Good morning ladies!

Could anybody shed some light on Google AdWords for me, please?

How exactly does it work and is it worth using it in a VA business?

I have been trying to figure it out, but I just don't get it. Maybe somebody here has some experience with this?

Would be great to get some suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

BR,
Stefanie

Adwords is a 'pay to click' service. Basically, every time someone clicks on your ad, you get charged for it (you set the budget of how much you want to spend). I spoke at length with an Adwords representative and he told me that a business making less than $100,000/year would probably not benefit from Adwords as it takes an average of 100 clicks to obtain a new client.

It wouldn't hurt, obviously, for you to talk to someone at Adwords about your particular business. Their support folk are really helpful and will explain the whole thing with you at 1-877-721-1742.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I'm not able to spend the money at this time for Google Ad Words, so I use Google Analytics - it's free - http://www.google.com/analytics/ to help keep track of which keywords visitors use to find my site. Using Google Analytics I'm able to view reports on hits/clicks to my site and pages, which city, what browser visitors use, and other information. For now, this is good for me.

Lily, 4 years ago it was very difficult to find any phone number for Google. I'm glad to read that you were able to locate one. It's good that the world keeps evolving and changing.

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Terri Williams, Assisting the small business owner
www.terripwilliams.com

Thanks a lot, Lily and Terri, for the good advice.
I had also heard that it would probably not benefit small companies, but I just wanted to get a feel for it.
I will look at Google Analytics for sure.
BR,
Stefanie

This is great information. I keep seeing and hearing about Google AdWords and thought I might need to check it out to see if investing the money would be worth it. Now I don't have to waste my time. Thank you!!!

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Jennifer Simons - Girl Monday
www.girlmondaysf.com

Have you ever noticed the Ads at the top of your search results pages on Google? These are paid ad's and are displayed through Google Adwords. You basically pay only when someone clicks on your ad. How much you pay depends on the competitveness of the keyword. PM if you need help. You may be able to find a free voucher to get you started, I know there are often some available.

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Telephone Answering virtual assistant
alldaypa.com

I tried Adwords a few years ago. (I should have asked more questions, like Lily did). I did not notice an increase in business because of it, and when I stopped, broker for my efforts, I did not notice a decrease. Anyone can click on your ad, repeatedly, including competitors, and each time it costs you $$. Adwords mainly benefits Google. I don't think I have ever heard a business owner say Adwords is great.

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Virtual Bankruptcy Paralegal
www.bkprep4u.com

I too am wondering how affective Google AdWords is. I have a $100 gift card and am trying to decide if I want to use it. This is great information here. Thank you all for your comments.

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Margie Gibson
http://mgvirtualofficesolutions.org

I just got $100 free gift card for Google AdWords, I want to get it started. Does anyone have any suggestions??

Thanks

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Aqeelah |Officebeam, LLC Find me on Twitter and LinkedIn

Call and talk to their customer service folks. Explain about your coupon and ask them the best way to set up for YOUR business. That's how I got the info I posted above about MY company! Their customer service # is 1-877-721-1742 and they are super friendly and helpful.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"