Is Google Ads right for me in 2024?
Have you ever felt like you’re in the Wizard of Oz? Spun up by a tornado, and dropped without a semblance of where you are or where you should go? There are a ton of scenarios that put us in this position when small businesses get into the world of Google PPC marketing. So many different things to keep track of, so many people, companies, sales reps, family members and friends telling us to do 100 different things, and promising you’ll be the next Apple, Uber, Home Depot, etc.
We, at MediaWorks, want to put a stop to this head-spinning. We’ve talked at length about web design, development tactics, web functionality, and SEO. Now we want to give you a guide on paid digital ads, specifically Google PPC marketing. There are a ton of different ways to pay for ads online, but Google is still the enormous elephant in the room.
Your business isn’t a multi-billion-dollar international industry leader, so there’s no way it makes sense to actually pay for ads, right? Ehh…you’re probably leaving a ton of money, traffic, and market share on the table if that’s your mindset.
Granted, Google PPC marketing isn’t for everyone. There are scenarios where it absolutely makes sense to invest money in other places, but hear me out. These might not apply to you, but here are four reasons you should reconsider:
Google PPC Marketing is Accessible
Most brands hesitate to pull the trigger on SEM because they think the costs might outweigh the benefits. But the costs don’t have to be as high as you think they do. In fact, with the average keyword bid (across industries) is between 2-3 dollars per click so budgets don’t have to break the bank.
There are also hard ceilings on monthly budgets, so if you’ve got $100 in your marketing budget, you can make it impossible for it to cost you more than that. So with a low barrier to entry and control on your side, it can be easier to get started than you believe.
Google Ads Generate Quick Results
Unlike other forms of online marketing such as SEO that takes longer to deliver increased traffic, Google PPC marketing can provide immediate results. It will take you one business day to create and launch an ad. And after that, you can literally watch as traffic to your site increases. You’ll generate as much traffic as your budget allows, and is only limited by the number of searches for the keywords you’ve bid on.
Google PPC Marketing is Consistent
Here’s the thing about business…it’s nice when you know what’s going on. It allows you to plan, to properly allocate resources, and have the freedom to invest in your business when you know that everything else is taken care of.
The great thing about Google PPC marketing is it allows for consistency on two fronts: one, your ad budget is set, and you know you won’t overspend, and two, it allows for consistent traffic and (depending on industry and product/service) predictable revenue. Sure, there will still be fluctuation, but it allows you to tap a market/audience that you didn’t have before. One that will be there as long as your ads are running.
Google PPC Marketing = Qualified Leads
If there’s one thing we hear all the time, it’s: who even clicks on ads? I know I don’t…
This is where you’re wrong. In fact, the vast majority of search engine users are wrong. Most users can’t even tell the difference between paid and organic results. And, even when they can, the motivated buyers actually prefer paid results.
A recent study found that when someone is ready to purchase a product or service, Google Ads traffic is 35% more likely to convert. So what does that mean for you? It means when you run your ad campaign, (when properly targeted) the leads you get are 35% more likely to fill out a lead form or make a purchase and they spend nearly twice as much. Those are the results we see every day with our client’s paid ads.
Below shows the total clicks, leads (conversions), revenue (Conv. value) and cost of all of Mediaworks PPC clients combined from last year. As you can clearly see, our clients had a good year!
Final Verdict
I want to preface this by saying that Google PPC marketing is not the end-all-be-all of digital marketing. But is Google PPC marketing right for you? Probably, what I can say with certainty, is that it is a pivotal piece in the digital marketing puzzle.
Even if you’re a company with multi-million dollar products with a 24-month sales cycle, PPC marketing adds to the funnel. It gives fuel to the fire while an SEO campaign is ramping up. It allows you to precisely target demographics, geographic areas, time-of-day ranges, device types, and very specific keyword phrases that other forms of marketing can’t.
But most importantly, it gives you control and measurability where a lot of other campaigns can’t. You can see, in real-time, what works and what doesn’t. It lets you put a finger on the pulse of your audience, and hone in on (and assist with) the path to growth for your company.
MediaWorks Digital is a hometown agency focused exclusively on helping small businesses in Arvada, Denver, Aurora, Golden, Lakewood, Colorado Springs, and across Colorado. We specialize in effective web design, development, search engine optimization, Bing & Google PPC marketing, and content marketing.
Value is always a priority, and we don’t rely on one-sized-fits all web packages, quirky gimmicks, or hard sales. We are a partner in small-business success. Contact us today to see how we can help.