The Bottom Line: On The Importance Of Advertising

Writing by Brick Marketing on Friday, 25 of April , 2008 at 9:38 am

The MSN adCenter blog had a good post recently on the importance of analytics. I couldn’t agree with the post more.

Here are three snippets:

Myth 1: Over a third (34%) of respondents think it would take a day or more to set up a campaign. In reality, the time taken from opening an account to it going live can take as little as 15 minutes.

Wow! I’m befuddled by this one. It really just takes a few minutes to set up an account at any of the pay per click companies. 15 minutes is the longest it should take. In some cases, it only takes 5 or 10. I’d recommend starting at Google AdWords then moving on to Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN adCenter.

Myth 2: Some 56% cite cost as a top reason why SMBs will not invest, with a quarter of all SMBs thinking the best keywords are already taken. Actually, SMBs can invest as little as 10-20 pence per click or a monthly budget of around £5.

Hint: All the best keywords are not taken. The beautiful thing about pay per click advertising is you can still bid on keywords that are taken. Unlike organic search results, you don’t have to claw your way to the top. Sure, you might have to pay a little bit more for a top position than the next guy, but if you can get the return on investment to justify the cost then what does it matter?

You don’t have to be afraid of losing the farm. You can set a monthly and daily budget. Once you reach your budget then your ads will automatically stop running. And many of your best keywords might actually be very affordable.

Myth 3: Many are put off by the idea that it sounds too complicated – with the overwhelming majority (89%) thinking it was more difficult than online banking. However, SMBs can easily manage accounts from their desk and are likely to see immediate results from just a few simple keywords.

It really isn’t hard, but there are some things that you have to look out for. For instance, with Google AdWords, if you do not check off that you DO NOT want to participate in the content network then you may find yourself, like some advertisers, spending too much money on clicks that don’t convert. That’s an inherent danger that you want to avoid.

If you really want to make the most of pay per click advertising, you should start with a guide. A manager can help you avoid the pitfalls and advise you on the best way to proceed for your given circumstances. You’ll pay just a little bit more for the management of your advertising, but again, if you see the ROI from your efforts then it’s worth the cost. It’s not how much spend; it’s how much you make in return.

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Category: Analytics

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