Businesses that advertise on AdWords have likely received Google's emails on this subject. Google is moving all advertisers to "enhanced campaigns", and starting July 22, any older campaign that has not been switched will be upgraded automatically. The main change for small advertisers is that phone-only campaigns can no longer be run as before. Desktops and phones are combined, and bids for mobile are adjusted up or down from that baseline.
Google has also introduced a new Keyword Planner within the AdWords account. It replaces the free Keyword Tool that was widely used for keyword research. At the same time, in Analytics, a growing share of organic keyword data is being hidden behind "(not provided)".
As a result, several dive operators we work with are asking a straightforward question: with a small budget, should they invest in ads or in SEO?
What is the difference in timing between SEM and SEO?
In short, ads produce results immediately, while SEO produces results over the following year.
An ad can be live the same afternoon. If the keyword is well chosen and the landing page is adequate, a dive centre can receive an enquiry that evening. When payments stop, the results stop as well. Advertising is, in effect, rented attention.
SEO takes longer. A quality page about a course, a location or a service can take months to rank, and with "(not provided)" reducing the available data, it is becoming more difficult to determine which searches it ranks for. Once a page ranks, however, it continues to generate visits without a charge for each click. SEO builds an asset that the business owns.
Most small businesses need a combination of both. The most common error we observe is treating them as separate activities, managed by two people who do not coordinate, or by one person who manages the ads on Monday and does not review them again until the following month.
How can AdWords identify the keywords that convert?
This is currently the most valuable use of a small ad budget.
Organic data is shrinking. The AdWords account is one of the few remaining sources that show exactly which search led to which click. With conversion tracking in place, it also shows which click led to a booking or an enquiry. This information is extremely valuable: it reveals what people type when they are ready to buy, as distinct from what they type when they are simply browsing.
A dive centre might assume that "scuba diving Bali" is its most important search. Ad data often indicates otherwise. Longer, more specific searches are typed by fewer people, but those who use them are closer to booking: a course name, a location combined with a certification level, or a month. This can only be identified by paying for a few weeks of clicks and monitoring the results closely.
How should the test be run on a small budget?
- A small set of closely related keywords per ad group: five or ten, not fifty.
- Each ad directed to the page that answers the search, not to the homepage.
- Conversion tracking in place before any money is spent, covering forms sent and bookings made. If bookings are taken by phone, establish a method to count them as well, even a simple tally at the desk.
- A daily limit that the business can afford to lose.
- A weekly review of the search terms report. It shows what people actually typed, and the results are often unexpected.
With enhanced campaigns approaching, we also recommend reviewing the mobile bid adjustment carefully. Guests book from phones more often than many owners expect, but a phone click leading to a site that does not work on phones is money lost.
How do ad results improve SEO content?
Once you know which searches turn into bookings, you know which topics to write about. This is the connection between the two budgets that most businesses overlook.
If the ads consistently show that a particular course in a particular location converts, that course deserves its own page on your site: a complete page, with the details people need, written in the terms they use. Over time, that page can rank on its own, allowing you to reduce spending on the ad for that search. The savings can then fund the next test.
In this way, the ads identify the terms, and the content captures them at no ongoing cost. The cycle then repeats.
The process is gradual, but it turns advertising spending into research rather than money that disappears at the end of the month.
When should an ad be stopped?
We recommend stopping any ad that has not produced a booking within a month. Small businesses often find this rule difficult to apply, because it requires acknowledging that an approach did not work.
If a keyword or an ad has received a reasonable number of clicks over a month without producing a booking or an enquiry, stop it. Waiting for it to "warm up" is not advisable, nor is keeping it because it generates many clicks. Clicks are not the objective. An inexpensive click that never leads to a booking is still a cost.
The problem is sometimes the landing page rather than the keyword. Before stopping the ad, open the landing page on your phone and assess objectively whether you would book from it. If not, improve the page and allow one more month. If the page is satisfactory, the keyword is the problem, and it should be discontinued.
How should a small budget be allocated this year?
Begin with the free measures: a verified Google Places listing with real photos, and a website with a clear page for each product or service you sell. These form the foundation of local SEO and require time rather than advertising money. Next, allocate a small, closely monitored AdWords budget to identify which searches bring customers. Apply what you learn to the website, and promptly discontinue what does not perform.
For those unfamiliar with the ad auction, Google's explanation of how the ads work is worth ten minutes of reading before any spending. Ad quality matters as much as the bid, which many advertisers do not expect. For businesses that prefer to have the campaign set up and monitored with professional support, that is the purpose of proper AdWords management, which consists mainly of ongoing monitoring.
If only one approach could be chosen, we would recommend SEO, the slower of the two. Our recommendation, however, is to combine both.