You could call me a Google AdWords evangelist. I’ve seen the light, and I get it. I get why AdWords has helped Google become a $369 billion company. AdWords, when done correctly, really works. I’ve seen it turn businesses around, and every day I help local businesses make the phone ring with Google AdWords.
But there are still tons and tons of local businesses out there who don’t get it. They don’t understand AdWords, or they haven’t tried it yet. Or maybe they tried AdWords and didn’t have success with it. Regardless of the reason, the majority of local businesses still don’t realize the extent to how AdWords can help their business. In this article I’m going to cover 10 facts about Google AdWords that every small business owner should know. And hopefully reading this article is your first step towards getting Google AdWords.
1. It’s Easy To Start
Google AdWords is incredibly easy to start. There are no contracts and no time-wasting meetings. You just go to google.com/adwords, pick the search terms you want to run ads on, create your ads, and then push play. It’s as simple as that. Of course there is a lot to learn about AdWords before you start running a great campaign, but the ability to start an ad campaign so easily really makes AdWords special and unique when compared to other advertising options.
2. You Can Start Small
Lots of clients tell me they haven’t started AdWords yet because they don’t have a big enough budget. After I take MY FACE OUT OF MY PALM, I tell my clients that a small budget is no excuse for not starting an AdWords campaign. You can literally run an AdWords campaign at $10 or $20 a month. No budget is too small. The important thing is that you start familiarizing yourself with AdWords and start building your AdWords skill set. A larger budget can always come later.
3. AdWords Could Be A Game Changer
Google AdWords could change your business for the better and help you create serious wealth. It could be a game changer. Maybe people are searching for your products or services to a much greater extent than you had thought. Maybe AdWords can help you scale your business and quickly and profitably enter new markets. You won’t know any of this until you actually sit down and give AdWords a try. You might be pleasantly surprised with the results, and AdWords might help you rapidly grow your business. You won’t know any of this until you try AdWords, but the beautiful thing about AdWords is that you can try it with a very small budget (compared to the possible game changing results) and you don’t have to take a big risk to find out if there is a big reward.
4. Display Ads Are Cheap
Maybe people associate Google AdWords with Google’s primary search product and the text ads that go along with it. But Google also has a powerful display network where you can reach a large audience for what is usually a much lower average cost per click than you will pay for the search ads. Google’s display ad network is great for branding and awareness campaigns, and you can learn more about it by watching this one minute video:
5. Google Is The New Phone Book
The phone book was a seriously powerful marketing tool. But it’s over. The era of the yellow pages is behind us. It’s dead. Sure, we all still get phone books thrown at out front porch every few months, and sure, some people still use the yellow pages. But those numbers shrink every day and sooner or later that era will be completely behind us. Google is the new phone book, and everyone uses it. If you have a local business that you want new customers to find, then you have to be on Google.
6. Your Competitors Probably Use AdWords
Google’s advertising revenue in 2013 was over $50 billion. Someone is paying to run ads. And that “someone” probably includes some or many of your competitors. Go to Google and search for the products or services that you sell. See if any of your competitors are running ads. They probably are. And every day they are getting new customers and clients from their ads on Google searches. It’s time to join the game and start growing your business with AdWords ads.
7. You Can Pause Your Ads At Any Time
Any time your want to pause your ads, you just click a button and that’s it. Your ads will be paused. Same thing with lowering your budget. Want to lower your AdWords’ budget? Okay, just click a couple buttons and your ad budget will be lower. No long term contracts, no shady salesman, NONE OF THAT. You just click a button and your campaign will be paused. It’s such a beautiful and simple and powerful tool.
8. You Can Track Everything
Seriously, everything related to AdWords can be tracked. AdWords takes the guessing game aspect out of marketing. With AdWords you can track exactly how many products your sold, how many phone calls you got, how many emails you got, and how much it cost to get those leads and sales. You can track the profitability of overall campaigns all the way down to the keyword level. With AdWords there is no more guessing about what your marketing budget is doing for your business.
9. You Only Pay When Someone Visits Your Website
You only pay for clicks. So you only pay when someone clicks on your ad and goes to your website. It’s a very fair and effective pricing policy. You only pay for what you get. And how much get is up to you.
10. AdWords Is The Future
AdWords is the future, and the future is here. AdWords is the most effective form of marketing for local businesses, and that’s not going to change any time soon. Google has no real search competition and every month their AdWords products gets better and more effective. It’s time to get onboard and start growing your business with AdWords.
