Is Google Harassing You To Increase Your Advertising Spend?

Google now achieves billions of searches every single day, making it without doubt, the world’s leading search engine.

So, with the search market effectively cornered, and most of the planet seemingly online at any given time, businesses are only too aware that featuring in Google searches can be central to getting their brand in front of their target audience.

The real problem though, is that with high competition, many operators know just how difficult it can be to rank organically (that is for FREE). In many cases they also feel ill-equipped, under-skilled or lacking in know-how to effectively manage online marketing in-house.

Not surprisingly, this situation has not escaped the attention of the people at Google! And as many Google Account owners may have noticed recently, Google would really like you to know that they have a solution to your online visibility needs: Google Ads.

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What is Google Ads and do I want it?

Google Ads is Google’s well-known and widely used online marketing tool. It is a paid service which can guarantee businesses a place at the top of online search results. While a paid search listing will be flagged as an ad, in all other respects it looks much the same as the organic search results that appear beneath it.

Although marketers tend to agree that a paid advertisement is likely not as valuable or effective as a high-ranking organic search result, knowing that their brand will be seen above others is still a desirable outcome for many businesses, and Google understands this.

Whether or not you opt to invest any of your marketing budget into Google Ads will obviously come down to your own particular cost benefit analysis. To do this, you will need to identify and document exactly where your leads come from so that you have the best possible understanding of where to focus your attention for a successful marketing campaign.

If a Google Ads campaign is done well, by someone skilled with a strong understanding of your business, it can ultimately increase leads, conversions and sales, and be worth the outlay for some businesses. However, as with any marketing strategy, coming out on top depends on many factors.

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Google account strategists

As a business owner, you may have noticed an increase in phone calls or emails from agents representing Google Ads. Known as Google account strategists, these people work for companies that are third party contractors to Google, and they are there to entice you to buy into a Google Ads campaign, managed by them.

A quick Google search reveals that in many cases, these contractors can be very persistent. Coupled with the obvious fact that these agents are not direct employees of Google, business operators of all kinds are beginning to get curious.

So, what is going on? Why does Google outsource this task?

In fact, there are several reasons why Google might choose to engage contractors over appointing additional employees to carry out this particular work.

Keeping costs down and maximising business flexibility

A distinguishing feature of any field that is tech or internet related, is that it is in a perpetual state of innovation and transformation as it continues to expand into new areas of our lives. So, for a multinational tech company like Google, its operations, focus and goals will necessarily be dynamic, transforming rapidly over time.

For this reason, while companies such as Google will always require a comprehensive, highly skilled staff to achieve core strategies and business goals, and maintain growth and direction, it makes financial sense to utilise independent contractors to deliver certain projects along the way.

Using Online Sales Contractors in certain circumstances enables the company to expand and contract as necessary over time, far more easily than would be the case if it relied on in-house employees for every task. This service is also available to small businesses by utilising an experienced Virtual Assistant.

Using contractors for these types of projects, the company can maintain flexibility to respond to changing circumstances, both internal and external, while at the same time keeping staff costs down. Rather than receiving a wage or an hourly rate from Google, the contractor earns through creating a job for themselves, while Google wins through increased advertising revenue.

Appearance of independent endorsement

Another incidental positive of using contractors to perform this task is that there is potential for some businesses to perceive it as a sort of independent validation of the product. That is, Google doesn’t need to push it for themselves, because other companies whose sole focus is to increase your sales, are seemingly clambering to do it for them.

Should you pick up the phone?

Ultimately, whether or not you choose to engage a Google Ads strategist is up to you, but always do your homework before making a decision.

First, you need to make sure that it is in fact a legitimate Google representative. To ensure they are legitimate, ask them to send you an email from their google.com email address, and to include your customer ID.

After this, you should think about whether or not you actually need this kind of help. Understanding where your leads come from, identifying the richest sources, tracking sales pipelines, knowing the tools you need, and writing effective copy can seem daunting, but in many cases you can learn these skills yourself.

You may not consider yourself an expert in anaylitics, however, you know your business better than anyone, and there are plenty of free resources available to help you excel. So, take the time to inform yourself first.

Risks to consider

If you feel that you are in a financial position to run a Google Ads campaign, always remember that an Ads professional who understands your needs and the nature of your business is best placed to make effective campaign decisions that will deliver relevant and valuable results.

While an anonymous strategist that has cold-called you may have some helpful suggestions, and will likely be an expert in the Google Ads platform, there is always the possibility that they will not have similar expertise with your particular business. Remember that a deep knowledge of your business is key to marketing success.

Strategists are also randomly assigned, so while you may have excellent experiences with a representative one quarter, it may be quite the opposite in the following quarter if a new representative is assigned.

Remember also, that in many cases the driving motivation for these strategists is to obtain as many accounts as possible, rather than to truly understand your business and create campaigns that deliver meaningful results to you. In this case campaign data analysis of campaigns may not be prioritised, and you can’t be sure that the campaigns you’re paying for are value for money.

If it doesn’t work out for you, and your representative does not achieve promised or adequate results, it can also be quite difficult to navigate any consequent dispute or to recoup money you have invested.

So, the best way to manage your marketing campaigns is to become an expert yourself, so that you know you are in the best possible position to make effective decisions.