Google AdWords
Sharon Koehler
Artistic Stone Design
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Google AdWords is a pay-per-click program you can use to get your ad up above the scroll line. Recent improvements make AdWords a stronger tool. |
Recently, Peter DeKok (founder of GranQuartz and stone industry leader) stated in a letter to the Slippery Rock that the only reason to run a business was to make money. I agree. I don’t do what I do for free. I dare say, neither do you. And I think I can really go out on a limb and say that if we took a survey we would find that most people do work for some sort of compensation. Now, I am not slamming charities or hobbies. I have hobbies and I do charity work but those things, even though they are important, don’t keep a roof over my head or food on my table.
And surprise, surprise, Google feels the exact same way. They are in business to make money and they have recently made some changes to make sure they do so. Have you looked at your computer screen lately? Big changes are afoot.
It used to be that organic (free) listings would run down the page and for the most part the ads were on the side. What you wanted to do was stay above the scroll line on the first page.(Meaning: you wanted your business to appear on the top part of the first page so no one had to scroll or go two or three pages in to find you). If you worked your SEO (search engine optimization), had the right keywords on your website and used social media to its full potential, everything was fine.
However, recently Google made a BIG change. They took the paid ads off the side of the page and put them on top of the page. That really doesn’t sound like a big deal until you stop and think about it. Those two, three or four ads, paid for by your competition are now at the top of the page, squashing the organic listings and moving them further down the page and possibly onto the next page where you don’t want to be. What to do? What to do?
Never fear my friends; Google has the answer to this problem they have created– Google AdWords. This is their paid program to get you back up above the scroll line and of course it costs you money. AdWords is a pay-per -click (PPC) format. This means that no matter how many times your ad appears on the screen, you don’t owe Google any money until someone actually clicks on it. A simple enough idea rooted in good company. Facebook, Yelp, Bing and Yahoo to name a few, all have advertising with the PPC format.
AdWords used to be less a popular choice because the program had some issues. The biggest one was that since it is a pay-per-click (PPC) format, if you took out an ad, your competitors could just click on your ad until your daily budget was maxed out and you had nothing to show for it. Google monitors that now and after the second click from the same IP address, you stop getting charged.
So how does it work? It is actually very simple. Either you or your website/SEO person contacts Google online or by phone and you are off and running. The ads themselves have very specific guidelines to go by, but keywords are so important. You can pick the keywords that trigger your ads to be seen. AND you can put in keywords that trigger your ads NOT to be seen as well. Example: If someone searches “Limestone countertops” but for whatever reason, you offer natural stone countertops but not limestone countertops, your ad will not pop up. This keeps you from wasting money on accidental clicks.
Now, this is the best part, I think. You can use your competitor’s names as keywords. For instance: if you are ABC Stone and Tile and your biggest competitor is 123 Stone and Tile, you can make 123 Stone and Tile one of your keywords and every time someone searches for 123 Stone and Tile, your ad will come as well. Very interesting!
How much does it cost? The simple although not concrete answer is, “It depends.” Ads are placed on the page according to “bids.” To keep the math simple let’s say that you bid $10 per click and you set your daily budget at $100 per day. After you get 10 clicks, you max out your daily budget and your ad will not reappear until the next day. Note that I pulled these numbers out of thin air. They are not an indication of cost. The actual cost is between you and Google. You have complete control over the cost of your campaign. Actually you have almost total control over your AdWords campaign.
You decide what the ad says; you control the trigger and non-trigger keywords as well as the click bid and the daily budget. Plus, you get to decide how many campaigns you want to run and when. You are in the driver’s seat.
If that thought scares you a little bit, don’t worry. Google will help you. Why? Because it is in Google’s best interest for you to launch a successful campaign with a great ad. Why? Google doesn’t make money unless your ad is successful. They only make money when someone clicks your ad. If no one clicks, they get zip, nada, nothing and that is not good for your business or theirs.
Something you do have to decide is whether you want to run your own campaign or if you want to hire someone to do it for you. Managing a campaign can be time consuming. Google provides you with all sorts of data to analyze so you can tweak your ads and budgets to be successful. But it can be daunting. If you don’t have that type of manpower or time, it might just be simpler to hire a company that will do that for you. Either way, it is the future of advertising, at least for the time being.
Writer’s Note: This article explores the recent changes to Google AdWords. It has nothing to do with AT&T AdWorks. The names are very similar and it is easy to confuse the two programs.
Sharon Koehler is a 10-year veteran of the stone industry and currently head of marketing for ArtisticStone Design in Richmond, Virginia. She has been a regular contributor to various trade magazines for several years. Please send your thoughts on this article to sharon@artisticstonerichmond.com.