GOOGLE ADS BASICS: SHOULD YOU BID ON BRANDED KEYWORDS?
Fellow Owners,
If you’re currently running ads with Google or thinking of getting started, one question often comes up: should I buy ads when people search for my company by name on Google? In other words, when somebody Googles “Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning” in your area, should you pay to display your ad to that person?
Many business owners say “no, it’s a waste of money.” I can understand their logic. If somebody searches for your brand name, Google will usually serve up a lot of different stuff: your website, Google My Business info, Yelp page, Facebook page, etc. In theory a searcher should have an easy time finding your website. But what if they click your Yelp link and see that 1 bad review you have? Or BBB where you have a recent complaint from an irate customer?
The biggest reason to bid on your brand keywords is this: to control the message.
By bidding on keywords like “heaven’s best” in your area, you’re able to put an ad at the top of the page with exactly the messaging you want. Your latest special, your 5-star rating, dry in 1 hour, etc. And you can link that ad to the most relevant page on your website (or a great landing page specifically for Google Ads traffic – call me if you want a landing page like that for your business 414-202-8515).
Another reason? Because your competitors are probably bidding on your brand name, too. That means when somebody searches for your company in your area, they might accidentally click a competitor’s ad and hire them instead! Make sure your ad shows up near the top by bidding on keywords like “heaven’s best” and try including this in your ad copy: Official Site. That will catch peoples’ attention and let them know they found the right company, not a competitor.
And finally, I recommend bidding on your brand keywords because it is cheap, your ads will be highly relevant, your click-thru rate will be higher, and your cost per lead will be lower. All things that will benefit your Google Ads account health and your business overall.
That’s it for this month. Get out there and add some branded keywords to your Google Ads campaign and see how it works for a month. If you don’t like the results you get, you can always pause those keywords (but I suspect you’ll like the results).
Best of luck,
Reuben D. Rock
Owner, Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning Milwaukee WI
PS. I’ve been running Google Ads for a number of our franchisees, and I would love to create your campaign next. For $200 setup fee and $100/mo I’ll create a winning campaign for you. Go here to learn more: http://gosearchparty.com/heavensbest/
PPS. Don’t forget about our Heaven’s Best Owners Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/361583881044978/
DISCLAIMER: Some of my monthly contributions to the newsletter are about Google Ads. I offer Google Ads management services to our Operators for a small monthly fee, so there is a financial incentive for me to help you get into Google Ads. |