We all recognize that the way people search for products and services has changed. For many St. Louis businesses, many of their target customers haven’t used a yellow pages directory in years.
People use online search to research products and services, as well as the businesses that offer them. The ability to do this research adds a different dimension than if someone just pick up a yellow pages. Here are some statistics about the role online search plays:
- 94% of people start purchase process researching online
- 60% use search engines as an online shopping resource
- 75% search before or during a shopping trip
- 97% use online media when searching for products and services locally
Reason 1: An online search ad is different than offline advertising
Why is search ad different than offline advertising like a billboard or a print publication? Think of it as a dedicated highway where people specify intent (their search phrase). With offline advertising, you pay for the ad whether it is relevant to the person or not. With Google Adwords, the ad is relevant because the user specified intent with the search phrase they entered. For those who drive by on this dedicated intent “highway” (Google search) and see the impression but don’t interact (click the ad), there is no cost. The business only pays when there is user interaction!
The business has control in determining what they are willing to pay and what traffic they want. You can create many different highways for people base on what they want (their search phrase – a trip to Hawaii vs. Big Screens TV).
Reason 2: Improve findability online
St. Louis businesses should us Google AdWords is to improve their ability to be found online when a customer searches for a product of service. Google has approximately two-thirds of search traffic, so it is clearly the main place a St. Louis business needs to be found on the web.
Reason 3: Outperform the competition
For many businesses, the only cost effective way for them to show up on the first page of Google Search results is to use Google AdWords. This is vital for local St. Louis businesses, whether they are a brick and mortar location, or a service provider. Small businesses can’t often complete with big businesses in terms of search engine ranking. Search Engine Optimization is hard work, and costs money too. The more pages and inbound links a website has, the better it shows up in search results. Small businesses with 5 -10 page websites realistically won’t show up on the first page. But with a targeted Google AdWord campaign, they can.
Reason 4: Be found at the precise time your client is looking for your products or services.
St. Louis businesses can use Google AdWords to show up in search results when the customer is ready to buy. If your business is seasonal, or if there are events that trigger customers looking for your products or services, Google AdWords offers a great solution to capitalize on the opportunity by having your ad show at that the time of a buy decision online.
Google AdWords is a powerful, yet tricky solution to use to improve your return on investment on advertising and marketing. While it is easy to set up a Google AdWord Campaign, setting up effectively requires some expertise. If you are interested in seeing if Google AdWords is right for your St. Louis area business, or want to know if your Google AdWords campaign can be improved, contact us for a free Google AdWords consultation.
