Google Ads, Should Your Business Be Using It?

Google Ads can provide your business with the visibility and lead generation it may be lacking. For those not familiar with Google Ads and how it can benefit your business the below gives some insight into how Google Ads works, who you can advertise to, costs, and management options.

What is Google Ads?

If you haven’t heard of Google Ads, it’s an advertising system that places ads on websites and within the Google search results. Its goal is to generate revenue for advertisers.

Google AdWords is the most popular advertising service created by Google. It is the easiest way to get your product or service in front of potential customers. Advertisers bid on specific keywords and phrases, to “show” their ad whenever someone searches for those words.

The Google AdWords auction system determines which advertiser’s ad appears at the top of the page and next to related search results for that keyword or phrase—the higher your maximum bid, the better your chances of success.

How Does Google Ads Work?

Adwords is Google’s online advertising program. It allows you to advertise your business on Google’s search engine, YouTube, and other partner websites.

The purpose of Adwords is to increase the visibility of your business online and attract potential customers from all over the world. You can set a budget for your campaign, pay only when a user clicks on your ad and target certain geographic areas or languages. Then, according to an algorithm that considers relevancy and other factors, your ads will show in search results pages, either above or below the organic listings.

Google Ads offers many features that will help you reach users who are most interested in what you have to offer:

• Affinity: Reach users based on interests and habits.

• Detailed Demographics: Reach users based on life facts.

• In-market: Reach users based on their purchase intent.

• Re-marketing: Reengage past visitors.

• Customer Match: Use CRM data to reach your existing customer base.

• Similar audiences: Find and Reach new users with similar interests to your existing and new website visitors.

Google Ads is search engine marketing with ads. It’s the most popular form of online advertising and it’s also the easiest to learn, however hard to master.

The concept behind Google Ads is relatively simple: You buy ad space from Google, and your ad will be displayed on relevant search results pages. There are multiple types of ads you can purchase:

• Text Ads

• Display Network Ads

• Shopping Network Ads

• YouTube and Video

• Local Search Ads

Google Ads is a service that allows you to advertise your business or app with Google. It relies on keywords and is an efficient way to get your ads in front of people actively looking for what you offer.

Shopping Ads

When you search for a product many times you will see listed items for sale at the top of a Google Search. This is called a Shopping Ad.

Search Ads

When someone searches for a keyword, they are shown text ads at the top and bottom of the page. The more accurate your ad targeting, the more likely it is to show up when someone searches for your keyword.

Display Ads

Display Ads utilizes Google’s display network to display images on partner websites within the header, side, and content. These ads are image-based.

How much will Google Ads cost?

Google Ads works by bidding on keywords with a specific desired bid amount. There are two types of bids- the cost per click and the cost per mille. The per click bid is the price you will pay for each time your ad is clicked on, while the cost per mille is the price you pay for every 1000 impressions or 1k ads shown. 

Google Ads has a variety of pricing options for advertisers. Your business can choose which type of advertisement they want to have (text only or text with an image), how much you want to spend per day and how many times you want their ad shown each day.

Your daily / monthly budget will depend on how large your demographic, your competition, and how visible you want to be. 

The best way to set up an effective Google Ads campaign is to research what ads have been performing well for competitors in your industry, as well as your own company. This research will help you analyze costs and help you create ads that will be more likely to attract customers and increase conversion rates. 

With a well-managed campaign, you can make adjustments regularly that will improve the overall performance and streamline costs.

Pros and Cons of Google Ads for Your Business

Pros

• Market your business where you want, when you want – Choose your best demographic and targeting.
• You only pay for clicks
• Analyze and understand your advertising ROI – Google ads along with their analytics can provide accurate insight into your cost of acquisition.
• Remarketing – Although we don’t discuss remarketing in this post this tactic helps keep your brand fresh in visitors’ eyes.

Cons

• People trust organic results before they trust ads
• High-value keywords can be expensive to market – Depending on competitiveness ads can have a high cost for your specific keywords.
• Learning Curve – With any program it takes time to learn and master Google Ads.
• Not a replacement for other forms of marketing such as SEO, Social Media, etc.

Which Google Ads Strategy is right for my business?

Google Ads are a wise investment for any business. Google has made it easy to set up your account and find the right program for your company. You should consider three options: Google Ads Smart Campaign, Google Ads Advanced (self-managed), and Google Ads Advanced (professionally managed). Although not officially referred to as Google Ads Advanced, we will consider this option the self-built or professionally managed campaigns manually controlled and optimized.

Smart Campaign

Google Ads Smart Campaign is the most affordable option of the three, and it is a good place to start if you are just getting started with advertising on Google. The biggest downside to this service is that it gives you limited access to some features. Also, you will not always get the best placements or bidding strategy over manually managing these campaigns. When your campaigns start to grow or you want more from them, you may want to consider finding a professional Google Ads partner to execute your campaign for you.

Advanced Campaign: Self-managed

The next option would be Google Ads Advanced or setting up your Search, Display, Video, or Shopping Campaign in-house. Controlling your campaigns has its benefits but is also a risky endeavor. Without proper management, you could be wasting money quickly. Therefore, it is vital to fully understand how to manage and optimize a campaign fully, which can take years to master.

Advanced Campaign: Professionally-managed

A more manageable and cost-effective solution is to hire a Google Ads management company to maintain and optimize your ads to their highest performance. A certified Google Ad partner can help you manage costs and get the best results from your campaign offering a hands-off approach.

Finding the Right Google Ads Manager

While there are tons of systems and companies claiming to manage your Google Ads, we find lack of attention to detail to be the biggest downfall of many. Automated systems may not have your best interests at heart and be driving ads for the wrong products or services over other more profitable ones. In addition, ads managers may not have the experience or knowledge in your particular field to target the correct demographic or keywords. There are lots of factors to consider. 

Over the years, we have built hundreds if not thousands of campaigns for our clients. We have found that each one needs a high level of attention and detail. Unfortunately, there are no cookie-cutter ways of building the right marketing campaign for your business and demographic. Instead, we look at each company individually. While having experience in a specific industry certainly helps, our client’s campaigns are refined for their specific needs and goals.

Things to consider when looking for a Google Ad management firm:

• Are they a Google Ad Partner?

• Have they ever worked with other companies in your industry?

• How many years of experience managing campaigns do they have?

• Do they have a contract? If so, how long and how much?

• How much is their setup fee?

• Do they help build your keyword list and advertisements?

We recommend looking for a Google Ads Partner that is certified by Google. Ask them for references if you are uncertain of their work in a particular field. Ask if they have contracts and what their fees are. Any reputable company will be upfront about its conditions and fees. 

Not Sure How to Start?

Business Nucleus is a certified Google Ad partner with over 15 years of experience advertising with Google.

Our team can help you analyze your current advertising strategy or start fresh from the ground up the right way. In addition, we gear our fully scalable campaigns toward performance and back it up with no contract obligations. 

Call 1-516-388-7100 for a free Google Ads consultation. We can help you get started!