Zero Up - The COMPLETE Review
Module 7 - Traffic Genius
Module 7 of Fred Lam's Zero Up course deals with Advertising on both Bing and Google. This is my in-depth, unbiased (and unaffiliated review) of this module.
​Module 7 - TRAFFIC GENIUS
Module length: 5 hours 52 minutes
Module 7 consists of two sub-sections:
- Bing Ads Mastery, and
- Google Adwords Training
BING ADS MASTERY
This is a great addition to the course. People tend to overlook Bing as a search engine, simply because Google is the biggest and baddest wolf out there.
According to an article on Statista.com (you can read the post here), as of July 2019, the top search engines in terms of market share, was:
According to Microsoft itself (you can verify my facts here), Bing has
According to an article on Statista.com (you can read the post here), as of July 2019, the top search engines in terms of market share, was:
- Google with 88.71%
- Bing with 4.98%
- Yahoo! with 2.72%
- Yandex RU with 0.82%, and
- Baidu with 0.74%
According to Microsoft itself (you can verify my facts here), Bing has
- 5.5 billion searches in total per month
- 116 million unique searches per month
- 34.7% share of the US desktop market
- 22% of users are in the top 25% of household earners
- The Microsoft Search Network audience spends 35% more online when shopping from their desktop computers than average internet searchers.
All of this should convince you that it is worth your while to advertise on Bing. So well done to Fred for including a section on Bing Ads.
Video 01 - Network Within A Network
In this video, Fred shows you from his own experience how successful a Bing campaign can be.
He starts off by showing you that he spent $198.80 and had a CPC of only $0.47. He received 57 sales with a total revenue of $5 194.82 and a Nett of $ 4 996.02. That's seriously good!
But sadly, he doesn't tell you HOW he achieved those figures. Let's hope he shares his secret later on!
Fred then also shares his take on the Bing network and tells you about some of the pros and cons of using it as an advertising platform.
Video 02 - Compiling Your Keyword List
Fred starts the lesson by stressing the importance of proper Keyword Research.
Fred suggests that you generate a list of targeted keywords that you want your ads to show for, when a user runs a search query.
Top tip: Fred suggests you use the Google Keyword Planner (it's inside Google Ads), rather than the keyword planner from Bing.
Fred shows you how to best utilize the Google Keyword Planner and how to incorporate the Ad Group feature.
Video 03 - The Right Setup Method
In this lesson, Fred shows you how to set up Bing Ads the "correct" way. He makes it clear that to leave your settings on default will lead to failure.
There is a specific procedure to follow when setting up a Bing Ads Campaign that will enable a higher success rate.
Fred then walks you through the configuration which includes:
- The Campaign Settings
- Creating Ad Copy
- Uploading your Keyword List
- Targeting Options, and
- Advanced Settings
This is a really good lesson, considering that none of the other dropshipping courses I have reviewed, even mention Bing. Seeing how it should be setup is a great hack!
Video 04 - Bing Ad Copy Hacks
Fred gives the following hints when writing copy for your Bing ads. He explains each point:
- Place yourself in the shoes of your customers
- Have strong and concise ads
- Identify your ultimate goal
He then shares some hacks:
Video 05 - Tracking Your Conversions
Fred explains the importance of tracking your conversions.You cannot advertise blindly and need to know where your leads and sales are coming from.
Fred shows you where to set Conversion Tracking up in your Bing Ads and Shopify dashboards.
It's great to know how to set it up, but Fred neglects to show you how it works...
We don't see an example of what it looks like when you get the conversion data and he doesn't tell you HOW to analyze it... To me that's a FAIL.
GOOGLE ADS TRAINING
Be warned: You might feel that this section is very long-winded and you can be forgiven for thinking so. There's a LOT of theory and background info here. BUT, you do need to know most of it, so as a beginner, you have to see it through. Those who are experienced with Google Ads, will probably want to skip through most of the lectures and get to the meat of the training. If you feel confident in your knowledge, then you can skip to the practical side of this section, which starts from Video 04.2.
Video 01 - Understanding Google
The first lesson in this section is basically an overview of what Google is and how it is set up for advertising. Fred tells you that Google has
- 3 different advertising methods
- and there are two different devices (mobile and desktop - desktop includes tablets)
- This gives you 6 different platforms within Google to advertise from.
You also have:
- The Search Network
- Contextual network
- Display Network
- Mobile Network
Video 02 - Being Compliant
This lesson deals exclusively with the theory behind advertising on Google according to Google's terms and conditions.
Fred teaches you:
How to understand Google's Ad Policy
Fred gives you some background on the Ad Policy and then lists the types of advertisements / businesses that are not allowed to advertise.
Preparing your website
- You must have an About, Product, Blog / Content Pages, and Contacts pages in order to advertise.
- In addition, you also need a Terms of Service, Privacy, and Refund Policy. Fred goes into detail on what is needed on these pages, but doesn't offer a useful example page of each.
- You must have Disclaimers and display them prominently.
Learning Google's languages
- Don;t make unrealistic claims, otherwise your account will get suspended
- Use suggestive claims
- Don't misrepresent your self, products or services
Affiliate marketing and Google Ads
- You are allowed to advertise as an affiliate but there are some guidelines to follow.
Video 03 - Preparation for Adwords​
In this lesson, Fred shows you how to
- create and install your Conversion Tag, and
- create and install your Remarketing Tag
Fred shows you how to set it all up according to his settings in your Google Ads dashboard.
Video 04.1 - Understanding Google Search​
Fred explains that
- You will find Hyperactive Buyers doing searches on Google - they are ready to buy
- Google is the highest CPC Ad network on the internet
- You mobile audience has a different mindset
- What the best types of landing pages are
All of this is useful to know, but it's just more theory...
And then he gives 3 Google Ad Tips to consider. That's the important bit of this lesson - make notes!
Video 04.2 - Quality Score
Google Ads are ranked according to a Quality Score (QS).
- The QS affects your Cost Per Click and Ad Position
- Google rewards high QS scores by letting you pay less for your ad...
- Search results are auction based BUT, it is backed by QS
Your QS is determined by the following factors:
Fred then offers some tips on how to achieve a high QS:
- Create relevancy
- Have high CTR on your ads
- Use the right keywords for bidding.
These are great tips and Fred goes into each one with enough detail. Some examples though, would have been great...
​
Video 04.3 - Keywords & Ad Groups
- An Ad Group is a group of keywords that you are bidding on that will trigger your ads.
- If you structure your Ad Group properly, it increases your QS.
Top Tip: Generate your KW list first, then determine your Ad Group name.
Use Google's Keyword Planner - it's super simple to use AND it's free.
Video 04.4 - Effective Ad Copy
In this lesson, Fred shows you how "easy" it is to create a simple text ad.
He also gives you 6 techniques that will help you create effective ads.
Video 04.5 - Campaign Setup
Fred stresses the fact not to leave your campaign settings on default. He then proceeds to show you how to "correctly" set it up. This includes
- choosing the type
- selecting the network
- choose devices, locations, languages
- bidding strategy (very important!)
- ad extensions
Fred offers some great optimization tips for your Google Ads.
Except for one: he suggests you switch off mobile "...especially if your site is not mobile friendly."
- In 2019, your website MUST be mobile friendly. It's not an option anymore!
- Mobile is being used more and more each MONTH! If you don't tap into the mobile market, you are potentially missing out on almost 50% of internet browsers...
Here are some stats to prove my point.
According to GlobalStats Statcounter, the worldwide internet market share leans towards mobile:
Whereas, in the United States, mobile is slowly but surely catching up with desktop. Combined with tablet, it has already surpassed desktop browsing...
In conclusion - you can NOT exclude mobile from your Google Ads...
Ps: These stats and more can be found at GS Statcounter.
Video 05 - Optimizing Search
Optimizing your search campaign is even more important than setting up the campaign itself. By optimizing, you will know exactly how well your campaign is performing.
Fred shows you screenshots of how he monitors his Ad Relevancy and Quality Score as well as how Google tells you exactly what is affecting your QS. Fred shows you how to access this information - great tip!
TOP TIP: Fred shows you how to access and interpret the Search Terms Report, to find out which keywords are working and which are not.
Fred also shows how you can analyze your competition.
Video 06.1 - Understanding Google Contextual
According to Fred, Google Contextual is text based ads (no images), that are embedded into articles.
Thing with Google, is that it constantly evolves. Google (currently in October of 2019), has the following to say about Contextual Targeting :
Contextual targeting:
The process that matches ads to relevant sites in the Display Network using your keywords or topics, among other factors.
- Here's how it works: Google's system analyzes the content of each webpage to determine its central theme, which is then matched to your ad using your keywords and topic selections, your language and location targeting, a visitor's recent browsing history, and other factors.
- Google Ads uses contextual targeting when an ad group has keywords or topics and its campaign is set to show ads on the Display Network.
This means that Contextual Ads are no longer just text. An example is In-video Contextual Advertising: where you would see a YouTube ad for Grammarly, shown before a video tutorial on "How to write a book".
Anyway, back tot the course - Fred tells you about Contextual Advertising that will be embedded in articles, but he does NOT show you how to set it up, or even where to find it in Google Ads. This lesson is all theory and background info... You'll have to wait for the next video to see where and how to set it up.
Video 06.2 - Effective Ad Creation
In this lesson, Fred shows you how to create Text Ads (what he call contextual ads).
He gives some useful tips to make your ads stand out and appeal to "users". It boils down to using "hooks", the word "free" and "strong call-to-actions".
Best tip: create 5 or 6 text ads and TEST them!
Video 06.3 - Campaign Setup
Fred shows you how to set up your "contextual" (text) ad campaign.
Fred shares his tips on:
- delivery method
- advanced settings (interestingly - Fred ignores these settings)
- naming the ad group
- setting the default bid
- targeting method, and
- targeting optimization
Fred then shares some basic set up tips.
Video 06.4 - Hidden Features
Once again Fred urges you to NOT set up a mobile campaign. He feels that if you really want to do it, you should set up a separate campaign...
Fred then shares a VERY useful Hidden Feature Setting (that I cannot share with you, sorry). Apparently it cost him a $100k in ad spend before he figures this out...
One problem though - this setting was in Google AdWords. I can't find it in Google Ads...
Video 07 - Optimizing Your Contextual Campaign
Fred's tips for optimization includes:
- look at your conversions and whether it is hitting the CPA goal
- If not, then decrease the bids
- Don't aim for the top spot as the number 1 ad often gets "happy clickers"
- Focus on your relative CTR
- Look at your KW performance
- Pay attention to the Placement Report
- Narrow down your demographics
- Check the time report
Fred does a great job at explaining each of these components and shows you where to find them in your Ads Console.
Video 08.1 - Understanding Google Display
The Google Display Network is designed to help you find the right audience, by using image/video-based ads.
It is the best form of advertising as it has
- no limit on characters (unlike Text and Search Ads)
- you can use images and video to grab attention
- has potential for huge ROI
- offers lots of control
- depending on your budget, you can have HUGE ad space
In 2019, there are 4 types of ads to choose from:
- Responsive Display ads.
- Uploaded image ads
- Engagement ads, and
- Gmail ads
Fred covers (Responsive) Display Ads.
Video 08.2 - Display Planner
This video is not relevant anymore as the Display Planner is no longer a Tool in Google Ads.
Google has the following to say: "The Display planner is no longer available in the new Google Ads experience. Its features, however, have been incorporated throughout campaign creation and targeting in the new Google Ads experience..."
You do get other (new) Planning Tools though:
Video 08.3 - Effective Ad Copy
Fred takes you through the steps of creating your first (Responsive) Display Ad.
Fred suggests the best converting ad according to size and then also talks about banner ads.
Fred then suggests using Adobe Photoshop if you're a pro, otherwise Canva.com for beginners. I can recommend Canva as well. They have great templates to get you started and is super easy to use.
Alternatively, if you don't feel any creative juices flowing and you don't want to try your hand at graphic design, then simply use a site like Fiverr to get an inexpensive designer to do the work for you.
Video 08.4 - Campaign Setup
Fred shows you his suggested settings, which include
- Network Type
- Location
- Language
- Bid Strategy
- Budget
- Delivery Method
- CPC Bid, and
- Targeting of your Ads
Video 08.5 Hidden Features
This is a short 2 minute video where Fred basically tells you not to include mobile in your campaigns ("...as mobile users have a completely different mind set.") and not to use Google's default settings.
He's said all of this before, so this video is a bit irrelevant...
Video 09 - Optimizing Your Display Ads
Fred points out that the methods used to optimize your Display ads, are very similar to optimizing your Text Ads.
Once again the most important thing is to look at your conversions and then make adjustments.
It's a pity that Fred only shows you how to use some of these reports (such as Campaign, Ad Groups, Ad, Keyword and Time). For more detailed tutorials on data analysis, you'll have to turn to other courses.
Udemy for example, offers a slew of Google Ads courses - I suggest you always check the course contents first. Then read the reviews and compare the courses with the highest ratings (the first one that pops up isn't always the best)
Video 10 - Introduction To Google Remarketing
Google remarketing is pretty nifty if compared to other remarketing methods. Most of the dropshipping courses refer to email remarketing campaigns when talking about remarketing. This is a long and tedious process which involves building up an email list.
Luckily Google remarketing is very simple.
The advantages of remarketing are:
- you only pay for prospects that have visited your site before
- they're already familiar with your brand
Fred states that it is important to place a Remarketing Tag into every page of your site.
Fred then walks you through the four different types of remarketing ads, and shows you how to set them up.
The AdWords setup was a little different, so for updated info on Google Ads Remarketing, visit Google here.
Video 11 - Advanced Tips On Leverage Google
Fred suggests that you use these Advanced Tips when you've run your Ad Campaigns for at least three months, or you've had at least a 100 conversions.
Fred shows you how to use the Geographic Report to optimize your ads and only focus on areas where you get conversions from.
Fred also shares another optimization tip based on Conversions.
Lastly, Fred suggests you go straight to the website owners to place ads. You'll be able to do this, as soon as you've met with some specific criteria that Fred has set. It's pretty good advice if you want to save some money on advertising.
Video 12 - ​Power of AdWords Editor
Fred suggests you use the Google Ads Editor. It's a useful app that you can download for free. With it, you can:
- Work on your accounts offline.
- Leverage bulk editing tools.
- Review changes before you post, and
- View performance statistics (But it is limited in terms of stats. Rather use Google Ads itself, which is much more detailed.)
Fred shows you how some of the features in AdWords Editor works.
Module 7 contains two sub modules with a total of 28 videos and a total length of 5 hours and 52 minutes.
Module 07 - My Key Takeaways
Module 7 is a lengthy module to work through. Fred does offer a lot of theory and background information, but also some really good tips and methods to employ.
Highlights:
1. No other dropshipping course offers Advertising information on Bing. This is a great addition.
2. Sharing his Google Ads Campaign Set up settings is a great bonus as this will save you weeks of tinkering and potentially, a lot of money.
BUT: Fred offers tips and advice on using AdWords and some of the features and the layout has changed with the introduction of Google Ads. Thus, most of the info is outdated and you end up looking for tools and reports - this wastes a bit of time and could be very frustrating to beginners. A course update would be nice...
Content: 7/10 Section one on Bing is great. 8/10 there. Google Ads info however, is dated - 6/10.
OVERALL IMPRESSION OF MODULE 07
It's devastating when you get excited at seeing something new in a course, only to be disappointed in the second part, which contains nothing new...
If only Fred could update the section on Google Ads, then this would be one of the better modules on Search Engine Advertising out there...
