Is Google AdWords Worth The Time and Effort?

If you browse much on search marketing forums, you may notice that there often a lot of angry posts aimed at Google.  Users get fed-up with the latest changes and how Google communicates about them.

It may seem as if the little (or even sometimes larger) size AdWords advertiser does not have a voice.  Google sometimes seems to treat them like they are dispensable.

The result is these advertisers may get discouraged from using AdWords.  Why go through all of the time and effort involved in setting-up a detailed campaign?

The short answer is it can be difficult to do without.  You may be leaving a fortune on the table or go out of business if you kick it to the curb.

This is because Google provides the largest supply of actual search traffic.  When somebody is actively looking for something, around 60% head to Google.  Most of the rest go to MSN or Yahoo.  

In many markets, these searchers are your bread and butter.  They're looking to buy.  For instance, let's say you sell a guide in the niche, "How to speed-up your computer."  With this type of product, there may not be too many other places you can go to get affordable traffic.  

When people want to learn how to do this, they search on Google for information.  

Free rankings might be your other best bet, but, again, you're relying on Google for traffic and this requires work and time as well to obtain.

In addition to dominating search, Google is also moving rapidly into content.  To get prime placements around the web, Google is a very valuable tool.  At this point, it may not be required, but that may change in the future.

The bottom-line is Google makes life a lot easier when you get along.  Moreover, it may be very difficult to give up on it because they dominate so much of all web traffic.

With this said, in most markets, there are plenty of other models you can use.

Other big sources besides search engines might be:

• Doing offline events, either speaking or presenting and funneling those you meet toward your website.
• Teleseminars and webinars.  Partner with others and offer to do a free online event for their customers.
• Getting others to email or mail their list of customers for a commission.
• Article marketing where you submit to directories, magazines, and get other publications to run your content.
• Direct-mail to targeted lists. 
• Social media traffic from Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and so on. 

What works best for you, depends on your skills, resources, your product, and the market you're selling to.  Even if you're currently just using AdWords now, you can begin thinking about other ways of doing things so your business is not dependent on Google.