AdWords Express is the simplest way to advertise on Google. Putting together an ad and setting up your campaign takes just minutes. Google take care of everything else automatically, ensuring your ad is only shown to people looking for what you have to offer in the area that you operate.
Over the past decade the Google Adwords platform has grown in sophistication and complexity. This has offered unrivalled power for experienced PPC professionals to track cost per sale, and optimise every cent of their marketing budget to deliver the maximum return on investment.
This sophistication has come at the cost of simplicity. Google Adwords is no longer something that a small business can afford to do on an ad hoc basis. It takes a considerable amount of time to learn how to harness the power of the Adwords Engine, and apply this to a campaign
Enter Adwords Express. Adwords Express removes most of the complexity and controls from a campaign so you only need to worry about
- how much you want to spend per month;
- what key words you want to target and;
- which area you are targeting (within a 25km radius).
Where will your ads be shown?
AdWords Express ads can be shown in the following places:
- Google.com: AdWords Express ads can be shown above or next to Google.com search results.
- Google Maps: AdWords Express ads can be shown above Google Maps search results in the left hand panel. An organic Places listing can also appear in search results. Like all Adwords campaigns there it will have no bearing on your Organic showing in the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs).
To determine AdWords Express ad position, Google looks at both the advertiser’s bid and the quality score of the ad
How AdWords Express local targeting works
AdWords Express is designed to reach customers in your area who are looking for businesses like your clients. AdWords Express uses proximity targeting (also known as targeting a radius) to show the ad to people physically located near the business. In addition, we identify search terms to help reach customers who are searching for businesses in the area.
- Proximity targeting: With proximity targeting, your ads are targeted to people within a default 25 km radius around your business location. The default 15m radius helps ensures that you get sufficient traffic. Currently, the default radius can’t be edited in AdWords Express.
- Search terms: Even if a customer isn’t located within your target radius, he might include terms related to your location in his search, such as post codes or the name of nearby towns. We can identify locations in search terms to help you show your ads to the right customers. For example, let’s say that you own a furniture store in Edinburgh. A potential customer in Busselton is shopping for a sofa in Bunbury. If he searches for “furniture store in Bunbury”, your ad may appear for his search.
AdWords Express vs. AdWords Comparison
AdWords Express | AdWords | |
Keywords | Pick relevant business categories with pre-selected keywords | Select individual keywords, match types, and negative keywords |
Bidding | Monthly budgets and automated bidding | Advanced budgeting and bidding functionality |
Reach | Show ads in the local area, generally around a 25km radius | Show ads locally, regionally, or globally |
Ad Format | Text ads shown on desktop and mobile devices | All ad formats available including text, display, video |
Google Places | Places listing required | No Places listing needed |
Website | No website required | Website required |
Is Adwords Express right for you?
To answer this question you need to ask yourself the following three questions. If you can answer each with a yes, then chances are Adwords Express is a great first step for you.
- Is most of your clientelle local or in the local area?
- Is investing more than 5 hours a month of your time or a professional adwords resource out of the question?
- Is your online advertising budget under a few hundred dollars per month
[important]If you would like us to set up an Adwords Express campaign for you, we are offering a 1 hour consultation with our Google Adwords Certified Professional for a flat fee of $100. For comprehensive campaign management of Google Adwords by a Google Adwords & Analytics Certified Professional including set up of your analytics and conversion tracking, our rates start at around $500 per month. [/important]