As you know, today’s business landscape is highly competitive. It’s also dynamic and always changing. New businesses enter the market every day and existing ones find new ways to reach customers and stand out from their competitors. If your small business wants to thrive in this environment, you need to continually come up with new ways to stay ahead of the competition. When it comes to marketing your company and its products or services, Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is one of the most effective and affordable channels available to businesses of any size. In fact, according to Statista , in 2016 alone advertisers spent $60 billion on Google Ads. That’s a big opportunity for you as an advertiser! If you’re just getting started with this platform, read on for our top 5 tips on how you can leverage the power of Google Ads to get ahead of the competition right away!
Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Quality over quantity is a tried-and-true business maxim, but it’s especially relevant when it comes to Google Ads. This platform is largely automated, and machines don’t care about the quality of your campaigns as much as they care about the quantity of your budget. And while it’s true that more budget equals more clicks and impressions, more budget also equals more waste. The fact is, Google wants to show your ads to as many people as possible. It’s ultimately in their best interest to drive as much traffic to your website as possible. But if your ads are highly relevant to your target customers, those ads will perform better. In other words, Google will show them to fewer people. When you create a small number of high-quality ads that are highly relevant to your target market, you’re more likely to generate leads and sales than if you create a large number of generic ads. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t increase your budget as your business grows and gets better at creating ads. On the contrary, you’ll likely want to increase your budget as you get more efficient at creating ads and start seeing better results.
Be Transparent with Your Strategy
A big part of being transparent with your strategy is making sure your Google Ads account is properly managed. This means conducting thorough campaign and keyword research, creating strong ad copy, and optimizing your ad spend. But it also means being as transparent as possible with your overall strategy. Let your customers know why you’re advertising, who you’re targeting, and what your expectations are. If you’re an e-commerce retailer with an Amazon or Shopify store, be transparent about what you’re selling. Let customers know about your return policy and shipping times. Let them know about the payment methods you accept. And be transparent about the kind of people you’re targeting with your ads. When it comes to the type of people you’re targeting, be transparent about your desired customer persona. What are their interests? What type of language do they use? And What sites do they frequent? Transparency goes a long way toward earning the trust of your customers and gaining their confidence that you’re a legitimate company.
Show, Don’t Just Tell
We’ve all heard the term “show, don’t just tell” before. It’s a phrase used in creative and literary circles to convey the importance of using imagery in storytelling. This concept is just as important when it comes to Google Ads. Your ads need to show the customer what you’re selling and what value your product or service offers. In some cases, it can be helpful to include a call to action in your ad copy, but in most cases, you should let your imagery do the talking for you. Let’s say you’re an e-commerce retailer that sells specialized sporting goods. You could write your ad copy like this: “New sports accessories available now!” But you’re much more likely to generate sales with imagery that shows customers exactly what you’re selling.
Go Beyond Paying Users
As we just discussed, Google Ads is largely automated and geared toward maximizing impressions and clicks. This means the platform is set up to reward those who pay with lower cost-per-click pricing. You can counteract this by creating a high-quality, engaging, and valuable Google Ads experience for people who aren’t clicking on your ads but are still seeing them. This means creating ads that are relevant to your customers, that are useful, and that are interesting to look at. While it’s tempting to create ads that are designed to get clicks, it’s also important to create ads that are designed to capture attention without requiring a click. You should try to create ads that will compel people to respond in other ways, such as by visiting your website, signing up for your email list, or taking some other action.
Leverage Google’s Own Tools
We’ve already discussed how important it is to be transparent with your Google Ads strategy and how being transparent can help you earn the trust of your customers. But there’s something else Google is interested in: helping its customers. That’s why there are a number of tools available to help you create and manage your Google Ads campaigns more effectively. For example, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner to find out which keywords are most relevant to your business. You can also use Google’s Display Network to promote your ads on third-party websites, such as YouTube, news websites, and blogs. You can also use Google’s Customer Match feature, which lets you use first-party data to create highly personalized ads for your customers.
Conclusion
Google Ads is a powerful tool that can help your small business generate leads and increase sales. To make the most of this platform, you need to come up with innovative ways to stand out from the crowd. Once you’ve come up with your strategy, you need to be transparent with your goals and expectations for your campaign. You also need to go beyond paying customers and try to engage non-clicking customers. In order to do that, you need to put in the hard work upfront by conducting thorough campaign and keyword research, creating strong ad copy, and optimizing your ad spend. And once you’ve put in this hard work, you can rest assured that you’re getting the most out of this platform and getting ahead of the competition!
