An especially important part of creating a good PPC ad and running one or more successful online advertising campaigns is being aware of the platform you’re using to attract customers. In the present case, it is about Google Ads, which recently sent us many updates. These are the latest ones you need to know when creating a campaign that you want to bring you the highest possible conversion rate and as many leads as possible :
- New Ad Types For Auto Category – Google has introduced Vehicle Listing Ads to highlight car dealerships’ new and used cars. They have also done this for Finance and Travel.
- Competitor Advertising Insights – Google wanted to introduce more transparency for users who see ads. Now with The My Ad Center (released in October), they can see how businesses like yours reach them. Discover all the ads an advertiser has released in the past 30 days.
- Business Name & Logo Ad Assets – This change in Search should help improve performance and reduce impersonation and fraud.
- Cost Per Lead Increases – The increases range across the business categories, but the average increase is around 19%, with only 2 categories seeing decreases – in total, 91% will be affected by this update.
- Expanded Text Ads Are No More – Responsive Search Ads (RSA) are now the default ad type rather than Expanded Text Ads. This can build an ad for you based on the text assets provided for Google.
- Smart Shopping & Local Campaigns Stopped – Google has now stopped both campaign types, upgrading these ads to Performance Max instead. They will also be stopping Similar Audiences in May of this year.
What Is Pay Per Click or abbreviated PPC ?
PPC is shorthand for Pay-Per-Click, a digital advertising model in which you pay anytime someone clicks your advert. They can be any size and format, from text and images to video. Some ads include a combination of these. It is brilliant for reaching and converting leads. Where you place your adverts is up to you. You could place them on:
- Search engines
- Websites
- Social media sites
However, there is 1 place in particular that holds the most value: Google. After all, they do experience around 8.5 billion searches a day!
What Is Google Ads?
Google is by far the most popular search engine, which is why turning to Google Ads occurs in most campaign strategies. Google Ads, formally known as Google AdWords before 2018, was launched 2 years after the introduction of Google. Now, it has become a go-to paid advertising platform for many as it can drive the ideal traffic to your doorstep – traffic that will likely make a purchase.
With Google Ads, you can create and display your PPC adverts, reaching your target audience at just the right time, whether on mobile or desktop. Plus, you aren’t restricted to Google Search. You can also create YouTube, Google Display Network, and Blogger ads.
How Does It Work?
You will bid on keywords (search terms), and whoever wins that bid finds their ad placed in the pinnacle place: at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs), unless, of course, you are putting your ad on YouTube, Google Play, or websites in the Google Display Network. The following factors will impact how successful your ads are:
- AdRank/Quality Score (QS)
- Your bid
- Keywords
- Location
- Match types
How To Easy Create A Google Ads
It is quite easy to get started on Google Ads. Sign up for an account, filling in details like your business name and website. You will then be prompted to select from 4 options – the advertising goal that is most appropriate for you. Once this is all completed, the fun can begin by creating your advert!
Research is imperative; you must see what appeals most to your audience and what keywords to include. Then, with your ad complete, you will need to set your budget and provide billing information – this is where the reality of it may sink in as you see the budget options.
The truth is this isn’t the final step. You must consider tracking, analyzing, integrating it with CRM, and more. So while the process can appear pretty straightforward initially, it all takes time. You may find investing in a Google Ads Service more beneficial and prefer that experts handle the process from start to finish.
If you are still undecided about which approach to take, our Co-Founder, Simon Brisk, could persuade you.
“The first time I tried to build a Google Ads account, I lost £3000 in 3 days! This showed me the importance of working with a specialist Google partner. Yes, it costs more money, but the knowledge and expertise with save you thousands of pounds per year!”
Don’t make the same mistake, and reach out to our PPC experts. Safe to say, they handle all our own PPC campaigns now and not Simon anymore!
What Are The Different Types of Ads ?
As mentioned previously, Google Ads come in all sizes and formats. When it comes to creating your ad (whether you are doing it yourself or outsourcing it), there are 5 main types of Google Ad campaigns to choose between:
- Search – This displays your advert on Google at the very top of the SERPs. It doesn’t look any different from the other results apart from the word “Ad” sitting before the URL.
- Display – You can display your ad on a website that is part of the Google Display Network. You pay the advertiser any time someone clicks on your ad, and you get the traffic. Display ads are usually more image-based – the idea is to attract users’ attention.
- Shopping – You will find Google Shopping Ads on the far right side containing images of products and their price. Using Google Merchant Center, provide details for Google to put together a shopping ad. This is perfect when you want to focus on just a few products rather than your entire brand.
- Video – Google owns YouTube, one of the biggest video platforms to exist. However, many people forget that, technically, it is also a search engine in its own right. When you bid for the right keywords, your ad can play in front of a video your audience is interested in – and if it is done well, it could divert their attention to your website instead.
- App – Mobile is more popular than ever, so it would be wise to consider making your own app. When it’s ready to be advertised, use Google Play to display your ad. Simply provide your information to Google and place a bid, and Google will create an ad for you.
Optimize, Optimize and again Optimize
PPC Optimization is about more than the actual advert. Optimizing your landing page is critical and not just for your QS score if you want to maximize your ad’s performance. By updating your landing page and optimizing it for conversions, such as solving solutions for visitors, making it user-friendly, and improving the conversion process, you have a better chance of converting them into paying customers.
