Google’s search results pages are now largely comprised of paid advertisements from Google Adwords’ search campaigns. For many businesses, PPC has become an essential part of their business’ marketing strategy. However, these text ads are solely beneficial for businesses that are currently open. So what’s the alternative for businesses that haven’t opened yet and are looking to spread awareness?
Preparing for your business’ opening should emphasize boosting its name recognition. Using a search campaign for this purpose would be a complete waste of money, seeing as text ads excel more at driving conversions than spreading awareness. Therefore, the best use of Google AdWords for spreading awareness for your business is to run a display campaign.
On a limited budget, a display campaign can reach a significant audience. By selecting towns and cities that are the most relevant to your business, along with different “placements” (websites), you can customize exactly where and to whom you’d like your ads to appear. You can also allow Google to decide where your ads should appear by targeting different interests. For example, if you’re planning on opening a sports equipment store, you can choose “Sports” as an interest you’re targeting.
Once you select your audience and budget, the next step involves creating your ads. In these ads, include your business’ location, phone number (if already set up), and opening date. While these ads won’t yield a ton of traffic to your website, they will reach a wide audience. During this time, you should also be increasing your online presence by building your social media following (Facebook ads are a great way to get people to ‘like’ your page), as well as promoting your business with fliers and advertisements in your geographic location.
Once your business opens, launching a search campaign is the next step. This will allow your business to maintain a top spot in search results pages. Depending on your available budget, having both a search and display campaign run simultaneously can be incredibly beneficial. As long as your business is open, display campaigns can be a great way to promote specials and limited deals your business may be running.