So after writing my blog on Google Analytics I said I would post one providing some information on Google AdWords. I said this completely forgetting I was already registered to attend a conference hosted by Google, on AdWords. 

Google held their presentation in a large auditorium enough to capacitate the whole lot of us and focused their first presentation on trends in the industry. This is the one piece of information I took from it. Social media and mobile marketing is not a fad. Paraphrased and not that I thought otherwise but if Google says it, it must be true… right? 

So we broke for lunch, killed about an hour and a bit talking to people and what not, then we (Google conference attendees) were separated into two groups, by choice of course. Beginner or advanced? Not that I claim to be an expert on AdWords, I chose the advanced seminar hoping to pick up some tidbit or gem that I could take back to the office. Nope. I had to double check again to see if I had entered the beginner room by mistake.

I don’t know who they were targeting with their presentation because it wasn’t helpful enough to people who have some sort of understanding, yet I heard from a couple of people with no understanding that it was very confusing and too heavy on the lingo that means nothing to them. It’s Google… one of the most recognizable brands in the world… I thought this was going to be the be all and end all of seminars. Oh well.

I’ll sum it up to my top ten benefits to make it a little easier of a read for you since this post is already getting too text heavy.

My Top 10 Benefits of Google AdWords

1. Allows you to be seen on Google
2. Cost effective way to market your business or products
3. You chose how much or how little you want to spend
4. Your position on Google is not determined by how much you spend, but rather by how relevant your ad is to your target and how many clicks you receive
5. All of your ads are completely customizable in terms of what text or link is displayed. If you’re running ads on the Google Content Network, your ads can even have images and video.
6. All of your ads are completely targetable by keywords, location, even time of day. If you’re running ads on the Google Content Network, you can even target your ads to certain age demographics.
7. All of your ads are easy to track to see which ones are performing well and which need to be revised, allowing you to spend your dollar wisely
8. AdWords software is very user friendly and will allow you to make it as complicated or as simple as you want
9. Google provides tools to generate keyword ideas, they let you know how heavy the competition is for each of the keywords you are targeting, recommend pricing points and much more to help you maximize your money
10. It will boost traffic to your website and create more brand awareness

I’ve heard the odd person allude to a possible double dip in the economy but for the most part (as mentioned before) it looks like the worst is behind us. In discussions with our carrier customers, most have followed a cost cutting protocol, regardless of the size, scope and nature of their business. Still, if we look at Ontario vs. Western Canada, it appears carriers can raise rates in the west, while the shippers still carry the big stick here. Available capacity seems to be the predominant trump card.

“What is Google Analytics?” “Why should I use Google Analytics?” “How can I make money from Google Analytics?” “Why would I PAY to use Google Analytics?”

Well… I’ll answer the last question first, Google Analytics is FREE!

Now to the first question; Google Analytics is a system that tracks and displays critical information of your websites performance. In short, it shows you who is using and viewing your website. It shows you where your visitors are coming from, how long they stay on your site, which page is most popular, and so much more.

Next question… If you have a website, then it makes sense to utilize Google Analytics to allow you to understand how well your website is working for you. You will see that if your homepage has a high bounce rate then your website is not engaging potential clients. Your marketing and advertising strategy may be driving the wrong type of customer to your site, or it may be time for a refreshed design or a clearer more impactful message. (Bounce Rate is an averaged percentage between the number of visitors who leave your site immediately and the number who stay and click through to multiple pages.)

“How can I make money from Google Analytics?” It’s not that you can make money from signing up but it will help you earn money. Most people reading this blog will be in B2B rather than B2C so ecommerce and tracking ROI from direct sales through your website is not relevant. However, there are ways to ensure your web presence is earning dollars. You can set goals; for non-ecommerce sites, goals would be what you want your website to accomplish whether it’s filling out a form, downloading a file, or emailing you. Values can be placed on certain goals if you need $ numbers to work with. Our IT guru Jerry wrote a previous blog article explaining Google Analytics in greater detail. http://www.trypm.com/blog/2011/05/27/google-analytics-interpreting-key-metrics-for-a-transportation-related-website/

10 Benefits of Google Analytics

1- Allows you to see how many people are visiting your website

2- Allows you to see how many returning vs. new visitors you are getting

3- Allows you to see where your visitors are coming from

4- Allows you to see how long visitors are on your site and how many pages they view

5- Allows you to see what the most popular page on your site is

6- Allows you to see how your visitors found your site

7- Allows you to see what the most common search terms are

8- Allows you to see a comparison to previous performance

9- Allows you to see which sites you are getting the most referrals from

10- Allows you to see how you stack up against other similar websites if you choose to submit yours

The other option is to market yourself through Google AdWords which I will explain in my next blog post. AdWords will take a bit of an investment but it, in combination with Google Analytics, will allow you to target your message more appropriately and spend your marketing dollars more effectively.