There are a lot of businesses today that are just getting started on their marketing journey. Maybe it’s a new business or maybe it’s a business that has never really had to do marketing before. No matter the case, I get asked this question all the time –
My answer is always the same. There’s one channel that we need to talk about and that’s Google search ads. I know it’s not as sexy as social media, which is where everyone seems to flock to first. But any real digital marketer (like myself) who has a lot of clients and aggregates a lot of data surrounding which channels bring in the most new customers and new clients the fastest will tell you that channel is Google search ads. It’s the three to four ads that appear at the top of every single Google search.
Think about it – we all turn to Google for research and information. If you’re trying to find a restaurant in an unfamiliar part of town, you Google it. If you’re going on vacation, you Google it. If you have a medical condition, you Google it. If you’re building a house, you turn to Google for potential contractors. When you have issues with that house, you go to Google for home service professionals. Even fashion advice, people Google it. You get my point.
Google is the place where people go for answers, research, and shopping. The point is they’re in action mode. That’s the most important takeaway from this video. As a business owner or marketer, you need to have a presence on Google, at least for a handful of your most targeted keyword phrases that pertain to the products and services you offer.
Another benefit is that there are no long-term contracts with Google. It’s a self-service platform, meaning you can upload any keyword phrases you want and set any budget you want.
And the best part is that it’s absolutely free to be shown at the top of Google. You only get charged as an advertiser when someone clicks your ad and transfers to your website. That’s why this type of advertising is called “Pay Per Click.”
The other big advantage to advertising on Google is the amount of data and knowledge you can learn about your target audience from running ads. First, you learn what they type into Google when searching for the products and services that you offer. This information allows you to expand out and add more keyword phrases.
Second, you get to see how people interact with your website through Google Analytics, a free analytics tracker. You need to have that installed before you start running Google ads. It will give you a treasure trove of information about the people that click on your ads and transfer to your site – where they live, what pages they visit on your site, how long they stay on the site, etc. This information allows you to make whatever website changes are needed to convert more of your traffic into customers/sales.
So again, where should start? Google ads. There’s no minimum or maximum spend so you can set your budget according to your comfort level. Start today – advertise on Google and track all your website data using Google Analytics.