We follow these steps to implement Google AdWords for small businesses
1. Determine whether Google AdWords is appropriate for your business
We will schedule a meeting to sit down and discuss whether your business is a good fit for Google AdWords. Different small businesses will benefit more from Google AdWords than others and some businesses may not benefit at all. What type of businesses would not benefit, you ask? Glad you asked!
Businesses that are currently operating at maximum capacity may not be good candidates for Google AdWords. In this scenario, attracting more customers just means that you will be turning away more customers! This doesn’t mean that Google AdWords isn’t a good fit for the business. It just means that operating capacity must first be made available, either by hiring additional labour, or making current processes more efficient to free up some time to handle the new customers.
2. Determine our approach to setting up the Google AdWords account
After determining that AdWords is appropriate for your business, the next step is to determine how the AdWords campaigns will be operated. For example, will it be an on-going campaign which is advertised year round? Or will it be seasonal, operated only during the spring and summer months? Will the campaign only be active for new product launches? These questions will be answered based on your business model.
3. Determine the goal of the AdWords campaigns
You may be wondering why this step is even worth mentioning. Aren’t we just trying to acquire more customers? Well, the answer is a bit more involved. In this step we want to determine the specific action that potential customers should perform upon viewing your ads. Is there an online contact form on your website that we wish for them to fill out? Do we want them to call your business only during operating hours? Do we want them to sign up for a newsletter? Perhaps, we just want to promote your brand in the community? Each of these scenarios will require a slightly different approach.
4. Determine the account structure
Now that we have a clear idea of our end goal, we can get into the real work of setting up the Google AdWords account. Accounts are structured as shown in the following picture. This is where many people get it wrong. Proper account structure makes managing the AdWords account much easier, and will allow you to get the best return on investment (ROI).
5. Research the account ideas and develop a budget
This is where we research which campaigns, ad groups, and keywords are needed. We will also determine how much money to allocate to each campaign.
6. Build the account
Now we get to set up the account, ad campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. We will write the ads and launch the campaigns. Congratulations! You’re now acquiring new customers with Google AdWords. But we’re not finished yet!
7. Optimize
Many people forget this vitally important step! Google AdWords is not meant to set it and forget it. It requires on-going testing and optimization to really see amazing results.
