Do Google AdWords Campaigns Really Work?

Run a Google AdWords campaign, they said. It'll be profitable, they said. But are they right? Statistics show that less than 10 percent of click throughs go to paid ads. That means organic search results reap more than 90 percent of the click through love. Shouldn't businesses just focus their efforts on building their presence in the organic search results came, then?

Probably not. While organic results get lots of click throughs, what that particular statistic doesn't tell you is how profitable Google AdWords campaigns actually are. They really do work for small businesses, and here are the facts to prove it.

The people who do respond to Google AdWords campaigns are ready to buy.

It is true that paid ads don't always get as many click throughs as do organic search results, at least on desktop computers (we will discuss mobile in a minute). However, the people who do respond to a Google AdWords campaign are actually more likely to be ready to buy.

In fact, people who land on your website thanks to your Google AdWords campaign are 50 percent more likely to make a purchase than are those who land on your website due to an organic search result.

What does this mean for your Google AdWords campaign? It means that Google AdWords has the ability to earn you leads from people who want what you are offering, and can earn you conversions that may exceed the conversions you would get through SEO.

In some cases, a Google AdWords campaign will earn more click throughs.

While overall, organic search results earn the majority of click throughs, a Google AdWords campaign actually performs better with certain keywords. In particular, keywords focused on purchasing a good or service tend to be Google AdWords gold mines.

For example, keywords that have the word “buy” in them deliver more click throughs to Google AdWords campaigns than to organic search results. For these kinds of search terms, paid ads earn about 65 percent of the click throughs, and organic search results earn about 35 percent of the click throughs.

What does this mean for your Google AdWords campaign? For certain search terms, you are actually better off using paid ads rather than trying to show up in the organic search results.

Mobile searches prefer paid ads.

Finally, while desktops tend to deliver more click throughs on organic search results, mobile searches tend to deliver more click throughs on paid ads.

As a result, when you implement a Google AdWords campaign, you can expect to receive click throughs and conversions from mobile users in particular. This fact alone makes a Google AdWords campaign a smart choice, especially in light of the rapidly expanding popularity of mobile devices.

A Google AdWords campaign can and does deliver profits to businesses that go about it the right way. Don't be discouraged by the popularity of organic searches. Since paid ads attract people who are ready to buy, and earn more click throughs for certain keywords and on mobile devices, you can be confident that the right Google AdWords campaign will be good for your business.

If you need help creating your Google AdWords campaign, reach out to a Google Partner like Distinct. We offer you the expertise you need to create a campaign that will maximize the benefits of Google AdWords for your business.