Posted by Shivali Anand
December 13, 2021 | 4-minute read (792 words)
Google is everywhere — its search capabilities are accessible via portable devices, computers, tablets and virtually any other type of digital gadget. The name is practically synonymous with search.
Even if you're working hard on search engine optimization to bring your business to the fore of Google's organic search results, be aware that there’s another option for engaging with Google users: Google Ads.
Google’s Ad Services comprises the following:
- Google Marketing Platform.
- Google AdSense.
- Google Ads.
- Google Ad Manager.
- AdMob.
Google receives an estimated 5.6 billion queries each day through its home page. That translates to a whopping 2 trillion global searches a year. These figures communicate how many people are looking for information at any given moment. Google responds by proposing products, services, facilities and whatever else the user is looking for.
The search engine accomplishes this by intelligently assessing the words the searcher entered and giving them the optimal result, along with an ad that checks off all their boxes. The user can then further conduct their own research or click to select what Google has recommended based on their search terms.
How Google Ads work
Many Google Ads use the pay-per-click model, which means that they target terms known as keywords, which are then bid on by different businesses. So, if you're looking for a 350CC motorbike, two companies may be vying for your attention, but the ad you see is most likely to be from the one that bid the highest on the phrase "350." As a result, when you search 350 on Google, Company A's ad will appear instead of Company B's.
When it comes to bidding for Google Ads and words, most marketing professionals choose one of three approaches:
- Cost per click or CPC
- Cost per mille or CPM
- Cost per engagement or CPE
CPC advertising implies you only pay when a person clicks your ad. Meanwhile, CPM is the price you pay for 1,000 ad impressions, and CPE implies you only pay when a user completes a task you specified in your ad, such as filling in a phone number or an email address.
Understand the quality score
Following these steps, Google takes your bids and combines them with an assessment of your ad to get its Quality Score. The scoring ranks from one to 10, with one being the lowest. What Google looks for in deriving this score is the quality of the advertising, including language and images, plus website links that marketers place for promotion via Google. The higher your score, the more likely you will appear at the top of the Google page that every other business is also striving for. This can help level the playing field, allowing a small business with compelling ads to compete against a market giant with a mediocre ad. So, when a company's ad appears at the top of your page and the user clicks it, the marketer pays Google a predetermined amount, hence the phrase “pay per click.”
Different formats may perform better or worse based on your individual business. These formats comprise:
- Search campaign.
- Display campaign.
- Shopping campaign.
- App campaign.
- Video campaign.
The most basic campaign is a search campaign, in which an ad is displayed in response to terms that a marketer chooses and a user searches. These are the returns you get whenever you search for something on Google. They appear in the form of a URL next to your search results.
The display campaign lets marketers leverage Google's massive network of other websites. It may be in the form of banners and slots on third-party websites facilitated by Google. It can be in the form of GIF, picture, text or video, for example.
A shopping campaign is a visual return to any commodities search a user conducts on Google. It features a comparison of various products.
The video campaign is usually a pre-roll, which is a paid, promotional video that plays before the featured video. It might be connected to the same field or entirely unrelated. This format can be very useful if your firm has a lot of visual merchandising.
The app campaign also capitalizes on Google's vast network of app builders and owners. This is a very targeted segment. Video or display ads are run on apps that cater to one form only.
Conclusion
To get the most from Google Ads, make sure your ads are targeted, specific, crisp and short. It's a paradox but the narrower your target region, the more hits your ad will generate. Google’s far-flung reach, ability to target a plethora of geographies; and the fact that it returns quick and valuable results, a high ROI, enhanced brand awareness and more conversions is what makes it invaluable for entrepreneurs and brands.
