This might seem like a strange article to be writing from the perspective of someone who works in performance marketing. However, we’re the ones that see this impact businesses the most. I should also preface this that Google Ads is a vital platform for most businesses and is a requirement for many. This is not about stopping your usage of Google Ads and more about questioning a sole reliance on this platform.
What makes Google Ads so attractive to many businesses?
Simply put, it’s the easiest to understand, it’s easiest to measure and it’s the easiest to get sign off on. It’s often much easier to have a discussion with stakeholders about a machine that will start to generate return almost straight away. The alternative is more nebulous ideas about long term returns, building audiences, brand awareness and organic traffic.
The truth of the matter is that nearly all marketing generates a return, they just don’t have easy to read dashboards of clearly measurable results. You could guarantee that if leafletting came with an interface and a ROAS that required almost no effort to build or interrogate, it would receive the same attention Google Ads does.
Building organically and using your own data.
Organic streams of customers, for example SEO are due for a popularity rise in my opinion (and they were never that unpopular to begin with). AI search has started to hit the mainstream and right now it doesn’t show sponsored or monetised results. Great content and PR are being picked up by products such as ChatGPT and regurgitated back to people searching.
I often here from brands that SEO is something they can think about later because it’s a slow burn. The problem is, it’s going to be a slow burn in 24 months so you might as well get ahead of it. As the quote goes, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.” Organic traffic is your bedrock that lets you spend more on your performance marketing channels. If you haven’t built those foundations, you’re making yourself reliant on a Google Ads only approach.
There is nothing more valuable than an engaged and interested user base, if you’ve been bleed Google Ads dry recently, you probably have a whole host of customer data you could be utilising across other marketing channels and through your own emails. Emails are cheap, high engagement and strong converters.
Branch Out
Google Ads might be the most mature platform, especially in the lower funnel aspects of conversions but it’s not the only one out there.
A logical next step is to launch on Bing, it’s easy to setup and export your current Google Ads setup and it can drive incremental performance. As an agency we see it as an easy 5%+ additional revenue that you weren’t getting before.
Outside of this we get to the less “measurable” channels, Meta, Programmatic, CTV and other social channels such as TikTok. Because a view is significantly less measurable than a click, these channels are the first to be questioned by stakeholders. The reality is, it’s not that hard to measure your marketing spend vs topline revenue. If you introduce a new channel into the mix and your topline revenue increases at a higher rate than your marketing spend. Chances are you’re onto a winner. Of course you can get much more complex in your measurement, there’s AI measurement platforms, MMM, incrementality testing and more but depending on the size of your teams these have the potential to be costly or time consuming.
The influencer question
Google Ads and its key propositions (Pmax/Shopping/Search) are only strong at capturing existing demand. If somebody wants a shirt, they’re going to search for it and may see your ad. But what if they don’t know they need thing you’re selling. What if your product is going to make their life so much better but they don’t know you exist. Demand in Google Ads is finite but other channels can generate more.
- PR and influencer partnerships
- Community-building initiatives
- Podcasts and webinars
- Sponsorships and brand collaborations
- Video/YouTube/CTV/TV
If your customers connect your brand to a product they need, you don’t need to pay costly CPCs to buy them through Google Ads.
In conclusion
By no means should you stop using Google Ads, it works, we know it works. But the risks of being totally reliant on one platform and one specific channel are extremely high and potentially very costly. If you were investing your own money, you wouldn’t just put it all in one stock, you can say the same for marketing. A diverse approach will lead to faster growth and more sustainable growth.
For more information on this, or for support with your digital marketing. Get in touch with our team of digital specialists. If you’re looking for improved PPC campaigns, send us an email to team@modo25.com
