The #1 question I'd ask before you invest in Google ads
The temptation to try to be on ALL the channels is high. But it's also an almost guaranteed way to spread yourself too thin and quickly fall out of love with social media marketing, especially if you don't have a dedicated marketing team.
I've had a couple of conversations with service businesses this week where I was asked whether Google ads were a good investment, so I wanted to share my answer to save you - my lovely readers - a load of time and energy.
Google ads can be brilliant for businesses where the customer intent is high, and by that I mean that the customer has decided exactly what they want to buy and are actively seeking out a supplier that offers the product or service they need.
For instance, this week I was looking for an estate agent in my area and I turned to Google to find a couple to get quotes from. It's not the sort of thing you would Google unless you want to sell a house, so a Google ad in this context makes sense as an investment.
Meta ads work in a completely different way. Meta takes your ad and puts it in front of people who have shown an interest in your subject matter through their activity online - not just on Facebook or Instagram, but across their search history - which is why if you engage with a post or ad you're likely to start being served ads for similar products. It's why 90% of my newsfeed right now is salmon recipes and curly hair products.
Let's say, for instance, that I'm feeling frustrated because I'm a new business owner and I want to start marketing my services but I don't have a clue about creating a brand. I might have created a Canva account and had a bit of a click around, but I found it overwhelming and ended up feeling stuck.
I probably don't know that what I really need is a branding specialist with a package designed for new businesses, so I'm most likely not going to be hitting up Google to search for one. But the types of searches I am doing will tell Meta that I'm the right fit for a branding specialist with such a package. So when I see that branding specialist's lead magnet pop up on my newsfeed calling out the exact challenges I'm experiencing, you better believe I'll be clicking on it!
If you're on the fence and wondering where to best invest your money, ask yourself this:
Does my prospective customer know that they need my exact service and are willing to spend the time searching Google for the right business to help them? > Google's a great choice
or
Is my prospective customer suffering with a problem, but doesn't know how to fix it? > reach them via Meta
or
Is my prospective customer suffering with a problem and knows about different potential solutions but hasn't decided which solution is best for them? > again Meta is the best way to show them that your solution is the best choice for them.
Phew! Just saved yourself $$$ in testing 😅
You know an article alone isn't going to be the silver bullet to grow your business. Sometimes you need to bring in the big guns, and that's where I come in.
I'd love to invite you to a free 30 minute strategy call with me where we'll deep dive into your business and what you've been doing to bring in new clients. We'll identify what to focus your energy on to bring in consistent leads and income, what to stop doing and any areas where support would help. Click here to book a chat with me.