Categories: AdvertisingBeginner Basics

How to Run a Successful Campaign with Google Ads

As marketers, it is our job to reach the highest number of customers possible and convert those views into sales. There are several ways to make this happen and we’re willing to bet you’ve tried them all. No doubt, you’re aware that the marketing world has changed drastically from traditional marketing trends to a digital marketing world.

There are many facets to digital marketing, and how to run a successful marketing campaign with the digital tools available. Today we will take you into the world of Google Ads, a term you’ve probably heard, and maybe explored, but are not totally comfortable with this technology.

After reading this article, you will know the following:

What is Google Ads?
Why you should use Google Ads in your marketing.
What is the average cost to run a Google Ads campaign?
Google Ads versus other paid ads, how does Google stack up?
What is a Google Ads campaign?
How to run a successful Google Ads Campaign.

Let’s dive into the world of Google Ads!

What is Google Ads

Let’s start with the basics. What is Google Ads, exactly? Google Ads is Google’s answer to advertising. The Google Ads platform allows advertisers to bid on specific keywords in order for their websites to appear in Google’s search results. Google makes money each time someone clicks on a specific ad, so the best keywords can get pretty pricy. This type of advertising is known a PPC marketing or Pay Per Click – which gets it’s name because marketers are literally paying per click for advertising.

When you spend money on Google Ads, your website link appears on the top and, sometimes images on the right sidebar of the Google Results page. We’ll use the example of searching for a term like “digital marketing agencies”. The pay per click results appear highlighted in red. Since this is not a physical product, there are no images on the right sidebar.

These pay per click ads are designed to look more like organic search results, but do have the green “Ad” image, designating themselves as paid ads. The good thing is, consumers typically do not pay attention to the “Ad” but tend to look at the website descriptions to make sure the site is what they are looking for.

As a marketer ready to run your first Google Ads campaign, you will choose the keywords that best describe your product, and the keywords where you want your website to be found. You select these words, and set up a “budget”, giving Google an allotted amount to use each time someone clicks on your link by searching your designated keywords.

In short, Google Ads is a fast way to get your website at the top of Google’s search engine results but may not be the cheapest method.

Why you should use Google Ads in your marketing.

When consumers are searching for items on Google, you want to appear as high in search engine rankings as possible. Google Ads can help with this, as long as you are willing to pay. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using Google Ads in your marketing campaigns by first looking at the infographic from Georgia Local Marketing.

You will have access to Google’s intense audience reach. Ask anyone who uses the internet, and they will know what it means to “Google” something. The brand name has turned into a verb in the last several years, and for good reason! Google is the largest search engine around, boasting 2+ TRILLION searches each year – or 5 billion searches each day. Using Google Ads will allow you to appear in these searches.
Set your target range specifically to your audience. You can bid on keywords like “marketing companies” which will target an audience that is in the broad stages of needing a marketing company. Using this strategy, you can find clients at the beginning of their search process, allowing you to add them to your sales funnel and follow up until they become a client.
Market to an audience that actually wants your product. Consumers are bombarded with ads on every platform. When visiting Facebook or Instagram, consumers are not looking for advertising. The good thing with Google Ads is that people on Google are looking for a product. They want to be sold. You are advertising to people looking for something incredibly specific, and giving them an answer to their question – while fulfilling their need.
You have complete control over your campaigns at all times. We’ll visit what it means to run a Google Ads campaign later in this article, but the overall meaning is that you have control over when an Ads campaign will start, stop, and what budget you want to set for specific keywords.
Any budget is welcome! Sure, there are keywords that will cost you more than others, but if you’re savvy, you can set a Google Ads campaign to fit your budget and increase your return on investment by boosting sales.
Easily track your results and provide valuable data to stakeholders. Not only will the Google Ads platform allow you to view where you’re getting things wrong, but it will actually show you how to improve on your next campaign. The Ads dashboard is incredibly straight forward, showing you how many clicks, impressions, budget, etc. were used on a specific Ads campaign. You can also see even more detailed information about visitors to your site – how long they visited, what they clicked on, and what page path they followed.
Everyone wants to be the first result on Google. Search Engine Optimization is not an exact science, and that first page Google placement doesn’t just come from good keywords. The sites that hit number one on Google have built a large number of backlinks – the number one ranking factor for web pages. When you use Google Ads, your chances of hitting the number one spot on Google increase in a massive way. You are no longer battling with hundreds of other sites for organic placement, instead you are paying for a higher placement in search results.
Increase your brand awareness. Even if people aren’t clicking on your site from the Ads results, they are still seeing your business name frequently, and learning about your product.
Increase your sales conversions. Ads will help you increase your website traffic, meaning more prospects will hit your home page. Through the use of Google Analytics, you can track where they click, what path they follow, and how-to layout your website to turn your prospects into sales!
Decide which bidding style works for you, and what provides the highest return on investment for you and your business. There are different bidding strategies that you can use when setting up Google Ads. These can include your standard pay per click, cost per thousand views, and cost per conversion. Each has its own pros and cons and finding which work best for you and your business can increase your return on investment.

Cost of Google Ads

The cost of Google Ads can range from very little to astronomical. There isn’t an easy answer to this question, but we’ll try to break it down for you. There are different variables to consider when looking at the price of google Ads.

The first thing to know is this: Google Ads is an auction-based system. Any business that has proven themselves with high-quality campaigns in the past are given lower costs and better ad placement. You have complete control over your Google Ads campaign. It does not matter your budgets or if you want to change it up in the middle of a campaign – it’s all yours to edit!

Per click, Google Ads are (on average) $1 – $2, depending on the competitiveness of the keywords. Some retailers (think brand names like Target, Walmart, etc.) can spend millions of dollars each year on paid Google Ads.

What is a Google Ads campaign?

A Google Ads campaign is where you set up your budget and keywords for your pay per click run. It can be a little intimidating if you are just getting started with Google Ads, but we’ll take you through the steps to running a successful Google Ad campaign and take away some of the guess work.

The first thing you need to do is set up a Google Ads account for your business. You will need to have your banking information to do this, so make sure you have it on hand. Click the “create campaign” button, and you’re ready to get started!

There are a lot of different options to consider when looking at Google Ads. Name your campaign using a system that you can continue to grow with you and your business. You don’t want to get confused when you have several campaigns, trying to figure out which is which.

As you start your campaign, designate your geographic location. You want to consider where your target audience lives and cater to this area. If you are working with a product that isn’t held to a demographic constraint, you may want to consider different campaigns targeting each area. This will help you get a better understanding of where your audience is coming from. Once you have this information, you can increase your budget in these areas.

Set Your Budget: this is the biggest step to your Google Ads campaign. This is also where there may be trial and error involved, so don’t get discouraged if your first Ad doesn’t yield the results you were looking for. Budgets are tricky. You want to include enough money for your business to appear in the search engine results, but you also don’t want to go bankrupt for one advertisement.

Until you get used to using Google Ads, aim low with your budgets, decreasing your chances of a huge Ads bill down the line. Remember, it is VERY easy to empty a bank account on pay per click advertising.

Once your budget is set, it’s time to write your Ad. This is when you want to use your marketing skills. The copy that you use on your Ad is what your prospective customers will see when your results appear on Google. This is what gets them to click on your link instead of one of your competitors. Remember that you want people to BUY your product. If they click on your link without buying, that money still comes out of your budget.

You only get 25 characters for the first line, so make sure that each character counts. Some businesses like to use abbreviations to ensure their message reaches their audience. Your second and third lines allow 35 characters, and this is where you should tell your audience how your product will solve their problem.

Be fluid with your Ad and get ready to change your copy if your Ad isn’t performing the way you’d like it to.

There are two different URLs that will appear in your Ad. You are allotted a display and a destination URL. Your Display URL is the one that you want people to talk about when they mention your business. This is the address that people will type in to visit your business if they don’t find you through Google Ads.

Your destination URL is a URL that links your prospect directly to your product page. It isn’t the best idea to have prospects land on your home page – this only gives them the opportunity to get bored and look elsewhere for another business that will provide their product need. Your destination URL should be a landing page specific to the products featured in your Ad.

Add your keywords.

Remember this – you are betting against other companies for keywords that will attract the same audience. Take time and compile keywords that will reach those prospects that are ready to buy your product, and not those that are just window shopping. Be as specific as possible – the more general you are, the more businesses that want those keyword results.

Remember that you can also add negative keywords – that is words that you do NOT want to be associated with. This will save you a ton of money on your pay per click budget, and more than likely keep away audience types that you don’t need.

Bid on your keywords.

Now is the time to tell Google how much you want to spend on each click. Remember that the “clicks” are your visibility on the main results page of Google. It’s cliché but spending money will help you make money in this instance. You can automatically have Google spend your budget for you, but as you’re learning, it’s best to manually control your keyword bids, allowing you to have complete control over every aspect of the budget.

Once you have double and triple checked your campaign, it’s time to launch. Keep a regular eye on your analytics to see what is working and edit your campaign as necessary.

In conclusion

Google Ads is a great way to increase your website traffic, but it will cost you money to do so. These ads will place your business on the first page of Google but will cost you part of your budget each tine a prospect clicks on your link.

As shown from data pulled from Neil Patel, Google Ads is where the highest number of prospects come from. Google Ads can be incredibly effective but remember to do your research before launching a full campaign, so you best understand what is needed from your marketing team to increase your return on investment.

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