Google recently sent out $100 gift cards for AdWords Express (formerly known as “Boost.”)
If you were given a gift card, I say go ahead and use it. But I don’t recommend sticking with AdWords express after the gift card money runs out.
Signing up for AdWords Express will automatically create an AdWords campaign for a business, but users don’t have the ability to modify or manage the campaigns from within the AdWords interface.
Here are a few things wrong with the Express platform, many of which could cost you extra money:
–Express doesn’t allow the user to regulate the cost-per-click. (Your budget may be $100 a month, but Google can charge you anything they want for each click. So if each click costs $50, you’ll only get two clicks.)
–The position of pay-per-click ads on search is partially based on Quality Score. Express doesn’t offer the capability to tailor keywords, so there isn’t an opportunity to increase the Quality Score of your campaign.
— Express doesn’t allow the use of negative keywords, which will likely cause the user’s ads to appear for unrelated queries. When a regular AdWords user doesn’t want to appear for certain search queries that might contain his keywords, he lists them as negative keywords. (For example: Someone who sells/installs windows in houses, should list “Microsoft” in their negative keyword list.)
–Express doesn’t allow users to include specific keywords or choose a landing page, which restricts the user’s ability to write strong calls-to-action that are aligned with the campaign.
–Express doesn’t allow for ad extensions (location extensions or sitelinks).
–Express doesn’t offer the option to schedule your ads for certain days of the week or times of the day.
–Express doesn’t allow the user to test multiple ads at the same time to determine which one performs best.
In short, I feel that using AdWords Express beyond the free offer is a waste of money…a bad gamble, at best. Without the options to monitor your bids or control which keywords trigger your ads, you’d be setting yourself up to possibly spend a lot of money on a limited number of visitors you may not want in the first place. It’s much better to develop an effective Adwords campaign that provides significantly more control and flexibility.
For more information on AdWords and how The Primm Company can help you run an effective campaign, call 757-623-6234.