Privacy Notice: In order to protect the privacy of the client, their name has been omitted from this study but the numbers used are real and have not been adjusted.
Problem
A client approached us in late 2011 wishing to increase profits, and more specifically, they wished to increase the number of leads coming from the website. Upon inspection, it was clear that traffic to their website had been flat over a period of 3 years with no signs of growth.
Solution
We recommended that their website be overhauled and optimized for search engines and that Google AdWords Search Advertising be implemented. This study focuses on the latter. Google AdWords search campaigns show advertisements on Google’s search engine results pages. For example, when a user performs a Google search, advertisements are shown along with the organic search results. AdWords Search campaigns were implemented and optimized during late 2011.
Results
The table below shows the results achieved over a 3-year period from January 2012 to December 2014. A few strategies have been tried over the 3-year period causing AdWords spend to vary from year to year. This has led to varying quantities of clicks and conversions, but the return on investment (ROI) for the client has consistently been more than 250%. That is, for each dollar spent, $3.50 is returned. One dollar covers costs, leaving $2.50 of profit.
Conclusion
Google AdWords has performed very well for this client, earning an incredible 255% return on investment and boosting profits by $4 000 to $6 000 each year. Google AdWords is a highly effective form of advertising. In fact, AdWords out-performs most investments, period.
Additional Benefits of Google AdWords
There are some additional benefits of Google AdWords aside from being a very profitable investment. Firstly, since there are no commitment periods with Google AdWords, it is safe to be experimental when writing ad text. New advertising slogans and wording can be used without fear of negative impact.
Secondly, and related to the previous point, Google AdWords provides an exceptionally high level of traceability. It is easy to tell exactly which ad text is most compelling to your target customers, and therefore which ad is most effective. Once proven, this marketing text can be used safely in other marketing materials. Think of this as market research for small business. This has huge potential! After all, there is an old saying which says that half of your marketing budget is wasted, but the trouble is you never know which half. Not so with Google AdWords.
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