Help! Is Google ads/ppc worth it for my business?

I've worked with a few founders and business owners recently who have launched Google Ads themselves but not seen the results they were hoping for. It was all really fundamental stuff that needed fixing (read on!)

If you're thinking of launching a Google Ads campaign, it would usually make sense to hire a digital marketing freelancer to help you (ahem, Hi!) but I can totally understand people wanting to build it themselves e.g. to learn new skills relating to their business.

And I LOVE arming business owners and marketers with enough knowledge and confidence that they won't get ripped off by marketing agencies and the like.

So, for you, here's your guide to getting started with Google Ads:

Google Ads pre-build checklist

Right before we start building the Google Ads campaign, there's some thinking you need to do upfront:

1. What's your aim?

2. What will you measure?

3. What's your budget?

4. Have you got a decent website?

5. Is there a demand for your product/service?

1. Aim - this should be relatively easy - most businesses want to launch a Google Ads campaign to drive leads or sales. Sometimes they just want traffic to their website. But just stating this aim will help keep you focused (especially on the next point). Ideally, this would be one tactic or test that's part of a wider marketing strategy or plan, targeting a particular audience segment and not just 'shiny object syndrome' of jumping on doing something you think you should be doing
   

2. Measurement - if sales or leads is your objective, you need to be able to measure them. Most online events (such as a purchase, or filling in a lead form) are very easy to track and connect with Google Ads but I won't go into detail today, that's a whole other blog post - but here's a really handy blog I found

   
   

3. Budget - there's no right or wrong answer here, some advertisers spend a few pounds on ppc, others spend millions. Different sectors have very different CPC's (cost per clicks) - I've seen these vary from £0.20 to £20! If you're starting out I'd suggest you'll probably need to spend a few hundred pounds (£200-£500?) to allocate towards a test, which at the end of it you'll have a better idea if Google Ads could work for you long-term, or if it's a definite no-go.

   
   

4. Website - tied in with all the points above, I recommend you a have a website that already converts well before investing into Google Ads. e.g. ideally you're measuring conversions in something like GA4 and can see that it does ok on organic search and/or email and/or social media.
   

5. Demand - Google Ads/PPC tends to work best when there's already demand for it i.e. people are searching for it. If you're launching something totally new, that's not to say Google Ads can't work for you, you just have to be a bit more creative :)

   
   
   
   

   Google Ads Keyword Research and Planning

   
   

   On the last point about 'demand' before you actually start building your first PPC campaign, it's worth creating the account and having a play around with the keyword research tools (Tools > Keyword Planner). Pop in a few keywords that you think your target customers might use when thinking of your product/service and it will:

   1. give you monthly search volumes (how many monthly searches are made for that keyword)

   2. suggest other related keywords you could consider testing too

A business owner launching her Google ads campaign from her caravan!

Google ads PROS and Cons

If you get the set-up right and keep an eye on the campaign, Google Ads can be great for:

• driving website traffic and leads/sales

• proof of concept testing e.g. testing demand for new products and services

It's relatively easy to limit your risk on Google Ads as you can:

• decide who/where you want to target (e.g. only target women over 35 in Wales)

• set a limit for how much you're willing to pay per click (e.g. £0.50)

• set a limit for how much you're willing to spend, in total every day (e.g. £10 which at £0.25 cpc could bring you 40 clicks per day

However, using Google Ads can be an expensive mistake if you:

• have a website that doesn't convert well and/or has poor user experience

• go with default settings when you build the campaign (I'll cover this next!)

• give Google control by allowing it to 'auto-apply' its own recommendations

How are you feeling now? Are you ready to read on? Here's my must-read on building a basic Google Ads campaign and the Google Ads things to watch out for

At any point, if you want a quick chat about any of this, and/or to book a ppc power hour or ppc mentoring/coaching, drop me a line - I'm here to help you :)