As a marketer investing considerable money in ads to reach your audience, you are responsible for spending it to ensure you get your expected return on investment (ROI). Therefore, you need to be a little keen on where you are spending your marketing budget, including advertising.
For one, by signing up to use Google Ads, you can quickly get the attention you need to grow your brand and increase conversions. However, before we get into that, it is helpful to know what Google Ads exactly is.
What is Google Ads?
As the name itself implies, Google Ads is Google’s very own advertising program. It is a program that allows you to create ads online to reach your target audience—ones that are specifically interested in the products or services your business has to offer. As Google Ads runs on a pay-per-click (PPC for brevity) model, you must pay every time a user successfully clicks through your ad.g
Benefits of using Google Ads
Why Google Ads, where there are so many advertising platforms and mediums out there? Before diving into this investment, it is imperative to determine which platform would be a good fit for your business.
Benefit #1 – Google has a massive reach
People typically turn to Google when they need answers to their queries. As a result, the search engine handles more than a trillion searches per year which means it handles more than five billion daily searches.
Keep in mind that individuals using Google are likely looking for appropriate solutions to problems your business can address. Once they Google an answer to something, your business can help them find an answer—even with just an ad.
Benefit #2 – Allow for a range of targeting
There is something Google can offer at every stage of a prospective buyer’s journey.
By bidding on broad keyword search terms, Google shows your ad to prospects at the earlier stages of the product or service research process. As a result, you are not allowed to fill the top of your marketing funnel with two simple but effective techniques:
- Capture their information with your post-click landing page. From here, you can start sending them informative content that serves to prove your authority.
- Using retargeting software to reel them back in if they do not convert.
Bidding on long-tail keyword search terms also works. They are generally less expensive, but they are worth it because it captures the attention of searchers looking for EXACTLY what you offer. In addition, people who typically search long and specific terms in keywords generally have more intent.
Benefit #3 – Harness intent
A big difference between reaching people through Google ads and reaching them through other forms of advertising is the intent of these people. On social media, people do not typically wish to be advertised to. They are not actively looking for solutions to the problems they need to address. As a result, advertising to these people rarely gets results.
On the other hand, advertising on search networks brings you more results. Although these people still do not wish to be advertised to, these people are looking for something specific and something your business may offer. In this way, your ads do not appear to be disruptive to their search process; rather, it aids them in finding the answer.
Benefit #4 – Build brand awareness
Most people think that Google Ads drives traffic through PPC ads solely on search engine results. However, they are more versatile than that. In fact, it is considered a compelling tool for building brand awareness. Even if your prospective customer is not clicking through, they can see your brand, tagline, and everything else you have to offer through the Ads search network.
You may even prioritize brand awareness by showing your ads to more people through the Ads display network. In this way, advertisers can reinforce their business’s distinct attributes and strengthen their brand.
Types of Google Ads and tips on how to use them
Now that we have answered the questions about what Google Ads are and why marketers should use them, let us familiarize ourselves with the five Google ads campaign types and see how you can best utilize them to expose your business to a broader audience.
1) Search ads
Search ads are specifically designed to attract people who are already looking for your products or services. You can see these text ads on Google search engine results pages (SERPs). Ads for your business may appear either at the top of the search results or at the bottom of the page. This type of Google search ad is appropriate for people ready to buy or avail of your service.
For maximum results, target keywords with the buyer’s intent. In this way, you can easily reach prospective customers when they are searching for the products and services of your business. Remember, these people are already looking for your products or services; you just need to know how to get in front of them. Your ad campaign’s location depends on your bid price. Bidding higher means getting more and better visibility.
Tips in employing search ads
a) Write a compelling ad copy
As search ads contain no visuals, much reliance is placed on how well you write them. You need to be effective in writing ads that compel people to click through and choose you. Therefore, do not simply focus on the features of your products, rather, appeal to your potential customer’s needs and emotions. Also, you may want to mention only the pertinent things as your ad space is limited.
b) Create branded search campaigns
If your business is new and not ranking organically yet, you may want to bid on your branded terms immediately. In this way, potential customers can easily find you should they wish to check you out.
c) Utilize responsive search ads
Prepare a list of multiple ad headlines and various descriptions for the same ad. Then, run it through Google Ads, where the software will automatically mix and match them to find the best-performing combinations.
2) Display ads
Display ads are excellent for generating brand awareness. Search ads are based purely on the text and specific targeted keywords. On the other hand, display ads are image-heavy and allow you to target people who may be interested in your products or services but are not actively looking for them just yet.
This is best utilized by businesses that wish to reach prospective customers early in the buying process. Similarly, this is great for increasing brand awareness.
Tips in employing display ads
a) Do not mix new users with remarketing audiences
Display ads are also an avenue for remarketing. In this way, you can give previous website visitors a gentle reminder that you exist. However, you should exclude people who already know about you from your new audiences. The former is familiar with your brand, so they will need a different kind of messaging than those who have never been exposed to you.
b) Utilize responsive display ads
While all three types of display ads (responsive display ads, uploaded image ads, Gmail ads) effectively serve different marketing strategies, Google recommends responsive display ads to get the most reach among all display ads. In addition, these types of ads are automatically adjusted in appearance, size, and format.
3) Shopping ads
Shopping ads are great for advertising to shoppers who are already ready to buy. These are product-based ads and are specifically displayed for product searches on Google. However, unlike search ads, Shopping ads have an image of the product you sell. Along with the product, the image is the product title, price, and store name, and a handful of reviews should also be included.
In a nutshell, Shopping ads give shoppers a preview of what they can expect from your product before visiting your website. This is best utilized by businesses who wish to increase their sales and boost traffic to their e-commerce website.
Tips in employing shopping ads
a) Make your product details keyword-rich
Google uses product data to determine whether your product matches a potential shopper’s search query. With that in mind, ensure that your product titles and descriptions include keywords that best describe your offer.
b) Double check your product information
Make sure that all of your product descriptions and information are accurate. If they are not, Google will not show your product ads. This is especially true if you have various international currencies. That said, develop a foolproof process to update your product info, pricing change, and availability whenever needed.
4) Video ads
YouTube belongs to Google, so essentially, it functions as a search engine. You can target prospective customers on YouTube based on what videos they are watching. Video ad campaigns are placed before, during, or after YouTube videos. They can also be found in the search results.
Video ads are excellent for getting products or services in front of a relevant audience. Video ads are a great avenue for marketing because you can use demographic targeting. As a result, you can reach audiences based on their age, gender, or interests.
Tips for employing video ads
a) Keep your ad short
Potential customers may find your ad irksome if it drops by in the middle of a YouTube video. That said, make sure it is short and straight to the point. Remember, Ad play rates drop off significantly 45 seconds into the video. So, deliver your important message early in the video.
b) Be direct with messaging
As your video ad is your only means to communicate with YouTube viewers, you need to ensure that you do not lose your audience midway. So, get straight to the point about what you are providing. Ensure you give your audiences enough information about what they should do after watching your video.
5) App ads
Businesses with mobile apps for their products or services can use Google App Ad campaigns across Google’s properties such as YouTube, Search, Google Play, and Google Display Network.
This is best used to create ads to get audiences to install your business app or take a specific action within it. Unlike other ad types on Google Ads, creating individual ads for App campaigns is unnecessary as they are automatically designed for you. First, however, you need to provide a starting bid, some text and a budget, and the languages and locations for your campaign. Google Ads will take this info and create a myriad of ads across various formats and networks.
Tips in employing app ads
a) Be patient while Google optimizes your ads
Do not adjust the budget or stop the ad when you find that your ad campaigns fall short of your expectations. Instead, give Google a little time to optimize your ads. Do not rush into any decisions if your ads have been running for only a few days. Wait at least a week before you make any significant changes and decisions.
b) Upload diverse assets
Be sure to include at least one landscape image, a portrait video, and a landscape video in your campaign. Google then collates these and tests them on different asset combinations. They will then run ads based on the ones that are performing best.
Bottom line
So, why should you use Google Ads?
Simply said, why not?
After all, the advertising platform has something for every business, whether big or small, regardless of budget. So regardless of your advertising goals or who your target audiences may be, Google Ads can help you.
Think of Google as a vast sea of seemingly endless searches. So it is only understandable to harness its potential and see just how much revenue you could bring up.
Start today, leverage your organic search results and earn clicks and conversion with Google Ads’ help.
Optimind can help with making you understand what Google Ads is exactly and how you can best use it for your business. Talk to us!
