How much should you invest in Google AdWords?
Almost everyone has heard of Google AdWords by now. The ultimate PPC (Pay per Click) campaign tool that allows your company to be seen at the top of the search engine titan that is Google.
But, for a business owners / marketers, how much should you be investing in your Google AdWords campaign? The answer is not just dependent on the size of your business. Some may think ‘bigger business, bigger budget’, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Whilst SEO work can take months to yield results, many of our clients see a turn around in a few days or so when starting their PPC campaign. The reason we emphasise this is that, put simply, PPC works. Google AdWords allows you to advertise on search ’keywords’ or ‘key phrases’. These search terms are priced based on competition in your target area; for example, the term ‘tree surgeon’ can have an average cost of around ￡1.50 per click, whereas ‘life insurance’, being a more competitive term, can cost almost ￡15 per click.
When looking into using PPC, through Google AdWords, it’s all dependent on the target keywords you want to, well, target. However, the quality of your website factors into your CPC (cost per click). Your website’s quality can affect your CPC, meaning you could be bidding more on selected keywords than your competitors. When it comes to working out your CPC, it takes into account the other ads bidding on a selected keyword, and your ad’s quality score (which is measured by X, Y and Z). So, it’s essential that your website is up to scratch, to maximise your PPC efforts.
“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” - Tom Fishburne
Whilst it’s a good idea to invest into PPC, from a digital marketing perspective, as a business owner, investing money needs to be calculated and thought through. There’s no point going in guns blazing with a huge budget, paying ￡10 per click. If you’re selling a product or service, through Google AdWords, you may want to think about the potential profit margin. Say you sell a product or service for ￡100, and your profit margin is ￡60, then would you be happy to spend ￡10 on the acquisition? Say if you’re selling something for ￡20, and the profit margin is ￡10, a click costing ￡10 is far from ideal for your business model.
PPC doesn’t have to be a constant investment however, you can start or stop campaigns at any time. So, if you’re looking to clear some products (maybe they were seasonal), you can use PPC to advertise exclusive sale offers. PPC is a way of generating some leads when they seem to be lacking from other channels. It’s a great way of pulling in traffic too, but be wary about spending loads on a click, just for traffic, you need to convert that click into an enquiry or sale.
Need some more information on Google AdWords? Speak to our expert digital marketing team. We can get you started on the right PPC campaign for your business.