In my 17 years as a B2B SEO and marketing consultant, I hadn’t really considered giving PPC a go until Google changed the layout for its search results to remove right-side ads on desktop and to increase the number of ads appearing above the organic results to as many as four.
Suddenly, SEO became a whole different ball game, especially since I work with small manufacturers, many of whom are SEO-challenged to begin with. Seeing the lower CTRs and my clients’ listings being pushed farther and farther down on the page, I realized it was time for me to learn AdWords so that I could offer it as a new service.
Thankfully, one of my manufacturing clients wanted to begin a small AdWords campaign, so we agreed I’d set it up and manage it — with the understanding that I was in “beta.”
Although I brought considerable skills to the table, including direct response copywriting, years of analytics and a deep knowledge of SEO and online marketing, I still found myself making mistakes and having to spend time researching to figure things out.
AdWords, I discovered, has a steep learning curve — and if I was struggling, I could only imagine what small business owners must be going through.
What follows are some of the things I learned — from an AdWords newbie perspective — that you can use if you’re considering an AdWords campaign for your small manufacturing business.
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