In my previous blog, I talked about diving into the exciting world of PPC advertising and SEM.
Even though it is a lot to absorb, I was particularly excited to learn how to create a Google Ads Search campaign. This week (Jan 18th, 2023), I was determined to master this skill and continue growing in the digital marketing field. This post is part two of the Google Ads Search module.
Budget and bidding strategy
In Google Ads, you set your budget by specifying your average daily budget (which is multiplied by 30.4 for the monthly budget). You need to add a credit card to the account, but if there are no funds, the campaign will be shut down. Some companies offer Google accounts with prepaid budgets and send invoices to the client instead. Bidding strategies include “Maximize Conversions,” “Target CPA,” “Target ROAS,” and “Maximize Conversion Value.” The best auto bid strategy depends on the client’s priority, whether they want to appear on Google Search or maximize conversions. Google Ads has smart bidding strategies that use machine learning and auction-time bidding to tailor bids to each user’s unique context.
Ad Rank
Auction, Ad Rank, and Quality Score are concepts used by Google Ads to determine the relevance, ranking, and cost of ads that appear on the search results page. Ad Rank is the calculation that determines the order in which ads appear and is based on three main factors: expected click-through rate, ad landing page experience, and ad relevance. A good landing page experience is characterized by easy navigation, relevant and original content, and transparency about the business.
Ad Groups
Ad groups are a way to organize your Google Ads campaigns and ensure that your ads are highly targeted and relevant to the audience. It’s recommended to create a different ad group for each different landing page on your website, and to limit the number of targeted keywords per ad group. You can use bids and negative keywords to refine the targeting of your ad group, and it’s recommended to have at least three ads in each ad group, including at least one expanded text ad and one responsive search ad. You should also test the landing pages for each ad group and use ad group level ad extensions to make your ads more relevant and effective. When creating your campaigns, it’s recommended to create fewer campaigns with more ad groups, rather than many campaigns with only a few ad groups, unless you have different budgets or targeting locations that need to be separated.
Keywords and Keyword Research
Google Ads Search campaigns use multiple types of keywords to reach both known and unknown queries and to help drive business goals. There are different match types, including Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match, that can be used to optimize keyword performance. Keyword research is an important part of the process, and the Keyword Planner tool can be used to discover new keywords. The tool can be started by typing in a few keywords related to the business or by using your website URL to give Google more information to work with. The Search Volume and Bids for each keyword can be reviewed, and refinements can be made to exclude certain keywords or use filters to reduce competition and improve ranking. The keywords selected can then be added to a new ad group, and the forecast can be used to show expected results. To improve performance, strategies like using the Search Terms Report to identify keywords that are performing well, adding negative keywords to eliminate unnecessary traffic, and increasing bids on well-performing keywords can be used.
Ad Extensions
There are several types of ad extensions available, including Sitelink, Callout, Structured Snippet, Call, Message, Location, Affiliate Location, Price, App, Promotion, and Image Extensions. Each type of ad extension serves a different purpose and can be added at different levels, including the account, campaign, and ad group levels.
Sitelink Extensions are direct links to different pages on your website, and you should aim to have at least 4 at the ad group level and 8-10 at the ideal level. Callout Extensions are a paragraph of important information displayed under the header of your ad, and you should aim to have at least 6 at the campaign level. Structured Snippet Extensions categorize your products and are displayed in the ad. Call Extensions allow you to add your business’s phone number to your ads, and Message Extensions allow you to use email forwarding or SMS. Location Extensions connect your Google My Business account to your ad and show your location, while Affiliate Location Extensions are used if your products are sold in different stores. Price Extensions display prices and promotions in your ad, and App Extensions display a download button for your app.
Dynamic Extensions, such as Dynamic Sitelinks, Callouts, and Structured Snippets, are automated and can be checked for performance by selecting the “Automated Extensions” tab under the “Ads & Extensions” section of the Google Ads interface. Additionally, the Seller Ratings (Stars) Extension, which is also automated and pulls data from various third-party review sites, can be added to your ads to display star ratings.
As you can see in part two, there is still a lot of content to absorb. There is one more blog coming that will finish up creating a Google Ads Search campaign. It took a while for me to really grasp what I was learning, but I created a google ads account and practiced creating campaigns along the way. I also went to Google Skillshop and started the Fundamentals of Google Ads Search course. All of this helped me master this skill and continue growing in the digital marketing field. Follow the blog to see the finale of learning Google Ads Search!