Don’t let these reasons stop you trying AdWords

Google AdWords can be a measurable, targeted marketing option for growing your business. But unfortunately, many business owners miss out on the opportunities created by AdWords due to misconceptions about how it works.

Here are three of the reasons I hear regularly for not using AdWords, plus my responses.

1. No one I know ever clicks on the ads

I hear a variation of this at least a few times a week. Statements like “I never ever click on the ads” or “none of my friends ever click on the ads”.

Fact is, a lot of people do click on the ads! Every day.

If they didn’t the AdWords program wouldn’t exist and wouldn’t be as hugely successful as it is.

A more likely reality is that people click on the ads but don’t realise it. The ads on the left hand side of the search results used to appear in a yellow box, due to a recent change, they are now marked “Ad” but otherwise they look really similar to the organic search results.

It’s also worth noting that a reasonable Click Through Rate (CTR) for an AdWords campaign is anything higher than 1 or 2%. This means that as long as at least one person in every hundred who sees the ads clicks on them, the ad campaign is doing well.

2. My competitors will click on my ads and use up all my budget

While it’s true that there are unscrupulous people and robots who do click on ads to use up an advertisers budget, it’s also true that Google are vigilant at filtering out these “invalid clicks”. When needed, they will credit your account.

I’ve seen Invalid Clicks in client accounts where there has been 2 clicks for 1 impression (which shouldn’t actually be possible). Generally I see these clicks get credited back to the client quickly, within 24 hours.

Read more in How can you tell if your competitors are clicking on your AdWords ads and How to view Invalid Clicks once you’re logged in to your AdWords account.

3. I’ll end up spending way more money than I intend to

In AdWords you set the maximum daily budget that you are prepared to spend, so you are in complete control of how much is spent.

While it’s true that some days your Campaigns might spend more than the maximum budget, Google only allows this if there were previous days when the budget was underspent. Across a 30 day period you shouldn’t end up spending more than 30 times your daily budget.

The best way to monitor your spend is to log in to your account regularly and keep an eye on it. Or work with an AdWords Partner for outsourced management of your ads.

Want to find out if AdWords will work for your business?

Give it a try!

If you’re ready to give AdWords your best shot as an effective way of increasing your business enquiries and sales, contact us to find out about our affordable options for AdWords set up, management and 1-to-1 training.