Anyone using Google Ads for their website?

[Tim Polster]

What was the ad you ran? I remember finding an ad for a Houston based videographer a while back that I hit about 20 times. Could that have been yours? I figured even though Houston is pretty far away from Arlington I could but the hurt on some competition. Sorry :)

[Josh Bass]

Coulda been me. I thought a felt a draft this one time, but I guess it was the money being sucked from my bank account.

[Tim Polster]

I was joking btw!

[Josh Bass]

It's all good daddy. Your emoticon clued me in. Plus, having to wait for the ad to pop up twenty separate times? That's downright psychotic devotion.

[Timothy Hay]

Originally Posted by Chris Hewitt

I have been getting Google Ads offers for a while but haven't used them. I was wondering if anyone here has used them to make their website more prominent and what advantages you have found.

My problem with it is that it's now very expensive. When it's cheap, it's one tool in your box, when it gets expensive, you have to decide between tools.

I used them regularly years ago when it was 5 cents per click per keyword. Now minimum per keyword click is $2. And it goes up gradually and you don't notice unless you log in regularly (cost depends on keyword chosen; I'm quoting for my least popular keywords). You can set caps but the ads will just stop unless you increase your cap.

Because of all the variables, my advice is to experiment with it and see how it works for you.

But overall, I think you can achieve better ROI with other SEO methods.

[Denis Danatzko]

FWIW, I've never used them, and don't intend to.

Personally, once I realized that clicking on Google ads cost the advertiser so much, and that most of the $$ was going to Google while doing little for the advertiser, I avoided clicking on ads on any page.
I certainly use Google for searching, but from the search returns, I go right to a page I think will meet my needs, rather than click on any ads.

With a billion in cash, Google certainly can get along without the paltry few bucks they'd get from me. Plus, I don't need more advertising/spam E-mail, notices of "mid-day sales", or more time-consuming phone calls.
Given that Google has made so much from their practices already, I'm both disappointed and a little surprised that they haven't lowered their prices, but instead continue their "greedy ways".

I'm not against making a profit, but I think they stretch that beyond being reasonable. Personally, I don't believe in/subscribe to what I'd describe as their practice of "getting as much as I can as fast as I can". Once I get that vibe from someone, I'm "out the door" and do my best to deal with them only when I absolutely must.

Anyway, that's my $.02.