09/08/2023
Google has many different marketing options, but how do you tell them apart and know which will be best for you? I will explain a few of the more popular Google paid and organic options.
What is organic, and how does it differ from paid advertising?
Directly from Google: A free listing in Google Search that appears because it's relevant to someone's search terms. Non-organic search results are paid advertisements.
Well, sign me up for the free advertising. How do I start?
As you well know by now, nothing is truly free. Though your organic listing does not cost money to appear, you must still put in the time and effort and have the know-how to rank high enough to be relevant.
First, let’s break down the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). That is where these listings will appear. I will take you through in the order they appear.
Google Local Service Ads (GLSA), often called Google Guaranteed
These paid advertisements always appear at the top of the SERP page. Google must vet you to participate. Once vetted, it is very simple and easy to manage. You select your target area, hours of operation, budget, etc., but it is not nearly as complicated as Google Ads. You also can dispute leads that you feel were not valid (they give you a handful of supplied reasons) and possibly receive a refund on the click. There is also a pause button for when you go on vacation or are booked out too far. This is the easiest way to compete with Google’s paid advertisements.
Google Ads
This is the area that I specialized in when I worked for the digital marketing agency. Where GLSA’s are the easiest way to get into paid Google advertisements, Google Ads is thorough and offers the most return on ad spend or ROI in paid online marketing that I have witnessed. You control the message, location, time of day, and budget, along with a multitude of other metrics and settings. The data is very, very granular and allows you to maximize your campaigns to achieve the best returns.
As a comparison, we have spent $16K on Google Ads this year and had a gross return of $106K. For Google Guarantee, we have spent $3800 and have grossed $5300.
Map Pack / Google My Business listing
This is the quickest and easiest way to rank organically. You do not have to pay for your listing, and you do not have to pay when someone clicks on your business. If you run Google Guarantee or Google Ads, you may receive the first or second spot in the map pack, but you have no control over if or where your ad will appear in the pack. This listing will generate a lot of spam but can also yield a lot of business when utilized correctly.
Google My Business is our company's fifth-largest revenue producer this year. In 2021, before I came here, they totaled $0. In 2022, $40K. So far this year, we are at $50K in revenue with $0 spent and about 1 hour per week devoted to maintenance.
Organic
Many people get Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google Ads mixed up. It is your organic listing that SEO works to improve upon, and proper SEO utilizes a multitude of tactics to help Google recognize your site as an authority. Your SEO ranking will differ for virtually every keyword that is pertinent to your business. Also, even though the clicks don’t cost you money, many companies devote large budgets to SEO. Progress is slow; it can take 30-90 days for each optimization to take effect.
I often describe Google Ads as a race car; it will go as long and as fast (to a point) as the fuel (money) you put into it allows. SEO is like a freight train; it takes a long time to get momentum, but when it does, it can carry you right into profits. SEO is definitely a long-term strategy.
Hopefully, this article helps you to distinguish between some Google advertising options and help you to make an informed decision on what marketing fits best for you. These are just a few options available from Google or in the digital marketing realm in general.
Remember that healthy marketing doesn’t rely on one channel for all the revenue. You must also track results as concisely as possible or else optimization of your marketing isn’t possible.
This is a shortened version of this article. For the full article, including information and links to improve performance on the channels above, please visit:
Uncategorized 0 Know Your Marketing Google has many different marketing options, but how do you tell them apart and know which will be best for you? I am going to explain a few of the more popular Google paid and organic options.What is organic, and how does it differ from paid advertising?Directly....
