Google dominates the search engine world, commanding 87% of the U.S. search market, and its predominance has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, the search goliath’s near monopoly of the market has drawn increased scrutiny from Congress, setting off a round of antitrust hearings, similar to Microsoft’s same battle in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, as volume continues to grow, many business owners are complaining that costs for the search terms they rely on have shot through the roof, landing them in an uncomfortable Catch-22: in a pandemic you’re looking to cut costs wherever you can, but without Google, how do you drum up new business?
There’s no other option than to pay up, right? Maybe not.
Fair shakes to Google, they did hand out $340 million in ad credits to SMEs at the height of the pandemic, and obviously PPC campaigns are a lifesaver for millions of small businesses.
The advantages of a well-run PPC campaign are indisputable – if you have the resources. But for B2B, is Google really the only option for you?
We’ll take a look at the alternatives in a minute. But first, let’s explore the potential downsides of putting all your eggs in the Google basket.
Downsides to PPC Campaigns
PPC Campaigns are Not Cheap: On average, a SME can expect to pay $108,000-$110,000 per year on their Google Ads campaign. And that’s just for ad spend alone. Factor in the time and skill level needed to effectively run such a campaign, whether in-house or outsourced, and you’ll see those costs head even higher.
As search terms become more competitive, you may need to spend more. If you don’t have the dough, you might have to lower your bids, which gives your competitors an advantage.
Setting up a Really Good Campaign is Challenging: Google has done what it can to make the process easy, but try setting up an effective campaign from scratch and suddenly you’re down a rabbit hole of online technical forums, sifting through an avalanche of “best practices,” and desperately trying to interpret the advice of chatbots.
But let’s say you’ve set up a really good campaign. You’re all done and you can just let the sales roll in, right? Not exactly, which brings us to our next point:
Manual PPC Campaigns Require Constant Care: PPC campaigns cannot be left alone. They are moving targets that must be observed constantly, or you could be wasting a lot of money.
Bids have to be adjusted, keywords refined and tested, different strategies explored, and new ad formats implemented in order to stay fresh and competitive. But let’s say you don’t have the time for that. Not surprisingly, Google has a solution for that too: the Smart Campaign.
But how effective are these campaigns with very niche products like yours?
Google’s Smart Campaigns Might Not Be Smart Enough for Your Product: Over the past several years Google has been on a mission to automate wherever possible, using machine learning to automate bidding, geo targeting, ad creation and more. Google Smart Campaigns can be a great alternative for businesses with minimal resources looking to jump into Ads.
These campaigns can do amazing things, like create ads for you based on the information on your website.
But industrial companies produce a lot of niche products. Some are very, very niche. Take, for instance, Fuller, Inc. in Warwick, RI. This manufacturer makes countersinks, counterbores, plug cutter, step, brad point & taper point drills & cutting tools.
Or Mid-West Instrument in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which makes differential pressure gages, switches, transmitters & backflow test kits.
That’s really niche.
And for these businesses, Google’s automated campaigns may not effectively convey the key technical terms and qualities that your typical industrial buyer is on the hunt for. You could run the risk of the campaign creating confusing ad copy or bidding on broader match terms that will cost more but not necessarily lead to clicks that convert.
Imagine if a smart campaign for Mid-West Instrument bid on a term like “test kits.” This company might find itself paying for all kinds of pointless clicks.
By the time you realize that you may have thrown down some serious dough. Maybe it’s time to give Google a call and sort this thing out. But wait.
No one’s answering the Google phone (at least for now): Over the past few years, Google has begun outsourcing its customer support, resulting in some customers being very frustrated with the diminished quality of its customer support.
Amid coronavirus, the Google Ads support line apparently is not taking calls from customers, relying instead on electronic communications like chatbots. We called their customer service line to confirm this, and sure enough, we received an automated message stating that they are not taking calls due to COVID-19.
A Search Engine Designed for Your Best Customers
Are we saying you shouldn’t advertise with Google? Of course not. But in a competitive niche vertical like manufacturing, it may be worth your while to supplement your existing campaigns with advertising on search engines that are dedicated to the industrial world.
Think of it this way: you have a sign outside your place of business that identifies your company’s name and function. But you don’t stop there and hope for the best, right? You also go to trade shows and conferences and join specific industry groups online.
Why? Because although you want the world at large to know who you are, you also want to engage with a group that is directly invested in your niche.
Related: Trade Show Alternatives in the Wake of Coronavirus Cancellations
With Google ads, your company is showcased to a wider world, but for B2B, much of that world just isn’t relevant for you. Your clicks could come from a PhD student doing research or a hobbyist searching for wood cutting tools or someone just looking for a job. Which means you could be wasting money on fruitless clicks.
But clicks from a directory-style site like IndustryNet that caters to a specific type of audience, are in a sense pre-qualified.
With a massive social media platform, advertising campaigns, and longstanding reputation in the manufacturing world, IndustryNet brings the traffic that matters directly to you.
When industrial buyers are looking for products, parts or services, they might search on Google, but they are more likely to hop on a site like IndustryNet.
Why? Because sites like this know what’s important to the industrial buyer. For example, visitors to IndustryNet can search by very specific supplier categories (like counterbores or backflow test kits) and filter further by location, ISO standards and ownership type.
They can view a company’s catalog or photo library, access social media links, read their blog posts and even send a request-for-quote directly from the site. They know IndustryNet is a self-contained world designed for them, providing the information they need without the clutter of a typical search results page.
For all of these reasons, IndustryNet brings in 1.1 million visitors per year, with 3.9 million searches across 11,000 product and service categories.
IndustryNet also addresses the unique needs of its advertisers in the industrial world by providing a dedicated space for each advertiser to shine. Although your Google ad lets you raise a hand in a crowd of many, an IndustryNet listing gives you the entire floor -- for a fraction of the cost.
Your listing page can include a company logo, photos and videos; social media links, product catalogs, direct links to your website, including specific product categories on your site and more.
IndustryNet also goes beyond simple digital advertising to meet the industrial marketing needs of its clients, providing publishing opportunities on the popular IndustryNet blog, exposure through its weekly newsletter, social media platforms and more – all for a cost of less than one percent of a typical Google Ads campaign.
And since IndustryNet is powered by real people, our expert team will assist you every step of the way, by phone, email, or chat.
To learn more about how directory-style listings can help maximize your marketing budget, your exposure and, most importantly, your profits, explore IndustryNet’s marketing solutions.
