It wasn’t long ago when searching for local businesses consisted of little more than picking up the phone book and looking through the Yellow Pages until you found what you wanted. Almost every business was listed but the ones who spent the big money on the big ads were the businesses who clearly stood apart from the rest.

But those days are long gone. Even as far back as 2014 it was reported that 70% of Americans didn’t even open their phone books and only 11% claimed to use the white pages. Surely those numbers are even more skewed today as marketers continue to uncover more effective ways of reaching customers.

Online advertising clearly dominates today with 90% of consumers using the internet to find a local business in the last year and a third of all consumers searching every single day. And the numbers are even more surprising than that: A recent survey found that the average consumer spends 13 minutes and 45 seconds reading reviews before making a decision and will read 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a business.

Google is not a runaway train

Now that print advertising has taken a back seat to online advertising, the question is how to effectively utilize your marketing budget in order to reach the most potential customers for the least amount of money. For me, the answer is easy – Google – as long as you know what you’re doing.

Advertising on Google can be intimidating, and some people think Google is just a runaway train where they just take your credit card and it explodes before your very eyes.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Many companies that sell products that don’t require an immediate transaction online are using Google Ads like their old Yellow Pages where they have remarketing ads running so you can see a visual. But more importantly, they’re listed under services they provide with a cap or with controls set up to you don’t spend more than you budget.

The nice thing about Google is that it can be anything you want it to be and it can scale to accommodate any marketing budget. You can spend as much as you’d like, which is a good thing. But that can also be a bad thing if you fail to manage it properly.

You can set a budget and maintain the budget and realize that if someone is clicking then it is a real-life visitor that is coming to your site. When you approach it that way, then you understand and will get the most value out of Google.

Should you feel exceptionally comfortable as time goes on, you can increase your awareness to your products and get even more results – but don’t jump in with your eyes closed and let it take you wherever it’s going to go. Start with a budget – manage and measure your results and adjust accordingly.

Bloomerang Solutions is your one stop shop for online marketing. Give us a call today at (941) 806-1911 or drop us a line below if you’d like advice on how to make that happen for your business.