Even with good search engine optimisation (SEO) it can take some time for a business to reach the first page of the search engine’s search results page. For this reason, many businesses invest in advertising to get their first customers and make sure their name is out there.
Paid search advertising can be a good option especially for small businesses as there is no minimum spend. You can set a limit that you’re willing to spend based on your budget and you are in complete control – being able to turn it on and off when you choose.
Before you embark on an advertising campaign, you will need to consider your goal in running the adverts. Is it?
- To increase sales / purchases
- To generate new leads
- To get new followers
- To increase awareness of your brand
There are different types of online advertising
- Cost per click or pay per click – where you are only charged if someone actually clicks on your advert
- Cost per impression – where you are charged each time your advert is shown
- Cost per engagement – where you are charged when the user takes a pre-determined action. This could be watching a video, completing a survey etc
There are different types of online advertising
- Text adverts
- Image based adverts
- Video adverts
The most popular adverts for small businesses are pay per click text adverts because these are easy to create, measurable and allow for budget control.
- Google Ads is one of the better known and widely used advertising platforms. It works by showing your advert to the right people at the right time and is effective because of the volume of data it has collected over time which shows which search terms indicate where the user is in their customer journey.
- So that it can link your advert to the right algorithms (pre-set rules), you will first be asked what you goal is in running the advert (see above)
- You will then be asked to identify a geographic area that you’d like your advert to appear in
- Finally, you will design your advert and set your monthly budget limit
- Once approved, your advert will automatically appear any time a potential customer for your product or services, who is based within the geographic area you have set searches for a product or service like yours. And the beauty is, you only pay when a user engages with your business.
