Google Ads

Google Ads runs ads in Google Search, on YouTube and on websites that show Google's ads. For a local business, the search ads are usually what matters most. You decide which searches the ad should show on, how much you want to spend per day and where in the country it should appear.

Strength and weakness

Google Ads can bring you visits from people looking for exactly what you sell, the same day you start. That is the strength. The weakness is that it is easy to spend money on clicks that never become customers, especially if the ad sends people to the front page instead of a separate landing page.

So measure the result in enquiries or sales, not in clicks. The conversion rate and the cost per customer show whether the campaign pays off. What you pay per click is called CPC.

How to check your competitors

Google has a public overview of the ads it shows, the Ads Transparency Center, at adstransparency.google.com. Look up a competitor and see which ads they have run and what they promise. It is free, and you learn a lot about what your market responds to before you set up your first campaign.