In my experience it really depends on the product and market. I used AdWords for an IT software product aimed at small to medium sized businesses with not much success.
Later I created a niche data recovery software product for consumers that had around an 800% ROI.
So in my experience the only way to truly know is to try AdWords. It really is the fastest way to get targeted traffic. I use it quite often to test the market for new ideas.
Dana
Yes me too, it's amazing how fast patterns emerge and for only a few quid you can figure out what direction to head in. That kind of market info would cost hundreds from any marketing company.Originally Posted by XenosSoft
Can't decide what domain name to use? Buy the top 5 (or 3 or whatever), set up one Ad group with 5 Ads and make the only difference between the 5 Ads be the Destination URL and then set the Ads to rotate evenly. Spend enough to get a few hundred clicks and the browsing public will tell you which one they prefer.
I help run a small online retail site based in the UK, with a significant proportion of sales to the US. Our ad spend varies from 500 to 1000GBP per month. We did all the usual work:
- optimise ads to match keywords and landing page
- adjust bid to keep us in position 3-6 (but occasionally find ourselves in #1 if we don't check regularly)
We also tried a few split tests, but I should issue a couple of warnings:
- It takes Adsense a period of oscillation before your new ad settles in the position it will occupy over the long term. Until that happens, you're not comparing like with like.
- There may be other factors that swamp any small gains your copy optimisation may make.
That last point was what stopped us from bothering any more. When more than one major UK retail chain started promoting competing goods (berets in this case), the best move seemed to be to wait until they went away again, or to concentrate on a niche item in that category that they didn't sell.
We noticed another rather annoying thing: if our site appeared in organic search results, people invariably clicked on our Adwords ad rather than the free link...
I've read in the past that having a PPC Ad for a keyword phrase that you also rank well for can speed up brand recognition and familiarity because the user is seeing your name in two places on the same page.
No idea why they'd click on the Ad and not the SERP listing though
Chabrenas (January 11th, 2012)
Yes, I have experienced this as well.
I think a lot of the general public don't realize some of the AdWords ads are actually ads, especially the ones at the top and bottom of the results. I know at least 3 or 4 of my non-technical friends did not realize that, which kind of shocked me. They just click on the first link they see that looks good to them.
If you are trying to build a brand then the more times people see the name the better. Also, if they realize they are ads it can give you more credibility since the person searching knows you are spending money.
Dana
Chabrenas (January 11th, 2012)
Thanks, JJMcClure. Certainly we seem to be establishing the brand name quite well, which helps with the wholesaling side that we are developing.
Xenosoft, I'm afraid you're right. I wonder if part of the reason is that the ad is highlighted by its frame, and physically compact with optimised copy. If not, why do we put so much effort into copywriting?
I've run a few campaigns where we started running adwords while waiting for the SEO to kick in. Once all the links got indexed the site ranked 2nd in the SERP. What shocked us was that the CTR almost doubled when the site started ranking in the SERPs. It was like a 1+1=3 kind of effect, yet a few of the campaigns got no such bump. I can't really attribute any difference between them to explain the different performance, so I guess the moral of the story is test, test, test.I've read in the past that having a PPC Ad for a keyword phrase that you also rank well for can speed up brand recognition and familiarity because the user is seeing your name in two places on the same page.
No idea why they'd click on the Ad and not the SERP listing though
Chabrenas (January 12th, 2012)
That's a great way to put it. Sometimes the total is greater than the sum of the parts.
I almost always use PPC while waiting for SEO to kick in, assuming SEO is even being done. It's cheaper for the client and a lot easier to measure.
Chabrenas (January 12th, 2012)
It's also a way of controlling the flow. If you have a small business that retails hard goods, and an unreliable supplier, it does your reputation no good at all to have a flood of clients ordering stuff that's out of stock with no committed availability date.
Good advice.
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