What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that falls under a marketing channel known as pay-per-click (PPC), where you (the advertiser) pay per click or impression (CPM) on an ad.
Google Ads is an effective way to drive qualified traffic, or good-fit customers, to your business while they’re searching for products and services like the ones you offer. With Google Ads, you can boost your website traffic, receive more phone calls, and increase your in-store visits.
Google Ads allows you to create and share well-timed ads (via both mobile and desktop) among your target audience. This means your business will show up on the search engine results page (SERP) at the moment your ideal customers are looking for products and services like yours via Google Search or Google Maps. This way, you reach your target audience when it makes sense for them to come across your ad.
Why Advertise on Google?
Google is the most used search engine, receiving over 5 billion search queries daily. Not to mention, the Google Ads platform has been around for nearly two decades, giving it some seniority in the area of paid advertising.
Google is a resource used by people worldwide to ask questions that are answered with a combination of paid advertisements and organic results.
And, according to Google, advertisers make $8 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads. So, there are a few reasons why you’d want to consider advertising on Google.
Google Ads Best Practices
If you’ve tried unsuccessfully to advertise on Google, don’t give up. There are many reasons why your Google Ads could be underperforming. Let’s cover some standard Google Ads best practices.
Avoid broad keyword terms.
It would help if you nailed it for your keywords, which is why testing and tweaking should be a part of your strategy. If your keywords are too broad, Google will be placing your ad in front of the wrong audience, which means fewer clicks and a higher ad spend.
Don’t run irrelevant ads.
If your ad doesn’t match the searcher’s intent, you won’t get enough clicks to justify your ad spend. Your headline and ad copy need to check the keywords you’re bidding on, and the solution your ad is marketing needs to solve whatever pain point that searcher is experiencing.
Improve your Quality Score (QS).
Your Quality Score (QS) is how Google determines how your ad should rank. The higher your rank, the better your placements. If your quality score is low, you’ll have fewer eyeballs on your ad and fewer chances to convert. Google will tell you your Quality Score, but improving it is up to you.
How does Google Ads work?
Google Ads displays your ad to potential leads or customers interested in your product or service. Advertisers bid on search terms or keywords, and the winners of that bid are placed at the top of search results pages, on YouTube videos, or relevant websites, depending on the type of ad campaign selected.
Many factors impact your ability to create effective and high-performing Google Ads. Let’s cover them below, plus some Google Ads examples.
AdRank and Quality Score
AdRank determines the placement of your ads, and Quality Score is one of the two factors (the other being bid amount) that determines your AdRank. Remember, your Quality Score is based on the quality and relevance of your ad, and Google measures that by how many people click on your ad when it’s displayed — i.e., your CTR. Your CTR depends on how well your ad matches searcher intent, which you can deduce from three areas:
- The relevance of your keywords
- If your ad copy and CTA deliver what the searcher expects based on their search
- The user experience of your landing page
Your QS is where you should focus most of your attention when you first set up your Google Ad campaign — even before you increase your bid amount. The higher your QS, the lower your acquisition costs and the better placement you’ll get.
Location
When you first set up your Google Ad, you’ll select a geographical area where your ad will be shown. If you have a storefront, this should be within a reasonable radius around your physical location. If you have an eCommerce store and a physical product, your site should be set in the places where you ship. If you provide a service or product accessible worldwide, then the sky’s the limit.
Your location settings will play a role in placement. For instance, if you own a yoga studio in San Francisco, someone in New York that enters a “yoga studio” will not see your result, no matter your AdRank. That’s because Google’s main objective is to display the most relevant results to searchers, even when you’re paying.
Keywords
Keyword research is just as crucial for paid ads for organic search. Your keywords need to match searcher intent as much as possible. That’s because Google matches your ad with search queries based on your selected keywords.
Each ad group you create within your campaign will target a small set of keywords (one to five keywords is optimal), and Google will display your ad based on those selections.
