Through the help of social media and good site architecture, small business owners have come a long way in creating sites that not only rank, but also engage users. However, it’s no secret that one area where SMB owners still struggle is in the world of paid ads.
Last year we quoted a study that found that more than half of SMB owners quit paid advertising within six months of starting. Google is obviously looking to change that in the best way Google knows how – by creating valuable resources for SMB owners to learn from.
Last week Google announced the launch of the AdWords Small Business Center. The Small Business Center is designed to be a knowledge hub that SMB owners can use to learn AdWords best practices and get key information about everything they need to know to run a successful AdWords account. The information provided will be broken down into beginner, intermediate or advanced, so that small business owners can benefit regardless of where they are in their learning and grow into the information.
Here’s a look at some of the early topics covered:
- Write great ads
- Choose the best keywords
- Adjust bids and budgets
- Improve your website
- Track your results
Going through the information already on the site, I was pretty impressed with the depth. For example, just checking through the Adjust Bids and Budgets section, I was surprised by the breadth of knowledge offered and how well broken down it was. It allows small business owners to really go at their own pace and pick up additional information as they’re ready for it. I’d imagine that even experienced AdWords users could get some additional tips by checking out this resource. It’s nice to see Google really digging in and not just tossing out a few high-level tidbits.
Also part of the Adwords Small Business Center is a Discussion Forum where small business owners can meet others new to the AdWords process and share information and tips. However, there was no sign that Google representatives would be also be participating in the forum, which was a little disappointing. It looks to be strictly for small business owners to talk and share with each other.
The Center also provides links to the AdWords Help Center, the AdWords blog and other resources so that small business owners can easily access them. There’s even a link to find an AdWords-certified professional if you want to hire someone to help you with your campaign.
While it would be nice to see Google designate some personnel to monitor this center and take part in the Discussion Group, this is still a great resource for small business to sink their teeth into. It organizes trusted information on a tricky topic into one place so that business owners don’t have to hunt all over the Web to find it. It’s just another example of Google doing what Google does best – providing hubs of free information that business owners can use to grow their businesses. The AdWords Small Business Center is one resource I definitely recommend SMB owners check out.
While the statistic that more than half of SMB owners quit paid advertising within six months of starting may have been news to us, Google knew that was a major problem and have taken several steps to remedy the situation.
First, they restructured the Google AdWords Professional program to make it more stringent. The new AdWords-certifed professionals are now more trustworthy and will deliver better results.
Second, AdWords ditched their reseller program. There were far too many companies promising X number of clicks for $X/month who weren’t reporting on what keywords drove the clicks, how much those clicks cost, etc. Getting rid of these “black box” providers removed another bad experience that many SMBs were having.
And now Google has created a SMB-focused area to help smaller advertisers have a positive experience and continue advertising in AdWords. With the strides being made by Bing/Yahoo, this is a good competitive move.
Lisa,
Thanks for sharing this info. As a below-average Adwords customer, it should help me, for sure.
Good job getting thew word out!
The Franchise King
Adrian Key
Excellent article. It may interest your readers to know that Google have also opened up the AdWords Forum to small businesses. If you have a particular question to ask about using AdWords to run an advertising campaign for a small business, you may get it answered here:
http://www.google.co.uk/support/forum/p/AdWords/label?lid=7fd3daca41cf6273&hl=en
Didier DARTOIS
At last, Google has noticed small business is also business!
This new behaviour will be appreciated by small companies and their Adwords advisors.
Thx for this info.
Josh
After working with 100’s of small business clients through our Online Advertising Agency… we see many businesses who stop advertising online quick after they start.
I believe there will be millions made for firms who can really help businesses be successful using the whole Online Web Presence model, not just paid. I also see a huge opportunity in Mobile Advertising.
Great post.
Just want to let everyone know; the discussion forum is actively moderated by Google employees, who check in a couple times a week to create new threads on topics relevant to small businesses, offer insights, as well as encourage the discussion and sharing of best practices between small businesses. The post gives the impression that we don’t participate when in fact we do.
Hey Lisa,
Thank you for the article. We are not a small buisiness, but dealing with our goods does not bring to much money. We tried to make AdWords – and I agree with you: The service of google is amazing! But also we optimized our conversions we lost to much money for ads. Thats why we started to make SEO and try to bring our shop on site 1 at google. Its definatly hard work, but its possible.
Also a Tip for all small buisnesses: Offer your Goods in Google Products – its free and easier to rank there!
Go on with useful articles!
Greetings
Regiolux
Mick
Google adwords really sucks. Comprtetives are clicking your ads to generate costs and to rapidly reach your daily budget. That way your ads are not shown anymore and you have to pay without earning a cent.
Yes. Google claims to have mechanisms against this practice but that is simply a lie. And the winner is: Google.