With the variety of outbound and inbound marketing techniques that most consumers experience daily, it can be difficult to determine the best options for marketing your product or service.
There is a unique tool, one which we all probably see every day, that, if used properly can, produce a huge return on your advertising investment.
Have you used Google AdWords?
Google AdWords is a widely used inbound marketing tool that helps put businesses at the top of search results pages. Google AdWords can increase traffic to your website and generate leads when used properly. The most effective way to do this is to advertise a link to a landing page that offers a white paper, eBook or other valuable content.
The real power of Google AdWords is its ability to put such an offer at the very top of a search engine results page. In essence, companies can bypass the search engine listing and place themselves ahead of its competition. When used in combination with valuable content offers, Google AdWords presents some intriguing advantages:
- Popularity—In addition to the immense power of the Google name, buyers can top the search engines results page of the most widely used search engine in the world. This opens up the largest possible market segment, which can fuel an enormous response to a valuable content offer.
- Scalability—Google AdWords allows buyers to place ads in certain geographical markets and on certain keyword searches. Ad buyers can invest as much or as little as they want on their campaign. If certain markets or results are producing better results, it may be wiser to invest more in them.
- Tracking—Google is highly touted for its ability to track the results of an AdWords strategy. With real time analytics, vendors can determine which initiatives are producing the greatest returns and decide to invest more in them or try alternatives.
Presenting valuable content is not quite the same as offering the public a new product or deal. Instead, valuable content offers free information to help the consumer come to a decision. People recognize that knowledge is power. There are several factors to take into consideration when deciding to use Google AdWords:
- Cost—If the cost of advertising is an overriding concern, Google AdWords may not be the most important venue. Small companies will be competing with industry giants who invest thousands in Google AdWords, so it is wise to choose battles carefully.
- Time— Determine if Google AdWords is going to be worth the investment in time and money. To run an effective AdWords campaign, it takes time and testing ads, testing keywords and monitoring what works and what doesn’t. Furthermore, depending on your keywords and their popularity, it could be expensive to bid for those keywords.
- Quality— You should not use AdWords if you just want to advertise your website. There are hundreds of websites. What makes your company, your brand, different than the others? Your FREE valuable information! Make sure your actual Google Ads are seamlessly associated with a landing page and the actual content you are offering.
Google Ad Words is a highly powerful marketing tool, but like all such tools, there are strengths and weaknesses. If you have a valuable content offer, evaluate how many people are choosing it and then how that affects their buying process.
Providing consumers with something as valuable as a white paper or other relevant content through this medium can be highly effective in broaching new markets, but the costs associated with such a venture should be carefully evaluated beforehand and very closely during the launch of your Google AdWords campaign.
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