Google AdWords 101
When you search for something on Google, have you noticed that the first few results have a little green icon that says “ad” on them? Those search results are the product of paid advertising through AdWords.
Paid advertising through AdWords isn’t absolutely necessary, but for some businesses, it’s a useful tool. For many organizations, it helps by giving you more traffic on search engines (and not just on Google).
Where do the ads show up?
Ads paid for through AdWords show up in 3 different places:
- Google’s website
- Other search engines
- Other websites
AdWords will help you on more places than just Google. If you have a budget to pay for an AdWords campaign, it’s worth looking into. You pay only when someone clicks through your ad to your website or calls your organization through your ad.
For a lot of organizations interested in paid advertising, their main hesitation is the time needed to learn how to manage AdWords. AdWords Express might be a useful tool in those cases.
AdWords Express
With AdWords Express, you can set up an ad campaign really quickly—Google claims that it only takes 15 minutes, and we’ve found that’s actually a pretty fair estimate.
You create your ad with a small amount of text telling people what you do or what problems you solve, and then you select your business category and set your maximum budget.
Again, you’ll only pay for the advertising if someone clicks through or calls you from the ad. Then once you’ve created your ad, Google will display it as an ad in search results. On Google, ads currently look like this:
I also recommend searching for a coupon or promo when you’re first starting out AdWords. That way, you’re able to test it out with an even lower financial investment.
Creating an AdWords campaign (especially in AdWords Express) is one of those online marketing tactics where it’s up to you whether you outsource or handle it yourself.
If you have the time and feel comfortable, give it a shot! If you’d rather not do it yourself, there are lots of professionals who can help you carry out your campaign.