What’s so great about Google Ads?

I talk a lot about there not being a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to promoting your business. That’s why I’m a strong advocate for the versatility of Google Ads – there are so many possibilities available to you. 

What are Google Ads?

Google Ads is a conversion-focused online platform where you can bid to show ads to your target audience. You can use it for ads that appear on Google Search pages as well as in mobile apps, videos and on other websites in the Google Display network. Ads are run on a pay-per-click pricing model which means you only incur a cost if a user clicks through on the ad itself. (Unlike other platforms, including Meta, which charge based on impressions – how many times an ad appears on a user’s screen rather than how many times someone actually engages with the ad by clicking.)

The possibilities are (almost) endless when it comes to the types of ads you can run: 

• Responsive search

• Performance Max

• Discovery 

• Display

• Shopping

• App

Let’s look a little at the ads you’re most likely to be running for your business. 

Responsive search ads

These are the ads that show up as the top four spots of your Google search results. (You’ll know they’re ads as they say ‘sponsored’ above them.) These text-based ads are displayed depending on how well they match the search query put into Google. As technology improves, these ads are becoming more responsive – hence the name – and you can now create multiple variations of your ad copy which Google will choose between to best match the search terms. You can add between three and 15 headlines and between two and four descriptions when setting up these ads and AI will then mix and match them to display the best combination for each search query. 

If you’ve already tried running Google ads for yourself, I’ll bet this is what you went for. 

Performance Max

Introduced at the end of 2021, Performance Max is more of an overarching campaign strategy. Thanks to Google’s AI technology, you can use Performance Max to display ads on Google Search, YouTube, Display, Google Maps, Gmail and Discover within a single campaign. Google says that users achieve 18% more conversions at a similar cost through using this function than with ‘regular’ campaigns. 

Performance Max works by taking a focused goal – making more sales, getting more sign ups etc – and using extra information about your target audience, past performance and other elements to dynamically target your ads to get the best results possible for that goal. Building on the foundation of basic responsive search ads, Performance Max works best when you supply a range of assets, including video and images alongside text. 

Display ads

These are images or videos that appear on websites that are part of Google’s Display network, as well as their own sites like YouTube. Increasingly, these are being rolled into Performance Max campaigns, leaving the targeting and bidding process to Google’s AI technology. 

Shopping ads

Crucial for anyone with an e-commerce business, these are targeted ads based on your products that appear across Google’s Search and Display networks, as well as YouTube and Gmail. Listings will include the most relevant products that relate to a user’s search and are pulled from your e-commerce platform, including Shopify. 

How much do Google ads cost?

Google ads work on a bid-based platform. What that means is that every time someone searches using Google, Google Ads runs a type of auction to work out which ads should be shown to the user and in which order. Recent data shows the average Cost Per Click for a Google ad in the UK as US$1.22 but there are lots of variables that factor in to how much a campaign will cost you, including your industry and specific sector.

These include: 

• Your targeting strategy

• The ad creative you supply

• Your keywords

• Your headline copy

• Your primary conversion aim or campaign goal

• If your campaign is running in Performance Max

• If you’re bidding manually or letting Google auto-bid for you. 

How do you get the most out of Google ads?

While AI technology can handle real-time details to show the optimum ad to encourage conversion, without the correct technical set-up your results won’t mean much. Everything needs to be in place from the outset for proper conversion tracking so you can see what’s really working by measuring variables that actually make your business money i.e. sales rather than page views. 

Google ads are a valuable tool, but they do require a degree of technical knowledge to maximise conversions and get a good return on your investment. Why not save yourself time and approach your digital marketing strategy with confidence, knowing that an expert has set everything up to achieve maximum success? Book a call to talk through the possibilities Google ads offer you.