Wondering what it’s like to use Google Adwords for small businesses? It’s like finding a rewarding shortcut or hiring a customisable virtual billboard, in a nutshell.
When done right and targeted correctly, a PPC advertising strategy can bring tangible and profitable results to your start-up or small company. Much better than wasting money trying to shout to the masses!
Not too familiar with PPC ads?
Let us tell you about the benefits of Google Adwords for small businesses and show you how to set yourself up for success when creating a campaign.
What is PPC advertising?
PPC advertising stands for Pay Per Click and is a strategy that allows you to showcase your business on the very top of the SERP (search engine results page) for a relevant keyword.
Once you’ve selected a keyword that you want to target and someone has googled it, your advert will appear before any organic result. However, you only pay if someone actually clicks on it. Nice one!
Although they both involve search engines and aim to reach the top of the first page, we need to stress the fact that PPC is different from SEO.
Search engine optimisation relies on ranking organically, whereas PPC is paid search and is shown with a little ‘ad’ tag.
For the best results? You should focus on both!
Because Google accounts for 73.34% of all desktop traffic and 92.81% of mobile searches, Google Adwords is your best shot for PPC advertising.
If you’d heard about it before but were surprised to find a ‘Google Ads’ logo instead, don’t worry: it’s no Mandela effect! Technically, Google Adwords became Google Ads in 2018, but it’s still widely known by its previous name.
If you’d like to find out more about outsourced marketing services, give us a call on 0115 671 3868
What are the benefits of Google Adwords for small businesses?
If you’re a start-up or a small company, we definitely wouldn’t want you to spend your precious budget on techniques that generate poor results. Luckily, PPC isn’t one of them!
Here are the benefits of Google Adwords for small businesses like yours.
1. PPC ads allow you to reach customers who are already looking for what you sell
The best thing about Google Adwords is that you don’t have to worry about wasting money advertising to people who couldn’t care less about your products or services.
Because you’re targeting specific keywords, you’re advertising to users who are already looking for products that you offer!
That’s why people who arrive on your website through ads are 50% more likely to buy than those coming through organic links.
You’re not creating a small billboard on Google and hoping that whoever sees it cares about it. You’re showing it just to those who already do.
Much easier to convince them, right?
2. They also show them your ad at the right time
As well as targeting the right audience, it’s important to show them the right ad at the right time.
If someone is still at the very top of the sales funnel, it’s unlikely that they’ll be ready to purchase your product, no matter how amazing it is.
Because you can display different ads for different keywords, Google Adwords allows you to target customers at each stage of the funnel, and show them the right ad for their current situation.
For example, if they’re Googling something to figure out the difference between your product and a similar one, you can direct them to that blog post of yours that breaks down their features.
On the other hand, if they’re already looking up something like ‘[product name] buy online’, then you should show them the ad that takes them straight to that product.
3. PPC ads give you fast results, especially if your website is still small and young
As we mentioned before, SEO is still vital. Even if you’re running PPC ads, you should keep trying to rank organically for your best keywords and target several long-tail alternatives through your blog posts.
However, you should know by now that SEO takes time. You might have to wait a few months before seeing actual results.
If you’re trying to generate new leads right now, Google Adwords can help you do that… without the wait. That’s the shortcut we mentioned earlier!
4. PPC ads help you enhance your brand awareness
Obviously, you want people to click on that ad. However, one of the benefits of Google Adwords for small businesses is that you can enhance your brand awareness regardless of whether or not you get that click.
Because your ad will be showcased at the very top of the SERP, users will definitely see it.
They might have never heard of your brand before, but this time it will be right in their face.
And don’t forget that, if they don’t click on it, you don’t get charged: you’re getting some exposure and enhanced brand awareness for free, so far!
5. Google Adwords gives you total control over who you target
As well as targeting specific keywords, Google Adwords allows you to focus your advertising efforts around your target audience.
There are several parameters that you can choose, making sure that you get the very most out of your money.
For example, if your product is handy to those who google ‘meal delivery boxes’ but not really to people over the age of 40, you can show it just to those up to 39 years old.
You don’t deliver outside your city? Show it just to local searches.
You get the gist, right?
6. You can also retarget your ads to those who’ve already visited your website
Google Adwords isn’t only beneficial to generate new leads: it can help you retarget those cheeky users who’ve already visited your website but left without purchasing anything (#rude).
Perhaps they’re still at the very top of the funnel? Or maybe they genuinely forgot?
Either way, you can remind them about your existence and show them a more personalised ad to tell them what they’re missing out on.
7. Google Adwords can be used with any budget
Don’t worry about spending thousands of pounds on PPC advertising!
Google Adwords lets you set your own budget. Because you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, it’s much easier to keep your spend under control.
Sure, some keywords are more expensive than others, but you always know their cost upfront, so you can focus on those that match your budget and are most relevant to your audience.
Sometimes, a cheaper but more specific keyword can actually give you much better results than a more expensive alternative that everyone else is targeting!
8. PPC ads are a measurable marketing strategy
One of the trickiest things in marketing is spending money on strategies that you can’t analyse, because you’ll never know if they’re actually worth it.
PPC advertising isn’t one of those!
After running your campaign, you can check the traffic that it brought you and how many sales you generated thanks to that specific ad.
If it didn’t work as well as you wished, you can always use these data to improve your next campaign.
9. Google Adwords can allow you to overtake the competition
You’re a small start-up. Your competitors are huge companies that have been doing this for years. Of course, their websites will pop up first on search engines, to begin with!
While you work your way through SEO and wait to reap what you sow months ago, you can get a juicy head start with PPC advertising.
Running paid ads with Google Adwords means that you can show up before your competitors on the SERP despite their SEO advantage!
Now that you know all about the benefits of Google Adwords for small businesses, let’s make sure that you use it right.
If you’d like to find out more about outsourced marketing services, give us a call on 0115 671 3868
How to create a successful PPC advertising strategy with Google Adwords for small businesses
As a small business, we know that budget is everything. Even though PPC advertising is a paid tool, you can generate a satisfactory ROI if you create the right strategy. Don’t just chuck money at it and hope for the best!
1. Define the objectives of your Google Adwords campaign
Ask yourself why you’re running these PPC ads. There are different reasons that go beyond a generic ‘to sell’!
For example:
- To increase brand awareness
- To help your audience move to the next stage of the sales funnel
- To retarget those who’ve already visited your website
- To sell a specific product.
By defining the aim of your campaign you’ll know what to expect, who to target, and what language to use in your ad.
2. Understand who you’re targeting
As we just mentioned, once you know the aim of your campaign it should be easier to understand who exactly you are targeting. Be specific, though!
It’s not always just ‘your target audience’.
If you’re trying to sell the same product to two types of people or users who’re in different stages of the sales funnel, it’ll probably be better to create two separate ads.
Otherwise, if you’re being too generic, you’ll end up becoming white noise.
3. Find the right keywords
You know the aim of your ads and you know your audience. Now, look for the right keywords!
As we’ve already established, some will be more competitive and expensive than others, so be realistic with your budget.
You can use practical tools like Google Keyword Planner to find the right ones for your industry.
4. Craft a compelling ad with an unmissable call to action
Now it’s time to showcase your copywriting skills.
If a user is looking for something, it means that they have some kind of pain point: you need to make it crystal clear that your product is what can solve it.
A successful ad is one that creates an ‘aha!’ moment as soon as your target audience reads it. They should be like, ‘Oh, wow! They’re talking about me’ or ‘Woah, that’s exactly what I’m after!’
Don’t just describe your company. Your ad should immediately convey the fact that, if they click on it, they will receive the solution they’re after and gain a specific benefit.
5. Add a link to the most relevant page
What’s the best page to complement your ad?
Yes, it could be your home page, but it could also be something else entirely.
If you’re selling a specific product, it will be that product page. If you’re trying to get your audience to understand the difference between your product and the competition’s, it’ll be the blog post in which you illustrate it.
People don’t like to waste their time.
If you send them to the wrong page, they could easily click away from your website and resort to the first organic result instead.
Shame that you’ve already paid for that click. Ouch.
6. Always capture your leads
In the best-case scenario, the user who has clicked on your ad will buy the product that you’ve advertised. However, it’s inevitable that some people will wander around your website and then bounce away.
That doesn’t mean that you should let them go like that! If you do, they’ll forget about you.
Have a lead magnet to push them to give you their email address and subscribe to your newsletter. Perhaps to get a 10% discount? Or to download the guide that would clarify all their doubts on your industry?
If they give you their details, you can send them a good email marketing campaign to convince them to buy when they’re ready.
7. Track the results of each campaign
Like you’d do with any other marketing campaign, you must always analyse the results of your Google Adwords advertising.
If you’ve smashed it, you need to know exactly what you did right. If it didn’t go as well as you wished, that’s ok too. Be realistic and expect a bit of a learning curve when using Google Adwords!
The fact that you can track results, though, is great news. By knowing what didn’t work you can adjust your future campaigns accordingly.
Are you ready to harness the power of Google Adwords for small businesses? Start planning your PPC advertising strategy and get ready to hook your audience in with that coveted ‘aha!’ moment.
Sounds too time-consuming and with a steep learning curve? How about we do all the work and you get all the benefits? At Ketchup Marketing, we specialise in PPC advertising for small businesses like yours.
If you’d like to find out more about outsourced marketing services, give us a call on 0115 671 3868
