GOOGLE ADWORDS,
RUN LEAN.
We've helped heaps of businesses grow and profit with Adwords (aka Google Ads) in Newcastle and other corners of Earth.
ROI Calculator
GOOGLE PREMIER PARTNERS
A PREMIER PARTNER AGENCY
Our relationship with Google
We’re one of just a handful of agencies in Australia to be awarded the Google Premier Partner badge. This just means that the big G has recognised our proven track record of excellence in Google Ads campaign management, account performance and client service.
WORK WITH USAdwords Outcomes
$3 Million Increase in Yearly Revenue
HOME SERVICES COMPANY Home Services Company
Sometimes, the only thing our clients care about is revenue growth. With this home services provider, that what definitely the case. We started working with this client in 2015 after they’d been through a rocky few years. Their website was looking tired and couldn’t be found anywhere. Their traditional marketing channels weren’t cost-effective anymore and we were brought in to turn that all around.
Channels and tactics
- Aggressive Google Adwords pay per click search advertising campaigns with strong focus on optimising for a lower cost-per-lead.
- Ongoing localised Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and content strategy
- Careful attention to the clients’ mobile website experience and conversion rates
- Commitment to encouraging customers to leave great reviews on Google and Facebook
- Marketing automation processes setup to re-engage customers who have bought in the past
- Above the line advertising spend shifted from traditional media to Facebook and Instagram
- Adaptive approach to budgeting and tactics based on seasonality and market factors
Outcomes
Fast-forward to 2018 and we’ve played a key part in growing this small business’ annual revenue by over $3 million per year and still trending UPwards.
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Search Ads Cost-Per-Lead Down 59%
RENTAL BUSINESS Rental Business
When we took over this rental business’ search marketing from another agency, we had some high standards to maintain. However, with a little sideways thinking and some clever execution by our campaign management team, we were able to reduce CPA significantly. In non-geek speak, that means our client now pays less for every new customer we bring to their business from search engines. Yippee!
Channels and tactics
- Aggressive Google and Bing Ads campaigns
- Cross-device conversion rate optimisation
- Ad split testing
- Careful budget management across 10+ locations
- Dynamic objectives based on search impression share and ROI
- Social remarketing to improve overall CPA
- Online reviews strategy to boost conversion rates
- Other bits and pieces
Outcomes
- Search Ads Cost Per Lead Improved 59%
- Overall conversions UP by 33% in 2 years
82,400 Conversions From Google Ads
OUR CLIENTS LAST YEAR
Our Clients Last Year
Nobody likes a bragger, but hey – the proof is in the pudding. Last year, we helped our clients (mostly small to medium sized companies) generate over 80,000 conversions from Google Ads alone. We’re not talking “Contact page visits” or “Clicks”. We’re talking leads.
- Inbound phone calls
- Enquiry form submissions
- Quote requests
- Appointment bookings
- Online sales
- and more…
Real Conversion Numbers
If you haven’t already guessed, we’re big on data and accountability. The graph above shows real numbers from our real clients and for the majority of our wonderful clients, Google Ads are still the most cost-effective advertising channel for new customers. We’re honoured to be one of just a handful of Google Premier Partner agencies in Australia. This partnership gives us and our clients access to top-notch training and support directly from Google. The best part? Things are only getting stronger. Year on year, we’re seeing insane results for our clients’ businesses via Google’s advertising suite, including:
- Google Adwords / Pay Per Click search ads
- YouTube video advertising
- Google display and remarketing
- Google mobile app advertising
We’d love to send some conversions your way too!
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Dominant Market Share in Search
PEST CONTROL COMPANY
Pest Control Company
This is a story of maximising opportunity. Every ounce of opportunity. On search engines. Really, who doesn’t want a dominant share of Google’s search results in their chosen market? For this pest control business, it is all about squeezing the lemon for every last bit of tangy, delicious SEO juice.
Channels and tactics
- New mobile-first website experience
- Aggressive, data-driven approach to Google advertising
- Budget shift from traditional media to digital
- Facebook as an engagement and nurturing tactic
- A clever approach to generating real, genuine Google reviews
- Customer re-engagement strategy support
- A comprehensive approach to content for dominant search engine visibility
- and more…
Outcomes
- Drastically improved conversion rates
- Dominant share of local organic search engine market
- A really happy client who said this about us:
“I deal with Vicinity because they get results! They know their Search Engine Optimisation and digital marketing better than anyone I have ever dealt with before. They also put the needs & objectives of the customer FIRST.”
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Granular Reporting with Clear Insights
CORPORATE HEALTH COMPANY
Clear, Granular Reporting
We recently helped a corporate client in the healthcare industry with an advanced Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics implementation. This particular client has over 50 physical locations across Australia and prior to engaging us they had minimal visibility on how each was performing online.
To make things a little more complicated, they also use some third party tools which were not actually hosted on their own website. This meant we needed to collaborate with their software teams and employ some cross-domain tracking with Google Tag Manager to make sure everything was being tracked correctly.
Metrics and reporting
- Where each location is ranking in search engines
- How much traffic is coming to each local landing page
- Which marketing sources are driving traffic to each clinic
- How that traffic is converting into leads
- Which content users are engaging with most
- A heap of other fancy numbers to help their marketing team make great decisions and win more market share.
- Simple dashboards to help the client’s internal marketing team easily communicate key insights to their board.
We’re not going to lie, this project was a tricky one. We enjoyed it though! Does that make us weird?
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An International Disruptor
CAMPLIFY Camplify
Around the same time our agency kicked off (in early 2015), our director Dave also co-founded a little Newcastle-based startup that had big dreams of becoming the “Airbnb for caravans”. A bold new plan, Camplify had this big vision of activating people’s under-utilised RVs to more people experience the joys of camping. Starting life as a twinkle in CEO Justin Hales’ eye, Camplify was just another “peer-to-peer marketplace idea” at the time. With no funding, no customers and no idea of what the future would hold, all we really knew was that there were a tonne of RVs that were sitting on people’s lawns not being used. That was enough for us to take a leap of faith and become part of Camplify’s digital marketing team.
Channels and tactics
- An international SEO strategy built for scale
- Hyper-targeted social media advertising
- Google advertising automation and profit optimisation
- Marketing automation management
- Tests of every growth hack under the sun
- Much, much more
Outcomes
Camplify is currently valued in excess of $20m and boasts the largest RV rental fleet in Australia and the UK. A sensational story of growth, this star Newcastle tech company now sends thousands of people on holidays every month and holds a dominant share of the RV sharing market. Our role in the journey? Well, much of Camplify’s user growth has come from the digital marketing activities we’ve helped ideate and execute. Camplify is no doubt one of the jewels in our crown and we’ve loved every second of our involvement with this awesome Aussie startup!
Here are a few nice things Camplify’s CEO said about us:
“Vicinity continually surprise me with their professionalism, expert knowledge and ability to smash the KPI’s I set them out of the water.”
close [x] 413,526 Mobile Website Conversions
OUR CLIENTS LAST YEAROur Clients on Mobile Last Year
Do you remember the first time you laid eyes on an iPhone back in 2007? One of your initial thoughts may have been “Wow, I can’t ever see consumers accessing my website on this little thing!”… Don’t worry, we thought the same thing! Oh, how wrong we all were… According to leading web intelligence site SimilarWeb, mobile now accounts for over 65% of all website traffic and this figure is only growing by the day.
Last year, we saw our clients’ results from mobile skyrocket – with some sites seeing in excess of 80% of their total leads coming from smartphones. Crazy, huh?
Big numbers on small screens
Here’s just a few of the ways we can keep your mobile users in mind:
- Mobile-first website experiences (it’s no longer enough to just have a “mobile-friendly” site. To maximise ROI, your site should be designed with all screen sizes in mind)
- Close attention to conversion rates and cost per conversion across all devices
- Consideration of mobile-specific search, display, video and social ad formats
- Including “near me” keywords in search ads
- Relevant structured markup optimised for voice search
- Messenger bots, live chat and other mobile lead magnets
- Mobile commerce solutions eg. Selling through Facebook Messenger
- Progressive web apps and smartphone notifications strategies
- Content load speed improvements via new technologies like Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles
- Cross-device analytics and conversion attribution
- Emails that look nice and pretty on mobile
- And the list keeps growing…
Mobile is here and we’re here to help you tackle it.
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Over $1m in New Product Sales
ELECBRAKES Elecbrakes
Elecbrakes is Australia’s first Bluetooth electric trailer brake controller. This innovative device was invented on the NSW Central Coast / Newcastle by an innovative team of engineers and trailer manufacturing experts. With the Elecbrakes system, a controller is fitted to the trailer and wired into the existing electrical circuits. A remote control or smartphone with the Elecbrakes app is then used to monitor, change settings and control the trailer’s brakes.
Channels and tactics
- Google search ads
- Facebook ads and groups marketing
- Instagram lead-gen ad campaigns
- On-site SEO
- Traditional database marketing
- New website
Outcomes
In under 2 years since launch, we were able to help Elecbrakes achieve over $1,000,000 in sales for this new product. The launch of their new website and remote control saw their monthly sales increase by 160% in the first month and they now enjoy a dominant search market share in the electric brake controller category Australia-wide. Their month-on-month growth is still trending UPwards aggressively and we’re very excited to see how Elecbrakes will continue to disrupt the traditional brake controller industry – both here in Australia and abroad!
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New Patients
up 34%
HEALTH CLINIC CHAIN
Newcastle Health Business
When a business has been around since the 90s, it goes through many rounds of change. A few years back – this iconic Newcastle brand was rolling along OK, but they knew they needed to change their approach to acquiring new patients for their range of healthcare services. We got introduced to the CEO in April 2012 and their numbers have only moved UPwards ever since!
Channels and tactics
- Ongoing Google pay per click search ads, always aiming for the lowest cost-per-patient scenario.
- Gradual Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and helpful content strategy
- A beautiful, seamless mobile website experience
- TV advertising spend shifted to Facebook and Instagram for a stronger return on ad spend
- Numerous successful campaigns and promotions
Outcomes
Year on year, we’ve been able to help this awesome Newcastle business grow their intake of new patients and in turn help more people improve their health and quality of life!
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Over $100k of Ad Spend GOOONE.
PROFESSIONAL FIRM
Professional Firm
In business, it can be scary to let go of things that worked for you in the past. This mid-sized professional services firm had sensed for years that they were no longer getting value from their annual investment in printed directory advertising. However, they couldn’t be certain that this channel wasn’t still working for them and were worried that they could lose business if they dropped their ads. We were more than happy to step in and help them make a data-driven decision to focus their budget into measurable digital channels.
Channels and tactics
- Successful shift of budget from print to digital advertising
- New website focussed on mobile user experience and conversion rates
- Google advertising optimisation
- Technical SEO and content strategy guidance
- Tests of every growth hack under the sun
- Lots more
Outcomes
- 27% YOY increase in monthly organic search traffic (from a 5 digit base)
- Overall advertising spend reduced significantly
Lower Budget,
More Revenue
AUTO SERVICE
Auto Repair Shop
We recently took over this auto repair business’ search marketing from another agency, with a heavy dependence on Google Ads for revenue the client was understandably nervous about the move. However, we worked quickly to assure him he was in good hands. Monitoring campaign conversion data closely, we tweaked and tested the ads to find the best ROI.
Channels and tactics
- Aggressive Google Ads campaigns
- Cross-device conversion rate optimisation
- Careful budget management
- Dynamic objectives based on search impression share and ROI
Outcomes
- Adwords ROI Improved 69%
- Revenue UP by 13%
Enrolment Enquiries
UP 43% YOY
EDUCATION PROVIDER
Education Provider
We recently worked with an Education Provider to improve leads across their 30+ locations across Australia. This client needed help to capture potential customers searching on Google for their services and increasing brand awareness in local regions.
Channels and tactics
- Website analytics / conversion tracking implemented
- Localised Google Ads across 30+ locations Australia-wide
- Localised Facebook lead-gen campaigns across 30+ locations Australia-wide
Outcomes
- New booking enquiries UP by 43% year on year
- Over 500,000 people reached on social media
ZERO Marketing
Bullsh!t.
Vicinity Marketing
These are all genuine, no BS.
All of the results we’ve shared on our website are real outcomes we’ve helped produce for our clients. Of course, we can’t take 100% of the credit – Great client collaboration has been key in all of these results. Here are a few things we’ve noticed all our most successful clients have in common:
- They’re committed to working with us as a true partner in their business
- They’re open to ideas – taking a few risks and trying new things
- They’re willing to do their part to make the most of their marketing activity. eg. Following up on leads, participating in the content production process, giving feedback on performance metrics, etc.
Our Reviews on Google
We love it when we’re able to make a difference to our clients’ businesses. It seriously gives us warm fuzzies! It’s even better when they share their kind words publicly over on Googs. Check out our Google reviews right here!
close [x]Get the most out of your Google investment
Across search, YouTube video, mobile and display – we know how to use Google to drive results for your business.
Our Process for
Google Ads Success
Google's behemoth of an advertising platform is extremely powerful when you know how to use it. Over the years, we've developed a simple (yet adaptable) process for success for our clients' Google Ads (Adwords) campaigns.
Brief + Objectives
We ask you questions. Questions about what you want to achieve with search engine marketing. Who are you targeting? Where are they? What does a journey of buyer intent look like? What’s a good return on investment?
Research + Planning
Here’s where we go and find out what type of keywords and creatives and placements are most likely to help us achieve your objectives. We then build campaign plans and get all the bits and pieces ready for launch.
Launch + Learn
Once you approve our campaign plans, we set up and test your analytics and tracking systems. Then, we go-live and start learning. The first 2-12 weeks gives us lots of juicy performance data to make future decisions with.
Optimise + Automate
As we gather data, we’re constantly tweaking ads, bid strategies, keywords etc to try and find the best, most efficient results for you. More customers. Better cost-per-conversion. A higher return on ad spend.
ROI FROM ADWORDS & BING ADS
When Does Paid Search Advertising Makes Financial Sense?
With almost 4 billion searches on Google and Bing per day, traffic is rarely the problem. The tricky part is only buying clicks and leads that drive a positive return on your ad spend. It all comes down to stuff like understanding the semantics and buyer intent behind your target search queries, getting your offers right and aligning your campaign activity with profitable products and services. Bottom line is – done correctly, paid search should be one of your best converting traffic sources.
YOUR GOOGLE ADS TEAM
Here are the humans to help you drive higher returns from Google Ads
Celine
Senior Account Manager
Celine
Senior Account Manager
Favourite animal: Purrrring cats!
Celine has over 7 years experience in marketing and sales with a special interest in all things data, technology and innovation. Having worked in startups as well as multinational companies, she’s passionate about business and helping businesses achieve measurable results.
Originally from the land of ‘fush & chups’, ‘chilly bins’ and ‘jandals’, Celine moved to Newcastle in 2016 and quickly learnt to adore it. She studied Archaeology at the University of Otago and loves history….even spending her free time writing a historical fiction! She’s also an avid reader, proud cat mama and hopes to one day to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
What drives this sharp, quirky Queen of the ditch forward?
Celine is a self proclaimed lover of data who gets a kick out of translating numbers and trends into marketing strategies.
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Dave
Managing Director
Dave
Managing Director
Guitar's Name: Thelma
A kid from the bush who grew up in tiny mining towns, Dave has an infectious passion for marketing, creativity, technology and people. After graduating with a degree in Business Marketing & Psychology, Dave spent 7 years working with hundreds of businesses via gigs in large marketing & advertising firms. One day, he woke up and decided to start a digital marketing consulting business from his bedroom, with a vision to do things a little differently, to help businesses grow and stay ahead of the curve.
Fast forward to 2019 and Dave’s role at Redback is to ensure we are well equipped to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients now and well into the future. Dave is also the co-founding CMO of star Aussie caravan sharing community Camplify. He sits on the board of Australia’s first SingularityU chapter and is also director of Interactive Minds Newcastle, a series of educational events for marketers and agencies.
What drives this creative + analytical + happy lump of a lad forward?
Well, in Dave’s simple words, it’s the “real weird, awesome buzz” he gets whenever we achieve tangible, meaningful growth results for a business.
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Kalyani
Campaigns & Analytics
Kalyani
Campaigns & Analytics
Favourite dance: Bollywood!
Dragan is a Senior PPC (Pay Per Click) Specialist who is a certified expert in all the major Google advertising channels. Kalyani has built and managed accounts across dozens of different industries with monthly ad spends starting as low as $250 and as high as $500,000.
At Redback, Kalyani’s job is to make sure our clients get the best bang for their buck on their Search Engine Marketing campaigns.
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Lachlan
Junior SEO & Web Developer
Lachlan
Junior SEO & Web Developer
Downfall: Leaving his computer logged on while Dave is around
Lachlan is our resident content editing gun, focussed on supporting our web team in delivering high-end websites on time and on budget. Lachlan’s growing skill set extends to SEO and AdWords, recently taking ownership of several client projects from start to finish with maturity beyond his years.
No project is too big or small for this young fella with a kick ass positive attitude.
In his spare time, you’ll likely find Lachlan at the Tattoo parlour getting yet another tattoo for the collection.
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Ben
Optimisation & Automation Manager
Ben
Optimisation & Automation Manager
Worst habit: Laughing when he definitely shouldn’t be!
Ben joined the team in July 2017. After managing to grow and monetise his own Instagram accounts to over 900,000 followers, Ben wanted to apply his skills to a range of businesses in agency land. Since joining the team, Ben has worked heavily on optimising our clients’ Facebook ad campaigns for maximum results across a wide range of industries and business objectives.
Ben is a natural problem-solver – a real modern day growth tactician with a strong focus on numbers. We love unleashing his brain on interesting digital marketing problems when they arise!
What drives this clever young man forward?
“The awesome feeling of always growing & improving my skill set in the industry I love!”
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Jazz
Copywriter & Messaging Strategist
Jazz
Copywriter & Messaging Strategist
Favourite Colour: pink
Jazz is a cat obsessed content creative with 6 years of experience as a freelance writer and media officer.
(He has several years of experience prior to that as a market researcher, landscape gardener, news radio presenter, sourdough baker, aspiring novelist and software developer — but not all at the same time.)
Jazz sharpened his skills working as a speech writer and media officer for a Member of NSW State Parliament. He then went on to work closely with researchers and academics at the University of Newcastle, as part of their media team. Recently, he’s helped tell compelling stories about start-ups and innovative entrepreneurs for commercialisation consultancy gemaker. He now keeps busy helping our clients develop remarkable content for their websites, digital media and content marketing strategies.
What drives this passionate communicator forward?
People. Every business has people and their stories at its core and every customer is a person. As a writer and a human being engaged with the world, it’s the people around Jazz and the endless complexity of their inner worlds that fascinates him and motivates him to be the best communicator he can be.
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Are you maximising Google Ads?
We’ll help you maximise returns from your media budget.
Let's talk Google AdsGoogle Advertising FAQs
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What is Google Ads or Google Ads?
Google makes some $32.2 billion, or 97% of their total revenue, from advertising. You could say that’s their bread and butter, and they do it well.
Google Adwords, or Google Ads, are the special boxes that pop up on the top of the search results page when you type in a query. Such ads are targeted in that they directly relate to your query’s keywords. For example, if you type in “best birthday cakes in Sydney”, the first 4 results are paid advertisements, with a little green tag that says “Ad” next to the URL. As an advertiser, you can pay to have your own ad show up next time someone googles a specific set of terms, from a specific location.
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How does Google search advertising work?
Google Ads works in a somewhat similar fashion to an auction, with advertisers bidding on keywords. The more desirable a keyword (or combination thereof) is, the more competitive the bidding is, and the higher the bids. Then, when a Google user types in a query containing a keyword you bid for, Google evaluates whether your ad will show up at the top of the search results. To determine this, it looks at two factors: relevancy of your ad and dollar amount of your bid. It then selects the bid winners (up to 4) and displays the ads. Clicking one of the ads, the Google user is then redirected to the website of the bidder. Google then charges the advertiser on a pay per click basis.
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How much does pay per click advertising cost?
Google advertising works on a pay per click basis. This means that, as advertiser, you are only charged if a user clicks on your ad and is redirected to your website. Conversely, if your ad shows up in the search results but no user clicks on it, you retain your advertising dollars. The average cost of keywords is around $1-$2, however you may come across very competitive keywords which cost upwards of $5 or, vice versa, niche, cheaper keywords, the so-called “long tail”. Google offers tools to analyse your target keywords and choose the ones most suitable to your situation, based on your market, location, and budget. You can set a monthly budget to ensure your advertising spending doesn’t get out of hand.
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How does Google display advertising work?
The Google Display Network, or GDN, makes up about 20% of Ads traffic and it differs from Google’s search engine network ads, although operating in a similar fashion. GDN auctions off advertising space on third party websites, blogs, and affiliated sites (Gmail, YouTube), reaching some 90% of internet users—even those that do not use Google’s search engine. Display ads are a fantastic tool for remarketing, i.e. capturing users who visited your website and maybe even added something to their cart from your e-store, but didn’t quite make it to the checkout page.
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Should I hire a PPC specialist or an agency?
That really depends. Some companies consider this a “core competency” and keep the know-how in-house, while many others outsource to specialists. The choice is up to you and may vary based on your expertise, allocated funds and availability of time.
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Which businesses do Google ads work best for?
The businesses that benefit the most from Google ads are those that can capture hard cold cash, i.e. direct sales, from users visiting their website. You’ve got an e-store that sells competitive products that people google? Great, then Ads might just be right for you. If you’re not an e-store, don’t discount Ads though. The best way is to start small (which you can do thanks to its PPC system) and experiment.
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How can I track the effectiveness of Google ads?
Google ads are a measurable, flexible pay-per-click advertising network that, when engaged correctly, can bring tangible results within days or even hours from campaign start. Google offers tracking statistics that show what happens at every stage of your sales funnel: how many times your ad has shown up in search results (or on affiliated webpages), how many clicks it got, and how many of these clicks led to conversions. This way you can track your campaign ROI and make informed advertising investment decisions moving forward.
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Can I advertise in Google maps?
You sure can—and should! Especially if you are a brick-and-mortar, location-specific business, such as a restaurant, store or you supply services such as plumbing or dive lessons. If you’d like to increase your local traffic, you will simply need to set up a Google Business page on Google Plus and then tie a Google Ads campaign to your listing. You will be able to control such variables as keywords, daily advertising budget, and ad radius (i.e. users’ physical distance from your store). If you’re lost, we can help you!
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How do I get a cheaper cost per click?
By investing in long-tail keywords: keywords that are more niche and therefore attract less competition from other businesses who may be offering similar products or services.
Google Advertising Trends Faqs
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Have Google Ads become too expensive?
Only if you’re playing the mainstream market where a ton of competitors fight elbow to elbow for users’ attention. To decrease your Google Ads costs, try going after niche keywords that are closely related to your business. How do you do that? Do some brainstorming and study your target market’s search patterns. Free tools such as AnswerThePublic.com, as well as specialised marketing research agencies, may be a great help in that regard. By doing your homework and being keyword-savvy, you may save yourself quite a few bucks!
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What is the future of Google advertising?
Google advertising is moving towards more automated, yet granular, more personalised advertising. Soon, you should be able to target users with incredibly specific PPC ads, contextual to their purchase status, browsing history and much more. Further segmentation will be possible thanks to the combined, sometimes creative use of multiple sources of information, such as socials and location data, for content remarketing. Capturing those lapsing customers will be easier than ever!
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How many businesses advertise on Google?
Literally, millions. And that number is increasing at a head-spinning rate every year. No, Google Ads may not be for everyone—but given the small initial investment necessary for a trial, checking it out certainly won’t hurt.
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WE’D 💛 TO MEET YOU!
Please complete our quick form to request your complimentary search marketing consultation call. We hope to be speaking with you very soon!
