Google-101 Workshop Q&A

For attendees of the SBDC Google-101 workshop on 7/28/11.

During and after the workshop we received a few questions from your question cards, and a few that deserve more attention. Below we answer these questions. We hope you find the information useful.

Question #1: How do I invite other people to access my Google AdWords account without accessing my personal information?

Step 1: You can invite other users and set their permissions level. Once you have logged in to the AdWords dashboard, find My Account and Account Access.

Step 2: Click the “Invite other users” button.

Step 3: Select an appropriate access level.

Step 4: Click "Send Invitation" to notify the person by email of their pending invite. Instructions for accepting the invite are included in the email from Google.

Learn more about Access Levels.

Question #2: How can I determine if my investment in Google AdWords is worth it?

You can assess your return on investment (ROI) with this formula:

(Revenue – Cost) / Cost

For example, your profit per item sold is $10 and you have invested $1000 in advertising which brought in 130 sales. Then your revenue is $1300 and your cost is $1000. So, to determine your return on investment:

ROI = ($1300 - $1000) / $1000 = 30%

If the ROI is positive, then you are generating money with the advertising investment.

Many small businesses do not sell products directly on their website but generate sales leads. You can estimate the percentage of leads that become customers and assign a value per lead. For example, out of 10 leads 5 make a purchase with a $10 profit per purchase. That’s $50 profit from 10 leads or $5/lead.

Conversion Tracking in Google AdWords is an invaluable tool for measuring leads.

Question #3: How can I reorder the images on my Google Places Page?

On your Google Places Page find the “Upload a Photo” button.

Click the “Manage Photos” link.

You can change image settings on this page.

Question #4: If a user clicks on my AdWords ad multiple times, how many times am I charged?

Google detects and filters out invalid clicks, such as excessively repetitive clicks. However, there are times when a user may legitimately click on your ad multiple times in one session; for example, when comparison shopping on multiple sites. AdWords will record multiple clicks (and charge per click) while Analytics recognizes the separate pageviews as one visit.

Learn more about how Google detects invalid clicks from the source.

Question #5: How many "additional details" can I provide on my Google Places Page?

As long as each detail title is different, there does not appear to be a limit. We have been able to add successfully over 20 different details.