Should Your Business Use Google Ads?

Google Ads is costly if you don't know what you're doing, but if you do...

    By now, you've likely heard of Google Ads or even just paid advertising. You'll see the latter on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, while the former is advertising solely on Google. 

    For this blog post, we'll only be covering Google Ads, as social media is its own topic depending on which platform you choose.

    So, should you use Google Ads for your business? Here's some information that might help you decide.

    First off, it depends on your budget. While you can find keywords that have low competition for cheaper prices, you're still spending money either way. Now, I obviously don't know your personal budget, but if you're going to try Google Ads, set your daily spending limit to something like $10 to start. 

    That's around $300 per month, so if you're not comfortable spending that much, you're probably not ready to start using Google Ads. If you're in a spot like this, focus on cheaper avenues like social media and SEO. You can always come back later once you've raised your budget, but it's not worth losing money, especially if you're brand new. Which leads me to the next point.

    Google Ads can take a whole bunch of trial and error to know what you're doing. While Google tries to help you, they don't necessarily worry about your budget, even if you're new. After all, Google Ads is a business avenue for them as well. They make billions per year from it.

    In fact, I'd recommend researching exactly how to use Google Ads before you even create an account. That way, you understand which options to select and when to select them. If you don't do this, you could blow your entire business budget on accident. No one wants that!

    But let's say you have a solid foundation, a decent budget, and you're simply looking to scale a bit. In that case, yes, Google Ads can definitely help you. The reason being, if you Google anything right now, you'll see those top results with "Ad" or "Ads" next to them. That's where you'll be if you win an auction. 

    Keep in mind that most people barely scroll to the end of the first search results page and the vast majority won't click to the next page. This is why SEO isn't always useful, unless you're ranking on the first page for high-traffic keywords. (You should still do SEO, however, as it's free, improves your website quality, and even helps with Google Ads as your website is included in Google's Quality Score.)

    Now, I haven't seen this taken into account as much, but it should be noted anyways. These days, privacy is becoming even more prevalent. A sizeable chunk of people are switching search engines for security purposes, and again, privacy purposes. Some of these search engines, like Brave, completely block out all ads. 

    This is important, because eventually Google may need to transition into having less paid ads just to keep users scrolling on their platform. (I've also heard the opposite, and that Google actually wants to expand their paid ads results. So it's anyone's guess for now.)

    Until any of that happens, Google Ads can offer results that not much else can. For instance, let's say you rank #1 on a keyword with 100k-1m web searches per month. That means, at the very minimum, 100k people will see your brand/products. At the high end, it's comparable to having a video go viral on the internet. 

    Because, if you take into account that some of those people might share your business with their friends, (especially if they buy something and are satisfied), your business could absolutely explode. And, again, with the right keywords, you could dominate a niche/field for years to come. That's about the best thing you can have happen to your business. 

    For that, however, it takes some serious knowledge and skill. Remember, to rank for the best keywords, you'll probably be competing against Paid Ads Managers with fifteen plus years of experience and an unquenchable thirst for better results. They won't simply roll over and let you have the top spot. They make a lot of money to make sure that doesn't happen.

    So, unless you feel confident going up against the best, or if you understand how to discover keywords that the best won't be targeting, I'd recommend you learn how Google Ads works first. That means learning how to turn your business into a niche business, finding lower-hanging fruit in keyword research, and only going for the top keywords once you've established your knowledge base. (If you're unsure of what that all means, you're probably not ready for Google Ads.)

    Until then, either hire a reputable agency or use alternative means for growing your business. Google Ads can boom your business into a new realm, but it can just as easily collapse your entire budget if you're not careful.

    In short, Google Ads can in fact boost your business. However, it's not for everyone as it can be extremely expensive. If you're a small business and don't know what you're doing, stay away for now and focus on SEO, Social Media, etc. Those options are free, or at least cheap, and can also grow your business in the meantime. 

    If you can't go on without paid ads, either hire an agency who specializes in paid ads, or limit yourself to $10 daily spend until you have a better grasp of Google Ads. You might be the smartest cookie in the jar, but you're up against experienced campaign managers who live and breathe paid ads, and they're highly competitive people. But, the choice is yours!