When a potential customer performs a Google search, according to Moz, as much as 80% of the results page may contain ad placements through AdWords. With less space to compete on, traditional SEO strategies may no longer be enough to get your business noticed. If you aren’t already using Google AdWords, it’s probably time to start.
Here are the 5 ways you can get the most out of Google AdWords:
1. Measure your results
Similar to Google Analytics with your website, the data you receive from AdWords contains an abundance of information about the performance of your ads. You’ll know demographic information about the people clicking on your ads, what ad placements are working the best, what times and locations are giving you the most clicks, and more. On top of that, you’ll know what keywords are working almost immediately. Traditional SEO can take months to get any useful information from, with AdWords, you’ll start learning how to optimize as soon as you start posting ads.
2. Control your costs
AdWords allows you to set a daily maximum on your spending, so you never go over budget. Additionally, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, so you can figure out exactly how much you’re spending on a campaign in real time. As you get started with AdWords, determine what you’re willing to spend, and then learn from your results to continuously lower your cost-per-click. As you figure out how to best reach your target audience, you’ll see your investments going further and further.
3. Target your audience
With AdWords, you can control where, when, and how your ads are being shown. It may take some experimenting when you first get started, but, pretty quickly, you’ll have data on where your clicks are coming from, when your target audience is online, and how you can start reaching them better. If you want to stretch your advertising budget, you can tell AdWords to only show your ads in a certain location, at a certain time, and in a format that converts as many clicks to customers as possible.
4. Optimize for AdWords and SEO
Odds are that you have competitors who are already using AdWords to get an advantage over organic search. You may feel like using AdWords will just take you from one competitive pond to another one, but there are ways you can use AdWords to maximize your results, without just playing a game of ‘who can pay more for advertising space?’. When someone performs a Google search, AdWords uses an algorithm to find the most relevant ads, not the ones from companies paying the most. You can use what you learn from AdWords’ data to help you optimize your website with the most effective keywords and phrases to make your ads the most relevant.
5. Take advantage of Google
Google is one of the largest companies in the world, and it has a habit of buying other large companies to become even larger. In the online search business, no one can compete with Google, but their advertising advantages aren’t limited just to search. With AdWords, you have access to the entire Google Display Network, where your ads can be placed on YouTube, company websites, and more. With remarketing, visitors to your website can be presented with your ads wherever they go on the web, helping you reach, not just a lot of leads, but very good leads.
As a business owner, you want to be using every tool available to you to drive business to your website. Combining a smart AdWords campaign with an effective SEO strategy can maximize your business’s online visibility. If you want to know more about how your business can stand out from the crowd, check out our SEO services.
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