Is Google AdWords a waste of time?

If you want better, faster natural search results, you start with paid Google AdWords. Why?

Search engine optimization (SEO), of course, is all about driving a growing volume of natural search volume to your site by creating and publishing compelling, relevant content.

It's free traffic in that you don't have to pay for the click, but it's a lot of work to create the quantity and quality of content necessary to drive meaningful traffic growth.

That traffic bump also isn't immediate, as Google needs recognize, appreciate and index your content first.

Paid search (often referred to as Pay Per Click or PPC) is immediate. Buy keywords today, get traffic today. But it can be crowded, incredibly expensive, and it doesn't scale well over time.

But if you want a higher-performing SEO program, you actually want to start with PPC. Why? Because traffic isn't the end goal. Conversion is. And because you don't have infinite resources to create content and SEO value for every possible keyword (nor would you do them all at once anyway), the immediate data from PPC can tell you not only which keywords drive the best click performance but also the highest conversion on your destination or landing page.

Google may create a visual distinction between paid and natural links (which some consumers still don't understand or discriminate based on), but keywords are keywords. The intent of the searcher is exactly the same.

Starting with a tight PPC test of your SEO keyword priorities might cost a little money, but in the long run you can quickly convert that investment into more clicks and higher conversions from your SEO efforts.

Waste of time is a relative thing. On the other hand relatives usually are a waste of time.

Okay, seriously, Google's AdWords is a complex system of advertising that is highly competitive especially if the profit potential is high. That also means that it is a minefield of potential hazards because where the profit is high, so are the costs and risks.

It is worthwhile to segment your market to a "niche" that is large enough to provide you with the revenue to produce a profit, but small enough that the costs are worth the rewards. This can be done in a variety of ways, but one of the most effective is known as the "long tail" keyword selection. Instead of "World of Warcraft" as a keyword (millions and millions of queries every month)(45 million per month by actual keyword search) to "get gold fast" (and a couple of variations on that) can match something between 20,000 and 50,000 inquiries per month, which could be enough to earn an income. However this specific choice is a terrible example, because there are ZERO advertisers displaying paid ads for that serarch term, which suggests it is probably not profitable. It is desireable to have "low" competition, but not "no" competition as a general rule.

Best suggestion: OUTSOURCE this to a specialist who knows the trick of the trade of AdWords.

Sincerely,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson

http://www.youtube.com/user/daochienergy/videos

Absolutely not - AdWords is getting expensive and very competitive but is still a very effective method of reaching qualified prospects. It requires significant knowledge of both how the AdWords system works and strategies for optimizing your efforts and spending as well as the ability to manage landing page and lead optimization, and certainly isn't appropriate for ALL marketers but by no means is it a 'waste of time'.

I worked with a small business that made use of AdWords. Unfortunately it did not work for them. However, I can't blame this failure on AdWords.

The use of AdWords is really a small part in an overall plan - so don't use AdWords if you're not going to use this medium in the right context and with a plan to fully support its usage.

Although personally I rarely click through on most AdWords (and I suspect that is true of most of us), I can say that in most instances that what I see in the sidebar is relatively accurate in targeting my buying/shopping interests.

The bottom line is that marketers should not overlook their ability to target potential buyers and decision makers through AdWords - but you must know how to use this medium effectively.

It's a big question with many big answers. But the short answer is that for the right business doing it the "right" way, it is absolutely not a waste of time. I know more companies doing well with it than not--but again, it depends on many factors: what you are selling, your budget, your ad copy and landing pages, and your keyword strategy (the most important thing of all).

Adwords can be a money pit -- a simple competition of deep pockets -- and that's where strategy comes in. You can be successful on a very modest budget, as long as you focus on:

1. Keywords and Key phrases: the biggest mistake people make is biffing on the broadest terms in their industry (an appliance repair shop bidding on the word "appliances."). If you do that, you will either go broke being outbid by endless numbers of other companies (do you want to bid against Sears on the word "appliances"?), or simply not show up because you can't possibly bid enough. The key to doing it right is to bid on a broad number of very specific words and phrases, after doing proper research to make sure that those words and phrases actually get searched.

2. Writing good ad copy with a strong call to action: Try multiple ads and see if different copy affects results.

3. Good landing pages: more and more studies point to the importance of good landing pages whenever linking to your site from outside, whether through PPC (adwords, etc.), e-mail campaigns, or web display advertising. If your copy says "save on item X," the link should go directly to that sale, not your home page. Not using proper landing pages is a virtual guarantee of diminished returns.

4. Constantly measure and tweak. Google analytics and the many other free tools available are invaluable. You should use these tools to constantly learn where people are coming from, what they are doing on your site, whether or not they are converting to a desired action (sign-up, purchase, etc.), and whether your ads are working. Adjust as necessary. The nice part about online advertising and analytics is that almost everything can be measured and changed in real time.

As Mr. Williamson says in his answer, outsourcing is wise for many businesses, though you really need to make sure you are finding someone with serious expertise and tons of references. These days, everyone and their brother claims to be a google expert, a social media expert, etc., but in my experience I'd say maybe 20% of them, at best, are the real deal. Do lots of homework.

Google Adwords is an excellent way to gain visibility and business.The key thing is to know the right keywords to target and setting the manageable budget.You can learn your customers location,their queries and actions etc.Its awesome!

Every tool has its purpose and can attract an audience in its own particular way. With over 6 billion on this planet with different professional and personal background alone, we cannot all possible be thinking about the same approach on how we accomplish our goals and dreams. God bless.

Google Adwords is a great advertising platform specially for new start-ups and businesses to build brand awareness and gain online visibility globally. This platform has redefined traditional marketing in many ways. It is intent based advertising so your ads are displayed only to your targeted audience.

Google adwords is a system that has grown quite complex with new features being added it's ajob keeping up and being able to test how to best utilise the new features. Just the display network alone can take a while to master also considering you can also target mobile devices and tablets. But the main thing is you have to know the intricacies of the system llike structuring a campaign, quality score, split-testing and optimisation.

The main thing to getis there 4 possible outcomes. 1. Big Loss 2.Small Loss 3.Big Win 4. Small Win . So if you manage it so that the big loss never occurs and hopefully the small win and small loss will even out, leaving only the big win. Adwords can be a goldmine!

No, Google Adwords is not a waste of time. After thousands of leads generated from the Internet for T3 Direct Marketing - www.T3DirectUSA.com - and our T3 clients, Google Adwords Marketing has been a blessing for us. One caveat, consult with a professional. Years ago, when we first started with Adwords we used the Google consultant team and they told us what keywords they recommended and advice on budgets, day parting, content network, etc. This advice was great for Google but not so great for us. After a few months of experimenting and using Analytics we found our sweet spot and have never looked back. We put ALL our clients on Adwords and it makes us all money. Even though it is getting expensive & very competitive, if you know how to write adsand create compelling landing pages you'll make money for your company and your clients.

Google ad-words is the booming market for the promotion of any website, It is not the waste o9f time. It is the best tool to promote your site wisely. If you are in to e commerce business or any other online business, Google ad-words is the best option to make your site more visible through ad-words.

http://www.nichesuite.com/

No, it's an excellent sales and lead generation channel.

I think Google Adwords is a helpful site which can helps us easily. We use it for decreasing our time, and easily can get result by Google Adwords. It is not enough time consuming.
We use Google Adwords for our Graphic design Outsourcing Industry. We use it for keyword research. Thank you.