I Really Want to Recommend Google AdWords Express, But…

08/16/2011 By Leave a Comment

The other week I posted an article with some words of warning about Google AdWords Express.

I really want to be able to recommend it to small business owners. Truly I do.

Google AdWords is a great marketing tool and having an easy, efficient and effective way to use it would be a huge help for many small local businesses.

Since writing that last article, however, my view of Adwords Editor has not gotten any better. Two reasons why…

1. A very pushy Google AdWords Express rep called a client of mine. The rep had my client on the phone for a long time and, despite the client telling the rep he was already using AdWords, the rep persisted. More to get him off the phone than anything, my client relented and signed up for Express.

But here’s what really got me about this situation…

AdWords Express targets searchers in your local area. 99.5% of my client’s customers come from outside his local area so spending money advertising on a local level does him little good.

Google’s pushing this service really hard, but, unfortunately, at least some of the reps are just looking for the sale and don’t even take the time to see if Express can actually help a local business get clients or not.

2. Take a look at this screen capture…

These are the results of a Google search I did for the term “drug crime lawyer” (and, in case you’re wondering, this was for research purposes for a client NOT because of any drug crime I committed!).

Notice that last result on the bottom right with the blue pushpin looking icon next to it? That’s a Google AdWords Express ad…and it’s for a bankruptcy lawyer.

Yet the AdWords Express algorithm is showing this ad for a search related to drug crime lawyers. Not the best targeting there!

And, unfortunately, there’s nothing this lawyer can do about it because, unlike with “regular” AdWords, in AdWords Express you can’t go in and tell Google not to show your ads when certain words show up in the search query a user types into Google.

I do have faith in Google and believe(hope!) that this algorithm will improve over time.

Until then, I can’t recommend Google AdWords Express for the small local business owner.

Filed Under: Google, Local Internet Marketing, Local Online Marketing, PPC Tagged With: ,

Dirty Diapers and Google AdWords Express (formerly Google Boost)

07/27/2011 By 2 Comments

It sounded good like a good idea.

Before our first daughter was born my wife and I thought we were going to use cloth diapers on our daughter.

We’d be doing our part for the environment, they’re supposed to be better for the baby, and we wouldn’t be plopping (pun intended) $1000s into the Diaper Industrial Complex. After doing our research into cloth diapers we were excited (or, at least as excited you can be about changing diapers) to go the cloth diaper route.

What sounded good in theory turned out to be not so great in practice. With the cloth diapers there were lots of leaks, they were inconvenient when we were out of the house and they required us doing lots and lots and lots of laundry.

So we changed course and went the disposable diaper route.

And that brings us to Google AdWords Express. But before I explain why, we need…

A Little Background on AdWords Express

Google’s rebranded their Google Boost program for local businesses and is now calling it Google AdWords Express.

Google AdWords Express is a ultra-simplified way for local businesses to advertise through Adwords (Google’s Pay Per Click advertising program).

AdWords is a powerful way to target local prospects searching for the products and services you offer… and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad (compare that to TV, newspaper or magazine advertising where you pay a set price no matter how many eyeballs fall on your ad or how many of those who see your ad care about what you offer).

AdWords is also a complex beast that’s hard enough for those of us who use it every day to keep up with, let alone a small, the local business owner who has plenty else to worry about.

That’s where AdWords Express comes in. You set a budget, write an ad and then Google runs things for you. Easy peasy.

Sounds great, right?

Well, like the decision about using cloth diapers, what sounds good in theory may not be so good in practice.

With AdWords Express you get simplicity, but that comes at a price. In this case, that price is control. And control is one of the biggest benefits of using AdWords.

When you manage your own AdWords campaign (or have someone manage it for you) you have control over…

  • The keywords you target
  • What you’re willing to pay for each keyword in your campaign
  • When your ads appear (24/7, only during the week, only on weekends, from 10:30 to 1PM to promote a lunch special, etc.)
  • Where your ads appear geographically (a state, a metro area, specific cities, a 20 mile radius around your office, etc.)
  • What keywords you DON’T want your ads to appear for (ie. A dentist that only works with adult patients can prevent their ads from appearing when the words “kids”, “children”, or “Pediatric” appears in the search term
  • Testing of different ad copy to see which one gets the best response
  • Tracking of conversions to better measure the effectiveness of the campaign

Using AdWords Express, Google controls all these things. You’re largely leaving these important marketing decisions that affect the quality of the traffic coming to your website up to Google’s algorithm.

The Bottom Line for Local Businesses

AdWords is a great way to generate leads and local businesses should definitely try adding it to their marketing mix.

If you have a very small budget, then I’d definitely recommend giving Google AdWords Express a try to test the AdWords waters.

But if you’re going to spend more than a few hundred dollars a month on clicks, then learn how to manage it yourself or hire an expert to do it for you. It should end up saving you money (I’ve seen accounts where keywords cost 50% more in Boost compared to the exact same keyword in a “regular” AdWords campaign) and you’ll ensure you’re getting the most highly relevant traffic to your website.

Otherwise you risk paying for some traffic that’s a pile of, well, the stuff that ends up in diapers (whether they’re cloth or disposable!).

 

Filed Under: Google, Local Internet Marketing, Local Online Marketing, PPC Tagged With: , , , ,

The Low Down on Boost

04/22/2011 By 1 Comment

Out with Tags, in with Boost.

That’s the message Google sent last week when they announced they’re getting rid of their Tags program for local businesses (this program let business owners highlight their listing with a yellow tag in the local business rankings on Google for $25/month).

Google is now trying to steer local businesses to their Boost program. With Google Boost, you control your monthly budget so long as you meet the minimum budget of $50/month.

Boost is essentially Google AdWords. Google created Boost to make AdWords easier and more accessible to the small business owner. And it certainly succeeds on that account.

All you need to do is set your budget and Google will take care of the rest.

Piece of cake.

But that simplicity is also the negative side of Boost.

See, when you use Google Boost you give control of your advertising to Google. They’ll decide on your keywords, the copy in your ads, what days/times the ads run, how much you pay for a click, etc.

As a business owner, you want to be in control of these things.

You know your business much better than Google does.

If you’re a dentist, you may want to focus on keyword related to cosmetic dentistry rather than general dentistry because it’s the more lucrative side of your practice and you want to grow it. Google doesn’t know that.

Or you could be a plumber that offers a special deal your competition doesn’t or perhaps you won a prestigious award you want to highlight to prospects. Google doesn’t know that.

Maybe you own a restaurant that runs a happy hour special after 4PM that you want to promote. Google doesn’t know that.

Listen. Boost is better than nothing. It’s easy. You control your monthly costs. You’ll reach more prospects than you are now.

I think Boost is a good way to dip your toe in the water to see what’s possible with AdWords.

But if you’re getting results from it and see the benefits of advertising through Google AdWords, then make the switch and just use Google AdWords…your results will be much better when your marketing is in your hands.

 

Filed Under: Google, Local Internet Marketing, Local Online Marketing, PPC Tagged With: , , ,