Google AdWords has become the pinnacle of online paid advertising. With several payment models (cost-per-thousand views, cost-per-click, and cost-per-acquisition) and extensive customizable targeting based on time, location, language, and different types of keyword matching options - it seems like there's a place for everyone to find their niche group on Google.
AdWords has an unbelievable amount of options to ensure you target the right audience. Essentially how it works, at the most basic level, is that you develop your own ad. First you select keywords that when searched will trigger the ad. Then set your bid amount, which, along with relevancy to the keyword, determines how far up the page your advertisement appears. This is a part of the search network.
The other part of the equation is the display network which allows your ad to be shown on affiliate websites. For example, if you are a deck building company you may want to show your ads on home improvement blogs. When your ad appears on websites that are frequented by an audience similar to yours, it serves as an opportunity to create brand awareness and capture new leads.
Choose the right elements to both target your audience and have a justifiable return on investment (ROI). To do this, spend time researching the different options that will best fit for your business. However, not every business has the time or resources to do the initial implementation or research entirely on their own. This is where knowledgeable SEO and AdWords marketing companies play a huge role.
So why do it?Although it may seem like a hassle, AdWords is actually relatively simple to use. Not only is it easy to measure and use, but Google also provides support when you need it. AdWords helps you narrow your audience through highly specific targeting methods and allows you to tweak these until you find the perfect combination for your company.
To avoid overwhelming yourself, consistently put in a little bit of work. Take at least 20 minutes every week to look over stats and tweak keywords. This way you'll be able to accurately track your progress and minimize wasted time. For example, as a driveway sealing company you may want one of your keywords to be 'seal'. By including the negative keyword 'animal' you can save yourself a lot of money on your ad showing up for people searching for cute marine animal pictures.
AdWords also has a reputation of being faster to show results than other marketing strategies, such as SEO. The two however, complement one another very well. With AdWords you can rapidly develop your initial audience, since your ads go live immediately. And with paid ads you have access to the exact search phrase used to trigger the ad... which is key as Google analytics tends to hide most of that information when reviewing keywords driving organic traffic. This is valuable information that you can incorporate into your SEO efforts - which is also important because it works on multiple search engine platforms (e.g. Yahoo!, Bing) while AdWords is Google based.
AdWords is great for small businesses looking to control their advertising costs while still reaching a sizeable audience. It allows you to set your own bidding price which makes it very scalable. It is also great as a quick boost to your audience while other social channels, such as Facebook or Twitter, require more time to develop a base of followers to make them effective.
For a free assessment of how AdWords can improve your marketing efforts, contact us now.
Michelle Levandovsky
Marketing Intern
Mystique Brand Communications