What Are Google Ads?
Google Ads, also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is a form of search engine marketing. You pick a set of keywords that is relevant to your business and worth paying for, then write search ads to match them. This adds you into the search engine results page (SERP) auction, where advertisers compete to have their ads shown to users searching for things they are selling. However, unlike some other forms of advertising, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, hence the name: Pay-Per-Click advertising.
In this blog post, we’ll cover eight reasons why you should be using PPC ads, how much it costs, and five things you should keep in mind before you start your own online advertising campaign. Of course, we’ll also answer the big question, does paid search work?
Does Google Ads Work For Small Businesses?
Yes, Google Ads Works. It works for small businesses and large businesses alike. Paid ads are a great way for businesses to increase brand awareness, get more traffic to their site, and generate more sales, all while being able to track the results.
If you are willing to put in the time to learn how google ads functions, it can be really profitable for small businesses. If you're still hesitant and wondering if it's right for you, keep reading.
Why should I be advertising using Google Ads for my small business?
So you know what Google Ads is, and you know it works, but why should you be using PPC for your business?
Here are 8 reasons why you should make an ads account:
- It’s Measurable
- It’s Scalable
- It’s Faster Than SEO
- It Secures Brand Name Searches
- Builds Your Brand Awareness
- Drives More Sales
- It’s Cost-Effective
- Your Competitors Are
#1 Google Ads is Measurable
Online Marketing is very measurable. When you create a Google Ads account, Google shows you tons of PPC metrics that allow you to figure out what’s working and what’s not. This then tells you what things to keep and what things to adjust to make sure that you are getting the most out of your campaign.
#2 Google Ads is Scalable
Not sure you’re ready to go all-in with a huge marketing budget and running every kind of campaign type there is? That’s okay. Google Ads is scalable, meaning you can build up and cut back as needed. This is a huge reason why it’s an effective digital marketing tool for your business. Small business owners can start with a very targeted search campaign and expand over time to include more services or products and add more campaigns as needed.
#3 It's Faster Than SEO
I want to start this by saying, you should be improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) too. However, PPC campaigns get you results and data faster than SEO will. They can benefit each other in this way. Since you can use PPC as a way to do research and run tests on what will get you the most clicks and bring that data back to your search engine optimization efforts.
#4 Secures Brand Name Searches In The SERP
If you aren’t bidding on your own brand name your competitors could be. Letting them show up above your organic results on the search engine results page (SERP). Even though you are ranking 1st in the organic search for your brand name, you can still have three search ads above you. By securing that #1 advertising spot on your brand name you’re solidifying your chances of more people clicking on your website when they are looking for your brand.
#5 Google Ads Helps Build Brand Awareness
If you’ve just started your business or are trying to increase your reach Google Ads is a great way to help increase your brand awareness. By getting your business online through Search, Display, and Shopping campaigns you can get your products out there in front of people searching for what you offer that initially didn’t know they were looking for you, thus creating brand awareness.
#6 You Can Drive More Sales with Google Ads
Google Ads allows you to get your small business in front of users when they are looking for what you are selling. This is a huge bonus as it attracts the attention of new customers who may not have heard of your business before and sends them to you instead of other companies. The biggest goal of this being that it helps to increase conversion rates.
Looking to learn more about how to increase your sales with google ads? Check out this blog.
#7 PPC Is Cost-Effective
With Google Ads, you control the advertising budget. You can set the max amount you are willing to spend per month, and when google has spent it all it stops. However, you need to guide Google to when and where you want it to be spending your budget. More on this later.
#8 Your Competitors Are Using Google Ads
Similar to #4 securing your brand name searches in the SERP, your competitors are bidding on other keywords that are relevant to your business. If you and your competitor both sell ‘blue sneakers’ you should be up there in the search results with them. Your small business could be missing out on valuable customers just because your business isn’t showing up at the top of the google search results.
How Much Does PPC Cost for Small Businesses?
So Google Ads sound great but how much do you really spend on google ads? The average Vermont small business spends between $500 and $2,000 per month on their Google Ads campaigns. That’s about $16.45 to $65.79 per day*. However, how much it costs really depends on a number of factors like, how expensive the bids are on the keywords you want to target, how much you are comfortable spending, and how many clicks per day you are hoping to get based on the average cost per click.
For example, If the keyword you are bidding on costs $1.50, and your budget is $16.45/day it’s safe to assume you’ll get about ~ 10 clicks/day. If your daily budget is $65.79/day you’ll get about ~ 44 clicks per day on that same keyword. So you’ll want to adjust depending on what makes the most sense for your business.
Tip: Be sure to add negative keywords to eliminate wasted spend on the wrong audience. This ensures that you are only showing ads to the right kind of customers by bidding on the right keywords.
*Google Ads works with daily budgets that are billed on a monthly basis. This means that if your monthly budget is $500, you would divide $500 by the number of days in a month (30.4) which would give you a daily budget of $16.45. Google then knows it can spend $16.45/day, but it also knows your monthly allowance is $500.Therefore, some days if you aren’t getting many searches (clicks) and your daily budget isn’t met, Google knows it can spend that extra budget on a different day when more searches (clicks) are happening. As long as your monthly budget remains the same.
5 Things To Keep In Mind Before Starting a PPC Campaign For Your Small Business
There’s a lot to this whole PPC, Google Ads, Paid Advertising thing. We know. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Just like with any business endeavor, start with collecting more information.
5 Things To Keep In Mind Before Starting a PPC Campaign For Your Small Business:
- Have A Goal In Mind
- Choose Your Locations
- Pick Your Campaign Types
- Prepare Your Website
- Prepare Your Landing Pages
#1 Make Sure You Have A Goal In Mind
Your goal heavily dictates how you set up your campaign and how it’s going to run. So you should make sure you take the time to figure out what goal works best for your business, and how Google Ads can help you achieve it. For a more detailed guide on how to choose your goal, check out this blog.
#2 Know What Locations You Are Trying to Target
What’s your business’s reach? What locations you are targeting is largely dependent on how much budget you have and the area of service your small business reaches from your office's physical location. Can you ship your product anywhere in the state? Are you a contractor that only services a certain area of the state? These are just a few examples of the types of questions you should ask yourself before starting your campaign.
#3 Know Which Campaign Will Be Best For You
There are several types of advertising campaigns you can run. Search, Display, and Shopping are the most common. There are also smart campaigns that help to automate the process. Each campaign type offers different placements and benefits. So you’ll want to find the one that matches up best with your goal. Check out this blog, for some assistance in choosing which campaign will be best for you.
#4 Prepare Your Website For Google Ads
Google Ads does a great job of driving traffic to your website but once customers are there, it’s up to your website to get you the sale. Is your website ready to sell for you? If you’re not sure, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with 10 tips on how to prepare your website.
#5 Make Sure Your Landing Pages Are Ready
Landing Pages are the pages on your website where a customer will land once they’ve clicked on your ad. It’s incredibly important that these landing pages are well optimized and match the content described in the ad the customer clicked on. The last thing a customer wants is to click on your ad expecting to find more information on ‘winter tires’ and ending up on a landing page for ‘summer tires’ instead. For more details on why your landing page matters, click here.
Is Google Ads Right For My Company?
Ultimately that’s up for you to decide. There are many benefits to running a digital marketing campaign for your business. However, it also takes a lot of time and effort to set it up correctly and manage it. Here’s an example of what your typical management for a campaign looks like to give you a better idea.
If you’re interested in starting a PPC campaign for your business but don’t think you’ve got the time to manage it, reach out to us. We’d be happy to discuss management options with you. This is the kind of situation where a digital marketing agency, like Eternity, can really help out.
Want to learn more about PPC Advertising?
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We hope you found this helpful! If you have any questions feel free to contact us, we’re happy to help!
