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Paying to rank higher on Google: when to do it and when not to
Know how to decide whether it's worth paying to show up first in local search results, how much budget to set, and how long to test it before judging results; set up a simple campaign that sends the click to the right page, and know when to turn it off.
You see a competitor in your area always showing up at the top of Google, and you don't. You wonder if paying to rank higher is worth it, or if it's just throwing money away. Maybe you already tried it once: you spent a few dollars, the phone never rang, and you turned it off without knowing if the problem was the budget, the ad, or the page you were sending the click to.
Here you decide, with your own numbers, whether it's worth it before spending the first dollar. Then you set a test budget that your service's actual margin can support. You choose the exact search phrases you'll pay for and the ones you'll rule out. You check that the click lands on the page for the service someone searched for, not the homepage. You set up a single campaign, not a showcase of options. And before you flip the switch, you mark the date and the number of contacts that will tell you whether to keep it running or shut it off.
This is for someone who already has their business up and running, with a website they use to get paid or book appointments, and who's wondering whether it's worth paying to rank first on Google. It's not for someone who doesn't have a website ready yet, or margin to sustain even a week of testing.
- Calculate, using your service's margin, whether a paid click is worth it before you buy one
- Set your daily test budget and the date you'll judge results, before you turn the campaign on
- Choose the exact phrases you'll bid on and the list of words you'll exclude, so you don't pay for clicks that never buy
- Set up a campaign with one area, one goal, and one landing page, and turn it off if it doesn't hit the minimum number of contacts you set
You should already have your website live and know how much margin the service you want to promote leaves you.
The 6 lessons
In the order it makes the most sense to read them.
- 1
The math you should do before paying for a single click
Decide, with your own numbers, whether paying to rank first on Google is worth it right now, before you spend the first dollar.
4 min - 2
The budget that survives the test
You'll walk away with a daily budget calculated from your service's real margin and the test size you need, written down and fixed until the day you evaluate it.
5 min - 3
The phrase you pay for isn't the name of your trade
You'll walk away with the exact list of phrases you're going to bid on and the list of words you're ruling out, so you don't burn budget on people who are just browsing.
4 min - 4
The click you pay for doesn't land on the homepage
Every paid click sends people to the page for the service they searched for, using the same words as the ad, with the call to action in plain sight, never to the general homepage.
5 min - 5
One campaign, not a showcase of options
Set up a campaign with one area, one goal, and your phone number in plain sight, and leave everything else off until you have data to decide.
5 min - 6
The date to judge the campaign gets set before you turn it on
You'll come away with a date and a minimum number of contacts written down in advance, plus the exact rule for turning off the campaign without hesitation and without waiting any longer than you should.
5 min