google adwords - worth it?
Discussion
looking at spending a few pounds on marketing and pushing our airport transfer company,
google adwords seems an obvious choice due to the way its setup and the kind of customers we would be looking at.
but it does seem stupidly expensive for what they offer, we had a chat with an account manager from google and their talking somewhere in the region of £200 a week for any noticeable impact.
is there any better value for money options I should be considering?
google adwords seems an obvious choice due to the way its setup and the kind of customers we would be looking at.
but it does seem stupidly expensive for what they offer, we had a chat with an account manager from google and their talking somewhere in the region of £200 a week for any noticeable impact.
is there any better value for money options I should be considering?
I depends a lot on your business. I spent £60-80 on adwords and won two to three jobs worth £1,500 a piece directly off the exposure and possibly more indirectly. The crucial factor here is that my business was a local service business and my website was on page 2-3 organically. Adwords gave me some exposure until my SEO efforts kicked in. Shortly after I made it onto page 1 and now I'm generally 2nd or 3rd listing organically which brings me all the traffic I need. However, every sale for me is worth well into three and usually four figures. Adwords could skin you alive if you are paying for clicks that only bring in a tenner if they convert to sale. In that scenario you need to play with big numbers and monitor the figures very carefully.
I'd also add that your business is a service business that people only need when they actually need it. I'd say adwords would be perfect for that because if someone is searching "Glasgow Airport Transfers" in google they are almost certainly looking to book an airport transfer there and then. Exposing your business to them at that moment is when you are most likely to convert.
Facebook on the other hand is for pushing products/services that may be purchased somewhat impulsively (Gadgets, weekend deals, vouchers, accessories, jewellery, etc) or for raising brand awareness. That last one is important with certain business types but you'd be kidding yourself if you think a Facebook user will remember your business a month after seeing your advert when they need to book a transfer. They are going straight to Google and clicking on the first few links.
It's worth remembering that adwords needs to be part of a holistic approach. If your website is poor, dated and lacks features then the user is likely to go to the next link to seek a more professional outfit and their lost click cost you money. To get the best out of adwords you want the user to land on your site and immediately think, "perfect, these look like the guys I'm after [I'll call them or complete the booking form]."
Facebook on the other hand is for pushing products/services that may be purchased somewhat impulsively (Gadgets, weekend deals, vouchers, accessories, jewellery, etc) or for raising brand awareness. That last one is important with certain business types but you'd be kidding yourself if you think a Facebook user will remember your business a month after seeing your advert when they need to book a transfer. They are going straight to Google and clicking on the first few links.
It's worth remembering that adwords needs to be part of a holistic approach. If your website is poor, dated and lacks features then the user is likely to go to the next link to seek a more professional outfit and their lost click cost you money. To get the best out of adwords you want the user to land on your site and immediately think, "perfect, these look like the guys I'm after [I'll call them or complete the booking form]."
Glasgowrob said:
looking at spending a few pounds on marketing and pushing our airport transfer company,
google adwords seems an obvious choice due to the way its setup and the kind of customers we would be looking at.
but it does seem stupidly expensive for what they offer, we had a chat with an account manager from google and their talking somewhere in the region of £200 a week for any noticeable impact.
is there any better value for money options I should be considering?
As mentioned in a different thread, I work in SEO. Send me a DM with your website and I'll have a look and see if there are any quick wins you can implement which could potentially help from an organic perspective. google adwords seems an obvious choice due to the way its setup and the kind of customers we would be looking at.
but it does seem stupidly expensive for what they offer, we had a chat with an account manager from google and their talking somewhere in the region of £200 a week for any noticeable impact.
is there any better value for money options I should be considering?
I would say that airport transfers are a perfect fit for PPC. Obviously a Google AM will be target driven in terms of sale, so I wouldn't necessarily take what they say as gospel.
Is it worth it? Well it will definitely generate traffic to your site but if that is poor or poor at converting people into bookings,calls etc then don't bother. Make sure your site is as good at converting as it can be otherwise it'll be a black hole for your money. I'd advise against DIYing too. Its more complex than you think. Get it wrong and its a great way to bin money!
I was spending circa £500pcm for one of my companies. I had little meaningful results off the back of it. Since then, I've been spending similar amounts on very specific and select events, along with local adverts and I've had far better results. Maybe not as many enquiries, but the quality of results achieved has been notably better. I think it will really boil down to what you want to push, and what your target market looks like.
Depends completely on the business, and who does it for you. It's not a simple case of writing an advert, handing over £250 and waiting for the traffic. You need to know what keywords you want to target, and out of those which have high traffic volumes (which will cost more), time of day, demographics, locations, your daily budget. You can burn through a lot of money doing AdWords, especially if not done properly.
But, that said, if you're a website selling products, setting up the Google Shopping thing would be beneficial, and have adwords relating to it. That can work.
If you're a service business, Facebook would be a better bet. Cheaper adverts, easier to set up and manage, would probably give you a better ROI.
But, that said, if you're a website selling products, setting up the Google Shopping thing would be beneficial, and have adwords relating to it. That can work.
If you're a service business, Facebook would be a better bet. Cheaper adverts, easier to set up and manage, would probably give you a better ROI.
madmover said:
I was spending circa £500pcm for one of my companies. I had little meaningful results off the back of it..
This will be primarily for the following reasons:You could not./did not track what happened when they went to your site
The page content did not reflect what you said in the adverts
Your site was not effective at converting
Don't write off PPC, just use someone who knows what they are doing. I've used it for 10 years and it has always worked, across a range of sectors
If you're only spending £200/m on GAds then it'll be more luck than anything as to whether you see a return.
Ideally, you need landing pages that are relevant to each of your adverts and you need to know what to do with negative keywords, etc.
I'd look at email marketing and possibly FB retargeting instead for that sort of budget.
Ideally, you need landing pages that are relevant to each of your adverts and you need to know what to do with negative keywords, etc.
I'd look at email marketing and possibly FB retargeting instead for that sort of budget.
C722 said:
Frimley111R said:
Don't write off PPC, just use someone who knows what they are doing.
Does any one have any recommendations? Edited by Frimley111R on Monday 22 January 14:24
Mortgage_tom said:
Frimley111R said:
Yep, I'll PM you. It a guy who manages a lot of the leading dealer group websites and knows more about PPC than anyone I've met. I never use anyone else.
Can you PM his details to me to please Frimley. Does he do Facebook ads as well?
thanks Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff