Google AdWords is a highly effective Marketing Strategy that can work wonders for most Business of all shapes and sizes. But there is still a level of hesitancy when it comes to Small Business Owners embracing this form of Digital Marketing.
The main reason for this is the amount of questions surrounding this incredibly effective Marketing Tool, and the amount of conflicting information out there. So, to answer and all of your most puzzling questions about Google AdWords, we gathered together our Paid Search experts here at Sites n Stores and put them to work to create the best answers for you.
To have your 7 most pertinent questions answered, just keep reading. We promise there’ll be no more confusion and no more scratching your head!
Question 1: What Is Google AdWords?
Google AdWords is essentially Google's advertising system in which advertisers bid on certain Keywords in order for their clickable ads to appear at the top of Google's Search Result Pages.
When you’ve typed a search into Google, you’ve likely seen the Websites that appear with a little green “Ad” symbol underneath. Well, this is an AdWords ad. Sometimes these ads will be accompanied by what are known as “Ad Extensions”, which could display contact details, location information, links to specific Site pages and additional details about products.
To get one of these lucrative ad positions, advertisers bid on Keywords related to their Business, products and industry in order for their clickable ads to appear in Google's search results.
Question 2: Do I Need it if I Have SEO?
It depends on your definition of “need”. While Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is indeed a great way to drive organic traffic to your Site, it can take months to see results.. so it isn’t ideal if you want to see ROI straight away.
It also seems that Paid Advertising on average outperforms the traffic generated by Organic Marketing Methods with regards to conversions. Obviously it depends on the industry you’re in and the quality of your Campaigns, but on average paid search traffic converts up to 2 times more than the organic traffic that is generated by SEO.This is likely due to the fact that paid search traffic is more targeted and qualified, as a result of the targeting options we talked about above, such as Location and Mobile Targeting.
Question 3: How Much Does it Cost?
This is one of the biggest questions asked about AdWords and is, luckily, one of the easiest to answer! Basically, it can cost as much or as little as you want it to, which is determined when you set up your initial budget.
This makes AdWords a highly cost-effective strategy, as you only get charged when someone clicks on your ad. You can set your budget at $10 per day or $5000 per day, the options are limitless. More importantly, if you’re working with professionals, your Campaign performance will be optimised in a way where your Cost-per-Click will gradually decline over time. This means, you’ll be able to see an increase in traffic without increasing your costs!
Question 4: Is It Right for my Small Business?
There are very few instances where Google AdWords wouldn’t work for a Business and generally speaking if you’re Online and in an industry where people are searching for Businesses like yours, then it’ll work.
One of the reasons AdWords might not be so effective is if your products or services are so niche that simply not enough people are looking for them Online. Another reason could be that the geographical location you wish to target could be so small that not enough people within that area are looking Online for Businesses like yours.
However, generally speaking, if you own a Business that will see people searching Google for Key Terms related to your industry, products and services, Google AdWords will likely be a very effective strategy for you to adopt.
Hopefully these few helpful tricks will guide you through understanding if your Website or Online Store is Mobile Responsive. And if it’s not, then don’t wait, act now!
Question 5: What is the Google Quality Score?
This is a term you may have heard thrown around a bit. The “Quality Score” is Google's rating of the quality and relevance of both your Keywords and AdWords ads. It is used to determine your Cost-per-Click (CPC) and your ad rank in the ad auction process. Your Quality Score depends on multiple factors, including:
- Your Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
- The relevance of each Keyword to its ad group
- Landing page quality and relevance
- The relevance of your ad text
- Your historical AdWords account performance
No one outside of Google knows exactly how much each factor contributes to your Quality Score algorithm, but it’s stipulated that the Click-Through-Rate plays the greatest role, as it’s a strong indicator that that your ads are relevant and helpful to users. When Google identifies this fact, it’ll then reward you with higher ad rankings and lower costs.
Question 6: How Does the AdWords Bidding Work?
AdWords gives you several ways to bid for your ads, depending on what matters most to you and your Business. Most advertisers focus on clicks, impressions, conversions, or views (for video ads).
Hopefully you have a clear goal in mind for your ads. For example, if you sell coffee, maybe you want to get more people to visit your cafe. If you run a personal training company, maybe you're aiming to get more people to sign up for your newsletter. Knowing what you want your ads to do is important in the early stages, as this will help you decide how to bid.
Question 7: Can I Do it Myself?
The question for this one isn’t so much can you do it yourself, but should you do it yourself. While anyone can technically set-up and run their own Google AdWords Campaign, this won’t necessarily yield the best results for you or your Business.
Crafting an effective and profit-returning AdWords Campaign takes time, patience and knowledge. A great Campaign will have a completely comprehensive Keyword strategy and will be analysed thoroughly in terms of its metrics and data. Different ad creative, such as content, images and graphics, will need to be tested to see which perform best and which need to be optimised - and don’t even get us started on the Keyword Auction!
So yes, you could hypothetically tackle the Google AdWords Mountain yourself. But really, we don't recommend it. Instead, use your time better spent on researching a great Marketing or Digital Agency who can invest the time and effort into your Campaigns for you, allowing you to do what you do best – run your Small Business.
Hopefully by now you have a much better grasp of Google AdWords and how it can help you on your journey to Digital Success. If you're wanting to get some professional advice or guidance, our experts here at Sites n Stores are more than happy to help! We tailor our Campaigns to suit your Business, goals and budget, so you can see the results you’re wanting.