Think of Google Ads as your way to get immediate results. It’s all fine and well perfecting your website SEO for better search results, but there’s a faster way to grab your customer’s attention.
Here are a few stats that highlight the power of Google Ads:
- 6% of people click on Google Ads when they are looking to buy an item online (source: Wordstream)
- Businesses generally make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads. (source: Google)
- When you pause search ads, 89% of the traffic generated by these ads is not replaced by organic clicks (source: Google)
Google AdWords vs Google Ads – what’s the difference?
In summer 2018, Google renamed its AdWords platform to Google Ads. AdWords was really mostly about ads that pop up in your keyword searches on Google. The new name reflects the fact that Google Ads are about so much more than text ads in search results – think product listings, display ads, and even video integrations on YouTube.
How does Google choose which ads show up?
Every time someone Googles a popular search term, an invisible auction goes on in the background – run by Google’s advertising system. As an advertiser, you choose any search terms you’d like your ad to appear on, and you set a maximum bid of how much you’re willing to pay when someone clicks through on your ad. That’s where the term “cost per click” (CPC) comes in.
The amount of that bid (compared to others bidding on the same term) will help determine how high up on the page Google places your ad.
In most auctions, the highest bidder wins the prize and everyone else goes home. With Google Ads, the bids are mostly secret, and the highest bidder doesn’t always get the top spot. Other factors like ‘quality score’ determine which advertiser gets the edge.
Your quality score is a combination of how well your landing page matches the search term you’re bidding on and how well you can deliver on what the user was searching for. The more relevant your ad and landing page are to the search, the more likely you are to pay less for the ad and get the click. It is important that your website contains quality content that has been optimised for keywords you wish to target.
If your quality score is high enough for a certain keyword, Google might not even charge you the full amount of your maximum bid.
It might seem like you have to account for thousands of search variations to earn that high ad position and click. In a way, you do, but there are easy tricks in Google Ads to make it simple and nearly automated. For example, ‘match types’ and ‘ad groups’ help you separate your messages so that they match the user’s intent more closely.
Types of Google Ads
1. Search campaigns | Text ads on search results
Search campaigns let you reach people while they’re searching on Google for the products and services you offer.
It’s great for driving sales, leads, or traffic to your website, as you can show your ads to customers actively searching for your products and services.
2. Display campaigns | Image ads on websites
Display campaigns let you reach people with visually engaging ads as they browse across millions of websites and apps. Display is a great way to expand the reach of your Search campaigns to other parts of the web.
Display also allows you to follow up with remarketing ads to new and existing customers.
3. Video campaigns | Video ads on YouTube
Video campaigns let you show video ads on YouTube and other websites.
Some Video campaign types can help you boost general awareness of your brand. Others are designed to drive conversions or get people to shop on your website.
4. Shopping campaigns | Product listings on Google
Shopping campaigns are ideal if you’re a retailer looking to sell your product inventory. Shopping ads appear on search results and the Google Shopping tab.
Store owners can also use local inventory ads to promote products available at your physical locations.
5. App campaigns | Promote your app on many channels
App campaigns help you find new app users and increase sales within your app.This campaign type uses info from your app to automatically optimize ads across Search, Play, YouTube, Discover, and over 3 million sites and apps.
Still in the dark?
If you’re keen on advertising your business using Google Ads, but don’t know where to start, give SOMO Creative a call. We’re a Christchurch-based creative and digital marketing studio. Depending on your needs and desired outcomes, we can give you training, design your ads, or run your Google Ads campaigns from start to finish.
Email: info@somocreative.co.nz
Phone: 03 366 3340
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