Google AdWords, now simply known as Google Ads, is one of the most commonly used pay-per-click advertising networks. For small and medium businesses it’s a great chance of getting more exposure, reach potential customers, and generate leads.
In this article, we will go through the basics of PPC advertising on Google Ads. We will explain how it works and give useful tips on how to improve your conversion rate. If you are interested in starting your own PPC campaigns or would like to make your existing ads perform better, read on!
What Is Google AdWords?
Google AdWords has evolved into Google Ads. This platform is developed by Google by creating a network of websites where advertisers can display their ads and pay for each click they get. Part of these websites are Google search result pages, but there are millions of others that display ads next to their own content.
This separates the Google Ads Network in two types of ad hosting pages:
● The Google Search Network (search engine results pages where you get ads on top of the organic search results) – these ads are called search ads. The majority of search ads are text ads.
● The Google Display Network (websites that monetise advertising space on their pages). Mobile apps and videos are also part of the Display Network. On this network, you get creative by publishing video ads, images, or rich media.
What Is PPC Advertising?
PPC stands for Pay-per-Click. This advertising model allows website owners to “buy” visits towards their website. They create ads that will be displayed on advertising networks, and each time their ad is clicked advertisers pay an agreed fee to the hosting platform.
PPC advertising can be used by a business for various purposes, from gaining more visibility to generating sales leads or promoting a new product or service. Google is a leader in PPC advertising because search engine ads are valued, and Google is still the most used engine in the world. Therefore, with so many people using it for their queries, and with the enormous size of Google’s ad network, advertisers have the best chance of getting conversions by using Google services.
On Google, advertisers go through a bidding system in order to establish the maximum fee they would pay for a click on their ad. But the ad rank will not only be influenced by the amount you bid. Bidding the largest amount won’t get you the first place in the search results, or the best spots in the Display Network.
One of the most important metrics when it comes to Google Ads is your Quality Score. The value of your quality score is expressed on a scale of 1 to 10, and it takes your overall performance in ad auctions into account.
How to Build a Profitable PPC Campaign
The success of your Google Ads PPC campaign depends on a series of factors that interconnect, giving you more or less chance to appear at the top of the results. Here are some of the main factors that will influence the performance of your AdWords campaigns:
● How relevant are the keywords you choose when you’re bidding.
● The quality of the ad and landing pages and how well they answer the query that makes a user click on your ad. In other words, your landing page must give your visitors what they came for: this is why both the ad and its landing page must be carefully correlated.
● How high your quality score is: advertisers with better results overall will be able to pay less for ads, and get a better reach.
● How attractive the design and ad copy of your ads are: creating enticing, relevant ads is important in getting your ads clicked on.
How to Improve Your Conversion Rates for PPC Google Ads
Managing your ad campaigns is part of achieving success and putting your advertising money to good use. You can optimise your campaigns by constantly keeping an eye on their performance and modifying elements that perform poorly.
Here are some tips on how to make your ads successful:
● A/B test all the ads before launching them fully: by testing several different elements with the same sample of people will give you a clear idea of what type of ad will work best.
● Eliminate money-wasting keywords: if you bid on keywords that don’t bring you the traffic you wanted and have a high cost-per-click, eliminate them to make room for better-performing keywords
● Keyword research is one of the crucial steps in having a successful campaign: choose keywords that relate to the search terms and are relevant to your business.
● Make a list of negative keywords that shouldn’t be taken into account when targeting your audience – some of these keywords are too general, or are viewed as undesirable in Google Ads campaign
● Split your ad groups into smaller sub-groups: this will give you higher control on what works best, and allows you to identify possible issues easily.
Managing all the details of Google Ads campaigns can be time-consuming for advertisers who are just learning how the system works, but results will show up when good practices are maintained and there’s constant time and effort invested into them.
Do You Need a Marketer’s Help with Your Google Ads?
It’s probably clear by now that small and medium businesses can greatly benefit from using Google AdWords. Hiring a digital marketing expert who can guide you through the process will eliminate mistakes and give you results right away. Not to mention that it helps your own learning process, and in time you will be able to take over the maintenance of your campaigns.
Australian Internet Advertising has years of experience working with Google Ads and knows their secrets inside out. Contact us to get in touch with an online expert right away!
