Google Ads (previously known as Google Ad Words) is an online advertising platform that lets you advertise your products or services across Google’s online properties. Such as its search engine, partner websites, and YouTube.
Here’s what the Google Ads overview dashboard looks like:
You pay a fee for your ads to appear on Google. A process called “bidding” determines the cost.
Think of bidding as an auction where a business decides the maximum amount it’s willing to pay for someone to click on its ads.
But why pay when there are free listings on Google?
These free listings are called organic results. They appear based on their relevance to users’ search queries. And Google uses hundreds of factors to rank them organically.
This is entirely different from how Google decides which ads to display. (We’ll discuss this in the How Does Google Ads Work section below.)
The benefits of Google Ads include:
Google Ads shows advertisements based on your bid, the ad’s relevance to users, and its quality.
It ensures that users see ads that align with their interests and needs. And advertisers reach audiences that are more likely to convert.
So, let’s first understand the key concepts in Google Ads:
Whenever anyone searches on Google or visits a site that’s part of the Google Display Network, an automatic auction occurs in the background based on your preset settings.
In this automated auction, you and other advertisers bid to have your ads displayed.
“Relevance” means how closely your ad matches a user’s search intent or the content they’re viewing.
For example, if someone searches for “running shoes,” an ad for sports sneakers would be more relevant than one for high heels.
Ad Rank is a value that influences where your ad appears on Google’s SERP or within the GDN.
Various factors inform your Ad Rank. Including your bid amount, your Quality Score, the competitiveness of the auction, and the user’s location.
According to estimates of Google’s economic impact report, for every $1 a business spends on Google Ads, they get $8 in profit through Google search and Ads.
Not bad!
Google and YouTube process billions of searches daily. The Google Display Network reaches over 90% of internet users worldwide.
This vast reach highlights the unparalleled potential of advertising with Google.
Google Ads costs can vary widely, depending on factors like ad type, industry, location, and competition.
On average, businesses spend between $1 to $2 per click for search ads. And under $1 for display ads.
However, highly competitive industries like insurance or legal services can see CPC upwards of $50.
Since Google Ads costs are not fixed and can fluctuate based on demand, your budget can range from as low as $50 per month to thousands of dollars for larger campaigns.
To show ads on Google search, you begin by setting up your Google Ads account and creating a campaign.
The process will include defining your campaign goals, selecting keywords you want to target, creating your ad copy, and setting your budget.
But even before that, you want to create an ad strategy built on competitive analysis.
Ask yourself:
