Is Google AdWords too expensive for most businesses? – BRAD GEDDES | DMR #117

Today I’m pleased to be joined by the author of the most comprehensive and well-received book on Google AdWords in print - it’s called Advanced Google AdWords. Some of the brands that he’s worked with include Amazon, Yahoo, and Business.com. He’s the co-founder of Ad-Alysis - welcome to DMR, Brad Geddes! On this episode of Digital Marketing Radio we discuss  whether Google AdWords is to expensive for most businesses, with topics including: Is it really possible for a regular business to bring in lots of profitable traffic from Google AdWords nowadays - or is it much more difficult than it used to be? What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see companies making with Google AdWords campaigns? Is it more difficult for certain industries? What’s the secret behind achieving a great quality score? On a limited budget is it best to start with exact match keywords, or are there other just as effective ways to get going? Should a business use specialist landing page pages from companies like Unbounce or is a regular website OK? What are the best things to split test? [Tweet ""If your site doesn't convert you shouldn't spend any money on paid search." @bgtheory"] Software I couldn't live without What software do you currently use in your business that if someone took away from you, it would significantly impact your marketing success? AdWords Editor [PPC Ad Editor] Bing Editor [PPC Ad Editor] Excel [Microsoft spreadsheet software] AdAlysis [Ad testing] Windows Live Writer [Blogging tool] What software don't you use, but you've heard good things about, and you've intended to try at some point in the near future? Marin [PPC campaign management software] My number 1 takeaway What's the single most important step from our discussion that our listeners need to take away and implement in their businesses? Ensure your website converts for traffic you send it. It doesn't matter what your medium is. Email's great. Social's great. SEO is great. Paid search is great. If your website can't convert it, who cares?