Candy Direct gained up to 38 percent clickthrough with Google AdWords.
| Founded in 1997, San Diego-based Candy Direct, Inc, is one of oldest online sites in the candy business and is also among the largest wholesale candy distributors in the U.S. Today the website candydirect.com offers over 3,000 sweets for sale from Gummi bears and candy bars to bubble gum and licorice. The company targets four types of customers: those giving candy as a gift; corporations buying candy for trade shows; retailers buying candy wholesale; and candy aficionados with a particular craving.
Starting a candy company had been president and CEO Stephen Traino's childhood dream, and the Internet enables him to do it at a lower cost. After all, as he asks, "Who doesn't like candy?" Approach Traino was frustrated by the "ridiculous" high rates of banner advertising and the unpredictable return on investment involved with expensive radio and TV ads. Traino says joining Google AdWords in 2002 was "a no-brainer." As he notes, "What does it cost me to try it? Nothing." His initial advertising goal was simply to break even, since he had never made money from advertising prior to trying AdWords. For one thing, he says, "you couldn't test other ad services like you can with Google. No other type of advertising really seemed to click until AdWords came along." Traino likes the ability to test ads at an affordable price. "You spend five bucks to get started, and there's no risk. That's the beauty of it – you just throw up your ad and experiment with it. That's why I support AdWords 100 percent. The program doesn't rip people off." He also appreciates the control over the growth of his business that AdWords provides, noting that "I can ramp up traffic anytime," and he adds that pausing ads to keep up with orders is another benefit when they get too busy. "Can you do that with TV or radio? No, and you can't do that with banner ads." In particular, Traino believes the AdWords program is particularly useful for new online companies because they don't have to wait to get listed in organic search. "They can run their ads and get customers right away. You can't go wrong." Results Ninety-five percent of Traino's ad budget is currently spent online, and his average clickthrough rate is almost 20 percent. Some keywords perform at up to 38 percent clickthrough. In fact, Candy Direct's next task is to improve its website to capitalize on the increased traffic from AdWords. What's more, Traino has seen such success with AdWords that he's looking to hire another employee to help him manage his account. "There's so much more I could do with the program," he says, and adds that "Google AdWords has been the driver for advertising at our company." About Google AdWords Google AdWords is currently used by thousands of businesses worldwide to gain new customers in a cost-effective way. AdWords use keywords to precisely target ad delivery to web users seeking information about a particular product or service. The program is based on cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, so advertisers only pay when an ad is clicked on. Advertisers can take advantage of an extremely broad distribution network, and choose the level of support and spending appropriate for their business. For more information on launching your own campaign or getting expert help, visit http://adwords.google.com. Would you like to share your Google AdWords success story with us? We'd love to hear from you! Return to Consumer Packaged Goods overview page |
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