Is Google Ads Worth It for Small Businesses?

There’s no doubt that Google Ads is the world’s leading online advertising platform. But some small business owners are hesitant about whether a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign will deliver results for their investment. 

You can put these fears aside. Done right, Google Ads for local businesses deliver a remarkably high ROI.

Even if you only have a small amount of money to invest in your Google Adwords marketing plan, reaching a targeted audience and convincing them to make a purchase is within your grasp.

Here, we’ll explain how Google Ads will help your business achieve its goals, plus dive into the most essential steps for mapping out a successful strategy.

How Google Ads Help You Achieve Your Business Objectives 

Digital marketing for small businesses can be a tricky process to get right. Naturally, you don’t have the massive amount of money and resources far larger organisations have to invest in their strategies.

Also, the margin for error is much smaller, as wasted cash has a significantly greater impact than big companies with far more flexibility in their budgets. 

While these financial concerns are certainly legitimate, achieving your goals with a small budget is more than possible with the right planning. 

If you’re sceptical about whether a Google Ads campaign is the best use of your limited funds, reflect on these advantages to realise the upsides are simply enormous.

Capturing Customers with Commercial Intent

When users conduct a Google search, certain signals within their keywords convey their intent.

If the goal of your Google Ads campaign is to increase sales, you want to optimise your campaign for “commercial intent” keywords.

The most obvious signs that someone is ready to purchase immediately are terms like “buy”, “discount” and “free shipping” added to a search.

If your business sells a sought-after brand or product category, optimising your Google Ads campaign for these terms ensures you capture customer attention at the ideal moment.

You might not have thousands to invest in your campaign. However, a targeted approach to your keyword selection creates outstanding results for your small business.

Reach Local Customers

If you operate a small business that relies on local customers, you can use Google Ads to target those in your specific area. 

You might be worried about wasting your budget on customers who live outside of the reach of your business. But this isn’t a concern when you limit your strategy to specific geographies. 

This way, brick-and-mortar stores can get more customers coming in through their front doors. Meanwhile, e-commerce websites with a specific local focus can attract customers relevant to their products and services.

With the right approach, Google Ads are incredible for reaching the customers who matter most to your small business’s success.

Convert Diverse Target Markets

A locally targeted Adwords campaign can attract local customers to your website. But you don’t have to limit your reach to this customer segment if you offer products that appeal to a wide range of customers.

Fortunately, this task is made incredibly easy using the Google Ads feature known as Combined Audiences. 

Rather than dividing your small budget amongst different audience segments with varying results, Combined Audiences ensure you benefit from a multi-layered campaign that engages a unified goal.

By combining overlapping groups, and excluding irrelevant audiences from your campaign, you can reach your ideal customer base and achieve an excellent ROI.

Track Your Results

Having access to critical information on your campaign’s performance is the best way to ensure your long-term small business digital marketing plan achieves your goals. 

SEO is wonderfully effective at reaching your target market. Yet assessing your approach in the middle of your campaign is a complex task. However, Google Ads features vital statistics that highlight how your campaign is performing in real-time.

From conversion monitoring and ROI analytics to search term reports, these findings can be used to enhance your approach and drive even more success.

By keeping close tabs on your Google Ads campaign and how it resonates with your target market, your small business marketing will get the most out of its budget. 

Achieve Instant Outcomes

Many small businesses have to decide between SEO or PPC campaigns due to budget limitations. One major consideration that turns business owners towards Adwords is that the results are virtually instant.

SEO is a hugely cost-effective digital marketing technique, but raising your conversion rates is a long-term goal rather than something that happens overnight. Instead, your business can instantly reach the top of the search results with a tailored Google Ads marketing plan.

By having a detailed understanding of your target market, identifying high-performance keywords and optimising your landing pages, boosting your profit without delay is a genuine possibility.

Tips for Starting Your Google Adwords Marketing Plan

If your small business is ready to kickstart its Google Adwords strategy, you want to ensure your budget is used effectively. 

But with so many different factors to consider, launching your strategy without understanding the basics likely means your limited funds will go to waste. 

While there are several other areas to learn about, consider the following Google Adwords tips to achieve your business objectives with an outstanding ROI.

Determine Your Ideal Market

Google Ads for local businesses won’t surpass your expectations if you don’t have a solid understanding of your target market.  

Before you start spending your hard-earned cash, you need to form a precise picture of the demographics that underpin your ideal customer base.

Across age, gender, interests, location and income, this information helps you target your Google Ads campaign and attract the right kind of people to your website.

Then, you can identify the most relevant keywords and craft a focussed message that appeals to customers bound to love your products and services. 

Choose the Perfect Keywords

Keyword selection determines who sees your ads – according to what they’re searching for on a search engine. This means your selection has to be on the money if you want to generate an ROI suitable for a small business.

Importantly, these keywords must align with the goals of your campaign. If you’re looking to boost your sales, identifying the previously mentioned commercial intent keywords ensures you reach customers ready to buy. 

However, if your business wants to expand its target market and spread brand awareness, informational keywords might be a more appropriate choice.

For example, a real estate agency might include keywords like “how to find a property manager” or “why work with a real estate agent” to showcase their knowledge and grow credibility.

Level Up Your Landing Pages

Having a Google Ads campaign that reaches your ideal target market will help your small business grow. But this is only part of the problem when it comes to enhancing your conversion rate.

If your ads direct customers to a slow, confusing and ugly landing page, potential customers won’t likely complete the purchasing process. This is why you must also optimise your on-page content.

Make sure your landing pages and ads use similar keywords and messaging to attract great leads. Then, compelling product descriptions and a powerful call-to-action ensure your products resonate with your target market. See our landing page development service page for more information.

Partner with the Experts

Worried about whether your small business marketing will benefit enough from a Google Ads campaign? You don’t have to stress when you have an expert team handling the ins and outs of your strategy. We analyse your business and suggest the most convenient option. It can be Google Display Network Ads, Google Shopping Ads or Google PPC Ads.

First Page Australia has partnered with hundreds of small businesses in Australia and around the globe, ensuring we know what it takes to reach even the most niche target audience. 

If you don’t have a lot of spare cash to waste on an ineffectual campaign, don’t take a risk on someone lacking the expertise to reach your objectives.

Chat with our talented team to find out how we’ll push your budget to its limit.