The Guide to paid advertising: Google Ads
You shouldn’t rule out Google Ads as a form of marketing!
Whether it works for your business now or not, you can never completely predict where you will be in 6 months, a year or even 5 years, so I think it's very important to never limit yourself with firm beliefs on the marketing you want to stick to. Even paid marketing!
This week, we’re diving into the world of paid ads and how they can be a great step forward for your business, as well as outsourcing, Google Ads and fitting all of these things into your content strategy!
What are Google Ads and Adwords?
Ever thought about the next step you can take with your business? In a world full of different marketing strategies, what could be the next big step you take to create that all-important brand awareness?
Well, have you considered Google Ads?
Google ads
You’ve probably been seeing Google Ads for years without even realising what they are or that they are actually a form of marketing! In the world of Google Ads, there are actually about 8 different types you can choose to use when taking the route of paid advertising (which you can read more about here)
So what are these and how are they different?
Search – Text ads on Google search results
Display – Image ads on websites or on Gmail
Video – Video ads on YouTube
Shopping – Product listings on Google
App – Your app promotion on many channels
Smart – Simplified automated ads on Google and across the web
Local – Drive customers to a physical location
Discovery – Runs ads across Google’s feeds when they’re open
All of these are great ways if paid advertising is the way you want to go, of creating brand awareness on a much larger scale. It can help attract potential buyers to your product/service and even enhance traffic to your website or social platforms, it all centers around what your goals are and how much you are willing to invest.
Remember that any investment you make into your business should be well thought out and planned, but there is always a risk involved! So, before considering paid advertising, make sure you’ve analysed what stage your brand is at and if it is the right fit/move for you.
Google Adwords
Google Adwords, in particular, are those keywords that show up for you from what you search in Google!
Have you ever been searching for new shoes to run in and then all of a sudden ads are popping up in your feed for a sale on running shoes? That is a result of Google Adwords!
This is the perfect marketing channel to quickly and effectively drive qualified traffic, aligned customers and potential clients to your business. These people would be in the process of searching for products and services like the ones you offer, and Google Adwords help these individuals to be led straight to you!
On both mobile devices and desktops, Google Ads are great for allowing the business owner to create and share effective ads that reach the desired target audience and possibly even beyond that.
Overall, Google Ads and Google Adwords are super impressive marketing channels that fastracks your brand awareness, client reach, and sales. But is it right for you?
What types of businesses should try Google Ads?
Whether you should use Google Ads or not isn't determined by what type of business you have, it is more based on what stage your business is at.
Before considering paid advertising, you should have a really good look at the content you already have and if the demand for your product/service is at the right level. This type of marketing is all about timing!
Maybe you have a campaign you really want to promote, but without that already established interest and demand, it may not be ready for the investment you are about to put in. So make sure your target audience is already aware of your offers and go from there, this is super important.
What else do people need to know about paid marketing and Google ads?
There’s a number of things you should consider looking at when thinking about Google Ads and paid marketing. This is a big investment you are about to make, so let’s make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into and the plans leading up to it.
Here are some of the things to think about...
Knowing your goals and where you want paid marketing to take you
Think “What do I want to promote” and “Who do I want to promote to”
Do you want to do it yourself or is outsourcing someone to help the way to go?
Always remember to do your research and be prepared to build up from a low budget to begin with
Educate yourself on your audience, ads in general, and make sure you have brand awareness!
If you do the research and pre-work, this can be a very powerful marketing tool
Be specific with your goals and what you want to offer
You need to know your target audience but remember you will learn more about them
Paid advertising changes often (e.g updates, system changes, added/changed features) so make sure you’re staying up to date with these things!
Testing is important
Making assumptions and having goals about what you want your paid advertising to achieve is important, but it isn't everything. With Google Ads, you NEED to test!
Test for at least 2 months before and make changes and improvements as you go. Things like better ad copy, different landing pages and even playing around with the words you use can make such a difference - also, this is the perfect time to try different strategies going into it.
When you are launching something new
Google Ads and paid advertising, in general, are AWESOME for catching attention. When you are preparing for a launch or about to enter your launch period, this form of marketing can be great to set your brand apart from others in the same niche.
So when you want to host a live event, run a masterclass or even grow your email list (you know, all that brand awareness stuff) why not give it a go if it’s the right time!
You want to know what you can sell…
Google Ads are amazing at scaling your conversions. Because you’ve done your research on your audience, you know exactly what they want from you and your brand so use this.
Start by using social ads to gain engagement and awareness for your specific product, service or goal and then eventuate into creating content to build trust and use Google Ads to then boost your sales.
Remember, it all comes down to timing!
You need to plan out your business and sales plan
Specifics are key in Google Ads, that’s what makes them so effective! Make sure to plan out and visualize what exactly you want to promote and work from that.
Having goals for your brand and business is always important, but if you’re starting to look at using paid advertising, really make sure your goals are specific and measurable by sales, sign-ups or engagement (whatever you measure as ‘success’)
For example, if you want to increase your sales by XYZ - trial Google Ads.
What if people don’t convert?
Being an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s almost guaranteed not everything will go how we want it to (even with a lot of planning and assumptions). This can definitely happen with paid marketing as well, so what do you do if people don’t convert?
Try looking at different aspects of your business
Revisit your landing page
Maybe your website needs changing
Clear up your CTA’s
Make sure it is known what you actually are there to do
Consider all of these things and make some changes, they could make a big difference!
What does cost per lead mean?
Otherwise known as a CPL, a cost per lead is a type of pricing model. This pricing model means that the advertiser/business owner pays for an explicit sign-up from a consumer that is interested in what you’re selling, you might even know it as online lead generation!
How does content creation play a role in Google ads?
I will always tell my clients and anyone looking at Google Ads that organic marketing is key and should be the first step.
You can’t simply expect to sky-rocket with paid advertising if you have no organic market, content, or brand awareness to grow from. Paid advertising helps you to reach those last goals that you feel like you can’t reach through just organic marketing and should come after you know your audience already.
And plus, there will be a lot less testing and trial and error if you have the pre-work already sorted!
Final thoughts
Google Ads and paid advertising can be really smart investments for your business if it is the right timing. Make sure to have done your research, understood your audience, measured your goals and specified your business needs before making that decision.
Start making positive assumptions and just give it a go! No one ever entered the entrepreneurial world to play it safe, so take that leap and invest money, hire someone to help you out, talk to other businesses about how they navigated the world of paid ads and just go for it!