In a competitive digital environment, companies increasingly turn to paid media to boost their businesses. One of the most popular platforms for a paid traffic strategy is Google Ads, a Google advertising tool that allows promoting websites in search results and digital marketing campaigns.
The use of Google Ads is essential for many businesses, especially because it is integrated with a wide network of Google services. According to data from Internet Live Stats, there are currently 3.5 billion searches made per day. In total, there are 1.2 trillion searches conducted annually.
Knowing the importance of Google Ads, learn how to use the platform to boost your business and achieve good results.
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads was created in 2000, with the goal of highlighting website links in Google search results. Since its inception, the platform has been a leader in its segment, and its success is notable in its revenue. In the last quarter of 2021, Google reported a profit of $6.1 billion solely from its advertising service.
With Google Ads, it is possible to create ads in Google search results with audience targeting. This way, these ads can be directed to people who are more likely to be interested in the product, company, or service being promoted.
With numerous targeting possibilities, Google Ads allows displaying ads based on user search behavior, demographic data, among other segmentations.
Paid links are those highlighted at the top of Google search results pages. Within Google Ads, there are four main formats for running ads and promoting your business. These formats cover different aspects of digital marketing, from simple text ads to videos and images.
By understanding all the available options, you can create an effective strategy to reach your audience and boost your marketing results.
Search Network Ad
This is one of the most well-known ad models in Google Ads. In this model, when a user performs a specific search on Google, the first highlighted results are from advertisers.
A significant advantage of this ad model is that the client only needs to pay for conversions – that is, the charge is only made for each click.
Display Network Ad
This type of ad in Google Ads consists of banners that appear when a user accesses a website or blog. Display network ads are shown only to potential users who have already searched for topics related to the business. This is possible through keyword configuration or the use of cookies.
The display ad has three more types of graphic advertising:
- Banner: This is the most well-known, presented with graphic resources such as images, animations, or static layouts.
- Text: A simpler model, with just a text box presented to the user accessing a website.
- Gmail: An ad designed for Google email, viewed by the user when accessing the inbox or spam area.
App-Specific Ad
This type of ad also uses graphic resources like display network ads. However, it appears for users accessing a mobile app, whether on Android or iOS.
In practice, a company pays to have its business advertised in mobile applications. But they can also promote their own apps, even on websites.
Performance Max Ad
The Performance Max campaign in Google Ads allows the creation of ads using all Google channels in one place. This way, it is possible to reach more customers and optimize the marketing strategy with a single campaign. This type of campaign uses bids and real-time optimizations to automatically adjust your ads, always seeking the best results.
Based on artificial intelligence, PMax campaigns automate the setup and optimization of aspects such as budget allocation, audience selection, A/B testing on creatives, and conversion attribution.
Shopping Ad
Google Shopping campaigns allow promoting your products by displaying detailed information about them before people even click on the ad link. With specific reporting tools for retail, you can track the performance and sales of your products over time.
Video Ad
Video campaigns in Google Ads allow displaying ads on YouTube, as well as on Google video partner websites and apps. They are a great way to reach specific audiences and achieve marketing goals, such as generating sales, increasing website traffic, or improving brand recognition. There are several formats for video ads, each with a specific purpose.
Skippable in-stream ads are shown before, during, or after YouTube videos and can be skipped after five seconds. Non-skippable in-stream ads, up to 15 seconds long, ensure that your message will be seen. Other formats, such as bumper ads, are six seconds long and non-skippable, making them ideal for quick and impactful messages.
There are also in-feed ads, which appear where people discover content on YouTube, and out-stream ads, designed for mobile devices. Finally, masthead ads offer visibility on YouTube's homepage, significantly increasing reach and brand recognition.
Smart Ad
Smart ads are a simpler and more effective advertising solution within Google Ads. This type of campaign consists mainly of automatic optimization of ads by Google. From this, it is possible to achieve specific objectives, such as receiving calls or messages from potential customers, attracting physical visits, increasing brand visibility, among others.
Demand Generation Ad
With Demand Generation campaigns, it is possible to customize ad experiences to reach business audiences more relevantly. From these campaigns, it is possible to select, for example, similar segments to reach new audiences with a profile similar to your customers. This type of campaign can contribute to a Branding strategy for creating and/or strengthening brand authority, as well as increasing the impact of your ads.
How Can I Use Google Ads?
To use Google Ads, the first step is to define the budget, and thus be able to configure the campaigns. However, to use the platform, it is not enough to just have the budget; you need to follow some guidelines.
- Ad Quality: The advertiser offers money to get clicks, but their ad needs to be relevant. This way, Google will understand its importance and display it more often.
- Ad Rank: A tool used to measure the quality of ads made. The more your ad meets Ad Rank standards, the greater its reach will be. It is evaluated on a scale from 1 to 10, based on CTR, relevance, and landing page.
Step-by-Step to Advertise on Google Ads
The first step to advertising your website or business on Google Ads is to create your account with the platform. Here’s how to register right now!
- Visit the Google Ads website
- Click on "Get Started Now"
- Enter the Google email you want to link to your account
- Fill in details about your business, first campaign, and payment
- Done! You can start advertising now
How to Create a Campaign in Google Ads
After creating your account in Google Ads, the next step is to create a campaign. The entire process is simple and quick, as you will see below:
- Click on the Campaigns icon
- Click the + button and choose New Campaign
- Choose the objective of your campaign: Sales, Leads, Website Traffic, etc.
- Select a campaign type: Search, Display, Video, Shopping, Demand Generation, App, Smart, and Performance Max
- Click Add Goals to define what type of conversion you want to measure in this campaign. Example: Calls, Leads, Sales, etc.
- Name your campaign
- With that, you will have created your ad campaign in Google Ads.
Marketing Agency Specialized in Google Ads
Kaizen is a digital marketing agency focused on performance and results. Our team consists of Google Ads specialists who can evaluate, plan strategies, and offer the best advertising solutions for your company.
We are a Google partner agency, identified since 2019 as one of the 80 agencies with the highest growth potential in the Google Acceleration Program.
Contact our specialists and find out how Kaizen can contribute to your company's growth.