I have just gone live with a new Google Ads campaign to promote the new services for TTG. It’s day five now, and I’m hopeful yet concerned about the campaign’s progress. My concern stems from the fact that, like with all self-managed tasks that cost money, you can never be quite sure if the gamble will pay off. At the moment, I haven’t seen much response as the phones are not ringing, but this could be because it’s early days and the algorithm needs time to ‘learn’. Alternatively, it could be due to poor campaign setup or, worst of all, people simply not being interested in what I’m offering. Let’s see.
My Early Experiences with Google Ads for TTG
I started using Google Ads early on when I first launched the company. I intuitively knew that when people experience blocked ears, the first place they search for help is Google, so I knew I needed to be there. Not knowing much about Google Ads, I fortuitously spoke with a friend (another ex-business partner, but that’s a story for another day), whose sister happened to be a social media manager. I was impressed with his personal knowledge in the area, so I took up the recommendation.
That relationship lasted around nine months, with her managing both the Google Ads and the website SEO. Reflecting on it now, I made several mistakes during that time. However, the positive takeaway was that there were lots of calls, appointments, and business. As time went on, I realised I couldn’t afford to take a backseat in the process, relying solely on her to run the campaign without understanding what was being spent. Initially, I was just happy that the calls were coming in, but I didn’t pay attention to key metrics, like ROAS – Return on Ad Spend. When I eventually tallied up the outgoings (nearly £3,000 a month on Google Ads), along with her fees (which were a percentage of the ad spend), I realised the campaign may not have been as successful as I had thought.
Understanding the True Cost of Google Ads Conversions
Big Lesson – Don’t Judge a Campaign by Conversions Alone, but by the Cost of Those Conversions.
Eventually, we decided to part ways. When my business partner joined the company and began questioning the operation, she couldn’t provide a satisfactory justification for her costs. Part of my partner’s role was to learn and take over the running of the Google Ads campaigns. This, however, didn’t work out as planned, and among other factors, eventually led to the end of the partnership seven months later.
Why I Took Control of Google Ads for My Business
Having not used Google Ads for approximately four months, I’ve now put in the work and set up my own campaign. I completed a course on Udemy, applied the knowledge I gained, and decided to give it a go myself. I conducted keyword research, learned about different types of campaigns, paid someone on Fiverr to set up conversion tracking (something I’ll need to learn myself in the future), and after doing all the necessary steps, I clicked ‘RUN’.
Running Google Ads as a Small Business Owner: Lessons Learned
I’m glad I did, although I might regret it in the short term. However, I’ve realised that the head of a small startup needs to be familiar with all the processes in the business. I don’t plan to run Google Ads forever—just long enough to be able to hold the person I hire accountable and ensure I’m getting my money’s worth. Another benefit is that it allows you to judge the expertise of freelancers, particularly on sites like Fiverr. Everyone claims to be an expert, but as I found out recently when hiring someone for blog SEO, they often are not. That said, it has been reassuring to realise how much I already know, which is a comforting thought in these otherwise uncertain times.
Will Google Ads Prove Worthwhile for TTG?
Hopefully, I’ll be back in a few weeks or months with the news that Google Ads is crushing it!
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