Did you know that only 1% of internet searchers actually click on the Ads that appear in a Google search result? So why bother with a pay-per-click advertising campaign? Because 1% of 64,000 searches PER second is a BIG number. (640 clicks per second) Over $52 BILLION of Google's $75 Billion in revenue came from AdWords in 2015. It's safe to say, people CLICK on the ads, whether or not you yourself are an ad clicker.

Google AdWords continue to be a cost-effective way to reach your customers when they are in-the-moment searching for your type of business. You still should be maintaining your website's SEO or search engine optimization, but nothing beats getting a competitive edge by advertising direct to the consumer. With Google Ads, you place a bid amount on the keywords you want to target with a daily budget of what you are willing to pay for those keywords. You only pay when your ad is clicked. If it doesn't get clicked, you don't pay. Placing an expensive ad with something like the yellow pages, you pay even if no one ever responds, and that might be likely, considering: How many people use a phonebook these days?

Yes, anyone can set up an AdWords campaign all on their own. There's no "special" site we use. Here it is: adwords.google.com - That's where we go to start and maintain all of our campaigns. However, just because you CAN install your own water heater, should you? I leave that stuff to the professional plumbers because it would take me far longer, more frustration and most importantly more time and money invested to get the job done, if at all. Here's a great post by the way on how to set up your own pay per click campaign. Here's why hiring a marketing agency like us will save you time, money and produce better results.

Google offers a maximum of four ads to be displayed at the top of the page on any search result. They recently removed the "sidebar" ads. As of November 2016, there's also been many enhancements to the amount of ad copy available on mobile devices. The ad copy is the #1 reason someone will click on your ad and not the other three ads your competition puts out. Google AdWords is all text-based. There's no appealing photo you can attach. Your ad must be the most attractive from a wording standpoint. Also, a well written ad will help reduce the cost of your bid. Google ranks ads not just by your bid price but how relevant the ad is written according to the keywords targeted. Think of it as SEO for AdWords. Here's an example screenshot from, a plumber. (In case I have to call someone for that water heater!)

Which of these ads would you click on if you needed a plumber? There's a good chance you would click on the third one. Notice the "$40 Off Any Service" call-out. The entire ad is well written (with one exception).
Here are the components of a great ad for Google AdWords:

• Main Title
To the point, relates to your keyword. Does not include your business name. Wasted space!

• Web address link
You can get crafty with this one. The actual destination link can be different from what's shown. This is great for landing pages, which you should be using. In this case, a link should say: www.yourplumbingcompany.com/plumbers/rhode-island, even though if might actually go to www.yourplumbingcompany.com/plumbing-landing-page-etc-etc.
This is helpful because it helps the clicker identify where they will end up. Never send them to your homepage.

• Phone extension
You can also add your phone number to this area, which is great because a desktop searcher might simply dial the number from their phone and never click on the ad. Boom, FREE lead!

• Description
You have a short area to write some more ad copy here and get them hooked. 

• Site extensions
You have an opportunity here to put up to four site link extensions, gives the user an idea of your services or areas they can go to instead of just the intended web address.

Here's why the third ad outperforms the others (IMHO)
1) Titled correctly: 'Providence Plumbers - $40 Off Any Service'
2) Web address is clear where it's going to, even though when I actually clicked on it, it went to a specific landing page.
3) Description gives me a reason to choose them: Expert plumbers, available 24/7, available nights and weekends.
4) I have the option to browse current offers (let's me know they have offers), I see they work with residential, they offer a scheduling service, and look at that - they offer water heater repairs!
5) Geography: I see that they are in the Providence, RI area as I see the map pin icon, and further they are open right now.

Keyword Selection
Just like search engine optimization, you have to choose the right keywords, or else it will cost you. This is probably the bigger reason a DIY PPC campaign is wasted money. Even if you write the best ad, poor keyword selection will result in your ad being clicked for the wrong type of lead, and they will never convert. Remember, just because they click your ad, doesn't mean they're a customer at that exact moment!
Let's take our plumber example again. For instance, if you are a new plumbing company, you might not be able to fulfill certain services like excavating or major repairs. You might be limited to water heaters and other smaller jobs. You also might not be a 24 hour plumber!
If all you do is, create an AdWords account, put your credit card in, add the keyword "plumber in RI" and set it to go: It's sending money down the drain (all puns intended). We might want to use instead: "water heater installation ri" for example.

Keyword Modifiers
One of the most awesome features about Google Adwords, is their keyword modifiers. You can actually modify a keyword so it has a "+" or a "-" attribute. Using the "+" attribute, this tells Google that keyword MUST be in the search in order for your ad to appear. Using the "-" attribute, it tells Google that your ad should NOT appear if that keyword is used in the search. This will save you lots and lots of money (and pain). Next there is a phrase match modifier, meaning you can have Google filter results that are similar to your keyword selection. We also have an exact match modifier. If you put your key phrase in brackets, you're telling Google, you only want your ad showing when the search is identical to a specific search, spelling, grammar and all. Let's take a look at a couple quick examples, based on Google's article on modifiers. 

No Modifier
plumber ri
 • will show all results with ANYTHING with PLUMBER and/or RI in the search, including searches like "plumbing laws in ri"

Positive (+) Match Modifier
+plumber +ri
 • will show results within those parameters. So a search for "plumber IN ri" will yield your result, potentially

Negative (-) Match Modifier
-laws -law -jobs -excavating
 • will eliminate your ad from showing when someone is searching for plumber, ri when they are also searching for plumbing jobs, plumbing laws, or plumbing excavation for example

We are experts at all modifiers, and this is a key differentiator in setting up a campaign. On average, for one campaign, it takes us roughly an hour to set everything up, from geo-targeting to ad copy to keyword selections and modifiers. We do this for several clients, and if it takes us an hour, how long will it take you?

I clicked on all of the ads shown to me. Only the third one (go figure) had a special landing page attached to it. The other three? It brought me to a regular page on their website about plumbing. What is a landing page? It's a page on your website, inaccessible from the regular navigation area designed specifically for users landing on that page to convert them into a buyer/client. A landing page generally consists of these elements, and these only: Headline, short description, your phone number (and a call-us button), and a contact form. We work with just about any CMS system that your current website has, but we prefer to use our own landing page software. We just need a login to your website, if we did not build it for you.

Most of the SMB's I talked to, send their Google Ads directly to their homepage. Your homepage at that point is now like a buffet of choices for them, instead of a fine crafted landing page, which is specific to the service they were clicking for. 

This topic is more thoroughly covered in another post about adaptive design and adwords, but the short of it is this: You can set a different bid for mobile verses a desktop bid. If you do this, you better make sure your mobile website is designed to handle a mobile specific user. Unfortunately, most web designers today lack the ability to design in a mobile first environment like we do. We build Responsive Websites that are adaptive. What this means is, your website automatically scales up and down based on the device size being used, but further, we use a server to detect WHAT TYPE of device is being used, so we can tailor the content to that device. Essentially, we are saying: "If they're viewing from a mobile device, lay the web page out this way" - all of the same content, but just optimized for mobile. Furthermore, we can add or remove certain elements just for mobile. We can for instance, place a "CALL US NOW" button, but only show this on mobile, and for the desktop, make sure the contact form is front and center with your phone number listed as the number in a larger font.
Either way, Google allows you to bid differently for mobile verses desktop, and they just gave you a bonus extra line of ad copy to use on mobile. We use that extra line very wisely.

Call Tracking
Google actually gives you free call tracking built right into the AdWords platform. It's somewhat basic, but's its also free. We're just tracking where the call was placed, so we can better monitor your campaign. Which ads are working and which ones aren't.

The short of it is, we know advertising - you know plumbing. (Or whatever service you provide). We know what keywords work, which ones don't. Which ones cost more or less. We create beautiful landing pages that convert clickers into clients. When you hire us, we hold ourselves to a high standard for the outcome of your campaign. We want your ad to work, since you'll be getting more work and that means more ad management for us. We are in the business of growing your business. It's that simple. Really.

Contact us today for a free quote on an AdWords campaign.