Google Ads Campaigns 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Launch

Google Ads campaigns are groups of ads that promote products or services across the Google network — like Google’s search results, websites, and YouTube. Read this guide before you launch a Google Ads campaign to learn the basics.

Since its inception, Google has dominated the digital realm, handling over 70% of all online searches.

This guide dives into how to launch a Google Ads campaign, the affordable gateway to billions of potential customers, with expert insights from HawkSEM Lead Strategist Chloe Derse.

What are Google Ads campaigns?

Google Ads campaigns are a type of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising wherein brands buy ads across the Google network — most notably the Google Search Network, where advertisers bid to appear at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) based on keywords their target audience searches for.

How Google Ads campaigns work

Google Ads appear across the Google network, targeting audiences who show high intent through recent behavior.

Here’s the gist:

• • Advertisers craft an ad for a product or service they want to promote, including a headline, description, and sometimes add images or videos (depending on the type of campaign)
  • Choose keywords searchers will likely use to find their product
  • Set a budget (bid), i.e. how much they’re willing to spend on someone clicking on their ad
  • A real-time auction takes place when someone uses their keyword to conduct a Google search among all the advertisers who bid on that keyword
  • The ad is displayed on the search engine results page (or elsewhere on the Google network)
  • If the ad is clicked, the advertiser pays Google the amount determined in the auction (not necessarily the bid amount)

Because Google Ads is a PPC model, you only pay if someone clicks on your ad. However, this fee isn’t static; it fluctuates based on various factors, such as:

• Competitiveness of your target keyword
• The volume of searches it receives
• Expected reach
• Time of day or year

To navigate this dynamic pricing, you’ll set a “maximum bid,” allowing you to control costs while competing for ad placement.

What if I have a low budget?

Google considers more than money when deciding who wins an ad auction.

Google uses a Quality Score, along with your bid amount to determine your Ad Rank. Your Ad Rank is the score Google uses to decide where your ads will be placed.

Even if your budget is low, you can get excellent ad placements with a high Quality Score.

Your Quality Score considers how relevant and high-quality your ad and landing page are. Google looks at factors like your click-through rate (CTR), keyword relevance, and user experience on your landing page.

In short, the more relevant and useful your ad is to your audience, the higher your Quality Score will be.

What are the bidding options?

Your bid lets Google know how much you are willing to pay for your ad to display.

Along with other factors, your bid helps determine if your ad will appear and where it will rank.

There are three main bidding categories for Google Ads:

1. Manual bidding: lets you set your own bids for specific ad groups or keywords
2. Automated bidding: automatically sets bid amounts based on your campaign goals, such as increasing website visits or enhancing ad visibility
3. Smart bidding: is a subset of automated bidding focused on conversion-based goals like generating leads or sales

Each bidding strategy can be used for different goals, whether you’re focused on maximizing clicks, impressions, or specific types of engagement. These strategies include:

• Manual CPC
• Manual CPM
• Maximize clicks
• Enhanced CPC
• Target impression share
• Automated CPM
• Maximize conversions
• Maximize conversion value
• Target CPA
• Target ROAS
• Portfolio bid strategies
• Shared budgets

Further reading: Learn more about Google Ads bidding strategies.

What are the different campaign types?

Google offers a lot of personalization when it comes to creating your campaign. There are several campaign types to choose from:

• Search: Your typical Google Ad. This option lets you create text ads that are effective at driving sales and leads.
• Display: Display ads include both text and visual elements that stick in readers’ minds and are visually engaging. Ads appear on the Google Display Network and can reach across 35 million websites and apps.
• Video: Video ad campaigns are displayed on YouTube and other video-based websites, helping to boost overall brand awareness.
• App: Use this ad type to increase sales within your app and to drive installs from new users.
• Local: These ads are targeted at local customers to drive business to your brick-and-mortar business location.
• Shopping: Shopping ads display images and links to your product inventory with detailed and engaging listings.
• Performance Max: The newest type of Google Ad campaign, Performance Max automatically optimizes your campaign based on your specific conversion goals.
• Demand gen (formerly Discovery): This campaign type lets you create highly personalized ads that achieve a broad reach and engagement.

Further reading: Check out our complete guide on the different types of Google Ads campaigns.

How to choose the right type of campaign

Search campaigns are generally the best campaign type to start with. They are easy to set up and effective for reaching a high-intent audience, generating leads, and for sales-driven campaigns.

Display campaigns help boost brand awareness and are a great way to reengage with people who have already viewed your ads or visited your website through remarketing.

Video campaigns are effective at increasing brand awareness and helping businesses reach new, untapped markets. The visual nature of video sticks in the minds of viewers and can help drive conversions more quickly than other campaign types.

The caveat, though, is that you have to spend time making your videos.

If you have an app, an App campaign is an obvious choice. Your ad will be optimized across three million websites and apps, helping to spread the word about your company and drive installs and engagement.

Shopping campaigns showcase products with images, prices, and details directly on the SERP, the Shopping tab, and other Google properties, making it essential for ecommerce businesses looking to increase revenue.

Demand Gen campaigns offer access to billions of people who view Google’s various feeds — best for B2C and B2B businesses that want to build interest and nurture potential customers.

If you’ve already toyed with Google Ads in the past and want to take the experience to the next level, consider Performance Max.

Best for businesses that want maximum exposure across platforms with one campaign, PMax offers machine learning that automatically optimizes ad placements and targeting through audience signals and historical data.

“The type of campaign you choose depends on your goal,” says Derse. “For an ecommerce company, PMax and Shopping campaigns are great places to start. If you want to increase awareness, you should consider display and video ads.

How to launch a Google Ads campaign

Ready to take the leap and launch your first Google Ads campaign? This quick step-by-step guide walks through the process of setting up a Search campaign:

1. Go to ads.google.com to set up a Google ads account

After your account is activated, create a new campaign and select your main goal. Some options for campaign goals include Sales, Leads, or Website Traffic.

2. Choose your campaign settings

You’ll be able to specify the audience you’re targeting, how you want your budget to be spent, and the ad assets you want to include (like the ability to call your business or find your app directly from your ad).

3. Create your ad groups

Let’s say you sell women’s apparel. You might have one ad group named “Jeans” where you target relevant keywords like “boot cut jeans,” “stretchy jeans,” “high-waisted jeans,” and the like.

Your next ad group might be called “Sweatpants” and contain ads targeting keywords like “lounge pants,” “comfy sweatpants,” and “elastic sweatpants.”

Ad groups help you separate your Google Ads campaigns based on the specific terms your audience is searching for.

Your ad groups can be Standard (when you manually enter your keywords and create ads accordingly) or Dynamic (when Google crawls your website to target searches and create ads for you).

4. Create your ads

Keep your keywords in mind and utilize them in your headline and description. It’s best to create one or two responsive search ads for every ad group.

Once your PPC ads are complete, you can select your daily budget. Google will recommend some options for you, but you can opt to set a custom budget if you prefer.

Your ads should get approved within one business day and be live not long after. It’s not unheard of to start seeing results on the day your campaign launches, so don’t forget to keep an eye on your metrics through Google Analytics.

Further reading: Check out our guide for more in-depth steps to set up your Google Ads campaign.

How much do Google Ads cost?

Businesses spend an average of $9,000-$10,000 a month on Google Ads, with an average cost per click (CPC) of $2-$5.

However, the cost of Google Ads varies widely based on several factors, with industry being one of the most significant influencers. Competitive industries, such as legal, accounting, and real estate, often see higher CPC and cost per lead (CPL) due to the high value of acquiring a new client.

For instance, in professional services, a new client could represent anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 in revenue, making even a $10 CPC a worthwhile investment.

Here’s a quick overview of average CPC by industry, highlighting how costs can differ:

• Animals & Pets: $3.13
• Apparel/Fashion & Jewelry: $2.72
• Arts & Entertainment: $1.55
• Attorneys & Legal Services: $9.21
• Automotive – For Sale: $2.08
• Automotive – Repair, Service & Parts: $3.06
• Beauty & Personal Care: $2.89
• Business Services: $5.47
• Career & Employment: $3.78
• Dentists & Dental Services: $6.69
• Education & Instruction: $4.10
• Finance & Insurance: $4.01
• Furniture: $2.77
• Health & Fitness: $4.18
• Home & Home Improvement: $6.55
• Industrial & Commercial: $4.35
• Personal Services: $3.90
• Physicians & Surgeons: $3.97
• Real Estate: $1.55
• Restaurants & Food: $1.95
• Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts: $2.44
• Sports & Recreation: $1.77
• Travel: $1.63

Further reading: Learn more about how much a Google Ads campaign costs inside our pricing guide.

Key elements for a successful campaign

Running your first campaign in Google Ads might seem intimidating, but here are the key elements to set you up for success:

1. Targeted keywords

Use Google Ads Keyword Planner to build out your keyword list.

“Once you have a list, you can decide which keywords are most important to include,” Derse says. “You’ll have to take into consideration the average cost per click, the competition, and the monthly average search volume to decide if it is a keyword that you’d like to include.”

Long-tail keywords (specific search phrases instead of simple one-word terms) often have less competition and bring better results.

She adds that high volume, low competition keywords are ideal because this means there are a lot of searches for this keyword, but it’s not overly competitive (and therefore not expensive).

Don’t forget branded keywords like your business name or product name. Using branded campaigns can be useful in fighting the competition, getting low-cost conversions, and improving your impression share.

Leverate the right keyword match types

Match type is a setting inside Google Ads that controls how closely a user’s search query must match a keyword for an ad to appear.

Your options include:

• Broad match: Ads can appear on searches related to your keyword, even if the exact keyword does not appear in the search. This option gives you the widest range of matches.
• Phrase match: Ads can appear on searches that are related to the meaning of your keyword, even if the phrase itself is different.
• Exact match: Ads will only appear on searches containing your exact keyword, offering the narrowest matches.

When choosing which keywords to target, don’t forget about negative keywords. Negative keywords are words or phrases that, when entered by a user, will not trigger your ad because they would bring in the wrong traffic. A common example is “free” or “cheap.”

2. Clear and concise ad copy

Ad copy should highlight the benefits you offer and your call to action.

“It’s helpful to put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer,” says Derse. “Even if you’re creating a B2B ad, it’s still a person you’re trying to connect with.”

Acknowledge their pain points, highlight the benefits of your product, and use visually striking imagery and interesting language in the ad to stand out.

3. Include assets

Google Ads offers several asset types (sometimes called ad extensions) that enrich your ads with additional information, making them more useful to potential customers. This can include your business phone number, additional webpage links, product information, and more.

You can use multiple asset types at once, which offers more value to your audience and improves your overall ad quality.

Consider adding images, site links, callouts, lead forms, and any other assets that make sense for your business.

Further reading: Review our full guide to learn more about Google assets.

4. Optimized and consistent landing pages

Your landing page should pick up where your ad left off. Remind your visitor of the promise you made in the ad, your offer, and next steps (call to action).

Provide ample information for your target audience to see how you can help them. The page should be quick to load on both desktop and mobile, optimized for conversions, and simple to navigate.

5. Track your results

Use conversion tracking and run A/B tests to find the content that converts best. Combine the reporting software within Google Ads with another resource, like our proprietary ConversionIQ technology, for an even deeper understanding of your results.

“Each type of campaign has corresponding metrics that you should focus on,” says Derse. “For example, a display campaign won’t have the same key metrics as a search campaign. It also depends on whether you are tracking revenue.“

“Overall, the most important metrics to track are conversion value (revenue), conversion volume, return on ad spend (ROAS), and cost per conversion.”

6. Optimize for Quality Score

Google’s Quality Score is a critical factor in determining the cost and effectiveness of your paid search campaigns.

Focus on improving your Quality Score by enhancing the relevance of your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. A higher Quality Score means lower costs and better ad positioning.

7. Adjust your bid strategy

Keep an eye on your bidding strategies and adjust them based on the performance analytics.

Whether you’re manually bidding or using automated options, tweaking your bids can help you find the sweet spot between budget and performance, ensuring that your ad spend is being used efficiently.

Google Ads terms you need to know

Understanding these terms will not only enhance your comprehension of the strategies discussed but also empower you to navigate the platform more effectively and make informed decisions.

Google Ads terms:

• Ad extensions (now assets): Enhancements that expand your ad with additional information, giving potential customers more reasons to choose your business.
• Ad group: A container for your ads and keywords that share a common theme, making it easier to manage and optimize your campaigns.
• Ad Rank: Determines your ad’s placement on the search results page based on your bid amount and the quality of your ad.
• Bidding: The process of setting the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad. Google Ads uses this bid in the ad auction to determine your ad’s visibility.
• Campaign type: The choice of where your ads will appear and the format they’ll take, such as Search, Display, Video, or Shopping campaigns.
• Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it, indicating the effectiveness of your ad in capturing interest.
• Conversion rate: The percentage of clicks that result in a desired action, such as a purchase or sign-up, highlighting the effectiveness of your ad in achieving your business goals.
• Display Network: A group of more than two million websites, videos, and apps where your ads can appear, reaching people beyond the Google Search results page.
• Impression: Counts each time your ad is shown on a search result page or other site on the Google Network, giving you insight into the visibility of your ad.
• Audience segments: Groups of users categorized by specific interests, demographics, or behaviors, helping you target your ads more effectively.
• Keywords: Words or phrases relevant to your business that trigger your ad to appear when people search for those terms.
• PPC (pay-per-click): An advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked, directly linking cost to performance.
• Quality Score: A metric that measures the quality and relevance of your ads and keywords, affecting your ads’ placement and cost per click.
• Cost per click (CPC): The actual price you pay for each click on your ads, which can vary depending on the competition and your Quality Score.

The takeaway

Launching a successful Google Ads campaign isn’t rocket science. But it takes a hefty load of time and effort.

While it’s entirely possible for a beginner to set up and run an effective Google Ads campaign, many opt for Google Ads campaign management from professionals. If you’d like some guidance or aren’t sure where to begin, consider working with a digital marketing agency like HawkSEM.

Our team is here to help, from campaign setup to ongoing optimizations that all focus on real results to hit your advertising goals.

This article has been updated and was originally published in April 2024.