When it comes to building the online visibility of your small business, you typically have two approaches available to you. The first is called search engine optimization. This technique uses specific terms, called keywords, as well as other strategies, such as link building, to get your website placed in noticeable positions within the search results. Typically, the goal is to get your website to show up on the first page of the search results for the keywords you select.
The second option open to you is Google advertising, specifically through Google AdWords. With this approach, you have the opportunity to create your own ads based on certain keywords. You then pay, typically per click, to have these ads displayed at the top or sides of the search results.
Both of these strategies have proven effective for businesses both large and small looking for greater online visibility. Often, search engine optimization is the preferred alternative for businesses because it is free to implement and because, in general, people trust organic (non-paid) search results more than they trust paid ads.
However, despite the value of search engine optimization, there are also strong reasons to implement Google advertising. Here are three reasons to consider adding Google advertising to your digital marketing campaign.
Google AdWords provides immediate results.
Sometimes, when it comes to digital marketing, time is of the essence. For example, getting the word out about your holiday deals or a new and innovative product you are putting on the market requires speed. At other times, you may simply want to get more online visibility, website traffic, and sales quickly in order to ensure the success of your business.
At times like these, Google AdWords can be a good choice because it provides near immediate results. Unlike SEO, which can take months to implement as you select and incorporate keywords, build content, build links, and get noticed by the search engines, a Google advertising campaign can go live at once. And that means you can begin seeing results, such as click throughs and conversions, within days.
Google AdWords provides easy analysis.
Another benefit of Google AdWords is the ease with which data can be collected and analyzed from your campaigns. With SEO, evaluating the success of your campaign is possible. However, it requires more time (as you wait for your campaign to get up and running), and effort (Because there are more factors you need to evaluate in order to understand the impact of your search engine optimization).
With Google AdWords, however, you have easier access to defined analytics that let you know how your Google advertising is working. For example, you can immediately see how many people are clicking through to each ad, converting as a result of that ad, how much you are paying per ad in relationship to how much each ad is earning you, and so forth. This data makes it easy to identify which ads are most effective, how much money you are earning from them, what tweaks might need to be made to your Google advertising, and so forth.
Google AdWords makes it easy to identify the right keywords.
Finally, one of the advantages of Google advertising is the fact that it makes it easier to identify and implement the right keywords for your business. Thanks to the fact that it produces results quickly, you can rapidly incorporate multiple ads using multiple keywords into your campaigns. As a result, you can, within a matter of days, see which keywords are yielding the results you need for your business and which are not.
This advantage is also an advantage for your search engine optimization campaign. As you identify effective keywords through your Google AdWords campaigns, you can begin to implement those keywords into your SEO campaign. As a result, a well-run Google AdWords campaign can lead to more effective search engine optimization efforts as well.
Consider combining SEO and Google Advertising.
This last point hints at a solution that is, perhaps, the most effective approach for your digital marketing campaign: Combining SEO and Google advertising. You can, for example, implement a Google AdWords campaign in order to quickly earn some online visibility for your business, as well as identify keywords that will work well for your target audiences. Then, you can also implement an SEO campaign that uses the information you gather from your Google advertising in order to create an effective, long-term digital marketing strategy.
Here at Distinct Web Design, we are a Google Partner, which means that we are certified in the effective running of a Google AdWords campaign. We also have years of experience building websites, creating digital marketing campaigns, and building a strong online presence for our clients. If you want help adding Google advertising to your repertoire, and/or effectively combining SEO and Google AdWords, let us know. We are happy to help.
