Google launched its Self-Service Advertising Program back in October of 2000. Today, we know this as Google AdWords, and as a small business owner here in Fredericksburg it’s definitely something you should think about using to your advantage. If you’re not familiar with Google AdWords, it’s just a simple pay-per-click (PPC) service which enables you to create and run ads for your business. The ads you create are then shown alongside Google’s search results. Use the right keywords for your target audience and you’ll put yourself ahead, reaching those people who are interested in your product or service. Here are five great reasons why your business should start using AdWords.
1 – Measurable Results
The biggest advantage that AdWords has to offer is its measurability. One of the difficulties businesses face with online marketing is the challenge of getting a precise measurement on what increased or decreased your search result rankings. This is exactly what AdWords strives to fix. AdWords helps show you exactly what is working and what’s not working with the PPC metrics it comes with. Essentially, it does most of the data collection work for you.
2 – Flexibile Advertising
AdWords is also extremely flexible, providing tons of options that will allow you to customize your campaigns and ads and hyper-target your top target audiences. You can specify keyword search matches and choose to only display your ad to people who search for an exact keyword that you specify like, “Fredericksburg hotels.” It will then filter out traffic on general terms related to either Fredericksburg or hotels. You can also use ad extensions to project a phone number, your physical location, product images, and many other things. In addition you can access a large network of non-search users on properties like Gmail and Youtube and many other partner sites.
3 – Targeted Advertising
AdWords gives you a great opportunity to customize the audience that you’re trying to reach. As a small business owner in Fredericksburg, you probably aren’t trying to reach people in Iceland or Cambodia. It’s extremely beneficial to use AdWords and limit your audience to Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania County, etc. Not only can you narrow it by location, but you can also use AdWords to select the time of day, language, browser, device type, etc. that you want your target audience to have.
4 – Controllable Cost
A really neat feature that AdWords has is the ability to control the cost by setting a maximum cost per day for your campaign. It also helps you to decide what that amount should be set at. This allows you to budget for online advertising accordingly. Gone is the worry that you may go over budget! You’re always free to raise or lower your budget giving you the option to gain a lot of leads in a short amount of time.
5 – Quick Results
AdWords can give you what are essentially instantaneous results. This is especially important if you are a new business in the Fredericksburg area. With only using SEO, it can take months to see results. Competition is high, and it will take time for your website to prove itself, establish authority, and acquire links. While working on your site’s SEO, you can start getting clicks immediately by putting resources into an AdWords campaign. AdWords can also be easier to maintain than SEO, although both are ultimately worth the investment.
AdWords is being used by more and more advertisers. According to Moz, 80% of search results now contain AdWords ad placements which are covering up to 85% of the space above the fold on the results page. Keep up with the competition! Decide on a budget, and get involved. It will pay off for your business in the long run.