You’ve probably seen the adverts from Google about Adwords and how it’s a good way to get more business. Often with a promotional code giving you free advertising to get you started.
So is Adwords a good idea for wedding businesses? Here’s our beginners guide with tops tips and some pitfalls to look out for.
What is Adwords?
Google Adwords lets you pay to appear in the Google search results. If you go to Google and search for something like “Wedding Planner London” you’ll see entries with a little yellow “Ad” symbol next to them – these are paid adverts placed via Google Adwords.
It’s often referred to as “Pay per Click” advertising as you only pay when someone clicks on your advert.
How does Adwords work?
You tell Google which search terms you want to appear for and how much you are willing to spend.
Adwords works like an auction – the more you are willing to spend, the better your position will be. Although there are more factors than simply the highest bidder determining who appears where – advert and website relevance also play a part.
Is Adwords right for your wedding business?
Adwords will only work if:
- a significant number of couples actively search for your product or service. So if your idea is completely new you’ll be better off raising awareness through PR and social media.
- you have a great website. There’s no point in driving more visitors to your site if they won’t be impressed by what they see.
- you understand your numbers. Before you start, calculate how much you are willing to spend to get a new customer. If you are an upmarket photographer you’ll be willing to spend more per click than someone who sells suppplies for DIY favours.
The big advantage of Adwords is that it will start bringing you potential customers from Day 1. No waiting months for Google to index your site or for your blog to get noticed.
Getting Started
It’s very easy to get started with Google Adwords (almost too easy). But before you jump in, do some homework. Read as much as you can about Adwords so you understand how it works. Here’s a really good article with some solid advice for Adwords beginners
The Power of Adwords
Although it’s not difficult to set up your campaigns, to really get a good return on investment from Adwords you need to do more than set and forget.
Adwords has extensive facilities which let you do things like:
- target specific geographic locations
- test different adverts
- change your bid according to whether the searcher is using a mobile, tablet or PC
- adjust your campaign for different times of day
- Add phone numbers so mobile users can call you without going to your website
and lots more.
Watch out for
The different types of keyword match.
Google has 4 different types of keyword match. Here’s how each of them works:
Broad match: Wedding Stationery
will show your advert whenever someone types a search related to wedding stationery (Google’s interpretation of this can be VERY loose).
Phrase Match “Wedding Stationery”
will show your advert when someone types a search which includes this phrase, such as “DIY wedding Stationery” but not “Wedding Invitations and Stationery”
Exact Match: [Wedding Stationery]
will only show your advert when someone types this phrase exactly and nothing else
Modified Broad Match: +Wedding +Stationery
will show your advert when someone types any phrase containing the word Wedding and the word Stationery, e.g. “Stationery for a Wedding abroad”
Get these wrong and your Adwords campaign will either cost too much or bring in very little business.
Keywords you want to exclude
These are called negative keywords. Common ones are “jobs”, “courses”, “reviews”. So if you’re a wedding florist in Bristol you might want to have “Bristol Wedding Florist” as a key phrase but exclude anyone searching for florist jobs.
Display Network
These are adverts that appear on websites other than search engines (like blogs). Clicks are generally cheaper but the return on investment is often very low. When starting out it’s best to use Search only campaigns and exclude display network.
DIY or Get Help?
Setting up and managing your own Adwords campaigns is feasible, but be prepared to invest plenty of time in learning how to get it right. Google offer plenty of help, just remember that their overall goal is to get you to spend more on Adwords.
If you are short of time (or a technophobe), then it’s better to find an adwords expert to help you. Your choice will be between finding a freelancer or going to an Adwords agency. Choose carefully:
- recommendations from people you trust are your best bet.
- be wary of getting tied into a long term contract
- recognise that Adwords is a specialist skill and that the cheapest option may not be the best.
Update: We have developed a Google Adwords package specially for wedding businesses. Click to find out more
And finally….
It’s essential to actively monitor and tweak your Adwords campaign. Things change with time: new competitors, your products and services change, new trends appear. Unless you keep on top of your adwords you can find performance dropping and money being wasted.
Hey Alison, thanks for the mention here.
Hi Dan, You’re welcome – great article.