Google Ads are a successful method of driving relevant and qualified traffic to your site, exactly when potential customers are searching for specific types of services or products your business offers. With paid ads on Google generating nearly 65% of the clicks and 43% of customers saying they’ve purchased something they saw on YouTube Ads, the opportunities that come with this platform aren’t a secret. However, knowing where to spend your money and the best time to implement online advertising campaigns is challenging, so we’ve compiled an extensive guide to help you navigate your company’s digital advertising strategy with Google Ads. To learn how to create optimized copy and content for your marketing campaigns, schedule a personalized strategy call with Ampry.
What Can Google Ads Do?
Google is one of the most used search engines, with over 5 billion daily searches. In addition, Google Ads have been around for years, giving them some credibility in paid advertising. Google is a platform that many people globally use to ask questions, which are answered with a combination of organic results and paid advertisements. Also, Google reports that advertisers make at least $8 for every $1 spent on Google Ads campaigns.Need another benefit of Google Ads? Your competitors are leveraging Google Ads to outrank their competition. If your target customers can’t find your site, they won’t buy from your business. Ecommerce stores can also run Google shopping ads to reach prospective customers already purchasing their products.Another fundamental advantage of search ads is that you can tap into a larger potential audience. Building brand awareness is one of the biggest potential challenges for new businesses. A decade ago, building brand awareness was a long and tedious process that took a lot of money, time, and perseverance. Today, anyone can quickly build a brand and create brand awareness if they understand the intricacies of Google AdWords, text ads, Facebook ads, and Google Display Network.This is excellent news for savvy advertisers because it levels the playing field. Whether you’re a small local shop or an international business, you have access to the same pool of prospective customers.Small brands that don’t have the luxury of hiring a full-time advertising expert can also look for Google partner brands and employ someone to research keywords and create an effective advertising campaign on their behalf.
What Do I Need to Know to Use Google Ads?
To use Google Ads effectively, you must know and understand these terms:
- Ad Rank. It determines ad placement. The higher your Ad Rank is, the better your search ads will rank, and more potential customers will see your ads, increasing the chances of users clicking on them. Your Ad Rank depends on your Quality Score multiplied by your maximum bid.
- Bidding. Google AdWords is based on a bidding system, where advertisers select a maximum bid amount they’ll pay for a click on their ad. The higher the bid, the better the placement. Here, you have three options:
- Cost-per-click, which is the amount for every click on your Google Ad.
- Cost per mile, which is the amount you pay for one thousand Google Ads.
- Cost per engagement. This is the amount you pay when a potential customer takes the desired action with your Google Ad.
- Campaign Type. Before you run a paid campaign on Google Ads, you must choose between one of these campaign types:
- Display ads. These are image-based ads that display on web pages on the Google Display Network.
- Search ads. These are text ads that display among search results on Google result pages.
- Video ads. These ads are between five and 15 seconds that appear on YouTube.
- Keywords. When Google users type search queries into their search button, Google displays different results that match their intent. Keywords are phrases or words that align with what a Google user wants and satisfy their query. You pick keywords depending on the queries you want to appear alongside your Google Ad.
- Quality Score. This tracks the quality of your ads by determining your click-through rate, the quality of your landing page, your past performance on search engine result pages, and the relevance of your keywords. Quality Score is a vital factor when determining your Ad Rank.
Who will See My Google Ads?
Potential customers see search ads the moment they search on Google for your products or services. In addition, prospective customers see display ads when visiting websites across the Google Display Network.You may not reach potential customers actively looking for what your business offers when you run display ads. That said, display ads still introduce your brand to specific target customers who are presumably interested in your offerings. This might help you reach a new or larger audience than through search ads. Google Display Network targeting helps you to set when or where your Google ad is shown based on features of your target audience, such as age, personal interests, or gender. That means your Google Ads can show up on websites related to your business, and users who match the specific criteria you’ve specified can see your Google ads. To run display ads as part of your Google Ads account, log into your Google AdSense account, click on “Campaigns,” then choose “New Campaign,” and finally click on “Google Display Network” as your campaign type.Next, choose the type of Google Display Network targeting you want to use for your advertising campaign.
How Much Money Should I Put Towards It?
Google Ads allows you to set an average daily ad spend or a shared budget for your digital advertising campaign. For example, you could set an average daily budget with the average amount you’re ready to spend in a day for your Google Ads campaign. Use the “Budget” column under the Campaigns tab to check your average daily budget for all campaigns. If you’d rather think of your budget in monthly terms instead of daily terms, you can determine your monthly budget by multiplying your daily average by the average number of days in a month, which is 30.4. If you’re new to Google Ads campaigns, start with an average daily budget of $5 to $60. Then, monitor your Google AdSense account daily after applying a new budget to see how your advertising campaigns are performing.The average cost to run Google Ads depends on factors such as your campaign targeting, ad network, and industry. For instance, the average cost per click for the Google Search Network is between $1 and $2, whereas the average cost per click for the Google Display Network is one dollar or less. Many SMBs spend between $9000 and $10,000 per month on paid advertising. With Google Ads, you have a lot of control over how much you want to spend and when to spend it, and you can reduce or increase your ad spend in real-time as you deem fit. That’s why pricing flexibility is one of Google Ads’ most significant benefits.
4 Tips For Creating Profitable Google Ads Campaigns
The following four best practices can help you create successful Google Ads:
- Set clear objectives. Before getting specific with your conversion goals, think about the bigger picture. What are your overall company goals? What are your digital advertising goals? Once you’re clear on these things, narrow down your tactical action strategy. By leveraging Smart Bidding, you can target specific keywords to help you reach your ideal audience with a maximum budget, ensuring you never exceed your ad spend.
- Ensure your landing is well-optimized. Your end goal shouldn’t be just creating a Google ad on which a potential customer clicks. It should be creating ads that potential customers click on and find what they are searching for. For example, you may grab the attention of your potential customers with your “30% off discount!” But if these prospective customers visit your website and don’t find the product they’re looking for, they’ll bounce. The bait-and-switch strategy will affect your sales and Quality Score, lowering your rankings. Optimize your landing pages for conversions by offering specific deals and offers you can follow through with.
- Perform keyword research. Paid advertising operates on keywords. These keywords trigger your ads to appear in Google’s search results. To create an effective Google Ads campaign, you must determine the right keywords for your ads. This calls for you to perform keyword research. There are many keywords you should focus on, including long-tail keywords. These keywords bring in better traffic for your advertising campaigns because they’re more specific and drive quality leads to your site who want your products or services. Using the right long-tail keywords will attract qualified leads, improving your conversions. You can use various tools, such as Google Search Console to determine the right keywords for your campaigns.
- Keep your ideal audience in mind when creating your ad copy. When writing ad copy that matches the audience, your Google Ads campaigns will capture the attention of your target customers, persuade them they need what you offer, guide them into taking action, and offer satisfaction.
Given its authority and reach, Google Ads should be part of your paid advertising campaign. Use the strategies we’ve discussed to get started, and don’t forget to refine and tweak as you go. In addition, you should use Google Analytics to track how your Google Ads are performing and optimize your ads. To find out how to guide your web visitors to the right offers, schedule a free strategy call with Ampry, where we use on-site experiences that convert like crazy!