Do you feel like it’s a jungle when it comes to navigating the online advertising world, and deciding what to invest in? I get it. There are endless channels and options to promote your offers. Everyone knows Google is the no. 1 search engine, but not everyone knows how it actually works to get your business on the map.
Imagine showing up on the first page of Google when people are searching for exactly what you offer! In this blog post, I’m giving you 5 reasons why Google Ads is effective in increasing traffic and generating high quality leads for your business. Let’s start with first things first!
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is also known as PPC (pay per click) advertising and covers multiple channels and ways to promote your business. You can probably guess the most popular one – paid ads in search results! These ads appear above the organic results and show when someone starts a search query based on matching search terms and targeting. You can get your business ranking on not only the first page of Google, but absolute top positions, already from day one! (This was the first advantage). Here are five other reasons:
1.Reach People That Are Actively Searching for You
Google Ads is based on intent. That’s what sets it apart from any other marketing channel! People are intentionally looking to shop or to book a certain service online. Since they are actively searching, it means they are already interested. So it’s your chance to land in front of these people, at the right time when they are looking for exactly what you offer! Because of that, these visitors are more likely to convert than other kinds of traffic as they are further down the funnel, ready to take action.
2.Only Pay for Engagement
Google Ads is PPC marketing which is where you pay per click. This means that you’re only charged once you get engagement and when someone shows interest. Not for how many times your ad shows or how far your reach is. In the case that no one clicks on your ad, you’re not paying. Really practical!
This counts for Search ads on Google search results, and Display ads with images showing on other websites. For Youtube videos, depending on the chosen setting, it can be changed to CPV (cost per view) instead where you are charged per view, counting a certain watch length of your video.
3.Attract Qualified Traffic
I’ve now explained how you can reach people based on search terms and search intent. There are more targeting options on the Google Ads account to help you attract even more qualified traffic. You can narrow down who your ads are showing to (instead of being to anyone searching on the same terms) on campaign settings such as location, language, and demographics.
As an example, if you’re a local business, select cities or zip codes instead of an entire country based on your locations, so only people in your area find you. You can also target the language that your audience speaks. This is particularly relevant in countries where more languages are spoken, such as Switzerland or Belgium. Likewise, you have the option to select gender and age to narrow down to your desired target audience. For local services you can also choose to run your ads during certain hours of the day. This way you can match with opening hours for people to call your business.
4.Choose Campaigns for Any Advertising Goal
Google Ads is not only for Google search. You can be visible nearly everywhere. From partner websites where ads show when browsing online, to Youtube, Google Maps, Gmail, including text, image and video ads. Which means you can achieve different objectives from increasing brand awareness, leads or sales, by selecting the right campaign for your goal.
As an example, driving sales to your webshop is highly effective with Performance Max campaigns. These are ads that show on multiple channels including search with product image and pricing. To create brand awareness, engaging in Youtube video can bring wider reach, and to increase leads or sales, Search or Retargeting with display advertising is effective.
5. Track Performance and Optimize Over Time
Google Ads is transparent on data which is extremely valuable to you as an advertiser. You’ll know your ROAS (return on ad spend), which ads are best performing, where your conversions are coming from and much more. The account dashboard gives you access to real-time metrics such as clicks, impressions, conversions, avg. cpc etc, so you can follow performance and its development. Why is this so important? You’ll have no idea how to improve your campaigns or when to make changes, if you don’t know what’s working or what you’re doing wrong.
In addition, you can link your Google Ads account to Analytics GA4. Analytics GA4 gives you insights on visitor behavior and how they engage with your site. By analyzing this, you’ll have even more data to make improvements to your landing pages and campaign strategy.
Summary
Investing in Google Ads can help your business attract leads, sign more clients, increase sales, and drive brand awareness. If you’re not certain whether advertising on Google is right for you or how it works, here are five advantages about this advertising channel;
- Reach people that are actively searching for you: appear on top of Google search results based on matching search terms, and reach people looking for what you offer.
- Only pay for engagement: you pay per click on your ad, not for how many times your ad shows. Or per view of your video, counted after a certain view length.
- Attract qualified traffic: narrow targeting on who you want your ad to show to based on location, language, and demographics such as gender and age.
- Choose campaigns and placements depending on your goal: advertise on Google search, Youtube, Gmail, Apps, Google Maps or Display with retargeting to increase brand awareness, store visits, leads or sales.
- Track performance and optimize over time: get access to real-time metrics on performance, and analyze data to improve your campaigns and results.
