Is the Google Ads platform too hard to use? Google seems to think so.
In 2017, one of the world’s favourite search engines admitted their advertising platform—then called Google Adwords—was too complex for small businesses to utilise. We tend to agree—kind of.
While it may have been easy for someone going into search engine optimisation or marketing a few years ago, it’s mighty hard if you’re only getting into the game now.
Why is Google Ads essential for a small business, even though it’s ‘too hard’?
Okay, so we’re not going to say Google Ads is impossible for a small business to use, because it’s not. We’ll explain a little more about that later, but for now, we’ll tell you why you should at least be looking at including this advertising platform in your digital marketing strategy.
What is Google Ads?
Imagine having a billboard, but instead of it just being on major highways and high-traffic roads, it’s in people’s homes, workplaces or wherever they are at that moment. By using the Google Ads platform you can put your business ads on YouTube videos, Google search results, on other people’s websites, in Google Places and Shopping searches…almost anywhere Google can go, they’ll sell you an ad space. PLUS, with Pay Per Click (PPC), you only pay for what you use.
Let us explain. PPC operates by you selecting the keywords you want your business ads to show for. Say you’re a face painter in Lalaland; you specialise in kid’s parties and want people to find you when they search for party entertainers near Lalaland. So, you make what is called a bid for that keyword in the ad auction. Your bid goal depends on your strategy, however we won’t go into that here.
Why should I be using Google Ads?
Let’s pretend you sell a product for $200. The product cost $100 for you to produce, so you receive $100 income for every sale. You decide to occupy a billboard on a busy road, with the average price of a small board costing $1,900 a month, plus the $500 print fee and $300 setup fee. You’ve spent $2,700 to have your business advertised for one month. You also have no way of saying exactly how many sales you’ve generated as a result of the billboard.
Next month you decide to put the $2,700 on Google Ads. You received 100 clicks, 70% of which resulted in a sale. Remember, you earn $100 for every product you sell, and you’ve just made 70 of them. Your ad has well and truly paid for itself.
Aside from the obvious monetary benefits, Google Ads lets you control who sees your ad. Ever wondered how the ads you see online seem to be for things you like, or based around websites you’ve recently visited? This is because you can use Google Ads to target people who already know about your brand or have searched for similar products. Sneaky, right? But genius!
Using Google Ads Still Sounds Hard
Yeah, we know. It sounds like a lot of work to learn how to find the right keywords, how to win bids in the ad auction, how to make ads that attract the right customers, figuring out your ROI and what type of ad to choose—and it is. There are people out there who love the thrill of chasing a conversion—they’re called Google Ads specialists. We just so happen to have a whole team of them and man, do they know what they’re doing.
If you identify with any of the below questions, we’d love to help you out:
What options do I have with a small budget, as low as $500 to $1,000 a year?
What keywords should I be using?
How do I tell if my Google Ads are performing?
How do I set up an ad on Google?
HELP!
Contact us for proof any sized business can grow online.