Once you get into a deep understanding of how Internet advertising, search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media works, you realise that there is a huge divide between those who understand, and those who don’t. This gap is often exploited by Internet marketing companies to skim extra margin from their customers without them even knowing. Here’s how they do it.
Keywords are the key
If you have ever run a Google Adwords campaign you would know that the price you pay per click is based on what Google charges you for your ad to appear, and when someone types in a keyword that you want your ad to appear for. While there are other factors that affect the price that Google charges, it is fundamentally a cost for your ad to appear that Google charges you for.
If it’s not the Google Adwords platform then it’s not Google
So if an Adwords provider wanted to skim extra money from their clients without them knowing and still appear to be cheaper than their competitors they need to be doing 2 things:
Firstly, they won’t provide you with access to the Google Adwords platform that Google uses to charge you with. Why? Because this way they can show you the data they want you to see and hide Google’s REAL costs.
Secondly, they wouldn’t show you the cost per keyword from Google. This is not the CPC (Cost Per Click), this is what Google charges you for your ad being triggered by a keyword that someone has typed into a Google search. Why? Because they can add an extra margin onto the cost and charge you for it. Most companies wouldn’t even think twice about this.
To the untrained eye the Adwords company looks like their costs are very competitive. In actual fact the money that you think is going towards your Google ads is going into their back pockets.
How it should be done
When running a Google Adwords campaign it is important to know all the costs, but these costs should be put into perspective and considered in relation to the service being provided. As mentioned, running an effective Adwords campaign is far more than just setting up some ads to appear on Google, hoping people will click on them, and then hoping that they either email you or ring you.
An effective Adwords provider should perform the following tasks and functions:
1. Understanding intimately how their client’s business runs.
2. Ask what the best selling products and services are.
3. Determine what products bring the biggest margins or best stock turns.
4. What services best reflect the business future directions.
5. Meet with their clients 1 on 1 monthly.
6. Provide education about the campaign and how Google works so that the client can offer more qualified information.
7. They should ask questions about how your business runs, best days, is it seasonal? etc.
Summary
To win the grand Prix race you need the entire team to be working together in unison, on the same page and heading in the same direction. With so many businesses now using Adwords to promote their business and most Adwords companies providing the minimum service, how do you expect your company to stand out from the crowd and perform? The best and only way is to work closely with your Adwords provider, and together you will outperform even the best Adwords company trying to do it on their own.
Running a Google Adwords campaign successfully and generating good ROI has nothing to do with Adwords, no differently than winning a Grand Prix has nothing to do with a Grand Prix car. It’s the team, the tactics and the knowledge that puts you in prime position. So next time you are looking for an Adwords company to help you grow your business online, don’t just look at the cost of the service. Find out more about what they offer and how they do their reporting. Especially, make sure that you ask if they are using Google’s Adwords platform and can give you access to the raw Google data in their reporting. If they don’t, then think twice about using them as they just may be ripping you off.
If your business is important to you, if finding new customers and improving your bottom line is the direction you want to head in, then perhaps a company like SLAM Strategy could be right for you.
