How To Do Advertising For My Business? Start Your Digital Ads with Google Search Campaign
You found our blog about Why Paid Search Advertising is the Best For Small Businesses.
If you're stepping into the world of digital advertising, starting with Google Search Campaigns can be your best move. This article will walk you through why the Google Search Ad Campaign is low-hanging fruit, provide a comparison with social paid ads, and offer a detailed step-by-step guide to starting and optimizing your Google Search Campaigns.
The Advantage of Google Search Campaigns
Google Search Campaigns are powerful because they target users who are actively searching for products or services like yours. When users type specific keywords into Google, they are already showing interest in what you offer.
This high intent makes search ads highly effective in driving conversions since you don’t need to do the extra work to convince your audience to buy something they don’t want initially.
Comparison with Social Paid Ads
Audience Intent:
Google Search Ads: Users are actively searching for specific products or services, indicating a high level of intent.
Social Paid Ads: Ads are shown based on user demographics, interests, and behaviors. The intent is lower as users are not actively searching.
Click-Through Rate (CTR):
Google Search Ads: Higher CTR due to user intent. According to WordStream, the average CTR for Google Search Ads is 3.17%.
Social Paid Ads: Lower CTR. Facebook's average CTR is about 0.9%.
Cost Per Click (CPC):
Google Search Ads: Average CPC is $2.69 across all industries.
Social Paid Ads: Typically lower CPC. Facebook's average CPC is $1.72.
Conversion Rate:
Google Search Ads: Higher conversion rates due to the intent-driven nature of the searches. The average conversion rate for Google Search Ads is 4.40%.
Social Paid Ads: Lower conversion rates, averaging 9.21% across industries for Facebook.
Best Practices for Starting a Google Search Campaign
Keyword Research
Conducting thorough keyword research is crucial. Utilize tools such as Google Keyword Planner (Free tool in the Google Ads account!), SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify relevant keywords for your campaign. According to a study by Ahrefs, 92.42% of all keywords get ten searches per month or fewer, highlighting the importance of targeting long-tail keywords. These keywords are more specific and less competitive, providing a better chance to rank higher and attract the right audience.
Campaign Setup
When setting up your campaign, clearly define your campaign goals, whether it’s driving website traffic, generating leads, or increasing sales. A well-structured campaign is organized by themes or product categories. For instance, if you are running an e-commerce site, you might create separate campaigns for different product lines, ensuring your ads are relevant to specific searches.
Ad Creation
Creating compelling ad copy is essential for attracting clicks. Your ad copy should include targeted keywords and highlight unique selling points (USPs) and clear call-to-actions (CTAs). Using ad extensions such as site links, callouts, and structured snippets can improve your ad’s visibility and click-through rate. According to Google, ad extensions can increase your click-through rate by an average of 10-15%.
Additionally, a Google search campaign is also allowed to include images and show it on the search engine. The high-quality images will also increase the click-through-rate and the brand trust.
Landing Pages
Ensure your landing page is relevant to the ad and the keywords used. A study by Unbounce found that the average conversion rate for landing pages across industries is 9.7%. Optimize your landing pages for speed, mobile-friendliness, and a clear CTA to enhance user experience and boost conversions.
Optimization and Management
Monitoring Metrics
Consistently tracking key metrics is vital for understanding and improving your campaign performance. Focus on metrics such as CPC, clicks, CTR, conversion rate, and Quality Score. According to a WordStream report, the average Quality Score is 5.6, and improving your Quality Score can lead to lower costs and better ad placement.
Bid Adjustments
Start with manual bidding to have greater control over your budget and costs. As you gather more data, consider switching to automated bidding strategies like Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) or Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) to optimize for your campaign goals. Google's automated bidding strategies have shown to improve conversion rates by up to 20%.
A/B Testing
Regularly conduct A/B tests on different elements of your ads and landing pages. For example, you can test various ad copy, headlines, and CTAs to determine which versions perform best. A case study by VWO found that A/B testing increased conversions by 49% for one of their clients. Similarly, test different elements on your landing pages to identify what drives higher engagement and conversions.
Keyword Management
Regularly update your negative keywords list to exclude irrelevant traffic and improve the relevance of your ads. Continuously add new relevant keywords based on search term reports to expand your reach. According to a study by Google, actively managing and updating your keyword list can improve your campaign performance by 10-20%.
Quality Score Improvement
Focus on improving your Quality Score by ensuring your ad copy and landing page are highly relevant to the keywords you are targeting. A higher Quality Score can lead to lower CPC and better ad placement. Additionally, improve user experience on your landing page by making it easy to navigate, fast-loading, and mobile-friendly.
Understand The Basic Ad Metrics
CPC (Cost Per Click): Average CPC for Google Search Ads is $2.69.
Clicks: Number of times your ad is clicked.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): Average CTR for Google Search Ads is 3.17%.
Conversion Rate: Average conversion rate for Google Search Ads is 4.40%.
Quality Score: A measure of the relevance and quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages.
Final Thoughts
Starting with Google Search Campaigns allows you to tap into an audience that is already interested in your products or services. By following best practices and continuously optimizing your campaigns, you can achieve high engagement and conversion rates. Use the metrics and industry benchmarks to guide your strategies and ensure your campaigns are performing effectively.
If you want to work with our team to review and optimize your digital marketing performance, feel free to reach out to us on Collective Viral.
FAQ
Q: How do I choose the right keywords for my campaign? A: Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner and focus on long-tail keywords to find less competitive, highly relevant keywords.
Q: What are negative keywords and why are they important? A: Negative keywords are terms you exclude from your campaigns to prevent your ads from showing on irrelevant searches, thus improving your CTR and ROI.
Q: How often should I review and optimize my campaigns? A: Regularly review your campaigns at least once a week to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments.
By leveraging the power of Google Search Campaigns and following these guidelines, you can create effective, high-converting ads that drive significant business results.
