If you’re a small business owner who employs few to no employees except yourself, running a marketing campaign can be intimidating. And when you throw online marketing into the mix, with acronyms like PPC and SEO, your first instinct may be to bury your head in the sand and hide from technology. We’re here to tell you, though, that you can market successfully online with pay-per-click advertising and, specifically, Google AdWords. Here’s why:
1. You can target your specific location.
Don’t want people in Timbuktu clicking on your ads and costing you precious cash? Google AdWords allows you to set parameters so your ads are only seen in the location you specify. On the flip side, if you decide you want to expand your customer base, you can geo-target the new region you want to start doing business in.
2. You can compete with the big dogs.
You may not have the same monthly budget that larger companies have, but that doesn’t mean you can’t compete. The Marketing Donut recommends focusing on quality, not quantity. You can create a fantastic Google AdWords campaign through increasing your Quality Score by “changing your keywords and phrases or improving your website”. Improvements to your keywords, phrases, and website can increase your click-throughs and conversions, and, in the long run, improve your Quality Score.
3. You get the widest possible reach.
According to Business News Daily, around 80% of Americans use Google. Even though you’re targeting your specific location, you’ll be able to get more customers through Google AdWords than you would through, say, Bing advertising or Yahoo.
4. Your advertising can be flexible to meet your needs.
Sara Angeles from Business News Daily recommends turning your Google Ads on when business is slow, but when it’s time to play catch up or you simply need a vacation, she says it’s ok to turn your ads off until you’re ready to start working again. “Marketing your business online shouldn’t be a full-time job,” she says. Online marketing is just one of many tasks that you as a small business owner, and “AdWords offers several tools and options that give small business owners the flexibility they need to run campaigns on their own schedule.”
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