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Growing Your Business with Google Ads

Heath Harris

TABLE OF CONTENT

Google Ads is an online advertising service or program created by Google that allows a company to reach its target audience by creating ads on the Web and competing for viewing. Ads created with this program are based on the concept of keywords, which are selected or defined by advertisers. With Google Ads, businesses can choose the budget to create the ad, choose the location or web pages where it will appear, and also evaluate the result or impact of the ad. This is a platform where advertisers pay to show short ads, service offers, product listings and video content within Google’s advertising network to web users. Google’s ad system is based in part on cookies and, in part, on the keywords that advertisers determine.

Google Ads is an online advertising service or program created by Google that allows a company to reach its target audience by creating ads on the Web and competing for viewing. Ads created with this program are based on the concept of keywords, which are selected or defined by advertisers. With Google Ads, businesses can choose the budget to create the ad, choose the location or web pages where it will appear, and also evaluate the result or impact of the ad. Users can choose any amount they wish to invest using this service, since there is no maximum limit. In addition, companies can stop using Google’s Ad platform or give you a break whenever they want.

pay per click advertising

Google AdWords (now known as Google Ads) was launched in 2000 and during the first few days, advertisers had to pay a monthly fee to set up and manage their campaign. But later, in 2005, a self-service function called Jumpstart was introduced. In 2013, the company announced that it will present additional features so that advertisers can manage and manage their advertising campaigns in a better and more efficient way. Enhanced features have allowed ads to be viewed on several devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

The Google Ads auction focuses on keywords: advertisers choose a list of keywords relevant to their business offerings, words that people tend to use when searching for their product. They then bid on these keywords, basing each offer on how much they are willing to pay for a Google user to click on their ad. This offer, combined with a quality score assigned by Google based on the quality of the proposed ad, determines which Google ads appear in the SERP. When users click on the ads, the advertiser pays a certain cost (cost per click or CPC). Unlike other PPC platforms such as Facebook, Google Ads advertisers can reach people through the Google search network and also through the Google Display Network. Although these approaches work very differently, both use a PPC bidding system, where advertisers bid to show their ads to a relevant audience. The Google Search Network allows you to show your ads to users who actively search for the keywords you’ve selected.

3 ways your company can advertise using Google Ads Platform:

Search for ads

The most common way to advertise with Google Ads is search ads. Search ads appear on the Google search engine when people search for the services you offer. With search advertising, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad or calls your company from the search engine results page. That means you do not pay unless someone is interacting with your ad. With search ads, it advertises people who are actively seeking their services at a given time. Unlike other traditional ads like brochures or newsletters, search ads help you communicate with your target audience when they’re looking for you.

View ads

Google also works with over two million websites so you can show ads to potential customers while surfing the Internet. These ads can be simple text ads, or you can add a little personality by creating an image ad. Like search ads, you can choose to pay per click or, if you prefer, you can pay when people see your ads. When you pay based on the people viewing your ads, you pay based on 1000 ad impressions, commonly referred to as CPM. You can advertise on certain types of websites or target audiences based on your interests and preferences.

Video ads

Finally, you can advertise on YouTube through Google Ads. You’re probably familiar with video ads appearing before your favorite videos on YouTube, but you can also advertise on YouTube with text and image ads. Like other PPC / Pay Per Click advertising methods, pay only when someone interacts with your ad. Depending on how you advertise on YouTube, you can pay when someone clicks on your ad or someone sees at least 30 seconds of your video. Like graphic ads, your ads can appear in certain video categories, or you can target your ads based on your interests and preferences.

Benefits of Google Ads to local business owners

Local businesses always face a challenge when optimizing campaigns. Administering ads for a local company is a completely different ball game compared to doing the same to generate leads on a website. This is due to the fact that the suggestions or strategies that should be implemented for companies and local agencies are quite different. Finding specific information about optimizing local ad campaigns is considered a tedious job. However, there are some ways to improve ad performance for local advertisers.

Benefits of Google Ads:

The results are easy to track

Running successful advertising campaigns without detailed tracking reports is like trying to drive a car blindfolded. If you do not have the ability to measure results, you have no way of knowing what works and what does not, which makes improving the campaign an almost impossible task. Google Ads offers users a lot of free tools and metrics so you can get a live boost of your campaign every minute of every day (if you choose to run it all the time). In this way, it is easy to review every aspect of your ads knowing who clicked on it and what they were looking for how long they stayed on their landing page and how much it cost to have them there. With so much information at your fingertips, you can analyze trends and make informed decisions to optimize your CTR and ROI ads. From the Google Ads control panel, you can even customize the metrics you want to see.

You can play a large and specific audience

Although there are a number of factors that determine the success of an advertising campaign, where the group is one of the most important. Google controls more than 90% of the market share of search engines (Source: Stat Counter) and manages more than 3,000 million daily searches (Source: Search Engine Land). With that kind of volume, regardless of who your target audience is, there’s a good chance you can find them on Google. This does not mean that it will target all those searches, but having access to such a broad audience gives you the best opportunity to generate leads. The particularity of Google Ads is the level of control that gives advertisers zero to the target audience they prefer. As we enter the flexibility offered by this platform, the creation of specific keyword campaigns and relevant searches allows you to target any part of the market share of the Google search engine. With each ad, you can be sure to know that thousands (or more) of potential customers are exposed to your brand.

The pinnacle of marketing is flexibile

The truth is that there is not an adequate size for online marketing. To get the best return on investment, you must have control over as many campaign factors as possible. Google Ads does it better than anyone by giving users full control over almost every aspect of the ads it creates. With your platform, you can customize factors such as the types of devices on which your ads appear, the types of searches you do not want to be shown, the format of your ads (depending on whether you are using the search or viewing network) . ), and much more to make sure you can satisfy your target audience. Going one step further, you can even select where to show your ads. While search engine results are the most popular location, you can have them appear on websites that contain related content or in the inboxes of Gmail accounts. This level of detail gives you unprecedented control over how your ads are shown to search engine users. From the budget point of view, you can also control when your ad is showing, making it easier than ever to target your ads to top-level windows while keeping your budget under control.

Economically advantageous marketing

Unless you have a bottomless budget, investing in marketing strategies that give you the best result for your investment will be a priority. In addition to having control over almost all the customizable aspects of your campaigns, the most important thing is that you have total control over how much you spend. Regardless of whether you have a small daily budget or a flexible monthly budget that can be spent a little more openly, with Google Ads you can track your expenses to the last penny so that you do not exceed your budget or have problems. of cash flow.

When you have a limited budget and want to make sure that every dollar is correctly allocated, you can control everything from how much you want to spend per click to the days and times when the campaign should be run based on perspective generation data. On the other hand, when you have a little more freedom with your budget, you can let Google handle the field work a little more (even if you should always monitor it) and focus on other aspects of the business.

It’s faster and more efficient than SEO

While SEO has its place in online marketing, it’s more of a long-term strategy that takes time before it starts generating a steady stream of organic traffic. The months or sometimes the years needed to write and publish authorized content are an integral part of any marketing strategy, but with Google Ads , it’s easy to set up a campaign and start seeing results in a single day. This is ideal for brands looking to increase brand awareness or even promote a limited-time sales event.

The main reason ads work faster than SEO is because you can target multiple keywords at the same time and start classifying them without having to go through the activity of publishing different types of content and creating backlinks. Depending on the supply budget, you can get instant visibility and start appearing at the top of the search engine results. From there, the only factor that will influence the quantity and quality of potential customers you will receive is the campaign itself.

Does Google Ads Really Work?

Often, potential customers ask us this question: “Does Google Ads really work?” Google’s success is based on a simple factor: the algorithm that determines which search results will be displayed refers to relevance. When we do research on the Internet, we want to find what we are looking for and we want it now.

If the search results we see are not relevant, we will soon lose confidence in that search engine. Google reached the domain because it provided the most relevant search results as soon as possible. But what does this have to do with sponsored links / Google Ads? The main reason we click on ads is because more and more people find that these ads are very relevant to what we’re looking for. When we complete a search on Google, our eyes scan the results page of the titles closest to what we are looking for. Very often we will click on a list that is at the top or top of page one. Because? Because we believe that the results near the top should be the best (after all they are at the top, so they must be the best, right?). Google has practically “trained” us in believing that these are the best results and, consequently, the best are the ones we will choose.

Google Ads and printed newspaper ads

There is no doubt that digital advertising is growing in popularity. Last year, in the United States, $ 187 billion was spent on advertising, with 28% on digital advertising ($ 52.8 billion). Television continues to dominate at a cost of $ 79 billion, although 0.6% lower than the previous year. The press ended up in the third most popular place, $ 28 billion spent. Looking ahead, online advertising is expected to grow at 11.15% per year. There are obvious reasons behind this.

Using social networks, an organization can connect with its customers, make friends with them, interact with them and show respect for their evolving values ​​and react to changing market trends. In addition, you can talk to them and have a dialogue, instead of launching generic marketing messages. This method generates long-term customers and brand advocates who are at the heart of the organization’s success.

In general, digital advertising allows addressing a massive amount of the same specific customer type.

Moreover, the digital campaigns that are performed are much cheaper. An ad of the same size on a printed newspaper will be much more expensive than publishing the same ad in the online version of the same article. Also, in social networks, establish your budget. Decide how much you want to spend and how often, instead of a list price. Even digital advertising is much more interactive, just look at the example of Instagram.

In general, it is not possible to lose digital advertising. The ability to customize your budget and choose who exactly sees your ad means more return on investment and interaction with your ads. In other words, anyone who is not interested in your ad will not see it, so it will eliminate unwanted noise. It is also easier to measure the success of the campaign and develop personalized campaigns thanks to the information available on online consumer trends through Google Ads and Facebook..

Getting Started with Google Ads

There are many things about developing a successful Ads campaign, including selecting the right keywords, the types of ads, the images and the budget strategy, which can seem overwhelming at first. But do not be afraid! Here you will find everything you need to know to effectively set up your first campaign.

Set up an account

To create a Google Ads account, go to ads.google.com and click “Start now.” Simply enter a valid email address, the URL of your website and create a password to start. Once you have created your first campaign, Google will ask you to keep your billing information on file. Keep in mind that you do not set budgets here; You do it within each individual campaign for more personalization.

Google Ads Campaign

At the campaign level, design an ad group for a particular goal or category, set a budget and determine the target audience. Since you’re likely to create different ad campaigns, you’ll need to make sure it’s well organized and that the ads are logically grouped. The easiest way to set up your campaigns is to look at the contents of your website and reflect the hierarchy, structure them by specific keywords or by product line.

After setting up a campaign, you can choose to show your ads only on the search network, only on the Display Network, or a combination of both.

Search ads are on Google Search, on other Google sites (Google Maps, Google Shopping, etc.) and on hundreds of other partner sites.

Display ads appear on Google sites such as Gmail and YouTube, partner sites and mobile sites or apps that display ads.

Once you select a campaign type, you can choose a campaign subtype, which allows you to further define the settings, options and goals. A standard subtype uses location and language targeting, budget settings, and ad extensions. This is a great option for new users who are not familiar with the more complex settings.

Selection of campaign type

Once you feel more comfortable with Google Ads, try checking the All Features sub-type, which offers more advanced settings, such as scheduling and ad testing. If you have defined more precise marketing objectives, such as increasing web traffic by X%, Google Ads also offers other subtypes that can meet those specific needs.

Types of ads

Now that you’ve selected the subtype and type of campaign, it’s important to understand the different types of ads that Google offers. This affects not only the design of the ad, but where it can be seen.

Search network ads

Text ads: consist of a title, a URL and a brief description (without image).

Dynamic search ads: Ads appear based on the relevance of the content on your website and not the keywords. This is an ideal option for e-commerce sites that sell many products or have an inventory that changes regularly.

Ad extensions: Visual improvements to a search ad, such as a phone number, address or multiple links.

Locations: websites where you can post your ad. Google associates your keywords with placements to provide more visibility to your ad.

Ad groups

Within each campaign, create ad groups, which help to better define the final goal of the campaign. Each ad group focuses on a smaller group of keywords related to a product or service. For example, a sandal campaign by a footwear retailer could be divided into specific brands, sex or age range. Depending on the complexity of the product or service and the amount of time you can spend in campaigns, create the minimum number of ad groups that you consider appropriate.

Write your advertising

Your ad could be the first interaction of the potential customer with your brand, so it is important to use convincing texts and images to tell your story. Some of the best practices include the use of relevant keywords, share promotions, write mobile devices and a strong call to action. Although the ad contains minimal content, it is still a great opportunity to inform users about how your company differs and, ultimately, provide the best products or services in your industry. That said, you should use your words wisely to make the most of the limited space you have, so be sure not to rush into the writing process.

If you promote a specific product or a sale, Google allows you to include prices and promotions in the ad, as long as it complies with its guidelines.

Keyword selection

The next step is to select keywords that represent the search queries where you want your ads to appear. Start by looking at the products or services you sell and propose single words or short phrases that best describe your company and your offers. What are your best-selling products or those for which you are best known? What are some of the ways in which your company stands out from the competition? These questions should help you develop a list of keywords to guide the creation of ads and the design process. Although this technical step occurs after you have written your announcements, it can be helpful to develop a list of keywords before you begin the writing process to help guide your ideas. You can also go back to your ads and make changes to make sure they are relevant to possible keywords.

Keyword selection

After writing a list of keywords, you can group similar terms to create different campaigns. These are the types of keywords Google Ads uses:

Broad match keyword: The search query is a similar variant of the keyword, such as misspellings and synonyms.

Generic match modifier: the search query is a similar variation of the keyword, but the words may be in a different order.

Keyword Matching phrase: The search query contains several words and is a similar variant of the key phrase.

Exact match of keywords: the search query is exactly the same as the keyword or phrase.

Negative keyword: search query where you do not want to see your ad.

Once you have designed several ads, now is the time to reach your target market. You can choose from different configurations to make sure your budget attracts the most relevant audience:

Keyword targeting: Select keywords that represent the search queries where you want to serve your ad.

Segmentation by audience: identify your target markets according to your interests or demographics. You can also use remarketing to target consumers who already interacted with your online business.

Contextual targeting: Targeting the Display Network that focuses on matching your ad to the content of a partner’s website.

Orientation by location: select the languages, countries, regions or specific cities of your ads to see. This is particularly useful for companies that operate only in certain regions and do not want to lose the exposure of consumers who can not provide assistance.

Guidance for mobile devices: Ads are only displayed for users who search on mobile devices.

Guidance by managed location: Select individual websites or applications where you would like to show your ads.

Establish a budget

Like the other elements of Google Ads, the budget setting for each campaign can also be customized. First, determine how much you are willing to spend per day and Google will publish your ads until the day’s budget has been used up. They can allow your ad to go a little beyond your daily spending due to the variability of daily traffic, however, you will never be charged more than your monthly budget (daily budget x 30.4).

Google Ads bidding strategy

Cost per click (CPC)

The first and most popular bid strategy is Cost per click, which focuses on clicks on ads and traffic to your website. All you need to do is set a maximum CPC bid and Google will make sure that your ad’s placement never exceeds that price. We recommend that you set a maximum CPC based on the monetary value of a click on your ad. The price you pay reflects the cost of showing a higher ad position under your own, which may be lower than your maximum CPC if your ads have the same quality level.

There are two types of cost-per-click bids: manual bids and automatic bids. Manual bidding lets you choose bid amounts individually, and automatic bidding allows Google to set the CPC bid that will maximize clicks for your budget. For businesses with multiple ad campaigns, it’s usually easier to use automatic bidding to save time.

Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

The second type of offer is Cost per thousand impressions, which measures the number of times your ad is shown to users (please note that this type of offer is only available on the Google Display Network). If your goal is to increase brand awareness, this is probably the best strategy for you. Like CPC bids, set a maximum CPM bid to determine the position of your ad. Because CPC and CPM bids may bid for the same position, Google will convert an offer from CPC to CPM by estimating the number of clicks based on 1,000 impressions and placing ads accordingly.

Cost per acquisition (CPA)

The ultimate bid strategy is cost per acquisition, which focuses on conversions of users who have clicked on your ad. To use CPA bids, you need to have conversion tracking or Google Analytics set up on your website. Unlike CPC and CPM, the actual amount spent may be higher than the maximum CPA due to factors beyond the control of Google, such as changes to the website or to competitive ads or auctions.

Once you have gained experience using these ad strategies, consider adding bid adjustments to vary your bid based on certain criteria (time of day, device used, location, etc.). To reach your target audience more effectively. Instead of increasing or decreasing an offer for a dollar amount, use the percentages. Bid adjustments are provided to target ads to a specific ad position, cost per acquisition (conversion) and return on ad spend, as well as maximize clicks, automate CPC bids, or outperform ads in other domains.

Tips on using Google Ads

If managed and configured correctly, Google Ads can help increase online traffic, store traffic, brand recognition and generate sales by reducing marketing costs. If you use Google Ads to create your business, take note of the following suggestions:

Select the keywords wisely and carefully

It should take time to get a list of specific keywords that potential customers can use to find it through the search engines. The Google keyword tool is the perfect starting point and it’s free! One of the most common and expensive mistakes on Google Ads is to focus all your attention on the positive keywords that give you traffic. Do not forget to create a list of negative keywords (words you do not want people to find). For example, if you sell gold watches, you will use the negative keyword “silver.” A complete list of negative keywords can increase traffic quality and significantly improve CTR (clickthrough rate).

Make sure to attach organic traffic with PPC

Relying only on search engine traffic is a risky strategy. Normally, it will take between 6 and 12 months to start an SEO campaign, while an ad campaign takes effect and generates results almost immediately if it is configured correctly. With an ad campaign, you have much more control over the consistency of the traffic you get. We recommend a combination of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click) to obtain a broad presence on the web.

Includes a call to action

Advertising text plays a key role in the success of your ad campaign. Google Ads may seem complex with the quality score and campaign optimization; The advertising text is much less complicated and tends to work better if it is kept clear and simple. Having a good call to action in your advertising text is the key to the effectiveness of your campaign. Offer your potential customers an additional impulse to disconnect them: Buy now, call now, etc.

Do not forget to follow up

The amount of data that can be recovered in your campaign through Google Ads, Analytics and other reports is incredible. You can accurately track the effectiveness of each search phrase, from the most frequent search to the highest conversion and even the most profitable search phrase. With this knowledge, you can immediately start your SEO campaign, helping to position your website optimally in organic results for the most profitable search terms.

Lastly get a manager

If you are an agency or someone who manages multiple Google Ads accounts, an administrator account is a powerful tool that can save you time. An administrator account is a Google ad account that allows you to easily view and manage multiple Google ad accounts, including other administrator accounts, from a single location.

Why use an account manager

  • Use a single sign-on to access all managed Google ad accounts, including other administrator accounts.
  • Search, explore and manage all your accounts from a single easy-to-read board.
  • Create and manage campaigns for your accounts managed by your administrator account.
  • Easily compare performance across all accounts and run reports for multiple accounts at the same time.

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