Using AdWords to advertise detail business?

LuckyDetailer

LuckyDetailer

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Hello folks,
Anyone out there used AdWords by Google to advertise their business? I started a campaign a week ago and have a $10 a day budget. I'm getting about 7 clicks a day but have not received one call from it. My prices are competitive and I've been told my web site is easy to navigate.
My concern is this. Has anyone heard of local competitors clicking on your ad to max out your daily budget? I was told this can be a problem sometimes.
Obviously it adds up quick and if I don't get any business from it soon I think I'm going to cancel the service.
Just wondering if anyone else has had success with it??
Thanks,
OwenFeed back please
 
I spent 350 in 2 weeks not one call...just saying. It's like 3.60 per click here.
 
I was interested in this too but haven't jumped yet. If you search the internet there's $100 coupon codes for adwords floating around.
 
ShineTimeDetail said:
I spent 350 in 2 weeks not one call...just saying. It's like 3.60 per click here.
Click to expand...

You need to adjust your spending. I have a free $100 for Adwords pay about .75cents a click. My ad has already in the thousands of views and about after 2 weeks only cost me about $20
 
LuckyDetailer said:
Hello folks,
Anyone out there used AdWords by Google to advertise their business? I started a campaign a week ago and have a $10 a day budget. I'm getting about 7 clicks a day but have not received one call from it. My prices are competitive and I've been told my web site is easy to navigate.
My concern is this. Has anyone heard of local competitors clicking on your ad to max out your daily budget? I was told this can be a problem sometimes.
Obviously it adds up quick and if I don't get any business from it soon I think I'm going to cancel the service.
Just wondering if anyone else has had success with it??
Thanks,
OwenFeed back please
Click to expand...

I would adjust your budget. I have my spending limit on $3 a day. Adwords is a way to get customers to your website, may not always pull clients but at least they know about you. Also if your getting clicks and no calls Try revising your ad saying something like, "$10 off if you mention this ad". Don't rely just on ad words for your advertising. Many other options
 
craz0boy said:
I would adjust your budget. I have my spending limit on $3 a day. Adwords is a way to get customers to your website, may not always pull clients but at least they know about you. Also if your getting clicks and no calls Try revising your ad saying something like, "$10 off if you mention this ad". Don't rely just on ad words for your advertising. Many other options
Click to expand...
F that. sounds like BS. You guys are spending money you aren't gonna get back. Google makes the money, not you. Because 1000's of prospective businesses pay the cash and do nothing. Google laughs all the way to the bank. I can't believe people fall for this stuff.

Btw, I paid $200 a month for yellow pages. I barely broke even. (maybe even lost) People don't give a sh*t about yellow pages.

Why not advertise on the yellow pages? While you're at it, I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
 
LuckyDetailer said:
Hello folks,
Anyone out there used AdWords by Google to advertise their business?
Click to expand...

I have used AdWords with incredible success to advertise my business. In fact, it is my primary avenue for marketing. Since I am part time I need something that I can scale to fit the needs of my schedule. With AdWords I can turn it on, book some jobs, and then turn it off so I'm not wasting money on needless clicks or calls about jobs that I have no more room to schedule.

I started a campaign a week ago and have a $10 a day budget. I'm getting about 7 clicks a day but have not received one call from it. My prices are competitive and I've been told my web site is easy to navigate.
Click to expand...

How are you tracking this? Do you ask people if they found you on Google? Your prices in comparison to your competitor's actually matter very little to your AdWords campaign's success. You are assuming that everyone shops around, which isn't always the case.

What really matters is the impact of your ad text in comparison to your competitor's and the call to action on your landing page. Having an incentive to book with you RIGHT NOW via an expiring sale price, limited availability, convenience, or whatever you choose to create a sense of urgency is the only way to convert clicks to calls to sales. If there is no reason for the customer to call you right now after they click your ad then your campaign will be a complete waste of money.

My concern is this. Has anyone heard of local competitors clicking on your ad to max out your daily budget? I was told this can be a problem sometimes.
Click to expand...

Yes, this can be a problem if you have some dishonest competitors in your area. Google actually has some pretty sophisticated methods to filter out fraudulent clicks. Keep in mind though, if this is a new campaign, many of your competitors WILL BE CLICKING your ad at first just to see who you are and what you are doing. These are considered legitimate clicks.

Obviously it adds up quick and if I don't get any business from it soon I think I'm going to cancel the service.
Click to expand...

Good idea. If you are not getting the results you want then you either need to redesign some core components of the campaign (ad text, landing page, call to action, budget, ad network, ad schedule, etc.) or simply pull the plug.

Just wondering if anyone else has had success with it??
Thanks,
OwenFeed back please
Click to expand...

I made a guide a while back with some of the basics everyone should know when starting up a campaign on AdWords. Check it out if you want.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum.../50415-adwords-marketing-guide-detailers.html

I have seen campaigns fail miserably for no apparent reason and others explode with success. Sometimes the market is just hyper-competitive and doesn't make financial sense when paying per click. This is when other creative AdWords campaigns can be used such as paying per impression and simply building your brand awareness (This is a whole separate discussion though and this post is already getting out of control, lol).

I hope you find this information helpful.
 
Toy_Cam_Ed said:
F that. sounds like BS. You guys are spending money you aren't gonna get back. Google makes the money, not you. Because 1000's of prospective businesses pay the cash and do nothing. Google laughs all the way to the bank. I can't believe people fall for this stuff.

Btw, I paid $200 a month for yellow pages. I barely broke even. (maybe even lost) People don't give a sh*t about yellow pages.

Why not advertise on the yellow pages? While you're at it, I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you've have some bad experiences my friend. I advertise on yellow pages for free. I rather buy $200 worth of biz cards, flyers, ect,..
Only have spent $20 bucks out of my free $100 dollars for Ad words.
I've had already 9000 people view my ad. Even Auto Geek advertises with ad words.
Now a days, everyone is on the internet. Computers, laptops, phones, Ipads, ect,.. the more people you reach, more possible clients you can have.
You never know there could be that one high dollar client that clicks your ad... Im just giving my 2 cents on my personal experience. Not trying to argue here.
 
Adwords can bleed you dry if you don't know what you're doing and don't have your ads set up properly. It works great once you get your ads optimized along with your website.

If you are advertising locally, make sure your ads only show in the area you are advertising in. Make your sure landing page has the same keywords or description you are using in your google ad word campaign. If not, your cost per click rate will be high.


Make sure you set up multiple campaigns for different keywords. Don't group them all together, it will lower your ad score and cost you more per click.

It doesn't matter if they are all related to car detailing. In theory you should only have one keyword per ad. You can use multiple if they are very similar (hand car wash, hand car washes). I wouldn't put they keyword interior car detailing grouped with exterior car detailing - (for a lack of better keywords)

Also do not set up your keywords with " " unless you want your advertisement to show up no matter what someone types in containing those keywords.

I use [ ]. it allows you to target a much more specific user.. It may cost slightly more, but your ctr rate will be much better and so should your conversion rate.

granted you may already know some of this.

You can make money with ad words, but it will take some tweaking. I would also set up some a/b test methods. Write a few different ads for the same campaign/keywords and see which one has the higher click through rate. Then delete the one which doesn't. compare another two and so on..

Always keep it short, simple and to the point. Your ad should mention your keyword in the title and text and have a call to action.

I hope that his coherent.. I'm rushing, sorry!
 
Good advice! Also, search for google keyword generator tool. Use this to figure out which keywords get searched for the most. It will also tell you the level of competition for each keyword which directly relates to the cost per click.
 
Good replies guys. I've made an adjustment to my ad. Gonna give it one more shot. I have an advertising budget and as long as I'm not going over it I'm good. I've tried a few things, all with hit and miss success. Obviously word of mouth is always going to be the best tool but I want to take it to the next level. I'm realistic. I know this is not going to bring the customers coming in like wild fire. I'm just looking for a boost.
Good Luck all!!
Owen:dblthumb2:
 
craz0boy said:
Sounds like you've have some bad experiences my friend. I advertise on yellow pages for free. I rather buy $200 worth of biz cards, flyers, ect,..
Only have spent $20 bucks out of my free $100 dollars for Ad words.
I've had already 9000 people view my ad. Even Auto Geek advertises with ad words.
Now a days, everyone is on the internet. Computers, laptops, phones, Ipads, ect,.. the more people you reach, more possible clients you can have.
You never know there could be that one high dollar client that clicks your ad... Im just giving my 2 cents on my personal experience. Not trying to argue here.
Click to expand...
Didn't mean to go off like that, but after a couple drinks the thought of wasting $200 a month and the possibility of wasting more got me pissed off.

Btw, how do you get free yellow pages?
 
Nevermind, I just went to YP and signed up for free. Can't hurt I guess as long as it's free.
 
Toy_Cam_Ed said:
Nevermind, I just went to YP and signed up for free. Can't hurt I guess as long as it's free.
Click to expand...

Haha, I just did the same thing. I doubt it will bring me any discernable increase in business but it can't hurt. I can't remember the last time I used yellow pages for anything.

Sent from my LG-VM701 using AG Online
 
That's the problem with PPC. It can be jeopardized. I think PPI is better.
 
LolaJohnson said:
That's the problem with PPC. It can be jeopardized. I think PPI is better.
Click to expand...

I've never done Pay-Per-Impression (PPI). My only hesitation with PPI is that I don't really care how many times I show up on the search results. I care about people actually clicking to my site and booking an appointment. I bet if you put your phone number in the ad text, PPI would be a great way to do it!
 
Ok guys. Quick update on this. I canceled my account with AdWords and a couple days later received a call from them asking why. I explained that it was because I genuinely felt it was not worth the cost. They gave me $100 in credit to try again and gave me some tips on how to make it work better. I have since seen some response to it and have decided to keep it for now until my good work provides me with word of mouth business.
If you want to know. All I basically adjusted was the distance that my ad reached from me and the days and times it displays. In short, I only go about 20 miles out from my home and I stay away from "major" markets. In my area, that means i do not advertise in Fort Myers. Why? That area is FLOODED and the people pull up the ads and just call around until they find some hack to undercut everyone.
Hope this helps.
:dblthumb2:
 
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