Find out everything you need to know about paid advertising on Google in this Google Ads Guide from A to Z.
If you’re contemplating investing a certain amount of money in advertising to find your target audience, it’s really important to spend that money in the right place. That real place has over 259 million unique visitors and 4.8 billion daily interactions. You’re probably guessing – that place is Google!
We are bringing you in this blog a bunch of really good reasons why you should start using Google Ads to improve sales and achieve business success!
This Google Ads guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Google Ads.
Google Ads has launched just a few years after Google.com became the most popular website in the world. The advertising platform entered the scene in October 2000 as Google Adwords, but after rebranding in 2018, the name was altered to Google Ads.
Given Google’s extensive reach, there’s a good chance you’ve seen (and possibly clicked on) a Google ad, and your potential customers have.
In this blog, we will explain how to start your Google advertising. We’ll cover functionality specific to this platform and teach you how to optimize campaigns to get the best results using ads.
How to use Google Ads for business?
Today it is no secret that the stronger and more focused a paid campaign is, the more clicks will be generated, which definitely leads to a greater chance of getting new clients.
That’s why Google Ads has become very popular with businesses in a wide variety of industries. It is the only digital marketing tactic that can bring results overnight.
When analyzing data on Google Ads, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed. There are dozens of functionalities and countless amounts of indicators to process.
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is a complex platform with a lot of different functionalities, improvements and changes.
Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that falls under the marketing channel known as PPC (pay per click), where you, as an advertiser, pay per click or per impression (CPM).
Google Ads is an effective way to drive relevant traffic or suitable customers to your business as they search for the products and services you offer. With Google Ads, you can boost site traffic, receive more calls and improve online store visits.
Google Ads allows you to create and share timed ads (via mobile or desktop devices) with targeted audiences. This means that your business will appear in the search results the moment your ideal customers request the products or services you offer through Google Search and Google Maps. In this way, you reach the target group of visitors that makes the most sense to find your ad.
It is important to know that ads from the platform may also be used on other channels, including YouTube, Blogger, or the Google Display Network.
Over time, Google Ads will help you analyze and improve your ads so they reach more people, and your business benefits from all the goals of a paid campaign.
Additionally, regardless of the size of your business or available resources, you can create ads to fit your budget. The Google Ads tool gives you the opportunity to stay within your monthly limit, and even pause or stop your ad spend at any time.
Now let’s move on to another important question: Is Google Ads really effective as it is said to be? In order to answer this question, we must first analyze some statistical data:
-Google Ads has a click-through rate (CTR) of almost 8%.
-Display ads contribute 180 million impressions each month.
-For users who are ready to buy, paid ads on Google get 65% of clicks.
-43% of customers buy something they saw on a YouTube ad.
Does Google Ads work?
Yes, Google Ads works! With an optimized campaign and lead flow, you can successfully create a marketing campaign with a high ROI (return on investment).
Why should you use Google Advertising Services?
Google is the most used search engine, processing over 5 billion queries every day. In addition to that, the fact is that the Google Ads platform is present for almost two decades, which gives it a lot of experience in the field of paid advertising.
According to data provided by Google, advertisers earn $8 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads. So, that is a pretty strong reason to consider advertising on Google.
Do you need additional reasons? Your competitors are using Google Ads. Hundreds of thousands of companies use Google Ads to promote their businesses, which means that even when you rank organically for a search term, your results will be pushed down below your competitors.
If you use PPC to advertise your products or services, Google Ads should be part of your strategy. There is no adequate replacement, except maybe Facebook Ads which is also a very successful advertising platform.
Google Ads best practices
If you have been unsuccessful in advertising on Google, do not give up. There are a number of reasons why your Google Ads results may be performing poorly. We’ll cover some of the most common best practices for working with Google Ads.
1. Avoid broad match keywords
You really have to do a good job when it comes to keywords, so testing and tweaking is a mandatory part of the strategy. If they are broad match keywords, Google will place your ad in front of the wrong audience, which means fewer clicks and increased budget consumption.
Analyze what works, and which keywords generate clicks, then adjust them to best match your ads and target audience. It’s very likely that you won’t get ideal results the first time, so you should keep adding, removing, and tweaking keywords until you get satisfactory results.
2. Don’t play irrelevant ads
If your ad doesn’t meet the searcher’s intent, you won’t get enough clicks to justify the money invested. The title and text of the ad must match the keywords you are targeting, and the solution the ad advertises must be a good solution to the pain point the searcher is experiencing.
The combination that produces the best results may be just a few steps away from you. You can also create multiple ads per campaign. Use this functionality to run a test and see which ads deliver the best results. Another great solution is to use the Google Responsive Search Ads functionality.
Basically, most keywords with higher average monthly search volume will have more competition. It will also be more general, which leads to fewer sales.
When you add too many keywords to one ad group, you run the risk of showing an ad that can’t relate to all of your keywords.
3. Improve your Quality Score (QS)
Quality Score (QS) is Google’s determination of how your ad will be ranked. The higher your rank, the better the position. If your quality score is poor, you will have fewer ad views and less chance of a conversion. Google will tell you the quality score, but improving it is up to you.
Combined with Ad Rank, Quality Score is a ranking function. You can’t just bid high, you have to have a good quality score. Remarketing is one of the best ways to sell to an audience that already loves your brand.
4. Optimize the page the ad leads to
Your efforts shouldn’t stop at your ad. The user experience after clicking on the ad is equally important.
What does your user see after clicking on your ad? Is your page optimized for conversions? Does it use the same keywords? Does the page solve the user’s key problem or answer their question? The user should have a seamless transition to conversion.
Pages optimized for ads should be devoid of most navigational elements and focus mainly on the offer you present to the user.
Google Ads and Terms you Need to Know
These common terms will help you set up, manage and optimize your Google Ads campaigns. Some of these terms are specific to Google Ads, while others are related to PPC in general. In any case, you will need to know these terms in order to run an effective advertising campaign.
AdRank
Your AdRank determines the position of your ad. The higher the value, the better your ranking will be, the more people will see your ad, and the more likely users will click on your ad. Your AdRank is determined by your maximum bid multiplied by your Quality Score.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Your CTR represents the number of clicks on your ad as a proportion of the number of views your ad receives. A higher CTR indicates a quality ad that matches the search intent and targets important keywords.
Bidding
Google Ads is based on a bidding system, where as an advertiser you choose the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a click on your ad. It’s simple, the higher amount is, the better you will rank. You have three bidding options available: CPC, CPM, or CPE.
CPC or cost per click is the amount you pay for each click on your ad.
CPM or cost per mille (cost per thousand impressions) is the amount you pay for a thousand impressions (impressions). 1000 people saw your ad.
CPE or cost per engagement is the amount you pay when someone takes a predefined action with your ad.
Good bidding strategies can help you increase your ad rank or even lower your cost of capitalization on cheaper conversions and clicks.
Conversion Rate (CVR)
CVR is a measure of form submissions as a proportion of total visits to your site. Simply put, a high CVR means your site delivers a seamless user experience that matches the promise of the ad.
Conversion tracking should be a key component of your campaign.
Payment per click (PPC)
Pay Per Click or PPC is a type of advertising where the advertiser pays for the ad per click. PPC is not specific to Google Ads, but it is the most commonly used type of paid campaign. It’s important to understand the ins and outs of PPC before you jump into running your first Google Ads campaign.
Display Network
Google Ads can be displayed either on search results pages or on a page within the Google Display Network (GDN). GDN is a network of sites that provide space on their pages for Google ads. These ads can be text or image and are displayed next to content relevant to the desired keyword. The most popular Display Ad options are Google Shopping and App campaigns.
Implementing Google Ads on an expert level requires in-depth knowledge and extended experience, so we strongly recommend consulting with an agency specialized in digital marketing such as Monument SEO & Design. Besides Google Ads, our expertise cover SEO, PPC, Social media marketing strategy, and much more. We provide a full digital marketing service – contact us at +1786-442-3622 and schedule a FREE analysis.
