Paid search seems so deceptively simple, how could you go wrong by doing Google Ads yourself? All that’s needed is a basic AdWords account and profile, a payment set-up with any major credit card, and small one-time set-up fee. With roughly 15 minutes of preparation, anyone can write an ad and trigger a basic Google Ads campaign. Then you just sit back and watch the money pour in, right?
Oh, if it were only that simple. Many, many business owners have wasted their entire marketing budgets by assuming Google Ads were a basic trial and error experience. Consider each of your paid search campaigns to be like a high-end car; they need maintenance, care, and attention. If you ignore any warning signs that something might be wrong, things can get painfully expensive.
Because PPC is brimming with hidden complexities and potentially pricey trappings, working with an expert firm can save valuable dollars and heaps of time and effort. To help you understand the dangers of going it alone, we’ve outlined all the crucial factors involved in a successful campaign below. If reading this list feels overwhelming, don’t fret; finding a PPC partner is less expensive than you might think, and it will simplify your life and help make your business the success it deserves to be.
Table of Contents
Market Research
Most business owners have a deep understanding of their business, and a solid awareness of the industry as a whole. But the more intimately you know your competitors’ PPC campaigns, the more competitive you can, in turn, become. Who doesn’t like beating top competitors at their own game? This takes a tremendous amount of time and effort; competitive landscapes are tricky to analyze, and trends change so quickly, it is truly a daunting task to keep your finger on the pulse of the market’s current trajectories.
Keyword Expertise
The selection of keywords to target in any Google Ads campaign is absolutely crucial to success. Proper determination of keywords involves a comprehensive understanding of your business, the overall niche and industry, and current search trends enacted by actual customers looking for your goods and services. Many entrepreneurs assume they have an instinctual understanding of what keywords are appropriate for their business, but without that data to back up those assumptions, people waste money on keywords that are either not actually searched for often or are not relevant to the exact things they’re attempting to sell. A good PPC partner has the tools to analyze real-time data, and can in turn help you correctly target keywords from day one. This is extremely important when it comes to saving costs on tests and assumptions that are miles away from your target.
Determining an Appropriate Budget
One of the most complicated nuances to a paid search campaign is computing the right pay-per-click (which is what PPC stands for!) A well-executed PPC plan has a balance of cost that draws in the targeted audience, and in turn actually generates conversions and sales for the business. As you can imagine, it’s not uncommon for PPC campaigns to generate higher traffic, but without careful strategizing before the launch about the quality of this traffic, the price per click may be wasted on unqualified leads, or visitors that don’t contribute to the company’s bottom line. This is a very common DIY mistake in paid search, and another prime reason you should consult an expert.
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Data Analysis
Finally, there’s the all-important task of analyzing a given campaign’s metrics. Understanding the story Google Ads data is telling is no easy task, and it varies as the campaign increases in longevity. Having the awareness to know when to stay consistent or shift tactics takes a tremendous amount of experience and paid search knowledge. It also requires analysis by someone who is current on tools and trends in the space; two traits that most business owners don’t have the time to conquer.
Paid search is a dicey, ever-changing landscape, which is why the DIY approach is so dangerous. If you’re a rare business owner who has spare time to devote to becoming a campaign expert, and it’s your passion to do so, that’s a beautiful thing. But for most entrepreneurs, all aspects of marketing are better left to the experts, or budgets are blown with little to no results. Paid search has an incredible ability to get positive results for your company in record time, but not if you make a continuous string of rookie mistakes.
