What to expect from a Google Ads Campaign?

What to Expect From a Google Ads Campaign?

Most business owners expect a Google Ads campaign to be something like this – decide on the keyword that they need to target, create the ad copy, allocate a budget, bid for the ad, get the ad on the first page and bingo your sales hit the roof. If it were only that simple.

Google Ads is a great way to get your website to the first page of the SERPs provided you have enough budget. But just having your ad displayed at the top doesn’t guarantee clicks and conversion.

Google Ads is definitely a great tool to increase traffic and sales. But there are a lot of factors in the planning, creating and bidding stages that affect the campaign’s success. Most how-to guides explain how to use the platform and its features. Very few explain the factors outside the platform that affect the success of an Ads campaign – hence the gap between expectations and results. In this article, we take you through some of the basic factors you need to keep in mind to ensure your Google Ads campaign meets your expectations.

Let’s start with a few basics.

What is Google Ads?

Previously known as AdWords, Google Ads is Google’s online advertising program that you can use to promote your business, help sell products or services, raise awareness, and increase traffic to your website. They appear at the top or bottom of the Google Search Results page under an Ads label.

The first step to using Google Ads is to create a Google Account. If you use Gmail, you will already have a Google Account. You will need to go to the Google Ads dashboard and follow the steps to set up a Google Ads account. You can also create a Google account with a non-Gmail id. However, we suggest using a Gmail id to create an Ad account for easy handling of the platform.

What is a Google Ads campaign?

As the term indicates, this is an Ad campaign that you can launch with a Google Ads account. Generally, a campaign consists of more than one groups. These ad groups may be created based on factors such as geographical location, product type and gender. And each group features varying content depending on its targeted traffic and the keywords that users may type in during a Google search.

For instance, if your business deals with home furnishings, you can have ad groups such as pastel curtains, luxury quilts, quirky cushions, cotton bed covers, hand-painted table runners, etc. You can create different ad campaigns with relevant keywords specific to each group.

Creating and launching an Ads campaign

With 63,000 searches being processed by Google every second, a comprehensive amount of backend work is required for these ads to be featured prominently on search results pages.

When you are just getting started with an Ads campaign, it is easy to mess things up. The most common mistake that people make at this stage is to invest a considerable budget in ad campaigns without a basic understanding of how it works. If you are serious about growing your online footprint and raking in profits, learning how to set up these ads using the various features and settings of the campaigns is vital.

Successfully launched ads can fizzle out after a while due to mismanaged campaigns. Some campaigns just fail to take off. But if everything falls into place, a properly set up and managed Google Ads campaign can enhance your brand awareness by over 80 per cent. Imagine the difference that will make for your sales and profits!

But does your business need Google Ads?

1. What is your offer? Will a customer be willing to spend money on your product or service?

Before starting any PPC campaign, this is a hard-hitting question that you need to ask yourself. If your follow-up offer is not relevant to the user, they will never take up the deal. If you are not able to provide any value-add to the customer, even the biggest ad budgets will not be able to convert visitors into buyers. Very few marketers will be willing to tell you that, so it is a question that you as a business owner should find the answer to.

2. What are you looking to achieve with your marketing strategy?

If you are looking to become an authority in your niche rather than make an immediate sale, SEO would be a better option than PPC. PPC works best for short term or immediate goals.

3. Is the time right for a Google Ad campaign?

If your product or service is highly seasonal, the campaign should be timed perfectly with an increase in customer purchases. Too early or too late, and the campaign won’t bring in the expected ROI.

4. Do you have the budget to invest in a campaign?

Let’s assume that you are willing to invest a cost per click (CPC) of $5 on a keyword. If the average CPC for the keyword is more than that, you need to decide whether it will be viable to exceed your budget and go ahead with the campaign.

It is important to be aware that Google Ads is not for everybody. This type of campaign will work only if a significant number of users search for the specific product or service that you offer. Before you invest in it, it is necessary to find answers to the above questions.

Here is a look at the various phases a campaign generally goes through:

Step 1- Learn about the platform

To ensure that the platform is used in the best possible way, it is essential to understand the different features that are available. For example, you need an email address and business website to create a Google Ads account. However, if you don’t have a website, you can still advertise on Google using the Smart Campaigns option. You also can send your leads to your store or let them call you directly instead of sending them to your website. The Help Centre has a lot of information on setting up the account and various features. The challenge here is understanding how to use the platform to the best advantage. It is advisable to take the services of a Google Ads expert to help you with the successful management of your campaigns.

Step 2 – Collect relevant data about your target audience

Do you really know your target audience? If you are unsure about this fact, these are the questions you should be asking to create a profile of your potential customers:

• Where do your customers live?
• What are their preferences with respect to your product?
• Do both men and women search for your products?
• What age group are you targeting?
• Why would these customers be attracted to your products/services?
• What would they expect in your product range?
• What sets you apart from your competitors?
• How well do your customers know your brand?
• Are your products/services easily accessible for customers?

These are just a few sample questions. Working through these will help create powerful content ideas for your campaigns.

Step 3 – Determine the goals of your campaign

What to expect from an Ads Campaign will primarily depend on what you intend to achieve with the campaign. Do you need increased traffic? Do you need higher conversion? Are you looking for more visibility for promotional offers? Are you building a lead base? The answers to similar questions will help you craft your ads and call to action content on the landing page accordingly.

Step 4 – Research your competitors

The chances are that your competitors will already have Ads campaigns running. If you are lucky, they would have it running for some time and have been through the trial and error phase. Look at the keywords that have been targeted for a long time – those are the ones that are probably bringing in good ROI. Look at the CPC for the keywords, and you will have an idea of how much you should bid on a particular keyword. If you feel that the CPC is not viable for you, you can look for related keywords with a lower CPC that may be useful for your Ad.

Step 5 – Create ads

Once you understand the platform, targeted audience and goals, you will be in a better position to create effective content for your ads that must include high ranking keywords and good keyword depth. It is necessary to set the ads to your preferred target audience. You do not want to waste your ad budget on the wrong customers. Also, your ad copy should match the search intent. For example, if you want to sell a product or service, you do not want a person who is just looking for information on the topic to click on your ad.

Step 6 – Design an impressive landing page

The landing page is crucial to the success of your campaign. If a user is motivated to click on your ad, the landing page must be optimised with relevant content to keep the user engaged and ensure conversions. The landing page content should match the ad offer. The CTA should be clear, concise and prominent. Read our blog for more tips on creating an effective landing page.

Step 7 – Analyse, revise, repeat

Evaluate the effectiveness of your ads based on different performance metrics, keep revising the low-performing ads and keep monitoring the ads of your competitors for more ideas. Most successful campaigns out there would have gone through various trial and error sessions before the winning combination was found. You will need to tweak things at the backend, such as:

• Monitoring the performance of ads
• Exploring new keywords
• Experimenting with the copy
• Enhancing the design
• Evaluating every element against key metrics

Factors that affect your Google Ads position on SERPs

If you are new to the world of Google Ads, it is not surprising if you begin asking, ‘Where are the results? Why isn’t the campaign working?’ soon after the campaign is launched. While you may naturally be eager to welcome improved sales and profits, it is impractical to expect instant results due to the complex way in which Google Ads functions.

When you set up a campaign, there are 3 factors that will determine when and at what position your ad will appear.

• Your bid – The maximum amount you are willing to pay for a click on your ad
• Your Quality Score – Based on how relevant and useful Google considers your ad to be
• The impact of Ad extensions – Additional information like phone numbers or links to specific pages are called Ad extensions.

So even if your bid is lower than your competitors, you stand a higher chance of a good placement if you work on the following –

• Relevance of keywords used
• Relevance of ads to the search query
• Loading time of website
• Keyword versions used
• Ad extensions used

However, since it will take time for Google to grade newer campaigns and give them suitable rankings, do not expect your new ads to be featured alongside established campaigns within days. Offering top ranks for new campaigns is a huge risk for Google since it can lose money if no one ends up clicking on those ads.

What and what not to expect from a Google Ads campaign – In a nutshell

• A new Ad campaign will take time to be displayed in the search results.
• A higher bid amount will not necessarily fetch higher placement if the Ad Quality Score is low.
• Bidding on a keyword with a higher CPC than you can afford may not be useful for your business.
• It is not necessary that users will click on your Ad even while being on the top of SERP.
• Every click may not convert into a sale.
• If your product or service is not relevant or useful for the customer, ROI on Ads will not be as expected.
• The right target customer base is essential for a successful campaign.
• Timings of the ad is essential for it to reach the right customers.

Google Ads vs SEO

Which is better for your business – Google Ads or SEO? Both have their benefits, but which one is right for you depends on your goals. If you’re looking to increase brand awareness and generate leads, then Google Ads may be the best option. But if you’re looking to improve your website’s rankings and drive more organic traffic, then SEO may be a better choice. So how do you decide which one is right for you? The answer depends on your goals.

Google Ads is a better choice if

• You need a highly targeted and narrow band of customers.
• Your business is a seasonal one.
• You need a faster result.

SEO is a better choice if

• You need more organic traffic.
• You want to make your website an authoritative one.
• You are aiming for increased traffic in the long-term.

Get Google Ads to meet your expectations

With 65 per cent of businesses around the world investing in PPC opportunities, the Google Ads platform is a highly competitive one. Maintaining a powerful ad campaign demands continuous research, experimenting with strategies and thorough data analysis.

Do not be stressed if your campaign does not seem to make a difference in a day or two. However, if it fails to take off even after two to three weeks, it would be a good idea to reanalyse your strategies. You need to engage in meticulous backend work and analyse data collected from various sources such as the sales team, customer profiles, product feedback and – most importantly – data from various Google Analytics and Google Ads account tools. It is best to have a more realistic expectation from Google Ads so that you don’t get stressed with slow results.

How much should a business spend on Google Ads?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much a business should spend on Google Ads, as the amount will depend on a variety of factors, including the industry, target audience, and the specific goals of the campaign. Some businesses may choose to spend a small amount, while others may have larger budgets. It’s important to set a budget that is realistic and aligns with the overall marketing goals of the business. One way to determine how much to spend on Google Ads is to consider the potential return on investment (ROI). This can help to ensure that the money spent on the ads is generating a positive return for the business. To calculate the ROI of a Google Ads campaign, divide the revenue generated by the cost of the campaign, and multiply the result by 100 to express it as a percentage. For example, if a campaign cost $100 and generated $500 in revenue, the ROI would be 400%. It’s also a good idea to start with a small budget and gradually increase it as needed based on the performance of the campaign. This can help to ensure that the business is getting the best return on its investment and can make adjustments as needed.

If all this seems a bit overwhelming for you, it would be a good idea to bring on-board digital marketing experts to fire up your campaigns and ensure you get the results you expect. The Computing Australia Group can help you spend less money and generate more business opportunities with your Google Ads campaign. Contact us or drop a mail at sales@computingaustralia.group to schedule a call.

Jargon Buster

Cost per click – CPC is the price you will have to pay for each click on your ad.
Smart campaigns – is the new default Google Ads experience, which can now be used by small businesses to create ads without having a website.
Ad extensions – are the extra information in a Google Ad like a phone number, link to your store, link to specific pages of your website etc.
Landing page – here, a standalone web page created specifically for an ad or promotional campaign, where the user will land after clicking on an ad in the SERPs.