Is AdWords Express Too Good To Be True?

In the digital age, business owners who are smart about their advertising are familiar with Google AdWords. It is a powerful tool that can be very profitable, but is also complicated and daunting for a novice. Enter Google’s solution: AdWords Express, a stripped-down and simplified version of Google AdWords.

AdWords Express allows users to set up and have ads displaying in Google in as little as 10 minutes; write your ad copy, set your budget, and the rest is managed by them. This can sound enticing to a business owner, especially if you’re just getting started and/or have limited time to manage a campaign. However, this convenience comes with many compromises, many of which can hurt your business instead of help it.

Lack of Control Over Keywords

In an attempt to make managing a PPC campaign easier, AdWords Express takes control of everything from keyword selection to match type. AdWords Express chooses keywords based on broad categories, and all keywords are broad match, which can cause ads to appear alongside irrelevant search queries. For example, a limo service using AdWords Express would likely have their ads appear in a search query for “airport shuttle,” a service that is sometimes offered for free. Traditional AdWords provides the option for negative keywords to prevent this from occurring, which is not available in AdWords Express.

No Direct Control Over Cost Per Click

Many of the options in AdWords Express are based on assumptions, and budget is one of them. Because keywords are selected for you based on the categories selected during set up, there is a strong likelihood that you are paying for clicks that are irrelevant to your business. Combined with a lack of negative keywords, it is nearly guaranteed that your budget will be misspent.

Absence of Tracking and Targeting Options

Conversion is the goal of advertising, and traditional AdWords provides several tools to track various types of conversions (phone calls, form submissions, etc). AdWords Express only reports on ad clicks and impressions with no way to determine if it was converted to a lead or sale. This makes it difficult to see how successful your campaign is and what is drawing traffic.

Paid search campaigns are a major piece of any online marketing strategy, and while AdWords Express offers a seemingly convenient service, especially for novice users, it can do more harm than good. Contact Brawn Media today and let us set up and manage your campaign for you!