Google Adwords has now been around for quite a few years and as a moneymaker it is the search giant’s largest source of revenue ($20 billion in 2008) But is it a good investment for the startup business owner to make? The simple answer – maybe.
Essentially, the Google AdWords pay-per-click (PPC) advertising service allows you to create your own ads, after paying a $5 account set-up fee. These ads appear at the side of relevant searches as “sponsored links” and Google charges each time a person clicks on the ad and is directed to the advertiser’s website.
Google also has a bidding process that allows their advertisers to allocate funds to bid on a certain keyword or keywords that are particularly relevant to their business. It all sounds pretty straight forward and you can control how much you spend to the penny. However, making Google Adwords work for your startup business does involve investing time as well as money.
Keeping a close eye on your campaign stats is essential if you are going to get a decent return on your investment. Google’s tracking data is very extensive and really is your best friend here because it lets you see who your ads run up against, what searches they are appearing in, and whether you are really getting your money’s worth from those clicks.
PPC tends to work quite well on a local level. For instance people have got very used to the convenience of typing in say “plumber, mytown” and being presented with a quick, easy to navigate list of those available in the area. If your businesses name is not there you may very well be losing customers to your competition who are.
Before you make the investment in Google Adwords though consider if your target audience is even going to be looking for you in this way. For example, if you offer a product or invention that is relatively new to market will potential consumers even know to search for it? For these folks a good promotional campaign, both online and off will probably reap bigger benefits.
