Darren
No other marketing platform has made it easier for small mom and pop shops to compete against Fortune 50 brands like Google AdWords. AdWords has helped make many contractors millionaires, but the service has also busted out more than a few too.
Danger…Danger!
While a number of contractors I work with still won’t acknowledge the internet, many more have taken the plunge and started promoting their businesses using Google AdWords, and many manage their own campaigns. And while Google is trying to make that easier with some changes they recently made, I still have to throw out a word of caution to many Adwords do-it-yourselfers.
From the site:
As a small business, you may find that investing in marketing can be a catch-22; while you are looking to grow your business, your time is limited and budgets are tight. While AdWords has always been about making advertising as measurable as possible, we are well aware that time is money – especially when you are a small company. So, in an effort to help you preserve your most precious asset, we wanted to share a few of tools we’ve developed as part of our effort to make account management less time-intensive.
Here comes the scary part….
From the site:
Simplify Bid Management with Automatic Bidding
Automatic Bidding is the easiest of the AdWords bidding options. With automatic bidding, the AdWords system automatically adjusts your maximum cost-per-click (CPC) bids on your behalf. You still set your daily budget, but rather than specifying individual bids for ad groups, keywords, or placements, the AdWords system actively seeks out the most clicks possible within the budget you set.
Let Us Help You Gain More Conversions with Enhanced CPC
Enhanced CPC is an easy-to-use automatic bid management tool intended for advertisers already using conversion tracking who are looking to turbo-charge their return on investment. The tool automatically adjusts your Max CPC bid each time your ad is shown in order to maximize the likelihood of your ad will converting. As a result, your ad should receive more conversions while maintaining or reducing your overall cost-per-conversion.
Warning…Danger Ahead!
If you take nothing else away from this post, listen to me on this one point. If you are just getting started with Google Adwords, DO NOT let them automatically bid for you! I have sat through many a horror story of thousands of dollars going up in smoke because a newbie didn’t know what they were doing. If you are going to manage your campaign yourself, do it right and learn a thing or two BEFORE you give Google your credit card! I have personally read and highly recommend the following books on Google AdWords:
The Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords by Perry Marshall (affiliate link)
Google AdWords for Dummies by Howie Jacobson (affiliate link)
Winning Results With Google AdWords by Andrew Goodman (affiliate link)
Great advice Darren.
I actually pay to have a professional manage my Adwords campaign. Even though in some months the management fee is higher than my actual budget for the ads, in the end I know I save money because I am not throwing money into the wind. I can’t be good at everything and this is definitely an area where not knowing your stuff can be very costly.
Hey Heidi,
You hit the nail on the head. Trying to hire a PPC Pro internally would be 100k, so a management fee to help bring in new business isn’t bad.
Good advice and another example of how easily a profitable company can get an evil streak and slip in a sharp earner like that!
I havent delved into adwords, Im sure it works for many, but for me getting ranked organically is a safer way of being seen. Content is forever, Google may not be. Also when I know that competitors systematically click on each others adword ads…
Hey Andy,
There is a flip side to that coin, and I have seen it happen plenty. I have seen companies rely too much on organic, Google makes an algo change and poof…no more company. Point is, marketing your business both online and off is still a sound bet in today’s market. Cheers mate, have a pint for me later!
You are so right….just blew about $40 in two days letting Google do my bidding and no better results than when I controlled the bids with much better results.
Thankfully I had account limits set.