If you think about traditional business marketing, for example flyers, a television/radio commercial, or a printed ad, thousands of dollars can be spent on advertising with no guarantee that the ads are even going to reach people interested in the product or service that your client is selling.

On the other hand, with AdWords, you bid on keywords related to your client’s industry. Therefore the traffic delivered to the site is interested in what your client has to offer. You can limit how much is spent based on a daily budget and only pay when a user clicks on the advertisement.

Furthermore, customers who buy online, research online. Google is the primary source for research performed within Australia, with around 83% of all searches being done. A listing in TrueLocal or Yellow Pages online can cost thousands and you are missing out on 83% of searches!

What is the point of advertising products in a magazine when you are trying to sell online? Potential customers are not browsing the paper, they are researching online, which is where your client needs to be.

Search Engine Optimisation is another fairly new form of online marketing. Despite being a powerful channel, there are limitations. In isolation, Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) can takes months to achieve strong results. In contrast, an AdWords campaign can be set up and start delivering traffic to your client’s site within hours. Thus it is commonly recommended to use the two channels (SEO and PPC) in parallel.

Some of your clients might also sell seasonal products or might wish to have more control over where they appear in search results. With AdWords, you can define the target down to a postcode or be as broad as the entire world. If you are optimising a site for a product that is only available during one particular time of the year, or selling seasonal products, AdWords is the only way to deliver a good result for your clients’ site in a reasonable time. AdWords can also be used to promote a sale, or special offer.

Another advantage of AdWords, when running in conjunction with SEO, is that you can test keyword phrases as well as the market reaction. When defining keywords to optimise for Search Engines, if chosen incorrectly it might be six months or longer before you find out. In contrast, with AdWords, you can test keywords and view an immediate market response. It will save you a considerable amount of time and money when you know what keywords customers are using to find your clients site.