We’ve spilled more than a little ink on small businesses and web presence, and our conclusion has essentially been the following.
- Many small businesses don’t have websites at all.
- Those that do often don’t know how to use them effectively.
- Those that do often have no social media presence.
- Those that have that don’t usually know how to use the platforms effectively.
This is not a knock on small businesses, who have a lot to consider and just don’t necessarily put a website high on their to-do list. Yet having a web presence is inarguably valuable in 2012, and having social media engagement is equally important. Making it simple and fast is absolutely critical to hooking small businesses.
This brings me to the point of this article, in a roundabout way. The enormously popular Google AdWords platform, which has driven so much business to companies since its inception, is a notoriously complex system. What Google is doing—actually doing, not just paying lip service to—is rolling out a new version of AdWords aimed at small businesses.
Get More Traffic From Google AdWords
I’ll let Google do the talking for a moment:
When it launched 11 years ago, Google’s AdWords was a straightforward product. Advertisers could buy search terms, and Google would display small ads every time someone searched for those words. It was a lot like the classifieds.
Today, AdWords generates the vast majority of Google’s revenue. But it’s also become incredibly complex to use. A whole “search engine marketing” consulting industry has emerged just to help AdWords customers make the right choices on which keywords to buy and how much to bid.
That’s why last summer, Google launched a “lite” version of AdWords called “AdWords Express,” that’s both easier to understand and faster to use. And last spring, it introduced free phone support to help AdWords customers learn to use the product. That service is now available in about 70 countries around the world.
“We are making it a priority now to ensure small businesses are successful,” Francoise Brougher, Google vice president of global SMB sales and operations, tells Fast Company.
This is huge news. As social media grows and local advertising becomes significantly more competitive, search marketing and advertising has become a bit of an afterthought. There’s still huge business to be found there, though, and Google is banking that small businesses can benefit from it.
Why, you ask? Because online advertising is reaching more people than ever before. A recent BIA/Kelsey survey found that 97 percent of all consumers research or buy products online, making it imperative to get in front of them in the space they are most comfortable in. That means getting online today, and Google is there to help you get eyeballs. It’s a win-win.
Do you use Adwords, and will you use Adwords Express?
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