Paid Search is Not Advertising.

You may be scratching your heads at the title of this article.  Yes, Google may call it advertising.  Advertising agencies may sell it to their clients.  But it’s not advertising.

Let me explain.

Advertising is about being the business someone thinks of before they want or need you.  By that definition, paid search isn’t really advertising.  It doesn’t improve the likelihood that I will think of YOUR business.

So where does it belong?

𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 is Digital Shelf Space

Paid search ensures your offer is on the (digital) shelf when someone is shopping.  It makes you easy to find.  You won’t grow if ‘shoppers’ can’t find you when they’re ready to buy.  Being absent from the shelf (physical or digital) is commercial suicide.

Getting this distinction right is important for growth.  A good website and a fully optimized Google Business Profile will help you achieve a stronger ‘shelf placement’ when people are shopping.

But, search only helps to harvest existing demand, by converting existing shoppers.  Advertising, on the other hand, makes you easy to remember.  When done well, it will actually result in people searching for you on the shelf (metaphorically speaking).  It creates demand.

If you really want to grow as a business, you need to do both.