If you ever planned or even thought to advertise online, you must have listened somewhere that Google Ads is one of the best or effective option to market online or you may have heard that give it a try and see how does it perform. Even in my article on Online Advertising Methods to try, I still considered Google Ads to be one of the most effective online advertising option.
This is article is going to be a full fledge guide on Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords). If you ever want to learn what is Google Ads and how does it work, then this guide is to be really helpful for you.
Guide on What is Google Ads? | How to Setup Google Ads in 2024
This is going to be a full detailed step by step guide on teaching you About Google Ads in detail. Pick a cup of tea and start reading it.
What is Online Paid Advertising/Marketing?
Paid advertising is any kind of online advertising that you have to pay for, versus owned or earned advertising. With paid advertising, marketers pay the owner of ad space in exchange for use of that space.
There are many ways to advertise online, for instance
- Social Media Advertising. [Advertising on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter etc]
- Email Marketing & Advertising. [Read : World’s Simplest Guide to Email Advertising]
- Content Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing [Checkout my guide on : How to Start Affiliate Marketing]
- and many more.
However one of the most famous and popular is Search Engine Marketing; which covers Search Engine optimisation and PPC Advertising.
What is Google Ads?
As per Google , Google Ads (previously Google AdWords, before July 24, 2018) is Google’s online advertising program. Through Google Ads, you can create online ads to reach people exactly when they’re interested in the products and services that you offer.
It has been estimated that Google Advertising reaches more than 80% of online audience through it’s wide advertising and reach network. Keep on reading, i’m going to share more interesting facts in below headings.
SEO VS PPC – [Google Organic Listing vs Google Paid Search Engine Marketing]
SEO Listings are done by tweaking your website according to Google defined ranking algorithms, while with PPC [Pay Per Click] you pay a certain amount of money based on your quality factor and other variables to get a placement on any specific keyword. Keep in mind that Paid Listings by PPC will always appear above the organic SEO listings.
Hopefully this will clear your understanding on the difference between both of these terminology’s and how differently both Ads and Search Organic listings work.
Why Google Ads?
- As per smartinsights, Google has around 75% share of market when it comes to search engine [Some has reported as high as 90% percent].
- It’s Faster Than SEO and you can rank instantly.
- According to Moz, 80% of search results now contain Google Ads ad placements, so you can beat your competitors quickly.
- The Network of Google is huge, It’s advertising program is also extended to Youtube Videos and with Google Adsense it reaches to majority of webmasters and bloggers with online presence which actively participate in their program by showing Google Ads on their respective properties.
- Google Ads is Measurable and Flexible with so much options and varieties including keyword match types, re-marketing, campaign type, interests and so much other variables giving the advertiser an option to reach their targeted customer.
How Google Ads Work?
Yeah! I’m sure this question must be coming in your mind, How Does Google Ads Really Work? And That is what really we are now.
To know exactly, from up to down, and from the very right to leftist left that what really is Google Ads.
Let’s get over the ride of the guide!
And “What” is equally understood with knowing “How.”
So that is going to be the detailed blog post on What and How the Google Ads. works?
- How Google Ads looks?
- The Google Ads features — name them to game them.
- Campaign; why you need one?
- How to create an effective campaign then?
- The primary ingredients of creating an effective Google Ads campaign
How Google Ads looks?
Once you signup and open your dashboard on Google Ads. You will see the following
That how the Google Ads looks as you are directly landed to the ‘Overview’ page after signing-in/opening it (note that I do not have any active/running campaign and hence the notice is shown plus no activity/date is shown.)
So! How does it look? 🙂
The Google Ads features — name them and game them
The main thing is Campaign out of all of Google Ads.
Once you are taking action to make the running/active campaign, every other features and actions are built in.
What I meant by ‘built in’, every single thing you got to choose during the process of creating the campaign.
Not to so-less actions you can take after the campaign is active/activated.
Check the sidebar then
All of the menus spotted from the Google Ads’ sidebar.
You see…
- Overview
- Campaigns
- Settings
- Locations
- Change history
Those all are the only menus you gonna find.
Campaign; why you need one?
Campaign is the main-list thing out of Google Ads to get started.
If you do not have one OR do not actually plan to get one, you are not going to be using the Google Ads. power.
You got to get a campaign activated to whether enjoy the best and targeted traffic to your website, app, brand, product, and anything.
How to create an effective campaign then?
Creating a campaign AND creating an effective campaign; they both are TOTALLY and DIFFERENTLY different from each other.
And we are to target on the latter part; to create an effective campaign to enjoy the best of the BEST experience out of Google Ads.
Let’s start
Head to “Campaigns” by clicking on the “Campaigns”.
When you are there on the “Campaigns” page, then click on “New Campaign.”
And then you will see this, so click on “New Campaign.”
Then you are going to actually see the one major game-player of Google Ads on the next window that I am just so ready to share below.
It can be puzzling… Definitely puzzling but I will solve it for you. 🙂
Once you ask Google to setup a new campaign, Google Ads will present with 6/six goals ready for you.
Let me name them for the quick reference.
- Sales
- Leads
- Website traffic
- Product and brand consideration
- Brand awareness and reach
- App promotion
And…
- Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.
What is your motive to get to use Google Ads. campaign?
Having a goal or reason to start with Google Ads is very important. For Instance
- You own a website to get the traffic?
- Got an app to be reached to the majority online?
- Set up brand to get it recognised across the online world?
- Developed a product and want people to explore through different means?
- Need leads to be used for your business promotion and conversion?
Or…
Have any intentions you have that can be fulfilled using the Google Ads., you are one best potential user of this great platform.
Now…
Let’s go into the much-needed phase of the blog post to really create the effective campaign for the best Google Ads. experience to enjoy — And that is to go deep with the details.
Sales
Saw that?
If your intention is to… Drive sales online, in app, by phone, or in store… You need to use “Sales”.
Then you are to choose your campaign type…
Three different types of the campaign type you are to choose.
- Search
- Display
- Shopping
Search = Get more sales with text or call ads that show near search results of Google.com, on Google search partners sites, and more.
Display = Get more sales by showing visually striking ads across the web (online, in app, in store), and optimize your campaign’s performance with automated bidding, targeting, and ad creation.
Shopping = Drive online and in-store sales with ads like Showcase Shopping that show on Google Shopping and the Search Network.
Sales with Search,
you get these options;
Choose either or all of them out of;
- Website visits >> Provide your website URL.
- Phone calls >> Enter phone number to be shown with your ad.
- Store visits >> Enter location (physical address)
- App downloads >> App published on Android or iOS to have it allowed to be downloaded with your ad.
Sales with Display;
- Standard display campaign
- Gmail campaign
And finally.
Your website main URL or any relevant page you want the traffic to be landed over (and which is your primary action set out for your campaign > sales > display.)
Sales with shopping;
This is more-targeted sales ad. display to best used for the shopping purpose and with it, Google gives you an advantage to get your shopping ad shown on Google Shopping and the Google Search network.
But to actually use it… You need first to sign up for Google Merchant account and publish the product there to get it linked with your Google Ads. account.
Pay much attention over “Select country” option…
There should only be allowed to use one product with one country per campaign to sale and ship the product.
Leads
Leads is going to be the action-taking and making exclusively for you!
And totally depends on… Get leads and other conversions by encouraging customers to take action.
And the campaign types you are set to see…
- Search
- Display
- Shopping
- Video
Leads with Search;
Again…
- Website visits
- Phone calls
- Store visits
- App downloads
Leads with Display;
- Standard display campaign
- Gmail campaign
Leads with Shopping;
Leads with Video;
You would need to enable the “Conversion” page to access this feature.
Conversion means…
- Website
- App
- Phone calls
- Import
Note that you are going to set up the conversion page AND not the actual campaign at this stage.
Website traffic
Website traffic is the most-used and most-common Google Ads. feature used the worldwide.
And the campaign types, you can enjoy the following;
- Search
- Display
- Shopping
- Video
Website traffic with Search;
That is exactly what you need the most.
And the most people do exclusively use it.
You select Search for your website traffic, that means the website is going to be on top of the page when people search for the search terms that you selected for your ad. type.
That search term is your keyword you aimed for your website.
Keep it very simple and very-targeted according to yours website’s primary topic.
Website traffic with Display;
Display as in the form of displaying ads. by targeting the best websites according to your target keyword/interest chosen for your ad.
Website traffic with Shopping;
People gone Shopping? You go with them.
This way you are so close to the people whose interests are purchase-oriented.
So anything you have with your website that could help them in buying AND even you are going to sell through you website, go all in all with this ad. format.
Website traffic with Video;
Video ads. are the in-thing of today!
Be ready a video ad. for your website and see the magic.
Just make it compelling and conversion-oriented.
Product and brand consideration
You got a product? Or a brand?
Whether it is operating online OR offline AND if it is in the virtual world OR found in the real world.
Then this ad. format is DEFINITELY for you; to target the people that are searching and exploring the related things online.
And the campaign types…
You are limited to just;
- Display
- Video
These both campaign types are the best way to go with it.
Product and brand consideration with Display;
Create an ad. The one brilliant ad to showcase what your product or brand are all about and let it go into the ad. world using this Display format.
Product and brand consideration with Video;
Videos are best shown in this case when our intention is to let people know about the product and the brand.
Just create the good one and see how it really goes with the video!
Brand awareness and reach
This ad. type is solely for the awareness and reaching to the masses.
That actually means your primary intention by selecting this ad. type is to increase the views and gain the good high reach for your website and brand.
And this ad. type goes with two best campaign formats;
- Display
- Video
Brand awareness and reach with Display;
Now you got a website, you need it to be reached to the potential people going all around the internet and accessing the websites.
And that is, that is it to access the high-quality traffic-attracting websites (in general) to get people to view your piece!
Brand awareness and reach with Video;
Brands are best explained with the form of video. And then you make the video ads. for your brand would NOT be a superb idea? Yeah, it sure is! 🙂
App promotion
With the ever-increasing demand of the app., one needs the proper promotion of their developed apps., not?
The app. platform of which you can choose the app. from to promote.
- Android
- iOS
These two app. platforms are the famous and common ones, right? 🙂
Just get the app name, package name, or publisher name to retrieve the app. and start with the campaign’s setup TO hit the promotion!
And… Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance
Not to decide what to do AND do want to experience the another type of the experience?
Then choose it.
And choose these.
Select the campaign types to explore further to make up your mind. 🙂
Relevant post: How to Optimize Your Google Ads / Campaign in 30 minutes with these 10 Strategies
The primary ingredients of creating an effective Google Ads campaign
The notable and the important areas of the campaign you would have to put SOME highest attention over.
Whatever is your choose ad. format or the campaign type, these primary ingredients are going TO WORK only to make your campaign the real effective.
Let me quickly name them for you…
- Campaign Name
- Locations
- Languages
- Bidding
- Budget
- Additional Settings
- Audiences
- Demographics
- Content
Campaign name
It is definitely the simple task — just to name the campaign. Thought it should be made of something very simple in the reality to instantly know which campaign is it (when in the future you are to run multiple campaigns.)
Locations
Set locations to target…
That 4-words long statement is EVERYTHING for you to be extra-cautious, extra-worried, and extra-informed.
With it, it will prove that how effective your ad. would turned for you because you should know beforehand what people you are after to.
Writing for the English people and then specifically something that is popular in New Zealand and no one knows about it, then selecting Australia or U.S.A. or even All Countries would definitely be the loss for you.
Why?…
Because there is no one interested to read but the people from New Zealand.
You need results AND not the numbers.
If you are just after the numbers to check, then select All Countries but remember one thing for sure…
You will lose it…
And then selecting U.K. with New Zealand, the addition of the U.K. is also the waste of the action.
So, just select New Zealand in this case.
And do not be worried at all if you do not get to see the fast and instant results BUT you are standing right ON the targeted audience.
Languages
Just like Locations, you need to choose the Language too.
The English content should be chosen as the English language and the people speaking English would be targeted in this case.
Click on ‘Location Options’ to get some advanced location-based settings.
Bidding
Bidding is sometimes tricky AND sometime it is really not.
Once you get used to of the Google Ads. and setting up the campaign time to time, you will understand the whole bidding game.
But I would recommend to go slow and go low.
So… keep it at the lower side AND you can actually raise the budget up later. 🙂
But pay some good attention over…
What do you want to focus on?
How do you want to get high quality traffic?
Pay for
Budget
Select the weekly budget.
And again… Keep it at the lower scale and you can quickly change it later for sure.
Additional Settings
They are the advanced level of the settings but are equally important to be taken care with good care!
Do not let them hang and saved just without having an eye on them and adjusted as per your choice and the convenience.
Audiences
Observe it right and deep!
Give in your website OR your competitors to get the pre-made targeted segments to choose OR do it yourself by answering and picking up the closest market as your website/app/brand/etc.
Demographics
You should definitely know a lot about it before even coming over this part.
By default, everything is selected AND it lets you to pick the relevant one.
Just untick what you do NOT want to included.
Unticking anything will heavily impact over your overall targeting reach and will basically help you getting so-closer to your real target audience. 🙂
Just do it.
Play with Gender, Age, Parental status, and Household income.
Relevant post: How to Fix an Google Ads Suspended Account?
Content
The screenshot I will share, is not the absolute view you would see but let me save the time for you. 🙂
Keywords, Topics And Placements.
Fill ‘em up and you are so very good!
Once you are done with this step. You will need to work on Quality score, Ads creation, Keyword research and more.
Frequently Asked Questions on Google Ads
Below are some of the most common question/answers discussed related to Google Ads.
What is Google Ads?
For years, it was known as Google Adwords until on july 24, 2018 when Google issued a notice to change it. Google Ads is primarily, Googled owned company which provides advertising services and solutions to people to advertise on Google Search Engine, Youtube and their Adsense Network.
Does Google Ads really work?
Yes absolutely, it is one of the preferred option for online advertisers to advertise online. Read out what Wordstream has to say on this.
How much does Google Ads cost?
You can advertise for as low as $0.01 per each valid clicks which happens on your website. However it varies on several factors such as location, timings, keywords, competition and your quality score. Typically the bids are higher at Search Ads and lower at Display ads due to competition.
What is the average cost per click on Google Ads?
As per wordstream, The average cost per click in Google Ads is between$1 and $2 on the search network. The average CPC on the Display Network is under $1.*
*Please note that it needs a lot of factors to decide the exact CPC for your site. For instance the place you like to advertise, keywords, competitions and your Quality Score.
I’m under 18, can i still advertise my website/video using Google Ads?
Most likely you need to take in to account your elder siblings, guardians or your parents and use their billing details while signing up. As Google doesn’t allow people lesser then 18 years of age to advertise online.
How does Google Ads bidding work? What is Quality Score and How does the Google auction work?
In case if you want to understand how Google Ads bidding works, what is quality score; it’s impact on Google Ads pricing and costing. Checkout this below image.
Image Source : WordStream
What is CPC and PPC?
CPC stands for Cost Per Click and PPC Stands for Pay Per Click. Both have almost the same meanings. It is used to determine the price of each click which happens on your ad.
What is Enhanced CPC?
Google says that, About Enhanced CPC (ECPC) Enhanced cost-per-click (ECPC) helps you get more conversions from manual bidding. ECPC works by automatically adjusting your manual bids for clicks that seem more or less likely to lead to a sale or conversion on your website.
Google can go as much as up to the 30% more of your determined pricing.
What are alternative bidding methods? CPA and CPM
The other alternative ways through which you can advertise on Google is through, CPA model (Cost Per Action) & CPM (Cost per Thousand Impression) model.
CPA Bidding as per Google; Target CPA is a Google Ads Smart Bidding strategy that sets bids to help get as many conversions as possible at the target cost-per-acquisition (CPA) you set..
CPM Bidding : A way to bid where you pay per one thousand views (impressions) on the Google Display Network. Viewable CPM bidding ensures that you only pay when your ads can be seen.
What is Google ad rank?
Ad ranking in Digital Advertising is the position of a pay-per-click (PPC) ad on Google search engine results page (SERP). Google determines Ad ranking on CPC Bid X Quality Score as mentioned above in Google Auction Image.
Ad rank vs. Quality Score?
Google Quality Score is the score which is assigned to your ads by Google based on it’s different factors. While Ad rank is your position on the search engine result page.
How you can pay on Google Ads?
Google Ads has different options for billing for each country.
For instance,
- If you live in USA, you have the options like : Bank account, Credit or debit card or Monthly invoicing.
- If you are in UK : Bank account, Credit or debit card, Money transfer, Monthly invoicing.
- For UAE : Credit or debit card Monthly invoicing.
- For India : You have the option to pay via Credit or debit card, Google Pay / BHIM UPI, Money transfer, Monthly Invoicing, NetBanking, Paytm Wallet..
- And If you are in Pakistan : You have the option of debit card or credit card.
Click here to determine what payment methods are available in your country.
Can I advertise on Google Ads for free?
Yes only with a coupon. However majority of the coupons also require you to spend some portion of your total bonus. For instance, a $75 bonus coupon may require you to spend $25 from your own billing details to get $75 bonus.
How to Become Google Ads Certified?
If you want to learn on how to become a Google Ads professional. Then you need to pass Google certification. Click here to read a detailed guide on it.
How can i track sales with Google Ads?
Google offers, different ways to track conversions & sales on your account. So you can optimise on what is working for you and you can minimise your costs effectively.
If I’m selling multiple products, can i have different conversion value for each conversion happening?
Yes, you can put different tracking data for conversion value.
What is the tool you recommend for competitor analysis?
SEMRush is one of the most widely-used SEO & PPC tools on the market, but its competitor analysis features set them apart from the market. Checkout my SEMRush Review to understand how you can use it effectively for Maximum ROI. [Return on Investment]
Are you providing any Google Ads Setup Service?
We are a Google Partner Company. Click here for pricing.
How much do you charge for an Google Ads Audit?
As a limited time offer, I’m doing $99 for complete detailed Google Ads Audit for your account. Please reach me if interested.
If you have any more questions related to Google Ads feel free to comment below and I will be happy to answer.
My part & Conclusion on Google Ads!
By the way, I have tried to cover the great Google Ads. I have also mentioned frequently asked questions. Do entirely read it again in case if you have questions popping up in your mind.
Is it early to call this blog post off and get all of the Google Ads. done?
Well, no!
Google Ads. is definitely more than what if offers… and what it shows to us. You can try more ways on Optimising Your Google Ads Campaign.
But I’m sure, you are really much in knowing position now to cover the basic and important part of this gigantic Google Ads.!
So… I seek for your valuable inputs, thoughts, and feedbacks on this post.
Anything you have. Anything you got. And anything you want to share, just throw everything out into the comments section.
