I have had no success with Google AdWords. I get most of my clients from referrals of happy past clients. Some new clients come from facebook, but mostly from prior clients.
Google Ad Words is only a piece in an ever growing marketing puzzle. Do you have a lead generating funnel setup? What about sales funnels? How are you marketing now?
The problem is that todays marketing is no longer the radio, newspaper and tv ads of yesterday. Today we have social media marketing, Pay Per Click, Content Marketing, Video Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and proximity marketing.
What we do with our clients is sit down with them first to find out what it is that they are trying to provide to their clients. Than we structure a marketing funnel to get in front of their new potential clients as well as reinvigorate past clients.
I get calls like this all the time and it is not a simple answer. You need to look at your complete marketing funnel and see how well it is working for you. Message me if you would like I can look at what you are doing and give you some ideas NO CHARGE!
It can be effective, but you'll want a website before you start thinking about advertising. Google would drive traffic to ... where? Your facebook page? Better would be your own website with a strong call to action.
Yes. Networking, referrals by existing customers is also appropriate, if you like to network. networking isn't worthwhile for every type of business. Being a resource for quotes in local papers is beneficial in proving authority and likeability. So consider PR campaign and gather email addresses for keeping in touch with prospects and clients. Compose 30 second reads that yo ca send weekly that your customers will appreciate.
So some of these are shoe string marketing. Shoe string though means you have to invest your time! Nothing is easy or free in business and marketing. Except for this advise.
Placing an ad on fb or google is not a guarantee to work. It's still marketing and you still need to understand how to do it. Someone claiming success of one network over the other means they don't understand how to promote on the one they were less successful. For example, fb gives you a lot of tools to help you, but you still need some understanding on how to market. My opinion is that you might as well go with the statistics to help you the most, which is Google. Their click-through rate is still x4 higher than facebook. Fb still has click-bot issues and fixed pricing to click plans. At least Google has a greater reach and gives you transparent ad plans to which you can decide how much over the competition you want to go for, different ad plans for different times/seasons, etc. Way more powerful.
Business from Fairfax, VA
Answered on Jan 29th, 2018
I find the best way to get new clients is to get out there and talk to other business owners. Networking groups are very successful and cost-effective for me.
Unfortunately I cannot answer your questions because I am neither an accountant nor a C.P.A. My consultancy work is providing Ad-Valorem real property tax abatement for property owners who feel that their county Property Appraiser is unfairly assessing their property. I represent them before a Special Magistrate for a contingency fee. 29 years in the business
I have little to no success with Google AdWords. I have found that a strong Facebook presence, networking and a small amount of advertising in the local paper has been effective. Networking referrals accounted for 40% of new growth in 2016-2017. Facebook advertising and social media along with LinkedIn accounted for just short of 30% of our new clients, while the balance came from local newspaper advertising and client referrals made up the balance of our growth.
The key is to know your target market, what the demographics are and to design your marketing program to that. For example, you need to approach a metro market much differently than a suburban or rural market. Is your target market younger, middle aged or more mature individuals. Are you looking for tax business or accounting business. All these have a play in how you approach your marketing program. In some cases, as with the metro and younger market, Google AdWords is very effective. Not so much with the more older and rural markets.
Google adwords is effective if managed and optimized properly.
The pros to adwords:
Quickly on page 1 for the terms you are targeting (usually around one week).
You can geo-target and time target when your ads show up.
You can quickly drop an ad (seasonal)
You can quickly start a new one
The cons:
It's pay per click. Considering the cost per click and your daily budget you could spend your daily budget in a hour or 5.
Competitors / unhappy customers / nasty people could click on it just to run up your costs. Google does notice a pattern so they can't kill your budget completely, but can still crimp it a decent amount.
It is not cheap. I have no idea what your budget is but plan on several hundred dollars a month. And to really give Adwords a chance, a minimum of 3 month commitment.
Approximately 80% of people ignore adwords ads.
Alternative:
LOCAL SEO.
Pros:
By far the cheapest way to consistently land new customers.
The expense is set per month.
Expose yourself to the 80% that skip adwords ads.
On page 1 of Google for HUNDREDS of keyword phrases (if done right & by us :D). We have a number of customers in the top 10 800 to 1400 times! Proof at https://localseoservices.biz
Cons:
Takes about 6 months for SEO to "kick in"
Platforms like Wix, Weebly, 1&1, GoDaddy website builder, & some, maybe even many Franchisee sites, don't allow for good on page SEO. Honestly don't waste your money on SEO if you use any of these platforms. Move your site to WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Expression Engine (if setup optimally) or HTML5.
What some of our customers do is run both at the same time. After the SEO "kicks in" they scale down their adwords expense with many stopping it completely.
P)lease feel free to contact me if you would like to pick my meager brain!
It may be cost productive but remember you get what you pay for. Also, make sure your website is inviting and mobile friendly. I find that blogging if far more important in generating interest in your business. Also, I recommend getting involved in local groups and community events where you develop relationships which can lead to more business and future referrals .
Join Your Local
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Answers (1-10)
I have had no success with Google AdWords. I get most of my clients from referrals of happy past clients. Some new clients come from facebook, but mostly from prior clients.
Google Ad Words is only a piece in an ever growing marketing puzzle. Do you have a lead generating funnel setup? What about sales funnels? How are you marketing now?
The problem is that todays marketing is no longer the radio, newspaper and tv ads of yesterday. Today we have social media marketing, Pay Per Click, Content Marketing, Video Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and proximity marketing.
What we do with our clients is sit down with them first to find out what it is that they are trying to provide to their clients. Than we structure a marketing funnel to get in front of their new potential clients as well as reinvigorate past clients.
I get calls like this all the time and it is not a simple answer. You need to look at your complete marketing funnel and see how well it is working for you. Message me if you would like I can look at what you are doing and give you some ideas NO CHARGE!
It can be effective, but you'll want a website before you start thinking about advertising. Google would drive traffic to ... where? Your facebook page? Better would be your own website with a strong call to action.
Yes. Networking, referrals by existing customers is also appropriate, if you like to network. networking isn't worthwhile for every type of business. Being a resource for quotes in local papers is beneficial in proving authority and likeability. So consider PR campaign and gather email addresses for keeping in touch with prospects and clients. Compose 30 second reads that yo ca send weekly that your customers will appreciate.
So some of these are shoe string marketing. Shoe string though means you have to invest your time! Nothing is easy or free in business and marketing. Except for this advise.
Placing an ad on fb or google is not a guarantee to work. It's still marketing and you still need to understand how to do it. Someone claiming success of one network over the other means they don't understand how to promote on the one they were less successful. For example, fb gives you a lot of tools to help you, but you still need some understanding on how to market. My opinion is that you might as well go with the statistics to help you the most, which is Google. Their click-through rate is still x4 higher than facebook. Fb still has click-bot issues and fixed pricing to click plans. At least Google has a greater reach and gives you transparent ad plans to which you can decide how much over the competition you want to go for, different ad plans for different times/seasons, etc. Way more powerful.
I find the best way to get new clients is to get out there and talk to other business owners. Networking groups are very successful and cost-effective for me.
Hi Darryl
Unfortunately I cannot answer your questions because I am neither an accountant nor a C.P.A. My consultancy work is providing Ad-Valorem real property tax abatement for property owners who feel that their county Property Appraiser is unfairly assessing their property. I represent them before a Special Magistrate for a contingency fee. 29 years in the business
I have little to no success with Google AdWords. I have found that a strong Facebook presence, networking and a small amount of advertising in the local paper has been effective. Networking referrals accounted for 40% of new growth in 2016-2017. Facebook advertising and social media along with LinkedIn accounted for just short of 30% of our new clients, while the balance came from local newspaper advertising and client referrals made up the balance of our growth.
The key is to know your target market, what the demographics are and to design your marketing program to that. For example, you need to approach a metro market much differently than a suburban or rural market. Is your target market younger, middle aged or more mature individuals. Are you looking for tax business or accounting business. All these have a play in how you approach your marketing program. In some cases, as with the metro and younger market, Google AdWords is very effective. Not so much with the more older and rural markets.
Hope that helps. Good Luck this season.
Google adwords is effective if managed and optimized properly.
The pros to adwords:
Quickly on page 1 for the terms you are targeting (usually around one week).
You can geo-target and time target when your ads show up.
You can quickly drop an ad (seasonal)
You can quickly start a new one
The cons:
It's pay per click. Considering the cost per click and your daily budget you could spend your daily budget in a hour or 5.
Competitors / unhappy customers / nasty people could click on it just to run up your costs. Google does notice a pattern so they can't kill your budget completely, but can still crimp it a decent amount.
It is not cheap. I have no idea what your budget is but plan on several hundred dollars a month. And to really give Adwords a chance, a minimum of 3 month commitment.
Approximately 80% of people ignore adwords ads.
Alternative:
LOCAL SEO.
Pros:
By far the cheapest way to consistently land new customers.
The expense is set per month.
Expose yourself to the 80% that skip adwords ads.
On page 1 of Google for HUNDREDS of keyword phrases (if done right & by us :D). We have a number of customers in the top 10 800 to 1400 times! Proof at https://localseoservices.biz
Cons:
Takes about 6 months for SEO to "kick in"
Platforms like Wix, Weebly, 1&1, GoDaddy website builder, & some, maybe even many Franchisee sites, don't allow for good on page SEO. Honestly don't waste your money on SEO if you use any of these platforms. Move your site to WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Expression Engine (if setup optimally) or HTML5.
What some of our customers do is run both at the same time. After the SEO "kicks in" they scale down their adwords expense with many stopping it completely.
P)lease feel free to contact me if you would like to pick my meager brain!
It may be cost productive but remember you get what you pay for. Also, make sure your website is inviting and mobile friendly. I find that blogging if far more important in generating interest in your business. Also, I recommend getting involved in local groups and community events where you develop relationships which can lead to more business and future referrals .