Any business that wants to effectively compete in 2022 needs to have an online presence. At the very least, this involves having a website and a search engine profile with easy-to-find contact information. Depending on the product, many firms find social media sites, like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, to be helpful.
Yet, there are many things to consider if you're trying to generate business over the internet. Simply doing the bare minimum won't be enough, so firms need to think critically about the ways they leverage technology. This means that they may need to seriously consider paying for advertising. According to a 2021 report from the online marketing firm, Hubspot, about ⅓ of all marketers use paid online advertising to expand their brands.
But how do you get started with paid online ads? What are the best avenues for growing business? Let's explore some of the ways internet advertising can help you get more customers.
Organic Search Engine Awareness
As we mentioned in the first section, many firms have websites and profiles on popular social media. The nice thing about these tools is that they're cheap (or even free with the right-how and patience). They're great ways to begin building customer bases.
Search engines are the first place many internet users go when shopping around. So it's important to consider how to build your search engine optimization, or SEO when starting out. The higher your SEO, the more likely your website will appear at the top of a search engine's results page.
There are a variety of ways to increase your SEO. One of the most common is through the clever use of keywords. For example, if you're a clothes retailer, using keywords like clothing and shoes will make it more likely that your site will appear at the top of the results pages when someone searches for those words. Same goes for other products.
Here's the issue, though: organic SEO takes time to build. Not only does your site need viable keywords, but it also needs to be regularly updated. Search engines like websites that are dynamic and active. Thus, if you're never updating your site, it's likely to get buried deep in the results page, where no one can find it. Even when you're diligent about website updates, it can often take months or even years for your SEO to become competitive.
For many firms, relying on organic web presence simply isn't enough.
Paid Google Ads
Luckily, if you're willing to invest, there are many ways businesses can advertise on search engines. Search engine advertising falls into two broad categories: pay per click (PPC) and pay per mile (PPM). With pay-per-click ads, advertisers pay the search engine based on the number of times someone clicks on one of their ads. With pay-per-mile ads, advertisers pay based on the number of times their ads are seen (but not necessarily clicked on).
Although there are several search engines to choose from, Google is undoubtedly the largest and most well-known. In fact, Google generates nearly $150 billion dollars in revenue a year from allowing other businesses to advertise on their site. What's more, Google's own numbers claim their advertising tools helped generate $426 billion in economic activity across multiple sectors in 2020. In other words, you should be advertising with Google.
Google's advertising division offers both PPC and PPM ads. Paid Google ads are based on an auction system. To start, a firm will put down money on particular keywords. This serves as their bid. When someone searches for those keywords, an auction begins. Google's process for determining who takes the top spot is a little complicated. For those who want a detailed explanation of the process, the online marketing firm Wordstream has a helpful guide. The short version is that the firms with both the highest monetary bid and the highest ranking in Google's metrics will appear as ads at the top of a search query.
The results page for a Google search for "car dealerships in Cincinnati." Notice the two ads at the top of the page.
Naturally, ads at the top of the page are more likely to get clicks. More clicks equal more business.
Are you ready to get started with Google ads? Contact Web and Marketing USA today by clicking on the REQUEST button below. They can help you build out your organic SEO and advise you on the best ways to employ paid Google ads to draw in more business. Don't wait. Give us a shout today!
