In this article, we’ll be explaining all the main points you need to know to understand Google Ads. This article is aimed at clients who work with us and who want to understand the basics of this PPC tool from the American internet giant.
So... what is Google Ads, again?
Google Ads is the most recent version of Google Adwords. It’s a paid advertising platform which allows you to broadcast your ad in the Google search results above the “classic” results, with the label “ad” attached.
You pay a certain amount every time someone clicks on the link to your site. This is what’s called pay-per-click (PPC).
If your advertising campaign is excellent, you’ll generate more “leads” (these are prospective sales) and increase the chance of these turning into customers.
Google Ads and the other paid referencing practices are also known as SEA (search engine advertising) as opposed to SEO (search engine optimisation), or natural referencing.
And does it work?
According to Hubspot, the CTR (click-through rate), or the number of people to have seen the ad and clicked on it, is around 8%, which is pretty high compared to other forms of marketing.
But why? Because Google shows you ads that are relevant to the terms you’ve just searched for on Google.
You’re not the only one to be using it: your competitors are doing it too and, as competition can be found all over the world, it’s time to get on board with Google Ads.
What does it look like?
Google is a big network, a bit like an octopus with long tentacles. So, paid referencing appears on several platforms.
It first appears in the search results: this is what comes to mind first.
Imagine the power you would get from being at the top of a user’s search results, presenting a solution to a problem they’re experiencing at the very moment when they need it…
Of course, the more certain keywords are searched for by users, the more the cost per print and per click increases.
These results are displayed before the “natural” results, which are those obtained thanks to a good quality, recognised site that has a real content distribution strategy (SEO). They are always labelled as “ad”.
Advertising yourself on other sites
You will have seen advertising banners floating around on all sorts of sites whenever you’re online. Guess who presides over these ads? Yes, it’s Google.
Be aware, though, because here it’s a platform named Adsense that manages the bids, not Google Ads. In this case, Google takes care of determining the positioning on the most promising individual sites, i.e. those which have a similar audience, depending on your budget. As is the case for all forms of paid referencing, you only pay when a client clicks on the link in question.
Advertising yourself on YouTube
YouTube, aside from belonging to Google, is also a search engine in its own right. The ads shown on YouTube are essentially in the form of videos too. A search engine involves targeting very precise keywords!
YouTube broadcasts videos before and even during videos if they’re a certain length. The user can skip the video after an “obligatory” period of 5 seconds, or click on a call-to-action link in the video or in the link displayed during the video.
YouTube can even help you to create videos automatically thanks to tools like responsive ads which are now available on the platform.
There are also other types of ad on YouTube, like those displayed in the playlist under a video.
Or even in the “news feed” on the app.
As you can see, there are many possibilities. For more information, and to find out where to start, you can discover all the services here. Of course, all of these ads require a budget, and this will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
You've convinced me. So, when do I need to use it?
If you haven’t already, take a look at our article on whether search engine optimisation and search engine advertising are complementary tools. As we said, SEA is useful from a cash-flow perspective in the long and medium term, if you’re looking to achieve your financial objectives quickly.
However, you do have to pay for every lead you gather thanks to this method. In the long term, every company’s dream, at least with regard to digital marketing, is to go without Google Ads as far as possible and to lead clients towards its site thanks to organic referencing.
Nevertheless, in various situations, Google Ads imposes itself. This is especially the case when you want to compete for a keyword but are just starting out in the sector. Your natural SEO ranking does not yet let you appear in the relevant results (typically found on the first page). So, it’s useful to spend some money to gather a few leads.
Another example: even if your SEO is excellent for a particular keyword, you may want to offer a new product or service that’s linked to another category of keyword. In this case, Google Ads is the ideal tool to test the viability of this new product or service.
Tim Ferriss and indeed many others even actively recommend this approach for products you haven’t yet developed, in order to test the market.
In this case, create a landing page that will gather clicks from potential clients and, on the checkout page, rather than looking to gather bank details, have a form to collect contact information.
Choosing your budget
As we’ve pointed out, the more keywords are searched for, the more competition there is for Google’s prime positions.
The basic recommendation is, therefore, to bid for precise keywords. Go for “running shoes” rather than “sports shoes” or “leather wallet” rather than “wallet”, if this is your area.
After the click... the landing page
We often hear the term “landing page” when talking about SEA, and for good reason: after a prospective client clicks on the link for which you’ve carefully selected your keywords, they need to be taken to an attractive page.
Conclusion
We hope that this first article has given you a clearer understanding of Google Ads.
As we said, it’s vital that the people managing your SEO and SEA campaigns communicate! Ideally, the person in charge would deal with both.
Contact us to find out more about these hugely important aspects for your online image.
In a future article, we’ll explain what to do (and what not to do!) to create a brilliant SEA campaign!
References
Google Ads – official site
When should you start a google ads compaign
Google AdWords PPC
Why use AdWords?
How to use Google AdWords
The difference between Google Ads and Adsense
Why use Google AdWords?
Ferriss, T., The Four-hour Workweek. Google AdWords
