It can help you to grow your business and also get a head start on your competitors.  It can work out very cost efficient if you know how to use this platform properly thus avoiding making costly mistakes.  You need to ensure your efforts are rewarded with extra sales so your investment in Google AdWords gives you a good return.

 

Deciding on a Strategy

Who are you trying to attract to your website? What do you want them to do once they are on there?  It’s important to decide why you are investing in Google AdWords and what you want it to achieve.  You can set up goals and conversation using Google Analytics so you an easily measure what happens when that click occurs and a visit to your site starts.  You might want your visitor to purchase from you site, you might want the to look at your contact page to find your physical store or maybe you want them to visit a specific offer page.  These will all have value to you.

Selecting Keywords

Keywords connect your ads with users and their searches.  Effective keyword management helps you reach the right customers and grow your business.  You need to decide what words your customers might use to find you.  If you are a bakery you might select keywords like cake, bun, bread and muffin.  You might also select phrases such as local bakery, birthday cakes and fresh baked bread.  You need to think like your customer and there is no harm in having a brain storming session with your staff to come up with some options.

Putting together an Advertisement

One of the most important things to get right in your search ad is the creative (or messaging) you put into it.  Better creatives improve ad relevance and drive more qualified clicks.  The ad needs to tell the searcher who you are, what you do and gives them a reason to click and visit your site.  You also need to ensure that when they click on the ad that they are brought to a page on your site that is relevant to what they are searching for.  For example if your ad was for ‘Special Princess Birthday Cakes for Girls’ ensure that they are not brought directly to your home page that shows every product range that you offer.

Deciding on your Bid

So how much should you bid?  The good news is that you only pay for an advertisement when somebody clicks on it.  You need to decide how much a visit to your website is worth to you.  If a visit to your site normally leads to a sale in 10% of cases you should use this as a guide to what you want to bid.  Set up a daily limit so you don’t have a nasty surprise at the end of the month.  Remember you can pause or stop at any time and you can schedule your ad to show at certain times and days to suit you.

Measuring Success

It is very important to keep watch on what is happening in your Google AdWords so you are getting the most from it.  You can access reports that will show you which keywords are performing, which ads are not working and where you are being outbid.  By analysing this information you can adjust within the account to get the best results.

So if you want to be seen by customers when they are searching on Google for your product this may be the platform for you.  Remember you only pay when they click to visit your website so you are only paying when you get results.  If they don’t visit – then you don’t pay.

You can target your ads to certain countries, regions or cities or within a set distance from your business.  How much you invest is entirely up to you.  Begin with a budget that you are comfortable with.  Google AdWords can be a good way to attract new customers by bringing in new website visitors.  It can be a way to grow online sales, get the phones ringing or even keep existing customers coming back for more.

So if you think this could be part of your strategy why not give Google AdWords a try but remember these steps that can help you get the right results for the right spend.