Google Ads
“I want to be on page one, number one in Google Search.” This sentence has been uttered arguably millions of times by business owners around the world. But let’s unpack what this really means and examine the way to get there by opening your wallet.
The position of your business listing on a Google search results page can vary, even if your website ranks at the top organically. There are a few reasons why your listing may be further down the page and not immediately noticed by consumers:
1. Paid Ads: Google usually will display paid advertisements, such as Google Ads, at the top of the search results page. These ads occupy prominent positions and can push organic listings further down. Users tend to focus their attention on the topmost results, making it more challenging for lower-ranked organic listings to garner visibility.
2. Local Pack: For local searches, Google may display a “Local Pack” (usually 3 listings) that showcases a map and a few select local business listings. If your business is not featured within the Local Pack, it can be easily overlooked by users who primarily focus on those prominent listings.
3. Rich Snippets and Featured Snippets: Google often displays rich snippets or featured snippets, which provide concise information and answers directly on the search results page. Users may find the desired information without needing to click on any specific website, reducing the visibility of organic listings further down the page.
4. Knowledge Graph: Google’s Knowledge Graph provides quick and comprehensive information about specific topics, entities, or businesses. If your business is already featured in the Knowledge Graph, users may find the necessary information without visiting your website, thus impacting the visibility of your organic listing.
5. User Behaviour and Search Personalization: Google takes into account user behaviour and search history when delivering search results. If users frequently click on certain listings or prefer specific types of results, Google may personalize the search results to align with individual preferences. This personalization can affect the visibility of organic listings for different users.
To improve the visibility of your business listing, consider implementing the following strategies:
* Focus on local SEO: Optimize your website for local search by targeting specific location-based keywords, creating a Google My Business profile, and obtaining positive customer reviews.
* Utilize Google Ads: Consider running targeted Google Ads campaigns to appear at the top of search results, alongside organic listings.
* Optimize for featured snippets: Create content that answers common user queries and aims to appear as a featured snippet, enhancing your visibility on the search results page.
* Enhance your website’s click-through rate (CTR): Craft compelling titles and meta descriptions that entice users to click on your listing when they do come across it.
Remember that achieving top organic rankings is valuable, but other factors on the search results page can influence the visibility of your listing. By implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, including paid advertising, local SEO, and content optimization, you can increase the chances of your business being noticed by consumers.
Even if a business ranks high organically in the search engine results pages (SERPs), there are several reasons why it may still want to consider paying for Google Ads:
1. Increased Visibility: Google Ads allows businesses to occupy additional real estate on the search results page. By appearing in both the paid ad section and the organic results, you can increase your overall visibility and capture more attention from potential customers. This can be especially valuable when competing with other businesses in your industry.
2. Targeted Advertising: Google Ads offers powerful targeting options, allowing you to reach specific audiences based on factors such as location, demographics, interests, and search intent. By running targeted campaigns, you can ensure your ads are shown to the right people at the right time, maximizing the chances of converting them into customers.
3. Instant Results: While organic rankings can take time to improve, Google Ads provides instant visibility and results. With paid ads, you can start driving traffic to your website immediately, which can be particularly beneficial for promoting new products, limited-time offers, or time-sensitive campaigns.
4. Ad Extensions: Google Ads offers various ad extensions, such as site links, call buttons, location information, and reviews. These extensions provide additional information and functionality to your ads, making them more compelling and increasing the chances of attracting clicks and conversions. Organic listings do not offer the same level of customization and extensions.
5. Competitor Conquesting: Paying for Google Ads allows you to bid on relevant keywords related to your competitors’ businesses. By targeting their brand names or specific keywords associated with their products or services, you can potentially divert traffic and customers away from your competitors and towards your own business.
6. Testing and Optimization: Google Ads provides robust analytics and tracking capabilities, allowing you to measure the performance of your ads and make data-driven decisions. By testing different ad variations, targeting options, and landing pages, you can optimize your campaigns to maximize their effectiveness and return on investment.
7. Flexibility and Control: With Google Ads, you have full control over your ad campaigns, including budget, scheduling, ad copy, and targeting. This flexibility allows you to tailor your advertising strategy to align with your business goals and adjust campaigns as needed to achieve the best results.
While organic rankings are valuable and can drive traffic, paid advertising through Google Ads offers additional benefits in terms of increased visibility, instant results, targeted advertising, and control over your campaigns. By leveraging both organic and paid strategies, businesses can maximize their online presence and reach a wider audience, ultimately driving more traffic, leads, and conversions.
Running Google Ads and bidding on your own brand keywords, even if you already rank high organically, should always be done 24/7. There are several benefits to doing this:
1. Protecting Your Brand: By bidding on your own brand keywords, you can ensure that your business appears prominently at the top of the search results. This helps to prevent competitors from outranking you in the paid ad section and potentially diverting traffic or customers away from your brand. (Yes, your competitors will often bid on your brand as a trigger to serve their own ads. As long as they don’t pretend to be your company or mention your brand in their own ads, this is actually acceptable and common practice)
2. Increasing Visibility and Click-Through Rates (CTRs): Having your brand appear in both the paid ad section and the organic results enhances your overall visibility on the search results page. This can lead to higher click-through rates as users see your brand listed multiple times, reinforcing trust and credibility. Increased visibility can also push down competitors’ ads or other listings that may appear in the paid ad section.
3. Controlling the Messaging: With Google Ads, you have complete control over the ad copy and messaging associated with your brand. This allows you to craft compelling and tailored messages that highlight specific offers, promotions, or unique selling points, ultimately driving higher engagement and conversions.
4. Maximizing Conversions: Bidding on brand keywords ensures that users who are specifically searching for your brand find your website easily. These users are likely already familiar with your brand or have a higher intent to convert. By having targeted ads for your brand, you can guide them directly to relevant landing pages or specific products/services, streamlining the conversion process and potentially increasing sales or leads.
5. Expanding Reach: While you may already rank high organically for your brand keywords, running paid ads allows you to occupy additional real estate on the search results page. This enables you to reach users who may have overlooked or scrolled past the organic listings and capture their attention with compelling ad placements.
6. Tracking and Analytics: Google Ads provides robust tracking and analytics tools that allow you to measure the performance of your brand campaigns. You can gain valuable insights into impressions, clicks, conversions, and other key metrics, enabling you to make data-driven decisions and continually optimize your campaigns for better results.
7. CPC (Cost per Click) is usually very low for your own brand compared to the CPC of the generic keywords for your industry, leading one to ask, why would you not want to make it super easy for someone searching your brand to find you.
Over the past 5 to 10 years, Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) has undergone significant changes and introduced various new features and improvements. Here’s a concise overview of some notable changes:
1. Expanded Advertising Network: Google Ads has expanded beyond its search advertising roots to include a wide range of advertising formats and placements. It now encompasses advertising on search results pages, display networks, YouTube, mobile apps, and partner websites.
2. Enhanced Targeting Options: Google Ads has introduced advanced targeting capabilities, allowing advertisers to reach specific audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and remarketing. This enables more precise targeting and better alignment with the target market.
3. Mobile Advertising Focus: With the rise of mobile devices, Google Ads has placed a stronger emphasis on mobile advertising. It introduced features like mobile-specific ad formats, mobile bid adjustments, and improved mobile campaign management tools to help advertisers effectively reach mobile users.
4. Automation and Machine Learning: Google Ads has incorporated automation and machine learning capabilities to streamline campaign management and optimize performance. Smart Bidding strategies, responsive ads, and automated ad extensions are examples of features that leverage machine learning algorithms to enhance ad performance.
5. Ad Formats and Extensions: Google Ads has expanded its ad formats to include responsive search ads, video ads, shopping ads, app promotion ads, and more. Additionally, ad extensions have been introduced, allowing advertisers to provide additional information or links within their ads, such as call extensions, sitelink extensions, and location extensions.
6. Improved Measurement and Attribution: Google Ads has enhanced its measurement capabilities, providing advertisers with more comprehensive insights into campaign performance and attribution. Features like conversion tracking, cross-device attribution, and integration with Google Analytics have improved the understanding of ad impact and ROI.
7. Enhanced Ad Creation and Testing: Google Ads has made it easier for advertisers to create and test ad variations. Ad creation tools, ad preview capabilities, and ad testing options have been improved to enable advertisers to optimize their ad messaging and improve click-through rates.
8. Focus on Advertiser Experience: Google Ads has prioritized the user experience for advertisers by simplifying campaign setup, improving user interfaces, and providing more intuitive reporting and analytics. The goal is to make it easier for advertisers to manage campaigns and achieve their advertising objectives.
It is important to avoid the fallacy of “searching oneself” to gauge the performance of your Google Ad campaign. Here’s why:
1. Biased Results: When you search for your own ads, Google’s algorithm recognizes your behavior and may alter the ad placement or frequency accordingly. This can create a distorted view of how your ads appear to the actual target audience. Your personalized search history and preferences may also influence the results, leading to a false sense of ad performance.
2. Wasted Ad Spend: Frequent self-searching can artificially inflate impressions, clicks, and costs, consuming your ad budget unnecessarily. Since your clicks are unlikely to convert into meaningful actions, such as purchases or inquiries, it leads to inefficient use of your advertising budget and can skew your campaign performance data.
3. Inaccurate Representation: Self-searching doesn’t reflect the experience of your target audience. It fails to capture how your ads appear to users who fit your desired demographic and search criteria. Their perspectives and behaviors are essential to understanding the actual impact and effectiveness of your ads.
4. Misguided Optimization: Basing campaign adjustments solely on self-search results can lead to misguided optimization decisions. Ad performance should be assessed based on comprehensive and objective data, including conversion metrics, click-through rates, and audience engagement. Relying on self-searching can distract from genuine optimization opportunities and hinder campaign success.
To accurately evaluate the performance of your Google Ad campaign, rely on reliable performance data within your Google Ads account, including impressions, clicks, conversions, and relevant conversion metrics. Monitor trends, compare performance against your campaign goals, and make data-driven decisions based on real audience interactions. This approach ensures that your campaign is optimized for the intended audience and maximizes the return on your ad investment.
CPC vs CPM Ad Campaigns
In Google Ads, advertisers have the option to choose between two primary pricing models: Cost-Per-Click (CPC) and Cost-Per-Thousand-Impressions (CPM). Let’s discuss the differences and considerations for each:
1. Cost-Per-Click (CPC): CPC is a pricing model where advertisers pay for each click their ad receives. With CPC, you’re charged only when someone clicks on your ad, regardless of how many times it’s displayed (impressions). This model is commonly used for search campaigns and is beneficial when the primary goal is to drive website traffic, generate leads, or acquire conversions.
Key Considerations:
* Control over Budget: With CPC, you can set a maximum bid for each click, allowing you to have control over your ad spend and allocate your budget more precisely.
* Performance Tracking: CPC enables you to measure the effectiveness of your ads based on click-through rates (CTRs), conversion rates, and cost per acquisition (CPA).
* Targeting Efficiency: CPC allows you to optimize your campaigns based on keywords, audience demographics, and user intent, ensuring your ads reach the most relevant audience.
1. Cost-Per-Thousand-Impressions (CPM): CPM is a pricing model where advertisers pay for every thousand ad impressions (displays) their ad receives. CPM is commonly used for display campaigns and focuses on brand awareness and visibility rather than direct clicks or conversions.
Key Considerations:
* Broad Reach and Awareness: CPM allows you to reach a larger audience and increase brand exposure by displaying your ads across various websites and platforms.
* Branding and Engagement: CPM campaigns are effective for creating brand awareness, showcasing visually engaging ads, and generating user engagement such as ad views, interactions, or video views.
* Effective for Visual Content: If your ad relies heavily on visual elements like images or videos, CPM can be a suitable option to maximize their impact.
Choosing between CPC and CPM depends on your advertising goals, budget, and the nature of your campaign. CPC is often favored for performance-driven campaigns focused on conversions, while CPM is more suitable for brand awareness and reaching a broader audience. Consider your objectives, target audience, and ad format to determine the most appropriate pricing model for your Google Ads campaign.
Engaging a Google ad consultant or agency such as New Phase Marketing Intelligence can bring several benefits to a business’s advertising and marketing efforts. Here are some reasons why it’s a good idea to seek professional assistance rather than doing it yourself:
1. Expertise and Knowledge: Google ad consultants or agencies have specialized expertise and knowledge in managing advertising campaigns. They stay updated with the latest trends, strategies, and best practices, which can help optimize your ad campaigns and drive better results.
2. Time and Resource Savings: Managing Google ad campaigns requires time, effort, and resources. By outsourcing this task to a consultant or agency, you can save valuable time and allocate your resources to other core aspects of your business, such as strategy, product development, and customer service.
3. Strategy Development: Google ad consultants or agencies can assist in developing an effective advertising strategy tailored to your business goals. They can analyze your target audience, competition, and market trends to create a well-rounded strategy that maximizes your ad budget and drives meaningful results.
4. Performance Tracking and Optimization: Consultants or agencies have experience in tracking and analyzing campaign performance. They can monitor key metrics, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven optimizations to enhance the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns.
5. Ad Creation and Testing: Crafting compelling ad creatives and conducting A/B testing is crucial for campaign success. Google ad consultants or agencies have expertise in creating persuasive ad copies, designing visually appealing creatives, and conducting thorough testing to ensure your ads resonate with your target audience.
6. Access to Advanced Tools and Features: Google ad consultants or agencies often have access to advanced tools and features provided by Google. They can leverage these resources to implement sophisticated targeting, automation, and optimization strategies, which may not be easily accessible or fully utilized by businesses without professional assistance.
7. Cost Efficiency: While there is a cost involved in engaging a consultant or agency, their expertise can help optimize your ad spend and minimize wasteful spending. They can identify cost-saving opportunities, adjust bidding strategies, and improve campaign performance to maximize the return on investment (ROI) from your advertising budget.
8. Concise Reporting: While Google Ad campaigns provide basic metrics and analytics, a skilled ad consultant goes beyond raw data, transforming it into actionable business insights. By interpreting metrics like Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and Return on Investment (ROI), they facilitate informed decision-making, ensuring the ad spend is effectively directed and paving the way for future strategic enhancements.
Ultimately, the decision to engage a Google ad consultant or agency depends on factors such as your budget, resources, expertise, and the complexity of your advertising goals. However, the specialized knowledge, experience, and time-saving benefits that professionals bring can often result in more effective and efficient advertising campaigns for your business.
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