What are Google Ads? Are they it worth it? Today we’re taking a look at why Google Ads are important for any small or medium size businesses in Ireland.
Marketing has changed a lot over the last ten years. As technology advanced, there was a push for marketeers to go online, and Google advertising was the biggest platform behind this massive paradigm shift in the industry. For some people however, the idea of paying Google to display ads for their website seemed like something they could do without. After all, if word of mouth and organic SEO worked in the past then why do I need Google Ads in 2021? Well in the last year, things have dramatically changed once again.
In 2020, the volume of new Irish websites has increased immensely, to accommodate vast numbers of consumers who were moving their transactions online due to Covid-19 restrictions. Now in 2021, online trading for SMEs has become the new norm. This is creating a growth of competition in many Irish sectors for brand awareness.
So, why should your business use Google Ads?
Learn More About Your Audience & How To Target Them
Google Ads can be extremely beneficial to small businesses as it gives them a direct route to their customers. With Google Ads, you can narrow your search, by deciding upon variables such as the gender, location, and behaviour of your audiences. Google prides itself on being able to show the relevant content to the right people, and you will be able to trigger your ads based on the search terms you want people to find you with.
Over time, this process will start to produce better and better results as you will be given the opportunity to fine-tune your ads and demographic targeting with more data. This way, you both learn how people are finding your website and what you can do to increase your visibility to the right audience.
Google Ads Works Faster Than Organic SEO
While organic SEO is something ITM Digital would always advise as being a vital foundation to the long-term success of a website, there are certainly drawbacks to relying on solely organic techniques to generate enquiries for your business in today’s competitive online climate. This is especially the case for new businesses, who lack years of gradually attained domain authority.
For new websites, it can take three to six months to properly see results from organic SEO, even if it’s’ really good! Instead of waiting patiently while you write blog posts, squash images and tweak ALT-Tags, in the hopes you will reach the top in six months (which we also recommend), Google Ads will give you instant results. Using a well planned out ads campaign, a daily budget and goal-orientated targeting, you’ll start to dramatically increase traffic to your new website very quickly.
You Control The Budget
Unlike many other marketing platforms, you can decide exactly how much money you are going to spend. As Google Ads is a Pay Per Click (PPC) service, you in fact will only pay when someone clicks on your ad. So if you set a budget of €200 for your first month but you only end up using €150 in clicks, then you’ll only spend €150.
Please note, we recommend that to get the best return on investment with google Ads, you should first carry out extensive research on the keywords you want to use, the areas you want to target and the advertising patterns of your competitors before you decide on an ad budget.
You Control The Platform Too
Did you know? Google Ads aren’t just the headlines and descriptions that appear in standard Google search results.
Believe it or not, with Google Ads you can also create visual Display Campaigns which will appear on relevant websites and target audiences based on their online personas and behaviours. In fact, when using PPC on Google, you can also create Shopping Campaigns, Video Campaigns and even App Campaigns. So if you think that the standard search results page isn’t the best place for you to focus your energy and money on, you can actually reach people without requiring them to take that first step in Google Search!
Your Competitors Are Probably Using Google Ads
If none of the above reasons have convinced you to start using Google Ads, then maybe this one will:
More than likely, the businesses in your sector and in your part of the country are using Google Ads…and you’re not! If you think about all the different ways Google Ads give their users a fast route to their customers, this means that if your main competitor knows how to, they can always appear above you in search results.
Need Some Help?
At ITM Digital, we have a strong understanding of Google’s ever-changing algorithms and the successful trends in modern advertising. We always know how to adapt with these changes and create ads to function at high-capacity, because we’re observing the data every day.
ITM Digital now manages Google Ads for many clients and if you would like to learn more about how these services could help your business, contact Edric White today to arrange a call.
