Have you received a call saying “we have people in your area looking for you…” followed by a promised top spot on Google, unlimited clicks, all for a set fee?

If so, you might have left the call feeling a bit confused, belittled, and bewildered. I’m just hoping you didn’t sign up to it. They tell all sorts of lies – some of the more common ones I have addressed below.

The usual suspects are BtCustomerStreet.com, Lavora Marketing, Raw Marketing and MatchMakerMarketing.co.uk (links go to the ‘whocallsme?’ consumer review site).

They hope that you don’t know much about AdWords and online marketing, and will try to dazzle you with false promises, jargon, and nonsense until you sign up with a direct debit. Normally, if you show any resistance, they will become aggressive, patronising, and imply that your business will go downhill. Its yet another example of personal accountability being diluted through call centre staff who don’t have a clue about the scripts they are trained to read from.

The typical lies they tell:

• “We can get you unlimited clicks in the top position for a fixed price”
• “We get you in the sponsored box at the top – but its not AdWords”
• “We are one of only three Qualified Google companies in the UK”
• “We have a special relationship / deal with Google”

These are all complete and utter lies. The cold-caller will lie through his/her teeth to justify their claims, but they are complete rubbish.

If you have a specific question you’d like a real answer to – you’re welcome to fill out the form to the side. In the meantime – I have answered some of the more common lies below.

They don’t work for Google

Google has no such affiliations with outside companies. Companies may be Google qualified (as we are) but this just means that you have gone through the Google training program, passed the exam, and handled a high enough budget on behalf of clients.

You can’t get unlimited clicks

…unless you have an unlimited budget. There is no “special system”. The lie is based on the fact that it is aimed at sole traders – for five specific keywords based on town names – and to the overall demand is likely to be minimal. Because the agency wants to make money too – the amount of clicks you get from your fee will be absolutely tiny. Most of them won’t report how many clicks you get.

Five keywords is a poor campaign

In comparison, I built a campaign for a local photographer which consisted of literally thousands of keywords (at the scam-company rate of an extra £20 per keyword, this should have cost £200,000 a month!), based on many keyword variations and combinations with many different relevant place names.

Sure you want your business to be marketed to as many relevant searches as possible – not just five very specific keywords.

They won’t care about your site

I turn down about 50% of prospective customers because their sites, profit margins, or demand aren’t suitable (i.e. the maths doesn’t add up to make it work). The lie-companies would never care about that – they won’t even look at your website.

Your account won’t be optimised

I give customers tracking code to put on a ’sale successful’ or ‘enquiry submitted’ page, so that you know which keywords are working, and which ones aren’t. This lets me streamline the account further, to save you money and drive more relevant customers to your site. The other companies have no idea what keywords are working and which aren’t – they leave it up to you to decide – but you may not have a clue!

Its no way to make your business thrive!

You will end up paying a direct debit to a company who is only going to get you a very limited number of clicks for a very limited number of keywords. If you want to actually make money from AdWords – you need a thorough campaign, dedicated agent who cares about your success, and the ability to optimise and grow the budget to make even more profit.

They take advantage of your techno-phobia

Which is why you shouldn’t fall victim to their lies. They simply overwhelm you with pressure and jargon until you feel that not going with them is going to ruin your business! The opposite is potentially true. If you want to make the most of your marketing, talk to me – I explain how it all works in easy, down to earth terms. Why? Because I want you to be in control! Its your business – you need to be in control of your marketing and know whats what. I just provide the expertise in managing very thorough, successful AdWords accounts.