Have you ever been contacted by an advertising agency trying to sell you “Paid Search” as part of an advertising package? If so, then they have undoubtedly tried to sell you on several other products as well. In an attempt to convince you that Google AdWords cannot provide you with the reach of these other platforms. What they won’t tell you is that these other platforms charge you huge sums of money just to “buy in”, and do NOT provide you with the same information that you would get from AdWords. So why would they sell you on an inferior product? In a word, money. Here is the truth about what AdWords is, and what the platform can do.
What Is Paid Search?
Most commonly, paid search is the name given to all keyword targeted search network advertising. Ten years ago keywords were the only form of targeting available. Today, things are completely different. There are several different ways you can target ads for search network advertising that do not rely on keywords. If an agency is trying to sell you paid search, odds are they have no knowledge of these other targeting methods, or AdWords in general.
Dynamic Search Ads:
DSA is a type of search network advertising which automatically matches a users search query to your website content. Without the use of any keywords. You can still exclude terms that are irrelevant to your advertising goals, and you can still see user query data through the search terms report. Many agencies charge up front for things like “keyword research”. Why would you pay extra for something you don’t even need?
Shopping:
Shopping ads are another form of search network advertising that do not rely on keyword targeting. Like DSA targeting, shopping campaigns use the content in your feed to match your specific products to a specific query. Obviously if you are selling services and not products, shopping ads aren’t for you. If you do, then make sure your agency is aware of shopping ads, and ask them whether or not they can help you develop shopping campaigns.
Remarketing:
It is easier than ever to include remarketing as part of your search network advertising strategy. Remarketing allows you to target previous visitors to your website, and can work in conjunction with any other forms of targeting. If for example, you use remarketing in conjunction with DSA targeting: Regardless of which search terms a user in your audience is searching for, you can make sure you are showing them an ad when their query matches your content.
Display Network Advertising:
Not only are there more targeting options than just keywords, there are more networks available to target than just search. You do not need an entirely different platform to place ads on websites, or “placements”.
The Google display network is the largest network of any platform. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that you need to pay more for some special service in order to reach the broadest audience possible. Several different ad types are available for display network advertising. Including: Text, image, and video ads to name a few. There are also far more targeting options for display networks than search. Contextual keyword targeting, topics, and interests are some of the most popular forms of targeting. You also have control over age, gender, and other demographic targeting. Of course remarketing works with display network advertising as well, and can be used in conjunction with all other types of targeting.
Conclusion:
In the simplest terms possible: If someone tells you “you can’t do that with AdWords”, don’t believe them. Either they are trying to sell you on an inferior product, or they don’t understand what AdWords can actually do. When it comes to digital advertising, and doing business in the 21st century, AdWords provides you with the most benefits of any platform.
