The Who, What, and Why of Google Ads
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is an online digital marketing platform that enables businesses to display an ad and reach people searching the internet for their products or services in real time. Unlike most marketing tactics, Google Ads actively targets your potential customers in the moment that they’re conducting a search online.
Who Can Use Google Ads?
Service-based businesses benefit greatly from Google Ads. Think about it – where do you go when you are looking for a service near you? Google, right? “Hair salon near me,” “best wedding venue in my area,” “interior design service,” “local real estate agent.” You name it, people are looking for you online.
Can your customers find you?
Product-based businesses are excellent candidates for Google’s Shopping Ads. Display a picture of your product with a brief description and price while directing traffic directly to the e-commerce shop on your website. Red stiletto boots size 7? Google Shopping Ads will show your customer their options.
While most businesses can benefit from a Google Ads campaign, Google does impose restrictions on some industries (ex: pharmaceutical, politics, alcohol, weapons, etc.).
Reach out to us to see if Google Ads can be an effective option for your business.
Why Google Ads?
The real question is ‘Why Not’?! Seriously, there are 1001 reasons why you should try Google Ads, but we’re going to share our top 10 reasons why Google Ads should be in your marketing plan.
Fast Results
Think of digital advertising like running. You’ve got your sprinters, and you’ve got your marathoners. Google Ads is for sprinters. Need traffic to your website now? Need more appointments immediately? Phone not ringing? As opposed to other marketing methods like Search Engine Optimization (aka the marathon), Google Ads can generate interest from your potential customers right away.
Highly Targeted
Control when, where, and to whom your ads show with pinpoint accuracy. Google Ads offers many targeting tools that allows you to target people very specifically. Target people within a 30 mile radius of your business or an entire state. National targeting? Absolutely! Appeal to mobile users mostly? Are you closed on weekends? We can adjust all of this to ensure your ads only show up when and where you want them to.
Flexible
Google Ads is super flexible when it comes to starting, stopping, adding services, shifting strategy, adjusting budget, and more. By hiring a Google Certified Partner, like Sarah Olivia Marketing, you can feel comfort knowing that we’re experts in all things Google Ads. We’re familiar with the available Google tools, and we know how to use them effectively based on your goals. The more data we collect with Google Ads, the more insight we have. Adjustments are made regularly to evolve with you and your customers.
Better ROI
One of the biggest benefits of Google Ads is that you only pay when an ad is clicked and someone views your website. Unlike traditional forms of marketing, your ad does not go out to thousands of people who may or may not be interested in your business. Return on investment is maximized because you only advertise to the people looking for you AND who click to learn more. Impressions are free – big win for brand awareness right there!
Full Control
Google Ads marketing is like a water faucet. Turn it on and off as needed. For a slow trickle, turn it on just a smidge. Leave it wide open for heavier flow. In other words, you are in control of your marketing dollars. You can protect those dollars by choosing a more reserved strategy, or you can take some risks with looser targeting methods. The great news is that you can turn it off at any time, in real time. Leads aren’t as strong as you’d like? No problem. You have full control over how you target. Adjustments are live and can be made immediately.
Measurable
Reporting is transparent, easy to access, and nearly instantaneous. Google provides insights into everything from click and conversion performance to geographical and device reporting. Access to this information allows you to optimize and target high performing factors, ultimately getting more of what’s working. Likewise, underperforming factors can also be adjusted to minimize spend in those areas.
Scalable
With flexibility and measurability, Google Ads makes it easy to scale an advertising campaign. Once your metrics are strong and keyword targeting is on point, Google Ads makes scaling a breeze. Increase budget, increase bids, change bidding strategies – there are many tools to affect scalability. And what’s great about Google Ads is that if something does go awry, you can easily adjust or even pause the ads and regroup.
Competitive Advantage
There are two ways to look at competitive advantage when it comes to Google Ads. You’re either in an industry where all your major competitors are using Google Ads, or you’re in an industry where you can dominate the market share using Google Ads. Either way, Google Ads gives you a competitive advantage with minimal risk at a relatively low initial investment.
Remarketing / Display
Not only does Google Ads allow you to target people searching for you in the moment, Google also offers tools for you to target people passively as they browse various websites on the internet. Remarketing Ads gives business owners the opportunity to display image ads on various websites to people who have already visited their own website. This is a great reminder to your potential customers that you’re still here and that they’re still interested in your product or service. Display Ads looks at your potential customers’ browsing behaviors and allows you to target them based off of their interests, demographics, browsing history, keywords they’ve typed in, and even based on the content of a web page they are currently viewing. These two ad types (remarketing and display) are great ways to expand brand awareness and build authority in your industry.
Complements Other Marketing Efforts
When your customers are looking for you online, you ideally want to show up on page one of Google as many times as possible. Google Ads works nicely with other marketing tactics like Search Engine Optimization (for organic search ranking), Social Media Ads and Management, Google My Business, Email Marketing, and more. If someone finds you via social media, for example, they’re likely to do a bit more research on your company. And where are they going to go to do that? Google!
How to start?
We’re big Google Ads fans! Can you tell? It’s our number one tool to generate leads quickly with minimal risk. If you’re looking to get more customers, we would love the opportunity to learn more about your business and your goals to see if we can help. Yada yada yada, contact info sentence here. 😉
