Written as a ghostwriter for a private client. The original publication is no longer available. Shared for portfolio purposes only.
13 April 2021
The Beginner’s Guide to Google Ads for Your Brand
In today’s online and highly competitive world, getting your brand out there can be tricky. With so many competitors vying for your target market’s attention, how can your brand stand out and attract new customers?
Arguably the best way for your brand to stand out to potential customers is to rank highly on Google. While other search engines are out there, nobody quite has Google’s reputation and market share of the online search universe, so getting a high Google ranking is essential.
Utilizing Google Ads is an excellent way to ensure your brand is one of the first things customers see when they type relevant searches into the engine. Not only does it ensure a high ranking, but this service can also enable you to narrow down your target audience, establish a budget, and even pick what times of day you want your ad to run. This way, you control who sees your ad, when they see it, and how much it’s going to cost you.
While most people are probably familiar with Google Ads as a theory, things get a little more complicated when it comes to understanding how the platform and pricing works. In this article, we’re going to cut through the noise to provide you with a condensed, easy-to-understand breakdown of what Google Ads is and how you can use it to your advantage.
What are Google Ads?
Formally Google Adwords, Google Ads is a way to pay for the top spot on a Google search for specific terms or keywords.
Whenever you search any terms in Google, chances are the first 1-3 results will show the little bold “Ad” icon in the corner. This lets you know that a brand has paid for its high-ranking position at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
This paid advertising service enables you to create short, highly targeted ads that show up whenever users search for terms that are relevant to your products and services.
Google Ads operates using a Pay Per Click (PPC) or Cost Per Action (CPA) model, so you only need to pay when a specific action is completed. This is popular with e-Commerce businesses in particular, as it means you’re not paying a fortune just to get your name in front of customers; an actual action needs to take place.
Often, the specific action with Google Ads will be that a user needs to click on your link through to your website, but there are other actions that Google can optimize your ads for:
- Having a customer call your business.
- Following the link through to your website.
- Showing up at your physical store location.
Paid traffic vs. organic traffic
The most significant difference between Google Ads and an organically high SERP rating is that when you use Google Ads, you’ll be paying for your top position.
It is possible to rank highly on Google without paying for Google Ads; through high-quality, informative SEO copywriting and content. However, using Google Ads is a guaranteed boost to your SERP rankings, whereas organic traffic can take months or even years to build.
How do Google Ads auctions work?
To establish who gets the top paid position on Google’s search pages, the business runs an auction that enables brands to bid on the keywords relevant to their brand. To take part in the bidding process, you’ll need to identify the keywords that you’d like your ad to be linked with and how much you’re willing to spend on your ad campaign.
Once you’ve entered your metrics, Google compares your maximum bid and quality score to determine who gets the top spot (Wordstream has a handy infographic that helps explain how this system works in detail). https://www.wordstream.com/articles/what-is-google-adwords
Highest Bidder
When picking the top spots, Google always picks the highest bidder. That said, the highest bidder isn’t necessarily the brand or business that bids the most money per click. Confused yet?
One of the reasons Google is such a popular search engine is due to the company’s focus on quality at every step. Therefore, the Ad service isn’t going to be giving away top spots just because someone has paid for them… Although this definitely does come into it!
Quality Score
The first aspect Google considers when figuring out who should get the top spot is the Quality Score. This is a scoring system out of 10 that ranks how relevant and valuable your content is to users. The higher your quality score is, the higher your chances are of winning the auction.
Google Ad Rank
Your Ad Rank is what determines whether you win the Google Ad Auction for your chosen keyword. To calculate this, google multiples your maximum bid per click by your quality score. The advert with the highest ad rank wins the rating.
What does the winner pay?
Although you’ll be asked to specify the most you’re willing to pay per click when bidding for a Google Ads spot, this isn’t necessarily the amount you’ll actually end up paying.
The price you’ll actually pay for your top Google Ads position is calculated using the ad rank of the advertiser below you.
For example, if you hit the top position with a max bid of $2 and a quality score of 10, your ad rank would be 20.
Let’s say the bidder who came in second place put a max bid of $4 and had a quality score of 4, giving them an ad rank of 16.
To work out what you’ll pay for your advertisement campaign, Google will take the ad rank of the second-place bid (16) and divide it by your quality score (10), then add $0.01.
Using our example, the maths would be 16 / 10 + 0.01 = $1.61. Therefore, you’ll only need to pay $1.61 whenever someone clicks on your ad.
Getting the best ROI
Now you know how to win a Google Ads auction, how do you make the most of this top position?
Well, Google Ads enables you to customize almost every aspect of your ad campaign to ensure you’re getting the maximum return of interest on your advertising investment.
Setting a budget
The first and most important aspect of any advertising campaign is the budget.
With Google Ads, this basically involves establishing how much money you’re willing to spend every time someone clicks on your advert. You can also fix a daily budget to keep you in control of your spending.
If you’re struggling to gain the top spot in the Google Ads Auctions, you can also reconsider the keywords your brand is bidding for. Naturally, the more popular the search term, the more businesses will be willing to pay the big bucks to secure the highest positions. So, playing around with different search terms and keywords can help you find an advertising price point you’re happy with.
Choosing the right keywords
Let’s be honest; even the best marketing experts can find SEO tricky at times! Knowing what keywords your target market is searching for might be essential, but it’s also a fickle process, with people changing their search terms and preferences like the wind.
Thankfully, one of the most valuable tools Google Ads offers is a free keyword planner. This tool helps narrow down the products and services your business offers, then helps you fine-tune your ads with categories and keyword suggestions that fit your brand.
Defining your target audience
Of course, finding the perfect keywords is only possible if you know your target audience well. Again, Google Ads can help with this.
With Google’s advanced targeting options, you can ensure your ads are only presented to users who are actually likely to benefit from the products or services you’re offering. Google offers a wide range of categories to help you narrow down your target audience, including:
- Geographical location
- Age
- Language
- Spending power
- Spending patterns
- Interests
- And more.
With Google Ads, you can even specify that you only want to run your ad during specific hours of the day. This is particularly advantageous for small businesses who might not want to pay for thousands of phone calls out of their normal business hours.
Researching competitors
A great tip for maximizing your ROI on any advertising campaign is simply to find out what your competitors are up to! This can provide valuable insight into the keywords your target audience uses, what sort of content they’re interested in, and how successful businesses have optimized their ad campaigns.
Great landing pages
Even the best marketing in the world can be let down by a rubbish landing page. Remember, you’re paying Google for clicks, but you’re not getting paid unless you’re actually converting customers.
Not only do conversions mean sales (and more money in your pocket), but Google also really likes websites that convert, so a great landing page that converts won’t just make you more money… It can actually boost your Quality Score and enable you to pay less for the ads!
Final Thoughts
Google Ads are a great way to bring more customers onto your website (or even to your actual store). By ensuring your position on the first page of Google for your chosen keywords, you’ll be getting your brand name, products, and services in front of more people. And more viewers means more potential leads and sales!
Because Google Ads operate on a PPC model, you won’t need to pay for your position unless you’re actually getting results, and there are a few tricks you can utilize to bring this price down further.
If you have a high-quality product, an awesome landing page, and a compelling call to action, Google Ads can be the perfect way to boost your brand perception and get your name known.
