Introduction
If you’re new to digital marketing, using Google Ads for your business can seem like a daunting task.
Fear not, with the ultimate beginner’s guide to Google Ads, you’ll be able to set up an account and start creating effective ads in no time. Google doesn’t just dominate the search engine market; their ads have a reach that is hard to match.
Ads you’re able to create can appear on the Google Search Network or the Display Network, and you can choose which type of ad will work best for your business.
In this Google Ads tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the platform to your advantage and find out the step-by-step process of setting up your account.
With so many people starting a search on Google to find products and services, it’s important to have your business appear on the search results page.
So, let’s get started!
What Is Google Ads or Google Advertising?
Google developed Google Ads, formerly Google AdWords, as an online advertising platform. It allows advertisers to display their ads on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) and other Google properties, such as YouTube and Gmail.
Advertisers bid on specific keywords relevant to their target audience and create ad campaigns that are displayed to users who enter those keywords into Google’s search engine.
Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click model, meaning advertisers only pay when a user clicks on their ad.
The platform offers a range of targeting options, from location and device targeting to demographic and interest targeting, making it a highly effective tool for reaching specific audiences.
How Google Ads Work?
Google Ads works on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Advertisers create ads and select specific keywords that are relevant to their business.
When a user searches for those keywords, the ads will appear at the top or bottom of the search results page. Advertisers bid on the keywords they want their ads to show up for, and the highest bidder gets the top ad spot.
Google takes into account a number of factors when deciding which ads to show for a particular search, including the quality and relevancy of the ads and landing page, as well as the bid amount.
Overall, Google Ads can be a highly effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website and increase your business’s visibility online.
Types of Google Ads
1. Google Search Ads
Google Search Ads are an effective form of advertising on Google platforms. They appear as sponsored results when users search for specific keywords and phrases that you’ve selected to target.
By utilizing Google Ads, businesses can connect with more potential customers and increase their visibility for the terms they wish to appear for.
With Google Ads, businesses can easily control their budget and customize the ad text, images, and other elements to ensure it is displayed in the most effective way possible.
2. Google Display Ads
Google Display Ads are online advertisements that appear on websites, apps, and videos across the web. They can be used to reach a wide variety of audiences who may not have been aware of your product or service before.
Display ads are cost-effective and allow you to target users according to their interests and demographic information. As opposed to text ads, these ads feature visuals, allowing them to stand out from other advertising content.
With careful targeting and creative design, Google Display Ads will increase brand awareness and ultimately help you drive more traffic to your website.
3. Shopping Ads
Google Shopping Ads are a type of paid advertising that appears on search engine results pages, such as Google. They are visual ads that showcase items available for purchase with links to the relevant product page on a merchant’s website.
These ads help retailers reach potential customers more quickly and easily than ever before.
With Google Shopping Ads, merchants can create detailed campaigns highlighting their products, control where and when they appear, and measure the success of their ads in real-time.
It is an effective way to drive leads and sales from interested buyers.
4. Video Ads
Google Video Ads are video-based advertising campaigns that appear on YouTube, the Google Display Network and across mobile apps. These ads can be used to promote products, services, or content in a visually engaging way.
They also target users by interests, geographic location, and demographic information, helping you reach the right audience with the right message.
With Google Video Ads, you can create campaigns to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or motivate desired behaviors—all without breaking the bank.
With compelling visuals and crystal-clear audio, it’s never been easier to capture your audience’s attention with seamless video advertising.
5. App Ads
Google offers the advertising program Google App Ads to assist businesses in spreading the word about their mobile apps.
With this program, advertisers can create ads that are shown across various Google platforms, including Google Search and the Google Play Store.
The ads appear when users search for apps relevant to the advertiser’s product or service offerings. Through these ads, businesses can increase the visibility of their apps and drive more downloads.
Additionally, businesses can accurately track metrics like cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-install (CPI) to measure effectiveness and optimize campaigns.
How to Advertise on Google by Google Ads for Beginners?
Advertising on Google can be an effective way to get your business or product seen by a large audience. To utilize this platform, you must first create an account with Google Ads.
Once the account is established, you will need to link a payment method and create a new Google Ads campaign. This campaign should include a budget, a target audience, a geographical location, and ad keywords.
After the campaign has been created, you will have to write compelling copy and create visually attractive ads. Once finalized, these ads will then be approved by Google before being posted and beginning to reach potential customers.
With careful management and thoughtful strategy, your business or product should be able to have success through Google advertising.
Setting up Google Ads Account
Step 1: Sign Up to Google Ads Account
The first step is easy! All you need to do is sign up for a new account. Once you do, you’ll have access to the full suite of tools that make creating and managing your campaigns easy and effective.
Plus, you can take advantage of the insights and analytics available on the platform to deliver better results.
Step 2: Set Your Google Ads Budget
Once you’ve created your Google Ads account, the next step is to configure your budget. This is the amount of money you’ll be able to spend on ads each month, and it affects how many clicks and impressions you’ll get.
Fortunately, Google makes this process quick and easy—all you have to do is decide how much you want to spend, set a daily limit, and then start running your campaigns.
Remember, though, that setting up your budget is just the beginning—you’ll also need to think about which keywords and ad formats will be most effective for achieving your business goals.
Step 3: Select Your Target Audience For Google Ads
The third step to setting up a Google Ads account is to select your target audience. By defining who you’d like to reach with your ad, you can craft better and more effective messages tailored to them.
You can choose from a range of demographic filters, such as age, gender, location, and interests, so that you create the most effective ads for your chosen audience.
Additionally, you can also use custom affinities and life events to find highly qualified leads that are already interested in your product or service.
With this essential step completed, you’ll be ready to start building your campaigns and getting those crucial conversions.
Step 4: Choose A Google Ads Network
The fourth step in setting up your Google Ads account is to select the network where you’d like your ads to appear.
You have three options:
- the Search Network, which features text-based ads that show up when users search for relevant keywords on Google
- the Display Network, which includes various websites as well as videos, apps, and even emails that serve as display surfaces for your ads
- the Shopping Network, which allows you to advertise products.
Carefully consider where you want your ads to be seen in order to maximize their reach and effectiveness.
Step 5: Choose Your Keywords For Google Ads
The fifth step in setting up a Google Ads account is choosing your keywords. Keywords are the words and phrases that you want to trigger your ad when searched for on Google.
When creating your list of keywords, it can be helpful to think about what terms or phrases your customers might use when searching for products or services like yours.
You should also consider using long-tail keywords, which are more specific than generic search terms. Long-tail keywords are often cheaper than generic keywords and can help you reach customers who are further down the sales funnel.
Take some time to research relevant keyword ideas so you can create an effective campaign that targets your ideal customer base.
Step 6: Set Your Google Ads Bid
The sixth step to setting up a Google Ads account is to set your bid. A bid is the amount of money you are willing to pay each time someone clicks on one of your ads.
You can choose to set your bids manually or allow Google’s automated system, the AdWords auction, to optimize them for you. With manual bidding, you can set the maximum cost per click that you’re willing to pay.
When you opt for automated bidding, Google adjusts your bids based on your end goals and performance data. It’s important to remember that bid management strategies evolve as your campaign progresses, so you should revisit your bids as needed.
Step 7: Write Your Ad
Now it’s time to write your ad! With the right combination of words, you can draw in potential customers and ensure they take the desired action. Keep in mind that your ad should be informative and provide value while remaining concise.
You want to grab your reader’s attention, but don’t overwhelm them with too much information; focus on the benefits of your product or service instead of the details.
Additionally, consider using targeted keywords to help improve the visibility of your ad. When you’re done, preview it to make sure it looks just right before submitting.
Step 8: Create Your Ad
The seventh step in setting up a Google Ads account is to create your ad. This involves crafting your message, designing an eye-catching visual, and adding the URL of your product or service page.
All these elements should be tailored to suit the needs and interests of your target audience. Your goal is to make sure that your ad stands out from the competition and encourages potential customers to take action.
So take your time when creating your ad and make sure you’ve included all the necessary information for maximum engagement.
Google Ads Best Practices
If your Google Ads campaigns haven’t been producing the desired results, don’t be discouraged! There could be many reasons why they’re not performing as expected.
Let’s take a look at some basic yet effective tips to help maximize the potential of your Google Ads.
1. Make Use of PPC Planning Template
Effective PPC project management requires organization. The Google PPC planning template allows you to easily manage your campaigns and customize ads to fit any online platform.
You can also keep track of character counts, ensuring every ad is clear and concise. Working with the template equips you to more efficiently and effectively manage your projects.
2. Try Not to Use Broad Keyword Terms
If you want to make the most of your ads and maximize your reach, it’s essential that you get your keywords just right. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach; it’s all about testing and tweaking.
Aim to refine your keywords over time until they accurately reflect your target audience. You may not hit the mark immediately, but keep experimenting until you do!
3. Avoid Running Irrelevant Ads
You don’t have to settle for unprofitable ad campaigns. By ensuring that your ad copy matches the searcher’s intent, you can get the clicks you need and make the most out of your ad spend.
Try using Google’s Responsive Search Ads feature to split test and find the best combination of headlines and solutions. With a few tweaks, you may just find yourself with higher profits.
4. Give More Emphasis on Quality Score
Having a good quality score is critical for getting your ads seen, and it’s up to you to ensure that it is as high as possible.
The better your quality score, the higher your ad rank on search engine results pages, increasing your chances of conversion.
Google assigns a quality score to help you identify areas where improvement may be needed.
5. Optimize Your Ad Landing Page
Once a user clicks your ad, their journey doesn’t end there. It’s essential to ensure that the post-click experience is just as optimized as the ad itself.
Every element of your landing page should be geared towards helping your users find their way to a solution for their pain points or questions. Make sure that the journey from ad to conversion is as smooth and seamless as possible.
Important Google Ads Terms
Understanding key terms can be the backbone of your success in utilizing Google Ads. Whether they’re specific to Google Ads or relevant to PPC in general, it’s important to have a strong grasp on these concepts and apply them appropriately to run an effective ad campaign.
1. Quality Score
Quality Score is a metric that helps advertisers determine the ranking of their ads in search engine result pages. It is calculated by measuring the relevance of keywords, click-through rate, landing page quality, and past performance on SERPs.
This score directly impacts an advertiser’s AdRank, which determines where the ads are displayed in the search results.
2. PPC
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great way to get your business in front of customers quickly. With PPC, you only pay when someone clicks on one of your ads, so it’s an effective and cost-efficient way to reach potential customers.
Understanding the basics of PPC is essential for getting the most out of your Google Ads campaigns.
3. Keywords
When you search for something on Google, the search engine displays a range of relevant results. These results are based on keywords associated with your query.
As an advertiser, you select keywords that match the queries that you want to appear alongside your ad.
For example, if somebody searches “how to clean gum off shoes”, the results may include ads targeting keywords like “gum on shoes” and “clean shoes”.
Additionally, advertisers can create a list of negative keywords that exclude their ads from being displayed in response to certain queries.
Negative keywords typically consist of terms that are related to your desired search terms but fall outside of what your business offers.
4. Extensions
Ad extensions provide you with an opportunity to get the most out of your ad. By including extra information through one of five different types—Sitelink, Call, Location, Offer, or App—you can increase engagement without any additional cost.
5. Display Networks
Google Ads can be placed on both search engine result pages and web pages within Google’s vast Display Network.
This network consists of a range of websites that display ads paired with content relevant to your targeted keywords, whether text or image based.
Some of the most popular ad options for the GDN are Google Shopping and app campaigns.
6. Conversion Rate (CVR)
Your CVR is an indicator of how effective your landing page is at converting visitors. A high CVR shows that visitors find the experience of interacting with your landing page seamless and in line with your ad’s message.
Improving your CVR means optimizing your user experience and providing exactly what you promise.
7. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
When viewers see your advertisement, you can calculate how many clicks it gets as a percentage of that total.
This is known as CTR (click-through rate), and it serves as an indication of how well your ad matches search intent and appeals to the users viewing it.
A relatively higher CTR suggests your ad is targeting relevant keywords with quality content.
8. Campaign Type
Google Ads provides a wide range of campaign types to suit different objectives. You can choose between search, display, video, shopping, app, smart, or performance max campaigns, each with its own unique features and benefits.
For example, search ads are text-based and appear in Google search results, while display ads are image-based and shown on websites within the Google Display Network.
Video ads are ideal for creating engaging content, and shopping campaigns are perfect for highlighting products.
App campaigns use information from your app to optimize ads, and smart campaigns let you access Google Ads inventory from a single campaign efficiently.
Alternatively, performance max campaigns give you access to all of Google’s inventory options.
9. Bidding
Google Ads gives you the opportunity to bid on your ads and maximize their placement. With Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bidding, you specify the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each click on your ad.
Alternatively, with Cost Per Mile (CPM), you invest in one thousand ad impressions, or times that your ad is shown to a thousand people.
If you want to track engagement with your ad, then Cost Per Engagement (CPE) is what you need; it requires someone to take a predetermined action for you to be charged.
10. AdRank
With AdRank, getting a large audience to see your ad is simpler than ever.It’s a simple formula that takes into account the bid you set and the quality score of your ad.
The higher these values, the higher your AdRank will be. This means your ad is more likely to appear in the top spots, be seen by more people, and get clicked on.
Advantages of Using Google AdWords
Google AdWords is an effective way to reach potential customers and drive growth for businesses. It offers a range of features that make it easier to manage advertising campaigns.
The platform enables businesses to create tailored ads, target consumers with precisely chosen keywords, adjust bids to ensure maximum visibility, and track performance to inform future campaigns.
With Google AdWords, businesses have all the tools they need to optimize their ad campaigns and increase returns from online marketing.
1. Performance Tracking
Google AdWords is an invaluable tool for businesses looking to make the most of their online marketing.
The data collected through AdWords not only allows you to track your ads’ performance but also gives you insight into the actions customers take after viewing your site.
Moreover, businesses stand to see an average return of $2 for every dollar invested in AdWords, according to Google’s Economic Impact report.
If this type of growth sounds good to you and fits within your industry, give it a try and watch your business reap the rewards of AdWords.
2. Pay Only For Results
With Google AdWords, businesses only need to pay when customers take a specific action, like clicking on their ads. This allows them to take advantage of the cost efficiency that comes with the pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model.
This can lead to significant savings over time, as you’re only paying for actual clicks instead of impressions.
3. Target Specific Devices
With the 2013 update to Google AdWords, businesses now have more control over where their ads are shown.
They can select from desktops, tablets, and mobile devices for search network campaigns and even choose specific devices, like iPhones or Windows, for display network campaigns.
Businesses can also adjust their bids accordingly to boost the likelihood of conversions on their site. For detailed information, analytics is a great tool to observe conversion and e-commerce data.
4. Precise Targeting
Search engine advertising is an invaluable tool for local businesses, allowing them to target potential customers based on geography, age, keywords, and more.
Additionally, business owners have the option of selecting when their ads will be displayed in order to maximize their ad spend.
For instance, many businesses run ads only Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM as weekends tend to bring slower traffic.
Research shows that it can be very effective; around 50% of mobile users who perform a local search visit a store within one day.
Conclusion
Using Google ads for business is an excellent way to attract potential customers and increase your revenue. Google Ads Search is a powerful tool that allows you to reach people who are already searching for products or services like yours.
When you start using Google Ads, it’s essential to understand how they work and how to optimize your ads to reach the right audience.
One significant advantage of Google Ads is that they allow you to control the quality of your ads, helping you target your audience effectively.
Google automatically optimizes your ads, ensuring that they get the most traction possible.
Therefore, if you want to get started with Google Ads, know how they work and optimize your campaigns to reach your target audience, and you’ll soon begin to see the benefits of this powerful marketing tool.
