Google has recently become the most valuable company in the world, overtaking Apple. But what you may not realise is that some 96% of Google’s revenue comes from their Google AdWords platform. Their reach is global, and their ads (mostly displayed next to their search results) have been reaching billions of people for years.
For a small business owner, this might feel like a huge, monolithic, expensive platform, with a reach far too broad for your local advertising needs. But nothing could be further from the truth! Through intelligent use of Google AdWords, your small business could reach exactly the customers you want to reach, without wasting money advertising to those who are unlikely to end up using your service. Many of our clients end up spending between £50 to £100 a month – great value for targeted advertising that has achieved great results time and again! After all, there’s a reason why this kind of advertising provides the vast majority of revenue for the biggest company in the world. Here are a few top tips to get the most out of Google AdWords on a small budget:
• Make it specific to where your customers will be! You can set filters for search location, meaning that someone in your target neighbourhood searching for “local builders” will find your ad, but anyone searching from an area you don’t service won’t see it.
• Add keywords: both positive ones (which will prompt your ad to show when people search those keywords) and negative ones (which will prevent your ad from showing, so you avoid showing your ad to people looking for services you don’t offer).
• Turn off “broad match”. This is a feature of AdWords which causes your ad to show when people search for words related to your keywords, without matching the keywords exactly. Avoiding this lets you have more control over who sees your ad.
By cherry picking your clicks to those that will convert to business, you can get great value from your advertising. The best place to start is right on your doorstep. For advice or to get started with Google AdWords for your own small business, get in touch with Westcountry Media today!