Have You paid for Google Adwords?

Hi all,

I have just written a blog post about the use of Google Adwords, and how I don't think they are a necessity, I think there are other, cheaper ways to get you noticed and on 1st page of google searches.

I am looking for feedback from those of you who have used Adwords and how beneficial they were? How much you spent? Or how much someone has charged you to do this on your behalf?? I think we've all met someone that has said "I can get you number 1 on Google for X amount of pounds".

In the meantime, this is my blog post http://essexsocialmedia.com/2011/01/26/you-dont-need-google-adwords/

All comments welcome.

Paul

I have not used Adwords personally for my business, but I have had clents who have spent tens of thousands on them and have found them to be profitable (unfortunately not through me).

I think ideally if you can get on page 1 of Google etc, then what's the point in paying to be there. However, there are only ten slots on page 1 and not everyone can be there and some businesses are more competitive than others, so like many meduims out there, there's a time and a place for this one.

Lorraine

Hi Lorraine

Thanks for the feedback, it seems that there are companies that are willing to pay out huge sums of cash to get on 1st page. If only they knew what we know eh?? We could of saved them a fortune! lol

Paul

We have a massive web presence - our site is over 400 pages and these are very localised to help us control things. We use addwords lots - but in a very controlled way - every one of our local sites has its' own addwords set up that we adjust as needs be. We aim to get to page 1 without addwords and we see them only as a short term fix while we get a generic page 1 listing. As soon as we are generic page 1 we pause the addowrds campaign (we don't delete it in case we need to boost that area short term).

What I do know is that cost per lead via google is around 1/3 of cost per lead from Yellow Pages.

Hi Paul,

I can see why you are saying Google Adwords is not worth it as you use Social Media however I have used social media, SEO and Adwords for a long time now and this is what I think. If you can rank free for "Social Media in Essex" then yes you may not necessarily want to Pay for Adwords for that phrase, As you can see their are not many paid ad's for that search term which tells me it isn't a competitive "money" term.

In some sectors their are thousands of different key phrases you can use so it is much more effective to use PPC to test what is the most effective keyphrases before you do any SEO, this will enable you to be more effective with your SEO. Also you can only have 5 different key phrases with Google Places.

So what I am trying to say is yes Google Places is great I use it in my business but you should never discount Adwords and it does really depend on each individual situation.

Here is what Perry Marshall just recently said

"Last week I spoke at Entrepreneur Magazine's Growth Conference in Atlanta. Many sessions were packed and afterward a group huddled around me and peppered me with questions.

#1 Question: "Why should I spend money buying clicks when I can get traffic from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc? And for that matter, why shouldn't we just try to get free search engine traffic?"

I said: "Let's say someone has a website with a #1 listing on Google. You're selling a million dollars of product a year with FREE traffic. No advertising. The site makes a quarter million dollars a year of pure profit. They're willing to sell the whole business to you for 1 year of profit. Would you buy it?"

I got puzzled looks. Most said, "Yeah, that would probably be a good deal."

I said, "Let's say Google changes their algorithm and your site completely disappears from page 1. Sales drop to nearly zero. What would happens then?"

"If all your traffic is free and you don't know how to BUY traffic, you're done.

"Or what if it's all from social media? What happens when you stop pushing content out there?"

Let's say that same site makes $125,000 a year profit after paying $125,000 for advertising. How much is that worth?

* It's worth a whole lot more than the free traffic site, I'll tell you that much.

The ONLY thing you can depend on, ultimately, is the ability to BUY a customer at market price and turn a profit.

Once you know how to do that, you'll never go hungry.

Your mission is not to put $0 in and get $1 out. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to put $1 in and get $2 out. That's a business.

Anything else is a bankruptcy waiting to happen."

Graeme

I use both adwords and more recently google places. I just turn adwords on and off as I need it.

I suppose the main issue I have with paying for Adwords is that there are so many vouchers floating around that if you do want to try it out, there's really no sense in paying. That way I think you can guage whether you're happy with it, whether you feel it works, and whether you're actually using it correctly, without having to fork out for the experience. Then if it works for a business, they could always go on to pay for it.

I definitely think it has its place, but I'd warn people off paying for it on their first go, purely because they don't need to.

have dabbled in adwords, trying facebook ads at the moment, very targeted eg if you were inclined you could target

engaged women 20 - 35 birmingham with an interest in social media !

j

Thanks everyone for their comments and feedback so far.

It's all greatly appreciated.

Paul

I guess I see both sides of the coin as I manage clients adwords accounts and also run my own.

Google Places is pretty cool and there is no argument for paying for clicks when you appear there free, but you cant seriously only want to appear for that one keyword that is a little obscure to say the least. What about terms such as; social media colchester, social media basildon, social media brentwood, social media chelmsford, social media romford, where do you rank here????

In fact how many clicks do you receive for that search term, social media Essex? https://adwords.google.co.uk/o/Targeting/Explorer?__u=1000000000&__c=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS#search.none

Whereabouts do you appear for an actual relevant keyword to your business such as social media training for e.g. or any of these variations that receive decent (ish) amounts of traffic https://adwords.google.co.uk/o/Targeting/Explorer?__u=1000000000&__c=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS#search.none

I have read your blog post and read the comments received from that blog post and it strikes me that it is a case of the blind leading the blind. One guy feels compelled to comment and I dont think he knows the difference between SEO and paid search. If he has managed to get himself on page one on Google I will bet you right know it is for a keyword that receives less than 50 hits a month.

Adwords is a great tool just like a hammer is a great tool if used correctly. I mean come on Paul, you have probably spent a few hundred if not a few thousand ££'s on your website and to push traffic and gain work from this investment you are pinning your hopes and dreams on this one keyword that receives 36 hits a month, so in actual fact you probably receive 10-20% of that, 10 hits a month if you are lucky.

If you receive 10 clicks a day at a cost of £5 yes you have had to pay £5 for those clicks but those clicks will be people who are searching for you finding your website and seeing what it is you do and not only that they are interested in buying your products/services. Suddenly paying £5 for 10 clicks doesnt seem to bad does it when you convert at least one into a sale does it? (I dont know what youre prices are but im sure they are a lot more than £20 say) Not a bad return after all is it? Google adwords works hence why there are billions of adwords advertisers all over the world and these are the guys who get business, generate leads and most importantly make sales Paul. Adwords is only ever a spend if you get it wrong because you should see an ROI, nothing that gets an ROI can be considered a cost only an investment.

This.

interesting - i notice in the blog post you have only one sponsored ad showing making the free listing look more attractive

in reality there are normally 3 sponsored links - that said if you can be that high then it certainly helps - although adwords if used correctly is mighty effective - if used badly then you might as well go and throw money down the drain instead

OK, I see where you guys are coming from.

Can I just explain that I am using a Wordpress site, I am not a web designer, I know the basics. I don't have a vast knowledge of HTML code etc.

I am using blogging, facebook and social media in a very targeted way. I use google adwords tool (free) to identify keywords and phrases. Then I write
keyword rich blogs, automatic seo through wordpress and then promoted via social media for my clients. This enables fresh content targeted to key words and phrases.

I am also using directories, reciprocal links and article submission to give the blogs authority. This, as part of a fully integrated sales and marketing plan, ensures quality leads and click throughs to the web site that convert into real business.

In most cases the costs of adwords for small business is not effective. I offer an alternative, more social method of engaging with real people (possible customers or referalls of customers) and establishing a reputation for their business.

OK, so getting to 1st page with this option may not be instantatious, like Adwords can be, but it is very effective method of not only gaining recognition, but also increasing clientele, increasing your 'sales team' by way of referrals,and thus increasing sales. Which is what Social Media is all about isn't it? Interaction and engagement.

Surely building a network of people that trust you and will use you time and again is important for any business? I offer this route to my clients.

Paul

Google adwords is made for the small business owner.

Like I said earlier I have no idea how much you charge for your services but I dont know many small business owners that are willing or even able to pay out a lot of money and not start to see the results for 6 months, 12 months or even longer, do you?

The biggest benefit with pay per click advertising is you can start with £20 and see the ROI immediately so you can then put more investment into it to see a bigger ROI and so on and so on, this is all achievable within 3-6 months. Your business can be off the ground and making real progress without essentially spending a penny as you have technically invested it in your company.

With adwords, yes you pay for clicks but the people clicking your ad will be looking to buy your products/services (if you have got it right) but with social media people are not actively searching for or even wanting your products/services which means you cannot effectively target potential clients, essentially you are planting lots of seeds and hoping a few of them flower into clients. You cannot rely solely on third party referals for a sustainable business it doesnt work like that.

I think you are really missing a trick by thinking adwords isnt right for you without giving it a go, theres plenty of vouchers out there and I will gladly give you some free advice and help to set it up correctly and show you what you are missing out on Paul.

I think it is reasonable to say that anyone who relies entirely on any single source of customers is a disaster waiting to happen. What blend of advertising depends on your target audience and even though that may stay the same they way they react to marketing doesn't.

Addwords needs careful managing if it is to be cost effective - it isn't a "fit and forget" solution.

We've tried a Facache campaign and for us it didn't work - but you can be sure that in a few months time we'll have another go and re-assess. Menwhile the keywords, tags and phrases we use now both on site and in addwords are constantly being tweeked on a regular basis.

Stand still - get run over.