Through the help of social media and good site architecture, small business owners have come a long way in creating sites that not only rank, but also engage users. However, it’s no secret that one area where SMB owners still struggle is in the world of paid ads.
Half of SMB owners quit paid advertising within six months of starting. Google is obviously looking to change that in the best way Google knows how – by creating valuable resources for SMB owners to learn from.
Last week Google announced the launch of theAdWords Small Business Center. The Small Business Center is designed to be a knowledge hub that SMB owners can use to learn AdWords best practices and get key information about everything they need to know to run a successful AdWords account. The information provided will be broken down into beginner, intermediate or advanced, so that small business owners can benefit regardless of where they are in their learning and grow into the information.
Here’s a look at some of the early topics covered:
- Write great ads
- Choose the best keywords
- Adjust bids and budgets
- Improve your website
- Track your results
Going through the information already on the site, I was pretty impressed with the depth. For example, just checking through the Adjust Bids and Budgets section, I was surprised by the breadth of knowledge offered and how well broken down it was. It allows small business owners to really go at their own pace and pick up additional information as they’re ready for it. I’d imagine that even experienced AdWords users could get some additional tips by checking out this resource. It’s nice to see Google really digging in and not just tossing out a few high-level tidbits.
Also part of the Adwords Small Business Center is a Discussion Forum where small business owners can meet others new to the AdWords process and share information and tips. However, there was no sign that Google representatives would be also be participating in the forum, which was a little disappointing. It looks to be strictly for small business owners to talk and share with each other.
The Center also provides links to the AdWords Help Center, the AdWords blog and other resources so that small business owners can easily access them. There’s even a link to find an AdWords-certified professional if you want to hire someone to help you with your campaign.
While it would be nice to see Google designate some personnel to monitor this center and take part in the Discussion Group, this is still a great resource for small business to sink their teeth into. It organizes trusted information on a tricky topic into one place so that business owners don’t have to hunt all over the Web to find it. It’s just another example of Google doing what Google does best – providing hubs of free information that business owners can use to grow their businesses. The AdWords Small Business Center is one resource I definitely recommend SMB owners check out.
