Me? I'm the webmaster for my company. We are a local computer hardware store, and we're looking to getting more into e-commerce and such.
My idea was to try using Google AdWords, and my only argument to go along with that is "it'll only cost you the $5 bucks for the setup fee if it doesn't work". My boss is too damn stubborn to agree with that, but whatever. (We also have a $20 trial thing that we got at a Search Engine Expo)
I'm trying to find different reasons that I can go to him with and hopefully prove AdWords can and will help the e-commerce business.
Has anyone else had this problem? I've personally never tried AdWords before, so the only ups/downs I know about it are that of which I read on some review sites.
That's about it, any information would be extremely helpful.
Thanks a lot,
Michael Merlina
We have a client, in your industry, that spends the amount of money you talk about in your post every second of the day 24x7.
Your boss needs to undersand the market!
Get in it or stay out.
imho
He sends out mailings, is very nice to the customers that come into the stores.. all of the "default" marketing strategies, but nothing "out of the box".
I'm just trying to do my job here, and Google AdWords is FAR from an investment. Hell I'll put in the $5 for the setup fee if things are that tight.
Oh one of his other excuses is "who looks at the blue boxes to the right when they search?" -- Someone must apparently or Google would have stopped offering those little blue boxes a long time ago. ;)
But I dunno, logic doesn't kick into his head, he needs more of the facts and the straight reason from the top guy, or the information is useless.
*shrug* -- any ideas on how to expand his horizons?
Michael Merlina
Tell him to read here.
We have a client with #3 in the SERPS at Google and avg 1.4 position in adwords for the same KW that sells $60,000+ per mo from adwords.
It is like insurance ;)
May be others who have tried it on regular basis have different results.
Good luck!
Would you mind disclosing what type of company/industry you're talking about? Like, what are they selling?
Thanks!
Michael Merlina
I don’t think it’s the website, it’s a very simple to use website. I’m pretty confused about the result too. We were definitely expecting a result.
As I said maybe this is not a typical example.
If you sell based on your listings in normal serps, you can sell using adwords too.
Hey Mike, I think I will send him along to this forum. Hopefully he actually reads and gains some knowledge of other AdWords' users.
One way or another though, thanks for all your help. I will try and let you know how things work out for him/us.
Thanks again,
Michael Merlina
If your Google visitors are doing that poorly, chances are your so-called "free" visitors aren't buying at a very fast clip, either. I'd look into site usability issues, pricing, etc. A good traffic analyzer will help you understand how visitors navigate your site. There are ROI tracking tools that will help evaluate the performance of our PPC ads and other sources, but your problem sounds more fundamental to me.
It's also possible your Adwords weren't well enough targeted - for example, I work with one client who has a keyword that is used by an unrelated industry. We either have to skip that keyword, or make the Adword text super-clear to minimize unwanted clicks.
Get the stats on how many competitors are doing it, etc. FUD is a great motivator.
However, there's nothing wrong if the guy isn't ambitious or is already making enough money.
But, if you don't act now, you could be overtaken and left behind (FUD).
I think, however, that one of the common frustrations felt around here are clients who are unwilling to accept the prescription and take our recommended course of action.
BTW, is he also averse to offline ads?
No he actually runs a couple ads in some local smaller newspaper. We're in the Boston area, he skips newspaper like the Boston GLobe and Herald, and sticks with smaller establishments.
He also just sent out a "mass mailing" to the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, which is probably about 1,600 companies or so. We packaged up a nice letter and some literature, stamped it and sent it on its way. I'm not too sure how much of a response he's seen from it.. I'm the web guy, my first boss is the marketing manager, she'd have a better idea than I would.
I also know he's in the chamber of commerce, and does some pretty standard advertising schemes. Like I said nothing really "out of the box". I don't really consider AdWords and cost per click, out of the box anymore, but it's still a new technology in the web field.
I think his whole problem is his outlook on the web. The web, unlike "real life" changes every day. He needs to be able to keep up with the new technologies and run with his competitors.
It's simple for him to bring people in off the streets, he parks his big ugly truck at the corner with his logo slapped on it, and we're the only small local computer store in like a 10 mile radius. Hey that was simple.
On the web it's a little different.. he won't open his eyes and he's asking ME why we're not generating any online sales. I wanna clock him. ;)
Michael Merlina
and does some pretty standard advertising schemes.
AdWords is advertising. That's all it is. The only difference with offline and online is that, depending on your product/service, online can be way cheaper.
Although for local services, I'm not sure how effective AdWords is going to be.
he's not really focusing only on the local community. We have a normal daily shipping routine that happens here. We probably make 1-2 sales per day online, and maybe 25-30 on a decent day in-house.
His main concern is trying to move into the web, keep his current local customers, but lean towards targetting at online orders and such.
That's what he says anyway, how he comes across is completely different. Actions speak louder than words in this case. He says he wants more online sales, he says he wants to do more with the web, but then he won't fork over the money to do web advertising and marketing.
He has a marketing department that sits around all day thinking of new ways to revolutionize the company on the web, but he doesn't go with any of the ideas because they cost money!
I feel like hanging myself some days. The marketing team here can't do their jobs because the guy with the checkbook has the darn thing bolted shut! ;)
Some tips though, go focused, not general. Don't try to get people to your site with broad words at first. If you are trying to show it works, find one item on your site that sells well and do your research on how people are looking it up (wordtracker trial and overture suggestion tool). Find the misspellings and variations. Think of all the things people might call it. Prove your case with that one ad. Go more general once you have the funding to back up your claim. For example, in your case, you might want to focus on a name brand power tool as your proving ground as opposed to the word "hardware". That way when sales for that item go up, you (and the boss) will know it was your adword ads.
