they tell you how to NOT screw up as well as how to succeed! Just like a geek friend would! I love it! This is simple, easy to read and easy to understand. Thanks for holding my hand! I rate it a 5 only because there's not a 10-star scale. This is THE book on Google Advertising.

This publication unravels the workings of the most popular search engine on the internet, Google. Through creativity, organization and strategically placed keywords, Google will place the website for your business in the top search results and you will have more visits to your site. It only makes sense that more visits, or hits, the more sales you will make.

In The Complete Guide to Google Advertising, Bruce C. Brown explains how to utilize the various marketing methods Google offers. The techniques explained include Pay-Per-Click advertising, AdWords and Adsense. He also provides a history of Google and online marketing that is extremely informative. Various case studies are cited to provide back-up proof that these techniques work.

The section that I found the most interesting was about developing a marketing plan. Mr. Brown not only identified the steps to achieve that, but he also explained each one in detail. Beginning with a market analysis and moving on through establishing a business objective until you finally end up with a marketing strategy. Through this it is much easier to decide which aspect of Google's marketing choices will fit your business the best.

This is a book that can be referred back to repeatedly as the focus of your business changes and markets fluctuate. This book is a great resource for Internet marketing.

Here is the missing manual for marketing with Google. Bruce Brown provides the instructions and suggestions for all of Google's tools; from the traffic drawing PPC of Adwords, to the revenue generating AdSense. The Complete Guide to Google Marketing picks up where the Google help text leaves off and provides the questions a new marketer needs to answer before executing their plan and answers the questions you will have as you implement and manage your plan.

You may want to read this next to your computer, as Brown provides numerous URLs for supporting tools and examples which you can use to check your online marketing optimization and effectiveness not only for your website but also in checking out the competition and the best practices in the industry.

Brown also highlights the reality and imperfection of this relatively new marketing means by devoting a significant amount of information around managing the risks of Pay-Per-Click Fraud. As multiple solutions are provided for this and other improvements, keep in mind that additional investigation is required on your part to determine the best solution for your endeavor and budget. The case studies - while not in depth - promote the duality that people are successful with a Google marketing campaign and that you can do it, with the reality that those other people are likely to be your competitors if you are not pursuing internet marketing plan.

This is not a dramatized book on Google, nor a treatise on the theory of marketing in the internet age, but it is a useful user guide for optimizing your web presence for a higher search engine page ranking, running an effective on line marketing campaign and efficiently using the tools offered by Google and other supporting resources.

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