Every day, people use Google to research and find products and services they’re looking to buy online. In total, Google’s products have enabled more than 1.6 million Australian businesses to connect with their customers through calls, messages, bookings and more.

Who we find when we search does not come down to luck.

One of the most powerful ways to promote your business and help it be found when people are searching is Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

It’s something John Ball, Managing Director Google Customer Solutions Australia and New Zealand, talks to small and medium-sized businesses about every day.

“I meet with many customers both here and New Zealand, and overwhelmingly when I chat with them, they tell me about how their search engine marketing has helped them get more customers and deliver impact to their business,” he tells Kochie’s Business Builders.

The benefits of search engine marketing

Ball says the real advantage to SEM is that you’re reaching people searching for a specific product or service. In traditional marketing, you’re often left assuming who your customer might be, as they’re often not actively searching.

“With search engine marketing, your ad only shows up when someone types in exactly what you’re offering,” he says.

To put it in layman’s terms, say you are looking to buy a belt or book or service for your car and you’re not sure where to start. Chances are, you’re going to grab your phone or laptop, open up Google and type in what you’re looking for.

As a consumer, you want relevant results from businesses who can provide what you want, in a location you can access it.

In meeting this consumer need, Google Ads offers businesses the ability to reach the exact people that are currently “in-market” and intending to actually buy what they sell. So if you are looking for that belt or a specific service, you’re only going to see ads that are relevant to belts or that service.

Watch: John Ball from Google’s tips to reach the right customers

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The power of conversion tracking

In the old days of traditional advertising, there was a common sentiment that marketers knew that half of their marketing was working – the only trouble was they didn’t know which half.

“The magic of digital is that is no longer the case,” adds John. “Today with something called ‘conversion tracking‘, advertisers can measure precisely what people do after engaging with their ads, from visiting their site or calling their business to when a new lead or sale is made. And Google Ads puts all this data in your hands. So as a business owner, you can understand the exact value your Ads investment is having on your bottom line and even which specific tactics are having the most impact.”

Businesses that succeed on Google Ads use conversion tracking to analyse what actions people are taking when they click on their ads. Are they purchasing a product? Are they signing up for a newsletter? Are they giving you a call?

What’s great is depending on your business, you can choose what a conversion is. So if you are looking to generate bookings, you can define “create a booking” as a conversion. Or if you are an eCommerce store, when a user completes a purchase and arrives on the ‘track your order’ page, that could be a conversion. It’s really adaptable to what matters for your business and what you want to track.

How your goals will define your success

When it comes to setting up your Google Ads campaign, John has these tips to help your ad perform – and continue to do so.

“First, think about your goals. Do you want your phone to ring? Do you want customers to visit your website? Or do you want them to physically come into your store? You can identify these goals as you work through the steps.”

Think carefully about the actions you want customers to take when they see your Google Ads campaign. Image: AdobeStock.

Next up is considering your keywords – what would a customer type into Google to find a product you sell? Conversely, Google Ads allows you to block out searches containing ‘negative’ words, using the aptly named Negative Keywords tool. For example, you may be very interested in people searching to buy new cars in Armadale, but not people searching to buy ‘new toy cars’, so you can block out any searches that contain the word ‘toy’.

Last up is entering your budget. Google Ads has no minimum spend, though John says they do recommend at least $10 a day.

The key to keyword selection

While it’s common for first-timers to narrow in on a few keywords, John says what they’ve consistently seen as the more successful approach is starting with a broader list of keywords and tracking which ones make the best impact and refining from there.

“What we’ve often found is certain keywords work better than a business originally expected. Google Ads is flexible, so you can start to invest more behind that keyword and grow your business with what your consumers are searching for – go broad and then you can narrow down as you start seeing success,” John advises.

As well as checking in that you’re still using the optimal keywords, Ball notes Google Ads has a feature called a Keyword Planner where you look at what people are searching for in your category and what is working. You can also check what the cost per click could be for certain keywords to help set your budget for the right results.

Remove friction from your customer’s journey

When you go online, you want to have the simplest, fastest, most efficient journey to buy the product or service you’re looking for. For those offering any product or service, there are features geared to making the experience seamless for potential customers.

“We have a feature called sitelinks which lets you add links directly to the specific pages on your site that your customers most want to find,” John says.

These don’t cost you anything extra to use and give you extra real estate to make your customer experience smooth and quick.

“Removing friction is really powerful,” concludes John.

Keen to learn more? Visit ads.google.com, which also gives you access to live phone support and online training courses you can take at your own pace. New customers can take advantage of their current spend $600, get $600 in ad credits promotion to get started. Terms apply: www.google.com/intl/en_au/ads/coupons/terms/

This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Google Ads.

Feature image: AdobeStock