Using Google AdWords can allow the largest company to the one-person company operating from home the ability to target a huge web audience with minimal spend. If someone was looking to find a company that, say, supplied fish food, they would type in ‘fish food’ in the Google search box and enter, and then over 2 million results would be shown on numbered pages. On the right-hand side of the Google search page would be targeted ads specifically about ‘fish food’.
A company’s website needs to attract new clients and convert them into paying customers; using relevant keywords in your website text will allow you to fulfil this primary objective. Using the correct keywords can attract targeted users that are looking to buy your product or service. Well-written, relevant copy on your website will help you rank better in searches, so by continually optimising your Google AdWords campaigns and keyword usage, you will expand the potential market visiting your website.
There is no rule on how many AdWords you should use, as it depends on the desired results and funds available. Ad groups will have keywords that convey a similar idea and may contain as few as 10 to as many as 100 keywords.
This is a very short overview of the basics of Google AdWords as there is much more to learn, such as finding profitable keywords, creating AdWord headlines, persuasive Ad text and Click Through Rates.
If you would like more information we are happy to help. Why not try Google AdWords for yourself, with the added bonus that B&V can manage your AdWords campaigns for you! We can also supply a monthly Google analytics report so you can see for yourself where your website’s traffic is coming from.
Labels: adwords, google, marketing, web
We've all heard them before: "speculate to accumulate"... "fortune favours the brave"... "adapt or die"... "live long and prosper"... (sorry, that last one just sort of slipped in!). Seriously though, we're all well aware of the recession and the press do seem to love trotting out the old clichés – but, as with many old wives' tales and nursery rhymes, there can be a solid foundation to even the most hackneyed of sayings.
In these days of economic uncertainty, opinion is often divided when it comes to marketing and a quick search of the Internet will turn up literally thousands of blog posts advocating that companies should cut their marketing spend in a recession. Confusingly there are at least as many taking the view that companies should up their budgets rather than cutting them! Certainly for many companies, marketing is often seen as a soft target: an expense which can be easily cut without having to resort to laying people off. But with the need to increase sales in order to survive, how can companies grow their customer base without actively marketing to let those potential customers know they are there?
Well, there can be a third way.
The world of business, just as in nature, really can be a case of survival of the fittest and a deep recession is the equivalent of a tsunami or an earthquake. It is the plants and animals that are able to adapt to new conditions that are most likely to survive. And the ability to adapt is, I believe, the 'third way' which is most likely to produce results in the current economic climate. Cutting marketing spend can result in rendering your company virtually invisible. Increasing it can certainly be a gamble which – although it could reap great rewards – might result in further economic woes. But reviewing HOW that budget is being used and modifying some of the approaches taken could make all the difference, both financially and in terms of customers' perception.
By partnering with a marketing agency who has their clients' best interests at heart (and we certainly do – if our clients do well, then we do well) and applying some strong strategic thinking and exploring possible new avenues, marketing can be one of the most effective and important tools available to businesses – not just in surviving a recession, but also in ensuring you come out of it ahead of any surviving competition.
Here's an example:
It's well known that – although it has its place and can be very effective if well executed – the traditional newsletter or mailshot can be quite costly to produce & send. Many end up in the bin, mailing lists can be out of date and there's no guarantee of a response. But making better use of modern technologies can really improve on this – dramatically.
Email newsletters can reach the intended person directly and have your message right there in their inbox, first thing. Even if they're roaming, with wireless laptops and smart phones emails will still find their target wherever they are. And, by building in links to forward the email to anyone else the recipient feels might be interested, it can be used to propagate more leads. We can design and build the email template for you, test it to ensure it's viewable in all major email client programs and organise and schedule the actual mailing. Even better, we can also monitor how many of those emails actually get opened and, where applicable, how many recipients then clicked through to your website. And the best bit? It really doesn't have to cost the earth! There's no print, no ink, no paper, no waste. Once the templates have been designed, each mailing campaign can cost as little as £20 to set up and a few pence per recipient to actually send out! And with the emails being better targeted and going direct to the intended person, the chance of success is much higher than the more traditional mailer or newsletter.
So it may well be true that you need to "speculate to accumulate" – but you may not need to speculate as much as you thought in order to reap the rewards!!
Live long – and PROSPER!
Labels: adapt, budget, email, marketing, recession, survival