Google Ads (like the far less popular Bing ones) are very valuable for most companies because whether we’re buying for ourselves or a company, we often start by searching for information on the purchase. Google Ads get your offering in front of that very important audience: those who intend to buy soon. (Using such intent data – including but not limited to Google Ads — to improve your marketing results is the focus of Phase Two of my Bullseye Marketing framework.)
Since in many industries it’s difficult if not impossible to get your organic web pages onto the first page of Google search results (>50% of clicks happen on just the first three links there) the only way to get in front of this important audience is with search ads.
Google Ads won’t work for every company. I worked with a company that had an advanced programming tool. Their customers were technically sophisticated, and they weren’t using Google to search for tools like this. They might be asking about it in online forums. You need to go where you audience is.
You need to be careful about the keywords you use. Some will result in clicks from a broad, useless audience. But others can be very good at separating the soon-to-buy from the vaguely curious.
The components of a successful Google Ads campaign include superior:
- Keyword selection
- Offers
- Ads
- Landing Pages
- Remarketing
Google Ads Machine Learning Solutions can help you improve your targeting, creative, bidding, attribution, and success.
A recent email/newsletter from digital marketing maven Avinash Kaushik had this story about Google Ads:
“One of my favorite Paid Search stories is of an advertiser that sold household furniture offline and online, in the Chicago area. One of the ad groups they crafted with love was for night stands. Pretty much immediately, they saw a huge spike in search traffic. Much celebration.
“Then, they checked their data and it was nearly 100% bounce rate. Much sadness.
“Then, they checked the Search Query report and found that almost all of the traffic was for one night stands. Turns out a lot of people in Chicago geographic area were looking for night stands the experience and not night stands the product.
That day they learned the value of negative keywords. :)”
You don’t want to be that advertiser!
Google Ads management requires experience; it is a very deep tool. But, used properly, it can produce great results for a company.
