Google Ads – What is Google Ads?
Do you want an advertising channel that sends you people who are ALREADY “SEARCHING” for your products and services?
It’s no secret that the stronger and more concentrated your paid efforts are these days, the more clicks you produce – resulting in a higher likelihood of acquiring new consumers.
It’s no surprise that Google Ads has grown in popularity among businesses of all sizes.
This post will teach you how to start advertising on Google. We’ll go through platform-specific features and show you how to optimize your campaigns to get the best results from your ads.
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that falls within the pay-per-click (PPC) marketing channel, in which you (the advertiser) pay per click or impression (CPM) on an ad.
Google Ads is an excellent approach to deliver qualified visitors, or good-fit clients, to your business who are looking for items and services similar to those you provide. You may improve website traffic, phone calls, and in-store visits by using Google Ads.
Google Adverts enables you to design and distribute well-timed ads to your target audience (through mobile and desktop).
As a result, your company will appear on the search engine results page (SERP) when your ideal customers search for items and services similar to yours on Google Search or Google Maps.
This manner, you reach your target audience at the optimal time for them to see your ad.
Ads from the platform can also be seen on other channels such as YouTube, Blogger, and Google Display Network.
Google Ads can also help you monitor and enhance those ads over time so that your company can meet all of its sponsored campaign goals.
Now for another crucial question: Are Google Ads truly effective? Consider the following statistics to provide an answer:
• Google Ads has a nearly 2% click-through rate.
• Display advertising generate 180 million impressions each month.
• Paid advertisements on Google receive 65% of clicks from consumers who are ready to buy.
• 43% of customers purchase something they saw on a YouTube ad.
Is Google Ads effective?
Yes, Google Ads are effective. With an optimized ad campaign and lead flow, you may establish a high-ROI marketing campaign.
Why should you advertise on Google?
Google is the most popular search engine, with over 5 billion search queries every day. Not to mention that the Google Ads platform has been in operation for nearly two decades, lending it some seniority and authority in the paid advertising space.
Google is a search engine used by individuals all over the world to ask questions that are answered through a combination of paid adverts and organic results.
Do you require another reason? Google Ads are being used by your competition (and they might even be bidding on your branded terms).
Hundreds of thousands of businesses use Google Ads to promote their products and services, which means that even if you’re ranking organically for a search phrase, your results will be moved down the page beneath your competitors.
Google Ads should be a component of your paid strategy if you’re using PPC to sell your product or service – there’s no getting around it (except maybe Facebook Ads, but that’s another subject).
Best Practices for Google Ads
Don’t give up if you’ve attempted unsuccessfully to advertise on Google. There could be a number of reasons why your Google Ads are underperforming. But first, let’s go through some of the most common Google Ads recommended practices.
- Make use of a PPC planning template.
Using a planner helps you keep track of your PPC efforts. You can visualize how your advertisements will appear online, monitor your character counts, and manage your campaigns all in one location with Google and HubSpot’s PPC Planning Template.
- Avoid using wide keyword phrases.
Because you need to nail it for your keywords, testing and modifying should be part of your approach. If your terms are too broad, Google will show your ad to the wrong people, resulting in fewer hits and a higher ad cost.
Examine what’s working (for example, which keywords produce clicks) and make changes to better match your ads to your target demographic. You’re unlikely to get it perfect the first time, so keep adding, removing, and adjusting keywords until you do.
- Do not run useless advertisements.
If your ad does not correspond to the searcher’s goal, you will not receive enough clicks to justify your ad spend. Your headline and ad language must match the keywords you’re bidding on, and the solution you’re promoting must address the searcher’s pain point.
It’s a mixture that will produce the desired effects, and it could be as simple as a few modifications. You can build many ads per campaign; utilize this functionality to split test which ads perform best. Alternatively, use Google’s Responsive Search Ads functionality.
- Raise your Quality Score (QS).
Google uses your Quality Score (QS) to decide where your ad should rank.
The greater your QS, the higher your rank and placement on the SERPs (SERP). If your quality score is low, your ad will receive fewer views and have fewer possibilities of conversion.
Although Google informs you of your Quality Score, it is ultimately your job to enhance it.
Continue reading to find out how to increase your QS.
5. Improve your ad landing page.
Your efforts should not end with your advertisement; the customer experience following a click is equally important.
What does your user view after clicking your ad? Is your landing page conversion-optimized? Is the page resolving your user’s problem or answering their question? Your user should have an easy time navigating the conversion procedure.
Tip: Review best practices for landing pages and put them into action to enhance your conversion rate.
1. AdRank
2. Bidding
7. Ad Extenders
8. Keywords
9. PPC
10. Quality Score
These popular terms can assist you in setting up, managing, and optimizing your Google Ads. Some are exclusive to Google Ads, while others are more generic to PPC. In any case, knowing these will help you create an effective ad campaign.
- AdvertisementRank
Your ad placement is determined by your AdRank. The higher the value, the higher your ranking, the more eyes on your ad, and the greater the likelihood of users clicking on your ad. Your AdRank is established by multiplying your maximum bid by your Quality Score.
- Competitive bidding
Google Ads is built on a bidding mechanism in which you, as the advertiser, set a maximum bid price for a click on your ad. The higher your bid, the higher your position. You can bid in three ways: CPC, CPM, or CPE.
• CPC, or cost-per-click, is the amount you pay for each ad click.
• CPM, or cost per mille, is the price you pay for one thousand ad impressions, or when your ad is seen by a thousand individuals.
• CPE, or cost per engagement, is the amount you pay when someone clicks on your ad and takes a specific action.
And, yes, we will discuss bidding methods farther down.
Before starting a sponsored campaign on Google Ads, you must choose one of seven ad types: search, display, video, shopping, app, smart, or performance max.
• Search ads are text advertisements that appear alongside search results on a Google results page.
• Image-based display adverts are often displayed on web pages within the Google Display Network.
• YouTube video adverts last between six and fifteen seconds.
• Shopping campaigns are displayed in search results and on the Google Shopping tab.
• App campaigns optimize ads across websites using information from your app.
• With smart campaigns, Google determines the optimal targeting to give you the most bang for your dollars.
• Performance Max is a new campaign type that gives advertisers access to all performance metrics.
- Rate of Click-Through (CTR)
Your CTR is the number of clicks on your ad as a percentage of the number of views your ad receives. A higher CTR suggests a good ad that matches the search intent and targets relevant keywords.
- Rate of Conversion (CVR)
CVR is a ratio of form submissions to total visitors to your landing page. Simply said, a high CVR indicates that your landing page provides a seamless user experience that matches the ad’s promise.
- Network Display
Google advertising can appear on search results pages or on web pages under Google’s Display Network (GDN). GDN is a network of websites that allow Google Advertisements to be displayed on their web pages. These ads can be text-based or image-based, and they are displayed alongside content relevant to your target keywords. Google Shopping and app campaigns are the most popular Display Ad choices.
- AD Extending
Ad Extensions allow you to add extra information to your ad at no extra cost. These extensions are classified into five types: Sitelink, Call, Location, Offer, and App; we’ll go through each of these ad extensions in detail below.
- Key words
When a Google user enters a query into the search field, Google delivers a set of results that correspond to the searcher’s intent. Keywords are words or phrases that correspond to what a searcher is looking for and will answer their question. You choose keywords based on the searches you want your ad to appear alongside. A searcher who enters “how to wipe gum off shoes” will receive results for marketers that targeted phrases such as “gum on shoes” and “clean shoes.”
- Rate of Click-Through (CTR)
Your CTR is the number of clicks you receive. Negative keywords are keyword terms for which you do not wish to rank. Google will remove your bid from these keywords. These are typically semi-related to your desired search terms but fall outside of what you offer or wish to rank for.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a sort of advertising in which the advertiser pays for each ad click. Although PPC is not exclusive to Google Ads, it is the most prevalent sort of paid campaign. Before establishing your first Google Ads campaign, it’s critical to understand the fundamentals of PPC.
Quality Rating (QS)
Your Quality Score is determined by the click-through rate (CTR) of your ad, the relevancy of your keywords, the quality of your landing page, and your historical success on the SERPs. QS is a deciding factor in AdRank.
How does Google Ads function?
Google Ads will show your advertisement to possible leads or customers who are interested in your product or service. Advertisers bid on search phrases, or keywords, and the winning bid is displayed at the top of search results pages, YouTube videos, or relevant websites, depending on the sort of ad campaign chosen.
There are numerous aspects that influence your capacity to develop successful and high-performing Google Ads. Let’s go through them in more detail below, along with some Google Ads samples.
Quality Score and AdRank
AdRank influences the placement of your adverts, and Quality Score is one of two elements that decide your AdRank (the other being bid amount).
1. The significance of your keywords
2. If your ad language and call to action deliver on what the searcher expects based on their search
3. Your landing page’s user experience
When you first start up your Google Ad campaign, you should pay the greatest attention to your QS – even before you increase your bid price. The higher your QS, the lower your acquisition costs and the better your positioning.
Location
When you first create a Google Ad, you’ll choose a geographical area where your ad will appear. If you have a storefront, it should be located within a reasonable distance of your actual location. If you have an ecommerce store with a physical product, you should specify your location to the locations where you ship. If you offer a service or product that is available globally, the sky is the limit.
Your location settings will influence placement. For example, if you own a yoga studio in San Francisco, someone searching for “yoga studio” in New York will not see your result, regardless of AdRank.
This is because Google’s primary goal, even when you pay, is to offer the most relevant results to searchers.
Keywords
Keyword research is essential for both paid ads and organic search. Your keywords should be as close to the searcher’s purpose as possible. This is due to Google matching your ad with search queries based on the keywords you chose.
Each ad group in your campaign will target a small collection of keywords (one to five is ideal), and Google will display your ad based on those selections.
Match Types provide you some leeway in your keyword selections by telling Google whether you want to match a search query exactly or if your ad should be shown to anyone with a semi-related search query. There are four categories of matches to pick from:
• The default choice is Broad Match, which uses any word in your keyword phrase in any sequence. For example, “goat yoga in Oakland” will match “yoga Oakland” or “yoga.”
• Modified Broad Match allows you to use a “+” symbol to lock in specific words within a keyword phrase. At the very least, your matches will include that locked-in term. “+goats yoga in Oakland,” for example, could return “goats,” “goats like food,” or “goats and yoga.”
• Phrase Match will match queries that contain your keyword phrase in the precise sequence you specified, but may also contain additional words before or after it. “Goat yoga,” for example, can result in “spotted goat yoga” or “goat yoga with puppies.”
• Precise Match keeps your keyword phrase in the exact order that you typed it. “Goat yoga,” for example, will not appear if someone types “goats yoga” or “goat yoga class.”
If you’re just getting started and don’t know how your persona will search, switch from a broad match to a more restricted approach so you can test which searches produce the greatest results. However, because your ad will be ranking for a variety of queries (some of which are unrelated), you should keep a close eye on your advertising and adjust them as new information becomes available.
The difference between a click on your ad and a click on your competitor’s ad can be determined by your ad copy. As a result, it’s critical that your ad language reflects the searcher’s intent, is keyword-aligned, and addresses the persona’s pain issue with a clear solution.
Let’s look at an example to see what we mean.
This was the result of a search for “infant swim classes.” The writing is succinct and makes good use of limited space to deliver its point and connect with its target audience.
The Swim Revolution knew to include the term in their title, so we know right away that this ad is relevant to our search.
Furthermore, the description explains why this is the greatest option for swim lessons because it answers their persona’s concerns – a parent wishing to enroll their baby in a swim class.
They use words like “skills,” “joy,” “confidence,” and “comfort in the water” to calm our fears about putting a baby in a pool and to demonstrate that we will receive what we want from this session – a newborn who can swim.
This type of ad text will earn you clicks, but carrying this degree of intent onto your landing page copy will result in conversions.
Ad Extenders
If you utilize Google Ads, you should employ Ad Extensions for two reasons: they are free, and they provide users with additional information and another motivation to interact with your ad. These expansions fall into one of the following five categories:
• Sitelink Extensions make you stand out by extending your ad and providing more links to your site that give users more reasons to click.
• Call Extensions allow you to include your phone number in your ad, giving users an additional (and instant) option to contact you. Include your phone number if you have a customer care team ready to interact and convert your audience.
• Location Extensions incorporate your address and phone number in your ad so that Google may show searchers a map to help them find you. This option is ideal for businesses with a physical location, and it works well with the search term “…near me.”
• Offer Extensions are effective if you are running a current promotion. It can persuade visitors to click on your ad above others if they notice that your selections are cheaper than your competitors.
• App Extensions provide mobile users with a link to download an app. This lowers the friction of completing a new search in an AppStore to find and download the program.
Retargeting with Google Ads
In Google Ads, retargeting (or remarketing) is a method of advertising to users who have previously interacted with you online but have not yet converted. Tracking cookies will follow visitors throughout the web and target them with your advertisements. Remarketing is effective because most prospects require repeated exposures to your marketing before becoming a customer.
1. Search
2. Display
3. Video
4. App
5. Shopping
On Google Ads, you may choose from one of five campaign kinds. Let’s go over the best applications for each and why you might prefer one over the other.
- Search Advertising Campaigns
Text adverts that appear on Google results pages are known as search ads. A search for “pocket squares,” for example, yields the following sponsored results:
The advantage of search ads is that your ad will appear where most searchers look for information first – on Google. Furthermore, Google displays your ad in the same format as other results (except that it is labeled as a “Ad”), so consumers are accustomed to seeing and clicking on results.
Responsive Search Ads Responsive search ads allow you to enter several headline and ad copy variations (15 and four, respectively) for Google to choose the top performers to display to users.
Traditional ads are created in a single static version, with the same headline and description used each time.
Responsive advertisements enable a dynamic ad that is auto-tested until you get the version that is most suited for your target audience – for Google, this means until you receive the most clicks.
- Display Advertising Campaigns
These are often visual adverts that divert readers’ attention away from the website’s content:
- Video Advertising Campaigns
- App Advertising Campaigns
Google App Campaigns advertise your mobile application on Google Search Network, YouTube, Google Play, Google Display Network, and other sites.
You can run advertising that encourage your audience to download your app or, if they already have it, to perform a specific action within it.
Unlike other forms of ads, you do not create an App ad campaign. Instead, supply Google with information about your app and its target demographic, and then place a bid. Google takes care of the rest to get your app in front of the right people:
- Shopping Ad Campaigns
Google Shopping Ad Campaigns are another sort of Google Ad. Shopping campaigns, like the others, appear on SERPs and feature extensive product information such as pricing and product images. You can launch a Shopping campaign using Google Merchant Center, where you can add precise product information that Google will use to construct your shopping advertising.
Shopping Ads allow you to promote specific products and product lines rather than your entire brand. That’s why, when you search for a product on Google, advertising for several companies will appear at the top and/or side. When I search “running shoes,” this is what I get. The top ads are Google Search ads, however the products featured on the side are Shopping ads tailored for the phrase “running shoes”:
How to Make Use of Google Ads
Are you certain that you should begin using Google Ads? Good. Starting is simple, but there are a few stages involved. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating your first Google Ads campaign.
1. Create a Google Ads account.
Go to the Google Ads homepage first. Click ‘Start Now’ in the upper right-hand corner.
You’ll be asked to check in with your Google account or create a new one.
After you sign in, you’ll be led to a screen where you can enter your company name and website. Anyone who clicks on your ad will be directed to the URL you provide.
- Determine your advertising objective.
Choose your primary advertising target next. You have four options: increase phone calls, increase internet sales or sign-ups, increase visitors to your physical location, and increase YouTube views and interaction.
- Create your advertisement.
The next step is to build your advertisement. This involves ingenuity and can be difficult.
Fortunately, Google provides writing suggestions. The most crucial thing, of course, is to create an ad that will attract and convert your target demographic.
- Include keyword themes.
After you’ve chosen the appropriate keywords, click ‘Next.’
- Choose a location for your advertisement.
On the following page, you can specify where you want your ad to appear. It could be near your home or somewhere else.
- Create a budget.
You can either utilize Google’s budget settings or create a custom budget here.
- Make a payment confirmation.
Finally, enter your billing details.
That’s how simple it is to make your first Google ad!
As you can see, setting up paid campaigns on Google is very simple (and quick), thanks to the platform guiding you through the process and providing useful recommendations along the way.
If you’ve already generated your ad wording and/or graphics, the setup should take no more than 10 minutes.
What may be less visible are all the extra steps you must take to ensure your ads are properly set up and easily trackable. Let’s go over them all together. These are the stages you’ll take after submitting your advertising for approval.
- Sign in with your Google Analytics account.
You most certainly have Google Analytics set up on your website (if not, here’s how to set it up on WordPress) so you can track traffic, conversions, objectives, and any other data that are unique to your site. You must also connect your Analytics account to Google Ads.
Because you can access these occurrences in one location, linking these accounts will make tracking, analyzing, and reporting between channels and campaigns much easier.
- Include UTM codes.
Google uses Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) codes to track any activity linked with a certain link. You’ve probably seen them before; they’re the bits of a URL that come after a question mark (“?”). UTM codes will tell you which offer or advertisement resulted in a conversion, allowing you to track the most effective aspects of your campaign. Because you know exactly what’s working, UTM codes make it easy to optimize your Google Ads.
The trick is to include your UTM codes when you set up your Google Ads at the campaign level, so you don’t have to do it manually for each ad URL. Otherwise, you can manually add them using Google’s UTM builder.
- Establish conversion tracking.
Conversion monitoring tells you how many consumers or leads you’ve gotten from your advertising campaigns. It is not required to set up, but without it, you will have to guess the ROI of your adverts. Conversion monitoring enables you to track sales (or other activity) on your website, app installs, or phone calls generated by your advertisements.
With our free Google Ads Kit and Templates, you can manage and arrange your ads.
- Connect your Google Ads to your CRM.
There is much to be said about centralizing all of your data so that you can track, analyze, and report on it. You already utilize your CRM to keep track of contact information and lead flows. Integrating Google Ads with your CRM allows you to track which ad campaigns are successful for your audience so that you can continue marketing to them with relevant offers.
Bidding Strategies for Google Ads
It’s time to start bidding after you’ve set up your ad campaigns and tracking. Remember that your potential to rank in Google Ads is determined by how you bid. While your bid amount will be determined by your budget and objectives, there are a few methods and bid settings to be aware of before commencing your paid campaign.
Bidding Methods: Automated vs. Manual
When it comes to bidding on keywords, you have two options: automated and manual. This is how they work:
• With Automated Bidding, Google takes the wheel and lets the platform to alter your bid based on your competition.
You can still pick a maximum budget, and Google will work within that range to offer you the best chance of winning the bid.
• Manual Bidding allows you to adjust the bid levels for your ad groups and keywords, allowing you to cut spending on low-performing advertisements.
Branded terms include your company’s or a specific product’s name, such as “HubSpot CRM.” There is great controversy about whether or not to bid on your branded terms. Bidding on terms that are likely to provide organic outcomes may be viewed as a waste of money on one side of the debate.
Bidding on these terms, on the other hand, offers you control over these search results pages and helps you convert prospects farther down the cycle. For example, if I’ve been investigating live chat solutions and am particularly interested in HubSpot’s Live Chat, a quick search for “HubSpot live chat software” will provide exactly the result I’m looking for without the effort of scrolling.
Another argument in favor of bidding on your branded phrases is that if you don’t, competitors will, taking up valuable real estate that should be yours.
Acquisition Price (CPA)
If paying money to convert prospects into leads makes you uncomfortable, you can instead set a CPA and only pay when a user converts into a customer. While this bidding technique may be more expensive, you can rest assured that you only pay when you gain a paying customer. This method makes it simple to track and justify your advertising budget.
Additional Google Ads Optimization Resources
Your ad wording and headline are not the only elements that will determine the success of your paid campaign.
Getting a user to click is only the first step… They should be directed to a conversion-optimized landing page before being directed to a Thank You page that instructs them on what to do next.
Check out these extra resources and use them as guidelines when you set up your Google Ads campaign if you want your Google Ads to generate quality leads and customers.
• Landing Page Best Practices will teach you how to create a conversion-optimized landing page so you don’t waste those valuable clicks.
• Optimized “Thank You” Pages explains what to do with your new lead when they convert, how to keep them on your site, and how to keep their interest.
• Mobile Suggestions Google Advertisements will show you the fundamental distinctions between desktop and mobile ads, as well as how to optimize both.
• Optimizing Google Ads Costs will demonstrate how we at HubSpot maximize our Google Ads budget to achieve the best ROI.
Good Quality Google Ads Examples That Convert provides examples of successful Google advertising campaigns.
There is much to be said about centralizing all of your data so that you can track, analyze, and report on it. You already utilize your CRM to keep track of contact information and lead flows. Integrating Google Ads with your CRM allows you to track which ad campaigns are successful for your audience so that you can continue marketing to them with relevant offers.
Google Ads Help
Now that you understand how to utilize and configure a Google Ad campaign, here are a few quick tips or best practices to help you establish effective ads.
We’ve discussed these extensively throughout this text, but their significance cannot be emphasized. Use this as a checklist that you may refer to again and over.
1. Establish a clear goal.
Instead of developing an ad first and then altering it to match your objectives, it’s critical to clarify your objectives before creating your ad. Prepare an advertising plan with your marketing team and set SMART targets for your Google Ads campaigns.
2. Create an appropriate landing page.
While asked to provide your URL when generating your ad, make sure it connects to a relevant landing page. If your ad is compelling enough to entice people to click on it, you risk undoing all of your hard work if it leads them to a terrible landing page.
As a result, optimize your landing pages so that your ad can assist in converting a curious visitor into a paying customer. Check out our landing page guide to learn how to construct effective landing pages.
3. Select the appropriate keywords.
Keywords are really crucial, thus it’s only natural that you select the ideal ones for your ad.
Long-tail keywords are among the most effective forms of keywords since they are highly precise and can target a single firm.
Assume you own a veterinary practice for cats. A broad term such as ‘cat clinic’ will not target people in your area, however ‘cat clinic in Belvedere’ is more likely to attract the proper audience.
4. Make the process more automated.
By improving the bidding process, you may increase conversions. Smart Bidding tools might boost or decrease bids for you based on your chances of success.
As a result, you’ll only spend money when there’s a good probability of success.
5. Make use of Google Ads Extensions.
For example, you could add a phone number in your ad so that people may call you right away to inquire about your services.
6. Employ negative keywords.
In the case of the cat clinic, you might only serve cats and not dogs or other pets. You can eliminate phrases like ‘dogs’ and other qualifiers in this scenario.
7. Evaluate and enhance your plan.
When you combine your advertisements with Google Analytics, you can track vital data such as page popularity, top keywords, and more.
Collecting and analyzing these and other metrics will assist you in improving the quality of your adverts, increasing conversions, and increasing income over time.
Begin a Google Ads Campaign
Google Ads should be a component of any paid campaign due to its reach and authority. Start with the tips we provided, and remember to refine and iterate as you go.
