A question we are constantly asked by our customers is: What is the difference between Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or AdWords, and Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO? Please download the following document to answer that question with a minimal amount of jargon and in an impartial way.

Can you get a client to enter your premises for $1? Can you get a client to visit or ring you from a mail campaign for $1? Can you get 300 visitors to your web site for a $300 ad in a paper? I can’t! With our Google™ AdWords service, our customers pay on average about one dollar to bring a visitor to their site, who is specifically looking for their products or services. I do not know any other way that you can get this type of potential customer.

We currently manage more than 3.4 million ads each week on Google in Australia. Last week we sent more than 40,000 customers to our clients’ websites! We did this with an average position of between 2 and 3 for all clients at the very top of Google search on every search, every hour of every day. It’s simple.

With Google AdWords, only the people who want your services click your ad, and are delivered to your website! We set a daily budget, so you never spend more than you want.

Would you like to know how your web site will get on the front page of Google - from just $25 per week? Call one of our AdWords Professionals on 1300 665 491 and get on the front page of Google search in 48 hours, at the position you need, and at the budget you can afford. It’s simple… it works!

Many people don’t protect their website name. If you don’t, what can go wrong? People might search for your business but misspell the name, use a close competitor name by mistake, or type e.g. www.hotgoana.com into a Google search bar instead of in the address bar at the top of their browser. Therefore, it is VITAL that you get those clients who KNOW YOUR NAME, to your website quickly and efficiently. The last thing you want is to not to be easily contacted by someone who has heard about you.

Over the past year, we have been running our own ads on various mixes of Hot Goanna. Hotgoanna, hotgoana, hot goana, www.hotgoana etc. These ads have cost us between 28c to 34 c for top position on page one. In that time we have received over 200, yes, 200 click throughs to our site. Also, before we trademarked Hot Goanna, we made sure that we had top spot on our own name, just to keep the competition at bay. It works. If you are loosing 200 clients who are looking for you each year, why would you not choose to bid on your name? It should be a part of every AdWords campaign for businesses.

Like to double your business overnight? You can! No, this is not a get rich quick scheme, its pure math.

Do me a favour, go to your business web site and find out the number of unique visitors that you received in 2007. A couple of tricks with this: you don’t want to look at “hits”, these are just file and image requests from visitors viewing pages on your site. Find the list of UNIQUE IP or IP Addresses. If you can only view these statistics monthly, then you need to add them all up.

Then, find your own IP address, it is probably the one with the most visits each month, as every time you or your staff view you web site, it counts as a visitor. Take this number away from the totals and you get a real idea of how many people came to your site last year.

Now, lets use some figures from a website as a reference for you to double your business this year. Last year this web site, less visits by staff, generated some 12,000 real visitors. These visitors came from the following means:

• Radio Advertising
• Newspaper Advertising
• Magazine Advertising
• Trade Show stands
• Algorithmic listings

As you can see, there was no PPC traffic, as this site did not use Google. So, we can see that all of these forms of advertising spend generated 2,400 visitors per month. The web site, in this case, generated 50% of the sales that this business enjoyed last year.

Our scenario, is to find another 12,000 visitors to the web site, over and above what they are achieving now. If we do that, then, ergo sum, we should see a mirror doubling of their sales directly from the web site.

If you look at our AdWords™ Calculator on the Hot Goanna web site, you will see that if we budget $1 for each click, then we can see that it will cost $12,000 for this firm to double their visitors for a year. If the web site continues to perform at its historical levels, and if the quality of the visitors from Google AdWords is the same as their traditional marketing responses, then this business will double their sales this year.

Can you do it? Yes you can (apologies to Bob the Builder, I borrowed that line)

So, your new years resolution is simple. Count your visitors from last year, tally up your sales from website visitors, then use Google AdWords to double your visitors. All the indications are that search and online commerce will grow in Australia by more than 20% this year. Are you ready to cash in? If not, then you will see your market shrink as more of your competitors take up Google AdWords™ with Hot Goanna™, Australia’s Authorised Google AdWords Reseller.

by Mark Tull, Hot Goanna

Or are you divorced from Google? You might be engaged to Google or even married to Google. What am I talking about? Well, all online business sites in Australia fall into 4 categories:

1. Never used Google AdWords (Virgins)
2. Have tried AdWords and failed (Divorced)
3. Currently using AdWords, probably self managed, but not convinced it is working (Engaged) or
4. Client of a good PPC Management Company and constantly improving sales with Google AdWords (Married).

I would like to discuss briefly the pros and cons of each level of commitment you make to your online sales presence. Let us presume that, just like in life, it is best to be married to a good partner. I think the vast majority of us agree with this. It is no different in the world of online commerce. If you are not doing well on Google, then you are simply loosing sales to your competitors. That’s a fact.

Married? Those that are happily married have got the advantage. They already know what they have done and how it is performed, and what they need to do to continue to prosper. A good Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign, a well researched web site that sells at good conversion rates, and a competent expert running the operation.

Divorced? Those that are divorced have suffered from poor AdWords campaigns with little or no knowledge of what they had to do. Plus, their web site, product, performance, perception and price did not match the market. Many divorce Google blaming Google for their own shortcomings. Sounds much like many marriage break-ups in real life! However, many of us (me included) go round a second time, and learn from our mistakes. You can do this online with AdWords a second time. Just get some expert advice in the first instance before you buy another ring for another try.

Virgins? Don’t worry, its not impossible. You don’t have to be alone all your life. With the right advice and coaching, you can find the perfect partner. They are out there and all you have to do is meet them under the right circumstances. We know where to find your perfect match to get you on the path to a great life. In fact, you will love them when you first meet them. All you need is a match making service. Go to Google and type in AdWords Professionals (Search Australia) and look for a company to match you up with the search campaign of your dreams for your web site business.

Currently engaged? Are you making the right long term commitment? Do you really know that you are doing the right thing? Will a better offer come your way.? Are there doubts in your mind? Are there some bad habits that your beloved has that you think you can change, given enough time? Before you decide on a wedding date, get a second opinion. Now I don’t use pre-nuptial agreements, but I think a wise person should get a health check on their relationship and compare what they have. It’s never too late to change your mind. Find the best partner you can.

Google Search and how well your business does online is just like life. Those that have a fantastic partner, who cares about them and works with them to ensure the marriage works, always come out on top. It’s a happy, transparent relationship based on mutual trust and respect.

Who are you going to trust with your online life? The choice is simple, you know Google is going to be your partner. You only have to work out who is going to walk you up the aisle.