Here, you’ll find:
Few companies can say they’re so well-known that their brand name has become an official verb in the dictionary. Google can.
So it makes sense that, when it comes to your digital marketing budget, Google is one of the best places to invest your ad spend. But if you’re just starting out with the advertising platform, it can feel overwhelming.
Below, our SEM Manager Nina Breece walks us through a look at the Google Ads platform, why it deserves a place in your digital marketing plan, and how to start creating your own Google Ads in a snap.
Simply put, Google Ads is the platform used to set-up and launch marketing campaigns across Google, the world’s most popular search engine. These campaign types include:
Google Ads often leads the charge when it comes to new technology and adaptations within the search, video, and programmatic display landscape. With more than 3.5 billion searches each day, it’s safe to say the search engine also dominates the digital advertising space.
If you’re looking to get ads out to the masses and have useful audience segments and targeting information at your fingertips, Google is the place to advertise. Plus, since Google owns YouTube, they have a monopoly for any ads on the video platform as well.
Google Ads provides critical components of a complete digital marketing strategy poised for success. Being able to put paid search and Shopping ads directly in front of a searcher when they’re looking for a product, service, solution, or answer is one of the most successful ways to convert someone — or at least get them to engage with your brand.
Not only that, but the ability to support multiple ad types, from PPC to video, through one platform means your users’ journeys can be even more connected. This also allows you to tap into additional opportunities and data you may not have access to otherwise.
During setup, select Expert Mode if you’re experienced with Google Ads or are working with a Google Ads agency. (Image via Google Ads)
Unsurprisingly, Google has made it easy to set up a Google Ads account and create your first ad. To start, all you need is an email address and company name. (Ideally, you also have a website for your business, but if you don’t, you can still advertise via the platform’s Smart campaigns.)
Once you enter this info, you can tell Google what your advertising goals are. From there, you’ll set up billing. Next, you’ll be able to start your first campaign.
Pro tip: During setup, select Expert Mode if you’re experienced with Google Ads or are working with a Google Ads agency.
After your account setup is complete, you can hit the ground running to create your first campaign. Google recommends starting out with a PPC search ad (aka text ad), which is their simplest ad type.
Before you start building the campaign itself, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself. These include:
Once you’ve determined these parameters, you can move forward with setting your bid. This, as Google describes, is “the highest price you’re willing to pay when a potential customer clicks your ad.” Lastly, you can get to work on the copy for the text ad itself.
Your campaigns’ effectiveness will depend on factors like your budget, timeline, goals, and bandwidth, along with your site’s quality and speed.
With that in mind, these are a few factors that generally make up a successful Google Ads campaign:
Need more help with Google Ads? Let’s chat.
As mentioned above, there are a variety of ad and campaign options you can leverage in Google’s advertising platform. Here’s a quick-and-dirty breakdown.
A look at Google Shopping ads on the search engine results page. (Image via Google)
Where they show: On the Google search engine results page (SERP) and across partner networks, if enabled. (These text ads look similar to organic search results.)
Payment model: Advertisers only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
How they work: PPC ads are run based on keywords you set in your account. If someone searches something relevant to your keywords, your ad might be eligible to show. A key component of PPC ads is Quality Score, which is made up of ad relevance, expected clickthrough rate (CTR), and landing page relevance.
Where they show: On the Google SERP, the Shopping tab, and across partner networks, if enabled. These ads feature a product image and show at the top of the SERP.
Payment model: Advertisers only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
How they work: Shopping ads are exclusive for brands that are selling items. Unlike PPC ads, you don’t need keywords. Shopping ads are fueled from a feed (imagine a data spreadsheet) containing relevant info about each product including headlines and descriptions from which Google matches search terms. The feed, along with bids and budgets, will determine whether or not your products will show when someone searches.
Pro tip: If you’re running Shopping ads, you’ll need a Google Merchant Center account. This is where your feed will be uploaded and monitored to ensure things are working correctly.
Where they show: Display ads serve across websites, YouTube, Gmail, and apps associated with the Google Display Network that your users are already visiting.
Payment model: You can decide if you want to pay on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis or cost per 1,000 impressions model (CPM).
How they work: Using audience and placement targeting advertisers can narrow down where ads will appear, so that they show in relevant places to the right audiences.
Where they show: Video ads appear on YouTube and across the Google Video Partners networks.
Payment model: There are multiple payment and showing options — pay per view, click, interaction, or per thousand impressions. Other options include paying when someone watches at least 30 seconds, the full video, or interacts with the video.
How they work: Using audience and placement targeting, advertisers can narrow down where ads will appear. A variety of Video Ad formats can help you find the right solution for your goals.
Where they show: Local campaigns show across the Google Search network, Google Maps, the Google Display Network, and YouTube.
Payment model: Depending on where the ad is shown, advertisers pay for clicks, views, or impressions.
How they work: Using a variety of ad assets, Google displays Local ads to searchers who are near or are planning to be near your brick-and-mortar locations. The purpose of these campaigns is to drive incremental foot traffic.
Where do they show: App campaigns can appear across the Google Search network, Google Play, YouTube, and the Google Display Network.
Payment model: Depending on where the ad is shown, advertisers pay for clicks, views, or impressions.
How they work: App campaigns encourage searchers to download your app seamlessly or focus on in-app actions for new or existing users. They are shown across a variety of places, but will deep-link to your app.
Google knows as well as we do that proper, robust targeting can make or break an ad’s success and reach. That’s why they offer a handful of targeting options to ensure your ads are showing to the proper viewers.
It’s clear that there are a ton of reasons to explore advertising on the Google Ads platform. As the leading search engine by far, it’s basically a sure-fire way to reach your target audience.
Once you know how the platform works and how to properly set up your account, you’ll be ready to launch your first campaign, start gathering data, optimize your ads, and grow your ROI.
Caroline is HawkSEM's content marketing manager. She uses her more than 10 years of professional writing and editing experience to create SEO-friendly articles, educational thought leadership pieces, and savvy social media content to help market leaders create successful digital marketing strategies. She's a fan of reading, yoga, quick vegetarian recipes, and making lists.
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