There’s no denying that Google is the biggest player in the search engine game. In fact, with almost a billion users visiting Google every day and over 20% of all searches happening on the platform, this tech giant is now also one of the most influential advertising platforms available to businesses.
If you’re a small business owner, this presents an excellent opportunity to reach potential customers and grow your brand at minimal cost. Advertisements on Google are cheap, effective, and simple to set up – making this one of the most accessible digital marketing strategies available to small businesses.
This beginner’s guide will give you everything you need to know about Google Ads for business advertisers. From which advertising opportunities are best for your company to how you can get started today – we cover it all!
What Is Google Ads?
Google Ads, also known as Google AdWords, is a platform for businesses to launch and manage search engine marketing campaigns that appear on both Google searches and Google-owned websites – such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps.
With Google Ads, advertisers can promote their products and services directly to targeted audiences using text ads, images, and video. This gives advertisers the opportunity to reach millions of potential customers quickly, easily, and at a low cost.
Google Ads is a self-service platform, which means you don’t have to speak to an account manager or have in-depth knowledge of digital advertising to get started. All that’s required to open an account is a verified email address, your business information, and a payment method.
Google Adwords
Google Adwords is one of the most popular advertising platforms on the internet. With Adwords, businesses can show their ads on Google search engine results pages (SERPs) and on millions of other websites.
Google Adwords allows you to bid on certain keywords, so if someone types in those words when looking for a product or service, your ad appears next to the search results. Google Adwords is a pay-per-click advertising platform, which means you’re charged every time someone clicks on your ad.
The more times your ad is clicked, the more you’ll have to pay. Google Adwords uses a bidding system where you’ll bid a certain amount on each click.
Google Display Network
The Google Display Network (GDN) is one of the world’s largest digital advertising networks and is a great opportunity for advertisers to reach their audience outside the walls of Google.
GDN is an inventory of billions of publisher pages, such as websites and apps, giving advertisers the opportunity to reach their customer wherever they are. GDN allows you to create ads that use the look and feel of the publisher’s page, which makes it seamless for the reader to click through to your website.
GDN is great for connecting your brand to hyper-relevant audiences and for extending the reach of your ad campaign beyond Google search engine results pages.
Google Shopping Ads
Last but not least, in the last few years, Google has ventured into the eCommerce space by creating a new advertising offering called Google Shopping Ads. These ads are designed to appear alongside relevant product search results, offering users a seamless way to make purchases online.
The advantage of Google Shopping Ads for advertisers is that these ads appear on Google’s own product listing pages. These product listing pages are often referred to as the “store shelf” of the internet and are typically seen at the top of the page.
Google Ads Basics: How It Works
Google Ads offers businesses a self-service model where they can manage their own Adwords campaigns. Once you’ve logged into your account and selected “Create new campaign”, you’ll be guided through a simple setup process.
You’ll be asked to select your campaign type – be it branding, lead generation, or website clicks – and then select the type of ad you’d like to create for that campaign.
For example: If you’re creating a branding campaign, you’ll select that campaign type and then select “Display Network” and “Ad type” to be “Display advertisement”. This will create a new campaign and ad, where you can build your audience, set your budget, and write your ad. It’s that simple.
Google Ads for Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the process of exposing your brand to potential customers on a large scale. On a high level, it is about getting people to know, like, and trust your brand. Google Ads can be used to build awareness around your brand through the use of broad-audience keywords.
Broad-audience keywords are terms used by large numbers of people, which means that your ads will show to a large audience. This is a great strategy for building brand awareness because you’ll be connecting with a large audience and generating impressions on a low budget.
Google Ads is an excellent platform for broad-audience keyword targeting because of its massive scale.
Google Ads for Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of acquiring new customers by generating leads and brand awareness. If your goal is to generate leads with Google Ads, you’ll want to focus on keywords that are related to your product or service.
For example, if you run a photography business, you’ll want to focus on keywords like “photography”, “picture”, and “photograph”. These keywords are related to your product, allowing you to connect with potential customers and generate leads on a low budget.
Google Ads is an excellent platform for lead generation because it allows you to easily target your ads based on their search terms.
Google Ads for Website Conversions
Website conversions are all about driving traffic to your website and converting them into leads or sales. There are a few ways you can set up your Google Ads account to achieve this goal.
You can create a landing page that advertises your products or services, and when someone clicks on that page, it will lead them to your website. Another way is to advertise your website and lead visitors directly to your website.
Google Ads is an excellent platform for website conversions because it allows you to target your ads based on a number of factors. This makes it easy to reach your target audience and drive them to your website.
How to Set Up Google Ads?
Once you’ve decided which Google Ads campaign type you want to focus on and have a general idea of which keywords you’ll target, it’s time to set up your new campaign. First, you’ll click on “Campaigns” in the left-hand side menu of the Google Ads interface.
You’ll then click on “Create campaign” and select the type of campaign you want to create. Once you’ve selected your campaign type, you’ll be directed to a campaign creation page. Here, you’ll enter your campaign name, select your network, and enter your daily budget.
You can also add a cadence by selecting how often you want to run your campaign. Once you’ve completed these fields, you’ll be directed to your account dashboard. Here, you’ll be able to see your new campaign and begin to build your ad.
Is Google Ads Right For Your Small Business?
Google Ads is a great solution for any business looking to generate leads and increase their brand awareness. It’s a self-service platform with a ton of options for targeting audiences, creating ads, and setting up your campaign.
By leveraging the scale of Google Ads and investing in your campaign, you can expect to see a significant return on investment.
Things to Consider When Using Google Ads
There are a few key things to consider when setting up your first Google Ads campaign. Firstly, you need to decide on your advertising budget and how much you’re willing to spend.
This will depend on the competition and value of your target search terms, but don’t forget to allocate a portion of this budget towards your ongoing management costs. Next, consider the value you’re getting from your current advertising channels.
If you’re currently investing in other types of digital advertising, such as paid search, social media, or retargeting, it might be best to continue to invest in those channels.
Google Ads is best for companies investing in pay-per-click advertising for the first time. Finally, keep in mind that Google Ads is not a quick fix. While this platform offers quick results, you won’t see results overnight. It requires patience, consistency, and a long-term strategy to see real benefits from your investment.
Why Use Google Ads?
If you’re not sure why you should use Google Ads, think about the last time you used Google to find information. Did you find what you were looking for? Did you click on the first result or did you click on the fifth?
Chances are, you clicked on the first result. Google understands that and uses that data to their advantage. If you search for a product or service and a paid advertisement appears at the top of the page, Google wants you to click on that advertisement.
If a company is paying to have that advertisement on Google, then it’s worth your time to at least click on it and see what they have to offer. That’s why you should use Google Ads. Clicking on advertisements at the top of the page can lead to more customers and more sales for your company.
Another reason to use Google Ads is that it’s accessible to everyone. Anyone can use Google Ads. It’s free to sign up and free to use. It’s also easy to use, so don’t be scared off by the learning curve. Google Ads is straightforward once you know what you’re doing.
Google Ads Types
There are a variety of Google Ads types to choose from, depending on your specific goals and the type of business you have. Understanding which type of Google Ads is best for your company and situation will give you the best chance of success. Let’s take a look at the different Google Ads types.
- Display Network – The Display Network is Google’s vast network of third party websites. It’s the world’s biggest content network and presents an excellent opportunity to expand your reach and find new customers.
- Search Network – The Search Network is where most people go when they’re looking for something online. This network allows you to place ads in Google’s search results when someone is looking for your products or services.
- YouTube Network – The YouTube Network allows you to display ads on the world’s biggest video site, YouTube. With access to billions of daily users, this network is a valuable way to expand your reach and find new customers.
- Google Shopping Network – The Google Shopping Network allows you to display ads on Google’s product listing page. This network is an excellent way to find new customers and increase sales through product listing ads.
- Google Affiliate Network – The Google Affiliate Network allows you to earn commissions on products that someone else sells. This network is a great way to make extra money on the side and find new customers at the same time.
Find Out Which Google Ads Type Is Best For You
If you’re still unsure which Google Ads type is best for your company, then you can use Google’s tool for finding the best Google Ads type for you. Simply enter your website URL and the tool will analyse your website and your existing Google Ads campaigns to help you select the best type for your business.
If you don’t have Google Ads set up yet, don’t worry, the tool will guide you through the process of setting up your first campaign as well.
Google Ads Basic Strategy
The most important thing to remember is that a Google Ads campaign is ongoing. You don’t just set it and forget it. Once you have your campaign set up, you need to monitor it regularly and make any necessary changes to see the best results.
Google Ads is a pay-per-click advertising platform, which means that every time someone clicks on your ad, you have to pay. The general idea is to set the cost per click as low as possible so that you get as many clicks as possible. While this is a good idea in theory, it’s not a great idea for new advertisers.
The problem with setting your cost per click too low is that you’ll get a lot of clicks from people who aren’t interested in your product or service. Before you begin, it’s important to set a budget for how much you’re willing to spend each month on clicks. Try to set this budget as high as you can.
While the more clicks you get, the more money you’ll spend, it’s better to have more clicks and miss out on the ones that aren’t worth it. If you set your budget too low, you’ll miss out on potential customers who are interested in your product or service.
Once you have your budget set, you can begin setting up your campaign. The most important thing you can do at this stage is to make sure your ads are as targeted as possible. The better your ads are at targeting your specific audience, the more clicks you’ll get.
Google Ads Advanced Strategies
There are a few advanced strategies that can help you improve your ad performance even more. One of the most effective strategies is to A/B test your ads. This means you create two ads and split test them to see which performs better.
This is an excellent way to get more clicks for your ad with the same budget. Another strategy that can help your Google Ads campaign is to use retargeting.
Retargeting is when you display ads to people who have visited your website but didn’t make a purchase. This is a great way to get these people back and get more sales. You can also use Google Search Console to find out which keywords people are using to find your website.
This can help you to find new keywords that you can use in your ads. Another strategy that can help you with your Google Ads campaign is to use Google Ad extensions. Google Ad extensions let you add information or features to your Google Ads, such as a phone number or a coupon code.
Google Ads is one of the best digital marketing strategies available. It’s easy to set up and manage, and it has a low cost per click. To get the most out of your Google Ads campaign, make sure to set up the campaign correctly and make adjustments along the way.
How Does Google Ads Work?
Each time someone clicks on your ad, you have to pay a certain amount to Google. This is known as the cost per click. The amount you pay for each click is determined by how much you’re willing to spend, how much competition there is for the keywords you’re targeting, and a few other factors.
This is why it’s important to set a budget for your Google Ads campaign before you start advertising. When someone clicks on your ad, they are taken to your website where they can make a purchase.
When they make a purchase, you don’t have to pay the full amount to Google right away. Instead, Google keeps a percentage and you make a payment to Google for the rest of the money