Should Your Business Use Google Ads?

Considering Google Ads? If there’s a single platform to put you in front of the biggest audience, it’s Google.

Consider these stats on shares of global market search from December 2021:

What are they?

Google Ads are arguably the most popular form of PPC (pay per click) advertising available. Here’s how they work:

1. You choose targeted keywords and bid on them (often between $1-3 per keyword, but this figure can be higher for more specialized keywords).  
   
   Keywords are the words or phrases that you expect people to search for when they are looking for a business like yours. For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer, you might choose keywords like “car accident lawyer” or “traumatic brain injury attorney.”  

2. When someone searches on these keywords, your ads will appear at the top of the page (above the organic search results).  
3. Every time someone clicks on your ad, you are charged the amount of money that you bid for the keyword that instigated the search. If no one clicks on your ad, you don’t pay.

When should I use Google ads?

Google ads are a good choice when you know that your prime prospect is plentiful and ready to buy. As mentioned above, you pay when your ad is clicked. Google will do everything in its considerable power to generate a click. This does not guarantee that the click, the lead, will convert. 

If your keyword ad appeals to folks who are interested in what you’re offering but are still in the consideration phase of their journey, you are paying Google to deliver prospects who aren’t ready to buy. Testing can help mitigate this. Reduce/eliminate budget on keywords that aren’t converting and increase the budget on keywords that are converting, even if these keywords are more expensive.

What’s to love about Google Ads?

• Targeting. With Google Ads, you can decide who you want to see your ads based on location, age, device type, time of day, etc., to ensure maximum conversion. For example, if you’re trying to market your medical spa, Google Ads lets you exclusively target people who live within driving distance of your spa.  
• Measurable. Thanks to Google’s analytics, you can see exactly how your ads are performing. This allows you to fine-tune your campaign to ensure that you are targeting the right people in the most effective ways.  
• Cost control. You can specify exactly how much you want to spend per month. Google will allow enough clicks to equal that budget and then stop your ad spend for the month. There are no surprise costs.  
• Quick results. Search engine optimization is a popular way to promote your business online, but most SEOs will tell you to plan on at least a year to start seeing your page rankings ascend. On the other hand, with Google Ads, you’ll always be at the top of the page. There’s no wait and see. Google Ads can generate returns the day you start your campaign.  

How do you know if Google Ads will be profitable for you?

Start by asking some critical questions.

What’s my marketing budget?

In general, you have to spend money to make money, but not all businesses have the budget for Google Ads. A good general rule is that if you don’t have a minimum of $500 to $1,000 per month to commit to Google, you may want to look for another platform. 

Another way to think about this is your allowable cost per sale. This is a profit first way to determine how much you can spend to acquire a customer. Basically, you would multiply your CPC by the number of leads required to get a sale. If the result is lower than your allowable cost per order, then you are good to go.

How competitive is my niche?

While shrewd Google Ads management can help you stand out from the crowd, some industries are so saturated by Google Ads that it’s really hard to get a favorable return on investment. Or, you just might need to get really creative with your keywords to stand out in a less competitive niche within your industry.

How much time do I have to commit to my campaign?

Google Ads are not a plug-and-play pursuit. The landscape is constantly changing. Your competitors change. Your target audience’s preferences may change depending on the trends of the day. Google’s policies and settings change. 

If you don’t have time to analyze and refine your campaign regularly—or the know-how to maximize all aspects of your campaign, consider trusting it to a skilled Google Ads manager who does this day in and day out. They will know the latest and greatest techniques for the biggest return on your investment.  

Does my business lend itself to Google Ads?

With Google Ads, the first thing the user will see is text. If your product or service would display better with a visual or a video, you might consider a more visual-centric platform like Instagram or Facebook ads.

If your customers’ journey is complex, there needs to be time and interaction with you to generate trust, then Google ads are likely not a great choice for you.

Why isn’t my Google Ads campaign performing better?

If you try Google Ads and are underwhelmed, don’t write them off without doing some careful analysis. Are you choosing the best keywords for your target audience? Have you selected words that are too competitive/saturated? Is your Google Ads text engaging and compelling? Are your ads working as well for mobile device users as they are for desktop users?

You might also need to take a good, hard look at your campaign landing page. If you use Google Ads you want to send ad traffic to landing pages that have been designed specifically for this effort. Your landing page has six seconds or less to engage a visitor. Payoff the ad copy that brought the visitor to the page. Make the offer and CTA clear and compelling.

Invest in Google Ads – Conclusion

Google Ads has great potential, but harnessing that potential is a careful science that requires plenty of attention.

If you’re willing to put in the time to crack the code, and it’s a smart choice for your business, then, by all means, go for it.

Or if it’s a good fit for your business and you don’t want to invest your time then hire a top-rated Google Ads management agency like Webrageous (our Google Ads agency of choice).

With careful planning and thoughtful execution, you can draw on the massive power of Google to help you efficiently find and convert your target audience.