If you look at the online marketing numbers, it’s pretty easy to understand why so many businesses are jumping on the pay per click advertising bandwagon as an alternative to organic search. In 2016 alone, Google made almost 79.4 billion US dollars in advertising revenue, which not only means that Google AdWords is highly used, but that it is also very effective. And, it all makes sense. Just think about it: what’s the first thing you do when you realise you need a product or service? Most probably, you hop onto Google paid search and look for the best solution to your current needs. Google AdWords can help you put your business in front of the right audience and persuade them to choose you over your competitors. It’s an incredible tool for driving traffic, marketing your product, building brand awareness and boosting your sales through displaying your businesses phone numbers. That’s not to say that Google AdWords is a silver bullet that can grow your business overnight. There are some instances where this tactic may not fit you at the moment. For example, if you’ve just launched a new product that prospects have no idea they need, then you need to make them aware of its existence first before investing in pay per click PPC advertising. In most cases, however, Google AdWords can be a trusted ally in your quest to grow your business. Here’s how it can help you.
You Don’t Need to Break the Bank to Invest in AdWords
A lot of small business owners wrongly assume that AdWords works just for large companies with impressive marketing budgets that can afford to target the front page of Google. But, that’s not true at all. If you know how to set it up and you have a sound strategy, then you can expect to see a significant return even if you invest only a few hundreds of dollars every month. Not to mention, it’s better to start off with a small budget and test the waters than to invest heavily and suffer a massive loss of experimentations. Promoting a Google Ad requires no minimum capital or monthly ad expenses. In other words, your risk is lower than when you’re using other traditional advertising methods. While some keywords might be more competitive than others, if you maintain a realistic budget and stay in touch with the market you’re competing in, AdWords is an excellent option for your business.
You Control Your Budget and Pay Only for Results
If you own a small, local business, you might be more familiar with traditional, offline advertising methods. If that is the case, you are most likely paying for every ad that you publish and run. With AdWords, you can set your budget for every ad that you run, as well as change it whenever you please. For example, if an ad is performing well, you can boost your results by increasing your ad budget. If it is underperforming, you can decrease your ad costs or stop it altogether. More than that, you can run multiple ad campaigns and ad extensions at the same time. But, one of the strongest advantages of Google AdWords is that you only pay for clicks and not for the views certain queries might generate. Sure, there is the risk of driving unqualified clicks that could drain your budget. But, if you set up your campaign correctly and you incorporate keywords that are relevant to your niche and market, then you will only pay for clicks that will further translate into profit.
Reach Your Local Customers
AdWords gives you the option to target your campaigns based on location. That means that if you have a location-based business (such as a neighborhood barbershop, restaurant, bank, etc.) or an e-commerce site with country shipping restrictions, you can target your ads geographically. It’s an excellent way to ensure that prospects will learn about your business without wasting any money on audience groups that are not relevant to your specific area.
Follow Your customers with Retargeting
Tell us if the following scenario sounds familiar. You visit a website, browse it for a while, and then leave. But you keep seeing ads for that company or their products everywhere you go on the web. Enter retargeting. If a customer visits your website, they will get a cookie from a code on your site. When they leave your platform, Google AdWords will trace them and let you target your ads to follow them wherever they go, be it another website, Facebook, or even YouTube. Retargeting can also help you target people who have clicked on your ads in the past but haven’t converted yet. That way you can stay top-of-mind for potential customers.
Track Your ROI and Tweak Your Strategy Accordingly
One of the great things about AdWords is that it allows you to measure the effectiveness of your actions thoroughly. It comes with a variety of built-in tools that allows you to track and monitor your return on investment. You can track clicks, conversion rates, web form submissions, and so on. You can also see which ads and keywords are driving the most sales and which are draining more money than generating. With this data at hand, you can adjust your budget and strategy accordingly to maximise your profits. Google AdWords can be an amazing tool for putting your business in front of the right audience, generating traffic, and increasing your bottom line. That is, of course, if you learn how to do it correctly.
Over To You
Use the tips and tricks mentioned in this article, pay attention to the setup process, tracking your data carefully, and AdWords can provide an excellent return on investment.
