Google AdWords is one of the most effective PPC advertising platforms available to small businesses. No matter what your marketing budget, Google Ads is worth the investment. AdWords can give you one of the best ROIs, and there are numerous ad formats, targeting, and segmentation features you can take advantage of. AdWords are also one of the best ways to get your business in front of qualified leads. Over 86% of consumers use Google search to find local business. And, 70% of mobile searchers who view an ad take action within the first hour after seeing it. In the following article, we’ll explore how Google AdWords works and why making an investment in this marketing strategy is worth it for your business.
In a nutshell, Google AdWords is an advertising strategy that displays your products and services either on the SERPs for specific search queries or displays ads across the GDN (Google Display Network).
AdWords are based on CPC or PPC advertising models. You choose specific keywords and phrases and bid on them for your ads. You can choose from a variety of advertising formats. Even better, you can highly target your ads to show to specific demographics, or in particular locations.
What is the GDN?
The GDN is a collection of over 2 million sites that have partnered with Google to display AdWords ads. Also included are:
- Youtube
- Gmail
These sites and search engines all work together to retarget and market your ads. Over 90% of online consumers are on the GDN. Simply put, you need to bring your offerings to your target market. So, you need to go where they hang out the most. The GDN is that place.
While it’s essential to use an integrated approach to your digital marketing strategy, Google AdWords is the silver bullet for languishing sales. Obscurity is the number one enemy of a small business’s progress. Google Adwords campaigns can help you overcome obscurity, increase your online presence, and build your brand awareness and customer base.
What kind of Google AdWords campaigns can you use?
There are numerous, useful advertising formats and campaigns you can use on Google AdWords. But, you need to know your goals for the campaign before you begin. Specific formats and advertising strategies will work better for different objectives.
Campaign types include the following formats:
- Search network only
- Display network only
- Search network with display select
- Shopping
- Video
- Universal app
Also keep in mind that there are campaign subtypes, too. Subtypes determine which settings and options are available on your particular campaign. This includes things like the type of ad you design. Subtypes enable you to tailor your AdWords marketing strategy for your business’s goals. And best of all, you can focus on the features that are most relevant to you. The more targeted and customised your ads, the more qualified leads you’ll find on the GDN and the better your ROI. Subtypes include Standard, All features, and Marketing Objectives.
All campaign types are formulated for the Google Search Network, the GDN, and Youtube. Google’s networks comprise every place your ads can appear online. These include Google sites, websites that are partnered with Google to show relevant ads, and certain mobile apps.
How do you pay for a Google AdWords campaign?
Google AdWords work through bids, keywords, and cost-per-click or pay-per-click advertising. Once you’ve determined your campaign type and subtype, you can choose your keywords. Keywords must be relevant and of high quality. You can select single keywords and also phrases to target your ads. You bid on each phrase and keyword for your ads. If a viewer enters a keyword or phrase that closely matches the ones you’ve chosen for your ad, and your bid is right, your ad will display on your preferred networks.
Also, you can include negative keywords. What this means is if a viewer enters a keyword that you’ve chosen as a negative keyword, your ad won’t display.
With bids, you can make adjustments so that your ads will display more or less frequently based on certain metrics. Sometimes, bids are worth more if an ad is set to show a particular time, to a particular location, or to someone searching a specific device, such as a smartphone.
How can businesses benefit from a Google Ads campaign?
Small businesses, in particular, can benefit from an AdWords campaign. AdWords gives marketers the ability to closely track and monitor their conversion rates, keyword choices, and bids. Also, AdWords campaigns are highly targeted, and customisable.
You can target specific demographics with an Adwords campaign. Choose who you want to display an ad to based on:
- Age
- Gender
- Socioeconomic status
- Family and household size
And much more. Plus, you get the added benefit of targeting ads to only display at particular times, locations, and on devices. If you know exactly who your target customer is, you can quickly get your ads to display to qualified leads.
Only a small percentage of website visitors are ready to buy when they first come across a businesses website. You may have otherwise qualified leads visiting your landing page, but they haven’t been nurtured. While they may be in the market to buy your product, they need to be warmed up first. Retargeting via Google AdWords can nurture your leads. You can set a retargeted campaign to send specific ads to people who’ve visited your landing page, home page, or thank you page. Leads will continue to see your products across the GDN while they browse.
Google AdWords also gives you access to detailed conversion metrics and your conversion costs. Knowledge is power, and if you know what you’re paying per conversion, you can see where you can improve and get your CPC rates down for a better ROI.
Although Google AdWords is highly effective at increasing a business’s bottom line, formulating an effective AdWords campaign is a complicated process. You need to continually monitor and manage your campaigns to get the best ROI and stay within your marketing budget. Australian Internet Advertising is staffed with experts who know how to take complete advantage of all the benefits Google AdWords can give a business. Contact us today and increase your profits and grow your online presence with a professional Google AdWords campaign.
