If I am a prospective business owner who wants to expand through online advertisement, what benefits does Google AdWords provide?
Google AdWords allows you to put your business at the top of google search results. It means more people will see your ad, thus driving more traffic towards your business.
It works faster than search engine optimization (SEO) because your ad is given priority over all other search results no matter how optimized they are.
Also, Google AdWords offers targeting tools, analytics, and options to reach customers through their Gmail inbox.
However, we have to consider that Google is not the only platform that offers advertisement services. We want to save as much money as possible in advertisements, so choosing the right platform is essential.
Let's look at Google AdWords in particular and explore its services. What sets it apart from the rest?

 

Google AdWords and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Before we can compare Google AdWords and SEO, we must first discuss what they actually are.
Google AdWords refers to the advertisement platform owned by Google.
SEO involves different techniques to get better rankings in the search engine pages of Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other major search engines.
You can use Google AdWords to position your ads at the top Google search result pages. Furthermore, you can also place your ads on other Google products such as YouTube and Gmail. Finally, you have options to advertise on thousands of websites that are part of Google’s AdSense program.
This is perhaps the real power of the Google AdWords program. No other advertisement platform can offer you access to such a wide range of markets. SEO is definitely crucial for long term success. But you cannot overlook the fact that Google's search engine market share is over 90%.
So if you are looking for immediate short term success in terms of traffic and leads, then Google AdWords is the way to go. This does not mean, however, that you can ignore search engine optimization. In fact, experts consider SEO essential for organic growth over a long period.  
The best strategy involves utilizing both Google AdWords and SEO hand in hand. Thus, ensuring short term and long term success. Think of Google AdWords as the initial boost to lift off your business while SEO is the fuel that keeps you going.
We talked about the broad benefits of choosing the Google AdWords, let’s discuss some of the platform’s notable features.

 

Google AdWords Targeting

Google AdWords provides you with extensive targeting features. Targeting allows you to show your advertisements to specific groups of people – especially those interested in your products and services.
Targeting the right audience is vital as it allows us to save money. Google AdWords allows you to target based on the following metrics:

 

Keywords:

Target-based on words or phrases that are relevant to your product or service. If I run a stuffed toy company, then I can target keywords such as "kids toy," "stuffed animals," "cute toys," and many more. It would be beneficial for you to do your homework and research exactly which search terms your customers are using. Find the keywords that are not only relevant to your product, but also produce a high return on investments (ROIs).

 

Location:

Targeting based on location allows you to target a specific location, whether it be a town, a suburb, a city, or even an entire country. If you run a small business, then this is essential for you. Say you own a small restaurant in Appleton, ME. Through location-based targeting, you can choose to only show your advertisement to the people of that town.
Customer Demographics:
Instead of targeting a location, you can target people themselves. Google AdWords allows you to show your ads based on age groups, gender, nationality, and language. If your products appeal to a specific age bracket or group of people, this is great for you. Let's take our stuffed toys example from before. As the owner, I noticed that most of my customers are middle-aged mothers buying toys for their children. Therefore, I will set my targeting metric to these traits, and they would give me the most ROIs.

 

Ad Location:

Refers to where you want your advertisement to be displayed. For my stuffed toys company, I'd like my Ad to be the first thing people see when searching for my products. Additionally, I can run my ads on websites that are visited by my customers. If I wanted to take it a step further, I can create a video advertisement and place it on toy review channels on YouTube. Choose a suitable location that fits your product.
Date, Time, and Frequency:
Instead of showing ads all the time, you can target specific time frames. This ties back to our point of making your campaign as cost-effective as possible. For my stuff toy company, I've already determined which group I want to target. Now all I have to do is determine what at what time my customers are the most active. So, for instance, I can target the Christmas season during which demand for toys is high.

 

Google AdWords Analytics

Google Analytics is a free service provided by Google that allows you to see who interacted with your ads. You can never figure out the right targeting methods without testing first. Through analytics, you can find out the precise targeting metrics that work for you.
Google tells you how your customers found your website and how long they explored. You can use these statistics to optimize your website. My stuffed toys website has high traffic, but visitors don't stick around for too long. I can make improvements to my website to increase retention, such as introducing more engaging content.

 

Conclusion

The world of online advertisement has a learning curve. However, through repeated trial and error, you will eventually get the hang of it and reap its benefits. Google AdWords is one of the most potent advertisement tools waiting for you to be utilized. Keep an open mind, be confident in your product, and success will come your way.