Should Contractors Use Google Adwords Express? Pros v. Cons

Google wants you to try Adwords Express.  Will it work for home contractors?  Read a fair assessment when it will and won’t work best for you.

Will Adwords Express Work For Your Construction And Residential Contracting Business?

General contractor Tim Feeney has been thinking about advertising on Google for some time.

He has noticed his direct competition get more and more of their leads from Google… so he figures it is time to join the game.

He received in the mail a letter from Google about a new, fast and easy way to advertise online called Adwords Express.

He thinks to himself, “Hmmm… that is what I need.  Something fast and easy…”

The question in Tim’s mind is, “I wonder if it will work for me?”

Will Adwords Express Work For My Contractor Business?

That is the question that is being increasingly asked by contractors, including residential and commercial general contractors, and even home service contractors like plumbers, hvac, and roofers.

Google is aggressively pushing this version of Adwords advertising.

It appeals to the contractor that doesn’t want to learn how to do Adwords themselves… but also doesn’t want to pay a professional to do Adwords for him.

This article will take an unbiased look at the pros and cons of this form of online pay-per-click advertising.

What’s Good About Adwords Express

Let’s start with what’s good about Adwords Express.

A.   Google Has Made The Set Up Faster and Easier

This new version is much easier to work with compared to setting up your own regular Adwords campaign.

Google will guide you through the set up process, have you pick out your keywords, write your ads, choose how much you will pay for a click, etc.

They will even set up your campaign for you if you struggle through this process.

B.   Easier To Use

Some call Adwords Express by another name:  Adwords Lite.

You have fewer options to deal with compared to a regular Adwords campaign.  This is good if you have tried to figure out the complexities of Adwords on your own and have gotten frustrated.

C.   Easier To Understand

Rather than being thrown into the deep end of the learning curve, Adwords Express allows you to begin learning the process of pay-per-click advertising with Google.

This sounds perfect for the typical busy contractor.  What’s not to like?

Possibly a lot… depending on your business.

Sounds Good… But It’s Not For Every Business

Adwords Express is like so many things that sound good at first, until you look more closely—

• Reversible clothing.  Get two outfits for the price of one!
• Edible packaging.  Cut down on landfill waste!
• Pajama jeans.  All the comfort… with (almost) the same great look!
• Metal lawn darts.  Hours of fun for the kids (until a child gets hit by one)

Adwords Express may seem like a good option for a construction or home services contractor to use… until you look more closely.

What Did Your Neighbor Discover?

It is always a good idea to find out what those who have or are using the prospective product or service have found.

Here is a comment I read last week (it has been verified) from an Adwords Express user who was now seeking out a professional Adwords management company to take over his Adwords campaign:

“I currently have an adwords campaign set up by the good people at google. It does not perform well and is a money sink. I need someone with experience that can revamp, redesign and manage it to be a profitable campaign for me.”

Note:  It has been our experience at 2nd Mile Marketing that comments like the above are fairly common.  The clients we have who were formerly using Adwords Express have seen a significant improvement in performance once we took over.

Adwords Express Might Work Best For You If…

In fairness to Google, Adwords Express can be an acceptable solution for the business that wants to advertise online and meets the following criteria:

• Has little or no competition
• Has sizable profit margins (this scenario is needed since your ROI from Adwords Express is almost always much lower than a professionally run campaign)
• Doesn’t want to pay a professional Adwords marketing company
• Doesn’t really want to do Adwords themselves (or desires to minimize the time needed to set up a campaign)

The Few… The Lucky

In reality, there are very few companies that operate within an environment that has little competition and sizable profit margins.

Congratulations if you are one of the lucky businesses.

But, don’t get too comfortable.  If you have such nice profit margins… the competition is coming… and so are the resulting lower margins.  The marketplace has a way of leveling the playing field.

Looking Under The Hood Of Adwords Express

For the vast number of businesses out there, Adwords Express has all sorts of problems.

Let me say it again:

Adwords Express may seem like a good online advertising option for a contractor to use… until you look more closely.

So, what exactly is wrong with Adwords Express?  Click on the link below to find out what you really need to know if you are considering using Adwords Express.

The Problems With Using Adwords Express (that you need to know)

If you have used Adwords Express, what have you found?  I am sure there are some readers who have had a good experience.  Please leave a comment to share your experience.

Need more ideas and tips on Adwords?  Download our free Adwords tip sheet for contractors.