When you opened a business in previous years, you used to have to figure out a way to get customers. There were options like newspaper, radio or television ads, putting ads on public transportation. You could even invest in billboards. Now you can have more of a digital presence, thanks to the internet. Millions of people log on each day and it is a perfect medium for you.
If you have a limited budget, then using Google display advertising can be really good for you. You can reach a wide range of people and you can use it in a variety of ways. This is because Google owns the lion’s share of the search engine market. Advertising through them is the logical choice. Be sure that you set your limits on what you will pay early on, otherwise, you could wind up paying a lot more and destroying your budget.
Here are some things to know about using Google advertising to get more customers.
Cost Per Click
When people click on your ad, you’re going to have to pay for that click. There is an auction on Google each time an ad slot opens up and you have to determine if you will want to pay the cost. You can bid on the auction – but it is a good idea to set your limit. Otherwise, you could be like that person at an auction who absent-mindedly raises their hand repeatedly and keeps bumping the number up. Do not be that person. If you set a limit, Google excludes you from any bidding that is higher than that. Otherwise, you could find yourself scrambling for extra advertising cash.
Search Ads
This is where you try to think in search engine optimization terms. Let’s say that you sell game consoles. You would want to write Google Ads that target the keyword “gaming console” or something similar, like “XBox” or “PlayStation.” That way, when people are doing these searches for those terms, your ad would pop up – and they might then buy it from you. Someone who is searching for “ballet recital tickets,” for example, will not see these ads.
The thinking is that the ads will show up to those people who would be interested in whatever business you are promoting. If you did more of a broad ad campaign, where it showed up no matter the search term, you will likely have a lot less traffic. By doing the advertising, your site will probably get a much larger boost.
Also, you can set it up to run only at certain times of the year. Let’s say that you are a tourist resort that is mainly open from May to October. You want to drive traffic that will get people to see your site during those times. So you can schedule your Google ads to run in late March or early April to start piquing interest.
You can also do responsive search ads by doing up to four different types of ads with descriptions and 15 headlines. That way, people who do different searches can still come upon your ad and possibly click through and buy something from you.
Text Ads
Your budget may not allow for a lot of graphics in your ads. That’s not a problem with text ads. You can just have a succinct, well-written ad that explains everything that you do. Your goal is to get people’s attention – and the text ads will also cost less. This will make it easier for you to recoup your costs than if you paid more for a more flashy ad.
Phone Call Ads
Let’s say that you own a business where you want to get a high volume of calls – like a dentist’s office. Rather than making Google ads that point them to your website – which would be great for your web traffic numbers, but not so much when it comes to getting people to do things like make appointments to see you. Instead, you can just have your Google ad point to your office number. That way, people can just call right from Google, which is great for those who do their searches on smartphones.
There are a lot of things that go into making your business a successful one. The main one is executing on what you promise your customers – whether it is doing an excellent job when doing dental work to writing perfect ad copy that helps another client to your doing a stellar job of defending someone in a court of law. But you need to lead these people to your doorstep and Google Advertisements can be a strong tool for you to use to get that.
When it comes to business success, there are no guaranteed ways to achieve it, no matter what you do. But if you use your budget wisely and also target your ads right, you can improve those odds. Then, when you look back on your career, you will know that you did all that you could. That’s all that you can ask for, after all.
