The purpose of Google pay per click advertising is to get leads, not to make sales.
You can get sales with what your website says about your products and services. The first step is to get people to your website. The second step is to get them to take the desired action.
One of the best, if not the best, way to get people to your website is by using the Google pay per click advertising platform. If you are unfamiliar with this platform, you can read about Google Advertising.
It seems strange to say, but people tend to want their Google pay per click (PPC) efforts to make the sale. While this is possible, through the way you write the text in your ad, present an offer, or price a product in the ad itself, it is improbable.
The concept is the same as for any advertising vehicle: Your ads drive customers to you, whether it be a phone call, or visiting your store, or visiting your website. The rest is up to your sales ability, or your offering.
Google Pay Per Click Advertising Tools
To be in front of the most people use Google pay per click, because it has the largest online search audience, and because the platform has a lot to offer. A lot more than traditional advertising. It offers:
- very targeted advertising, down to exact words a customer uses to find you
- a way to write headlines and ad copy in the interface
- a link to exact web pages on your site
- display ads that show on logical choices of pages across the internet
- flexible strategies for spending (and conserving) ad dollars
- ability to start and stop your advertising faster than any other vehicle
- placement of ads in any state, city, geopolitical area, or zip code
- international advertising
- a way to block showing of your ads to the wrong audience
- tracking of your ad results
- a way to test which ad pitch is most effective
- multiple types of reports such as mobile views, times of day, etc
All of these tools are very useful for the creation of your advertising structure, your ads themselves and determining your return on investment.
However, the bottom line remains the same: Google pay per click advertising is for attracting customers. Ads take the user to a website that must do a good job of presenting what you have to offer the visitor/viewer. Without a good first impression, your ad dollars are wasted.
I will build an effective and efficient Google Adwords pay per click ad campaign to suit your budget and goals. To get started call me for a free, no obligation consultation.
Elements of a Good First Impression
Even though this article is about pay per click Google advertising, I’m going to give you the basics of where the advertising should take the searcher. As part of my services I offer both lead generation in the first stage of advertising, and sales conversion on the second stage – your website.
- To start, your website has to be visually appealing. This is as old as advertising itself. When someone arrives at your site they have to feel comfortable and the first impression is visual. A pleasing layout and color scheme may be important. Or a feeling of competence or professionalism.
- The second element is to make it understandable. To give a radical example, if you have an ad in English, don’t take the user to a page written in French. Make sure your message is written in a clear, understandable way. Minimum clutter and few linking options are a good practice.
- A third concept is to help the user once they arrive. People search to satisfy basic needs (hunger, shelter, etc), or to fulfill a desire (entertainment, self fulfillment, etc), or to solve a problem. Your page should address this right away, based on the search phrase that brought them to the ad.
- The reason your ad link sent them to a specific page must be evident in the headline of that page, or you risk losing them immediately. The headline reassures the user they will find what they are looking for – fast.
- Your offer is the next item of interest to the user. Make it very clear and so good that the person can’t help but get excited. This is your unique selling proposition.
- And, the final element that is necessary is a way to contact you, or to take the action you want them to take. If you want the user to call, provide a phone number. If you want them to email you, provide that info. If you want them to sign up for a list, or download more info, or buy a ticket, tell them very clearly that this is what you expect.
Back to the Advertising Vehicle
Google provides many great ways for your business to be found, to initiate the introduction of your services and products, and to get the user to the best possible place on your website.
What they can’t do is make a sale for you.
When you call Colorado PPC advertising consultant Jon Camrud to advise you, or to design your campaign and website, you get experience and talent in working with the Google interface. You get a PPC consultant who knows advertising, and a designer and marketing guy who can give you your best chance at converting leads into sales.
Just one more note. It is easy to spend a lot of money before you get the hang of PPC advertising. Google Adwords is a powerful tool with many layers. Always work with a professional.
It will cost you virtually nothing because of the savings in click fees and effectiveness in results.