Are Google Ads Worth It? Pros & Cons
Last Updated on: 16th April 2024, 07:05 pm
If your ideal audience uses the internet, Google can reach them. However, that doesn’t mean your approach should boil down to throwing money on ads.
Today, I’ll leverage my 15+ years of Google Ads experience to help you answer the ultimate question: are Google Ads worth it?
Let’s dive in!
1. The Pros of Using Google Ads
Google Ads Offers Unparalleled Reach
What do you do when you want more information about something? You Google it.
What do you do when looking for the best sofa in your budget range? You Google it.
Google satisfies every type of intent, allowing you to reach your target audience through its 8.5B searches daily. No matter what you’re selling, if someone is Googling it (and chances are – they are), your ads will be able to reach them.
You Can Scale Quickly
Most businesses that want to reach their revenue goals quickly use Google Ads – for a good reason. It takes time to grow your social media following or mailing lists – the same goes for SEO and content.
Google Ads results are immediate; the only thing that can hold you back is your lack of PPC expertise and budget.
For example, once you’ve identified the critical touchpoints in your ideal customers’ buyer’s journeys, you can launch a Performance Max campaign to reach your prospects across different channels (including Google Ads for YouTube).
Google AdWords Is Very Cost-Effective (When Done Right)
On average, you get $8 for every $1 you spend on Google Ads.
However, with the right strategy, you can increase the returns even more.
For example, even if your industry average CPC (Cost Per Click) is $2, you can reduce it by increasing your ad’s Quality Score.
Similarly, if you track Google Ads conversions, you’ll be able to optimise your Google Ads campaigns in just a few months to use the Target ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend) bidding strategy. With tROAS, Google Ads will optimise your bids to find the best-quality prospects for the lowest price.
There are a lot of little mechanisms in the platform that you can leverage to get better campaign results at a lower price (including the free ad credit promotions). However, you will need to give Google Ads the time to learn from your campaigns and have a sizeable budget.
Learn more: How to lower your Google Ads CPC
Understand How Your Market Feels Sooner
You need insights when you first launch a product (or when you want to test your strategy). The sooner you get them, the better.
And with new Google Ads features, you can even use your existing top leads to find other people similar to them.
With the proper budget, you can get insights faster.
However, keep in mind that if you’re a new advertiser, it’ll take a while for your campaigns to undergo the learning period (30-60 days). After that, you’ll see the full revenue potential.
Learn more: How fast do Google Ads work?
2. The Cons of Using Google AdWords to Promote Your Business
Google Ads Success Takes Time (and Management)
Remember when I mentioned the campaign learning period? Good Google Ads campaigns take time and effort. Even though there are plenty of automations and automated recommendations, you can’t let Google manage your campaigns for you.
You need to be there at every step, from keyword and customer research to applying your insights to increase your campaign ROI (and measuring success all the while).
If you have a reasonable advertising budget, the worst thing you can do is overspend, believing it will help you scale. If anything, you’ll let opportunities slip through the cracks with a poorly optimised campaign.
Instead, you’ll need professional help to maximise your ROAS, whether your in-house PPC team or a certified Google Ads management Partner.
There is a way to make Google Ads work for your business if you want to run them yourself, but you’ll need to be focused and know who your ideal customers are. (Scroll down to the bottom of this article for a great resource!)
Google AdWords Is Competitive – Not a Growth Hack
If you’re coming into your Google AdWords campaign with a mentality that it will help you skyrocket revenue overnight, stop.
More than 80% of businesses worldwide use Google Ads to show up in front of their customers. It’s competitive, and you need to know what you’re doing to differentiate.
When I started using Google Ads to build (and sell) my own businesses in the early 2010s, I made sure my offer was competitive. From there, I reached top-quality prospects and communicated how my companies were better than the competition through targeted campaigns, excellent ad copy, and dedicated landing pages.
The same rule applies today. In my Google Ads coaching sessions, I first work with my clients to narrow down what makes them unique in the eyes of their own customers and then, together, we map out the keyword journey.
Google Ads is serious. This isn’t a con per se, but it also means it’s not the instant growth channel you may expect it to be. You need expertise.
3. Is Google Ads Worth It for You?
If the cons sound intimidating, but the pros are very appealing, grab a sheet of paper and let’s walk through your Google Ads use case together!
Here’s what you should consider when deciding if Google Ads is worth it for you:
Business Maturity
Have you recently started your business, or have you been in the market for a while?
If you’re a startup, chances are you don’t have concrete data on your ideal customers yet. Google Ads will be worth testing – but only if you have the budget to start aggregating data and A/B testing through your campaigns.
On the other hand, if you’ve been in business for a while and know with certainty who your top customers are and how they think, Google Ads will definitely be worth it for you.
In fact, if you understand your audience, you can turn Google Ads into a reliable (and scaleable) lead generation facility.
Budget
The lowest recommended daily Google Ads budget is $10. On a 30-day basis, you’ll have to spend at least $300 per month. Keep in mind that such a low budget may only generate poor leads or no leads at all, so consider your Google Ads spend carefully.
Another factor to consider is the average CPC in your industry. If you’re in finance, your leads cost – a lot. On the other hand, eCommerce Google Ads come with a lower Cost Per Click.
There are ways to optimise your budget down the line, especially once you get conversion cost data, but you’ll initially have to let Google Ads learn more about your campaigns. And that requires a testing budget.
I recommend planning for at least $1,000/month.
Learn more: Calculate your budget before you launch with the Google Ads Cost Estimator
Acquisition Costs
Finally, consider your lead and customer acquisition costs.
Getting the lead to click on your ad is just the first step – what else do you have to do to convert them based on your previous experience, and how much does that cost?
When implemented by a Google Ads expert, Google Ads are profitable. However, it’s crucial to understand how much you’re paying for acquisitions and how the cost of Google Ads factors into the equation.
The Verdict: Are Google Ads Worth It?
Google Ads are worth it, but you should carefully consider the pros, cons, and acquisition costs to identify the best approach. Start with your goals and in-depth audience knowledge; it’ll be simpler to map the conversion journey to the correct Google Ads touchpoints.
So, ask yourself:
- Do I have the budget to get started with Google Ads?
- Do I understand my ideal customers well enough to know how to reach them with Google Ads campaigns?
If you’ve answered “yes” to both, congratulations!
Now, all you need to do is pick up the Google Ads knowledge you need to build, optimise, and scale a campaign that converts.
If you need assistance, get in touch with me. With over 15 years of Google Ads management experience, I’d love to help you!
But if you’d prefer to learn how to make Google Ads work for your business first-hand, grab a copy of my best-selling Google Ads book that will help you build a profitable campaign in 7 rapid steps.
