Debunking Google Ads Myths
If you’ve never used Google Ads to generate traffic to your website, what’s holding you back? Do you fear the investment is not worth it? That it will cost an arm and a leg? Don’t be afraid of Google Ads – we’re going to be busting some common Google Ads myths.
If you search for information on Google Ads online, it’s likely you’ll come across conflicting opinions about the platform as a means for businesses to advertise. You’ll probably see articles about people who say Google Ads is a waste of money and some that praise the platform for generating a substantial return on investment.
Before you get lost in opinions reading each side of the story, we want to set the record straight by dispelling Google Ads myths that we often come across.
1. Google Ads Doesn’t Work
This myth is party right – Google Ads certainly works if you know what you’re doing. If you set up an unoptimized campaign, then it probably won’t work. Setting up a Google Ads account is fairly straight forward – but managing the account effectively is the tricky bit.
If you launch a campaign without understanding your target audience, the right keywords to use, how to write engaging ad copy and optimising a landing page, then chances are it probably won’t convert your audience the way you hoped.
Google Ads work if the people behind the campaign know what they’re doing.
Often businesses think they can handle the campaigns themselves, but when you really explore the pros of using an agency, it becomes apparent that hiring a PPC company is the best route to go down.
If you’re looking for a dedicated agency to trial Google Ads with or you want an expert to cast their eyes over your existing campaigns, then we’re the business to talk to. We would love to discuss your requirements and explain why we’re the brand you should be working with.
For a no obligation consultation, get in touch using one of the following options:
Book a meeting: michaelgoldman.co.uk/
Telephone: 0161 706 0004
Email: contact@differentgravydigital.co.uk
2. No One Clicks on The Paid Ads
If this myth were true, Google Ad’s annual revenue wouldn’t be $116.3 billion.
In fact, according to WordStream, 64.6% of people click on Google Ads when they are looking to buy an item online.
Ads on Google Search don’t look drastically different to organic search results. As you can see from the example below, the only difference between the paid ad (yellow) and organic result (green) is the small ‘Ad’ sign in the corner.
If the ad is presenting the information the user is searching for, they probably won’t care if it’s a paid advertisement or not.
3. You Need a Lot of Money to Invest in Google Ads
Can you invest a lot of money in Google Ads? Of course!
Do you have to spend a lot of money? No!
The great thing about Google Ads is you pay for the number of clicks your ads achieve.
In Google Ads, advertisers can specify a monthly cap and set an average daily budget for their campaigns. How much is spent could vary from day to day, but your campaign will not go over your monthly cap. On days where your ads are the most likely to generate a lot of traffic, you could spend up to double your daily budget. Those days are balanced by days where you will spend below your daily budget.
In short, you set a budget (no matter how small) and you will only spend money when a user clicks on your ad. Each click is hopefully a targeted user who has a high possibility of converting (whether that be making a telephone call, completing a form, buying an item or booking a meeting).
This is where expertise and using a professional agency comes in again – if you select the right keywords that target the right audience then a small budget can often see a good return on investment.
4. A Click Costs a Fortune
The cost of keywords varies greatly. Some might cost you 10p and others £15.
The great thing about Google Ads is that you are in control of how much you spend. With cost per click (CPC) bidding, you only pay when a user is interested enough to click your ad. You specify to Google Ads the most that you’re prepared to pay for a click on your ad (known as the maximum cost per click bid) – but you can be charged less, but obviously never more.
Take a look at a quick calculation:
- – Average sale price: £1,000 with £300 profit
- – Businesses can typically expect to convert 1 in 5 enquiries. So, we need to generate 5 enquiries to convert a sale.
- – An average campaign can expect to generate between 3 – 5% (some of our campaigns consistently achieve between 12% & 15%) enquiries from the number of website visits – so, using an average of only 4% we must generate 75 enquiries (clicks) to get 5 enquiries, which should then convert to one sale.
- – 750 clicks even at a bid price of £1 a click would cost £750, using the above calculation would generate 50 enquiries, 10 sales, revenue of £10,000 & yield a profit figure of £2,250
- – 750 clicks even at a bid price of £2 a click would cost £1,500, using the above calculation would generate 50 enquiries, 10 sales, revenue of £10,000 & yield a profit figure of £1,112.50
Once you achieve a formula that works for your business it is simply a case of scaling the amount of spend according to the capacity your business has to deal with new business, how much profit you want to make and how much you can afford to spend.
5.Google Ads is Only About Advertising on Google Search
Google, with its wide range of advertising opportunities, has more to offer than ads on search results.
Google Ads also encompasses the Google Display Network – a collection of websites, which varies from news sites to YouTube. When users are on the Google Display Network they may not necessarily be in ‘searching’ mode. Instead, they are casually browsing the internet (reading blog posts, watching a video, checking their Gmail account etc).
Unlike advertising on search engines – where users are typically in shopping mode – ads on the Display Network must attract user’s attention and engage them enough to click through to your site, abandoning the content they were originally looking at.
Google Display Network has over two million sites and reaches over 90% of the people on the internet. With such a wide reach, advertisers can meet their goals and get their ads seen by the people who are most likely to covert.
To learn more about the Google Display Network, visit our previous blog post: Beginner’s Guide to the Google Display Network
6. You Don’t Need Any Help
You can’t just set up a Google campaign and forget about it.
Running a Google Ad campaign might sound straight forward, but effective campaigns require regular time and attention.
Anyone can set up a standard paid advertising campaign. But working with an established agency saves wasting time and money, allowing you to focus on different aspects of marketing. To plan, manage and review a paid advertising campaign, it takes technical know-how to do it effectively. It takes a professional to manage every piece of your account and continuously look for ways to optimise it and maximise return on investment.
Looking to Learn How Google Ads Can Grow Your Business?
Hopefully you can come away from our blog understanding the top common Google Ads myths. Do you have any Google Ads myths to add? Let us know in the comments section below.
Regular analysis, optimisation and attention are key to maximise return on investment. However, for many businesses, managing a paid search campaign can be a full-time job. And that’s where we come in.
Different Gravy Digital have the time and expertise to ensure your Google Ads campaign delivers you the best results.
Contact us today and see how we can help you succeed with advertising on Google. For a free no obligation consultation, get in touch using one of the following options:
Book a meeting: michaelgoldman.co.uk/
Telephone: 0161 706 0004