The Ultimate Guide to Google Ads [Examples] - HubSpot Blog

Google Ads displays your ad to potential leads or customers who are interested in your product or service. Advertisers bid on search terms, or ... TheUltimateGuidetoGoogleAds[Examples] WrittenbyChristinaPerricone LearnPPCterms,biddingstrategies,andbestpracticestocreateeffectiveadvertisementsonGoogleAds. GoogleAdsPPCKitforBusiness LearnhowtocreateGoogleAdsthatdriveresults. Download 26 minremaining DownloadforLater Ifyou’reconsideringspendinganyamountofmoneyonadstoreachyourtargetaudience,you’dbetterspenditintherightplace. Thatis,somewherewithover2.9billionuniquemonthlyvisitorsand5billiondailyinteractions. SomewherelikeGoogle. GoogleAdswaslaunchedjusttwoyearsafterwhathasbecomethemostpopularwebsiteintheworld:Google.com.TheadvertisingplatformcameonthesceneinOctober2000asGoogleAdwords,butaftersomerebrandingin2018,itwasrenamedGoogleAds. GivenGoogle’sexpansivereach,chancesareyou’veseen(andprobablyclickedon)aGooglead,andsohaveyourpotentialcustomers. GoogleAdsBestPractices GoogleAdsTermstoKnow HowDoesGoogleAdsWork? HowtoUse&CreateGoogleAds TypesofGoogleAdsCampaigns GoogleAdsBiddingStrategies It'snosecretthatthesedays,thestrongerandmorefocusedyourpaidcampaignsare,themoreclicksyougenerate—leadingtoagreaterprobabilityofobtainingnewcustomers. LittlewonderthenthatGoogleAdshasbecomeincreasinglypopularamongbusinessesacrossallindustries. Inthisguide,you'lldiscoverhowtobeginadvertisingonGoogle.We’llcoverfeaturesspecifictotheplatformandteachyouhowtooptimizeyourcampaignstoachievethebestresultswithyourads. WhatisGoogleAds? GoogleAdsisapaidadvertisingplatformthatfallsunderamarketingchannelknownaspay-per-click(PPC),whereyou(theadvertiser)payperclickorimpression(CPM)onanad. GoogleAdsisaneffectivewaytodrivequalifiedtraffic,orgood-fitcustomers,toyourbusinesswho’researchingforproductsandservicesliketheonesyouoffer.WithGoogleAds,youcanboostyourwebsitetraffic,receivemorephonecalls,andincreasein-storevisits. GoogleAdsallowsyoutocreateandsharewell-timedads(viabothmobileanddesktop)amongyourtargetaudience.Asaresult,yourbusinesswillshowuponthesearchengineresultspage(SERP)atthemomentyouridealcustomersarelookingforproductsandserviceslikeyoursviaGoogleSearchorGoogleMaps. Thisway,youreachyourtargetaudiencewhenitmakessenseforthemtocomeacrossyourad. Note:Adsfromtheplatformcanspanacrossotherchannels,too,includingYouTube,Blogger,andGoogleDisplayNetwork. Overtime,GoogleAdswillalsohelpyouanalyzeandimprovethoseadstoreachmorepeoplesoyourbusinesscanhitallofyourpaidcampaigngoals. DiscoverhowHubSpotcanhelpyoubettermanageyourGoogleAds. Additionally,nomatterthesizeofyourbusinessoryouravailableresources,youcantailoryouradstosuityourbudget.TheGoogleAdstoolallowsyoutostaywithinyourmonthlycapandevenpauseorstopyouradspendingatanypointintime. Now,ontoanothercriticalquestion:IsGoogleAdsreallyeffective?Toanswerthis,let’sconsiderafewstatistics: GoogleAdshasaclick-throughrateofnearly2%. Displayadsyield180millionimpressionseachmonth. Forusersreadytobuy,paidadsonGoogleget65%oftheclicks. 43%ofcustomersbuysomethingthey’veseenonaYouTubead. DoesGoogleAdswork? Yes,GoogleAdsworks.Youcancreateahigh-ROImarketingcampaignwithanoptimizedadcampaignandleadflow. WhyadvertiseonGoogle? Googleisthemostusedsearchengine,receivingover5billionsearchqueriesdaily.Nottomention,theGoogleAdsplatformhasbeenaroundfornearlytwodecades,givingitsomeseniorityandauthorityinpaidadvertising. Googleisaresourceusedbypeopleworldwidetoaskquestionsansweredwithacombinationofpaidadvertisementsandorganicresults. Needanotherreason?YourcompetitorsareusingGoogleAds(andtheymightevenbebiddingonyourbrandedterms). HundredsofthousandsofcompaniesuseGoogleAdstopromotetheirbusinesses,whichmeansthatevenifyou’rerankingorganicallyforasearchterm,yourresultsarebeingpusheddownthepagebeneathyourcompetitors. Ifyou’reusingPPCtoadvertiseyourproductorservices,GoogleAdsshouldbeapartofyourpaidstrategy—there’snowayaroundit(exceptmaybeFacebookAds,butthat’sanotherarticle). GoogleAdsBestPractices Ifyou’vetriedunsuccessfullytoadvertiseonGoogle,don’tgiveup.TherearemanyreasonswhyyourGoogleAdscouldbeunderperforming.But,first,let’scoversomestandardGoogleAdsbestpractices. 1.UseaPPCplanningtemplate. DownloadthisTemplateforFree UsingaplannerkeepsyourPPCprojectsorganized.WithGoogleandHubSpot'sPPCPlanningTemplate,youcanviewhowyouradswillappearonline,seeyourcharactercounts,andmanageyourcampaignsallinoneplace. 2.Avoidbroadkeywordterms. Youreallyneedtonailitforyourkeywords,whichiswhytestingandtweakingshouldbeapartofyourstrategy.Ifyourkeywordsaretoobroad,Googlewillbeplacingyouradinfrontofthewrongaudience,whichmeansfewerclicksandahigheradspend. Reviewwhat’sworking(i.e.,whichkeywordsgenerateclicks)andadjustthemtobestmatchyouradswithyourtargetaudience.Youlikelywon’tgetthemixrightthefirsttime,butyoushouldkeepadding,removing,andtweakingkeywordsuntilyoudo. Tip:Reviewthekeywordstrategiesthatwecoverbelow. 3.Don'trunirrelevantads. Ifyouraddoesn’tmatchthesearcher’sintent,youwon’tgetenoughclickstojustifyyouradspend.Yourheadlineandadcopyneedtomatchthekeywordsyou’rebiddingon,andthesolutionyouradismarketingneedstosolvewhateverpainpointthatsearcherisexperiencing. It’sacombinationthatwillyieldtheresultsyou’relookingfor,anditmayjustbeafewtweaksaway.Youhavetheoptiontocreatemultipleadspercampaign—usethisfeaturetosplittestwhichadsworkbest.Or,betteryet,useGoogle’sResponsiveSearchAdsfeature. Tip:Readourbestpracticesforadcopy. 4.ImproveyourQualityScore(QS). YourQualityScore(QS)ishowGoogledetermineshowyouradshouldrank. ThehigheryourQS,thebetteryourrankandplacementsontheSearchEngineResultsPage(SERP).Ifyourqualityscoreislow,you’llhavefewereyeballsonyouradandfewerchancestoconvert. AlthoughGoogleletsyouknowyourQualityScore,it’syourresponsibilitytoimproveit. Tip:KeepreadingtolearnhowtoimproveyourQS. 5.Optimizeyouradlandingpage. Youreffortsshouldn’tstopwithyourad—theuserexperienceafteraclickisequallyessential. Whatdoesyouruserseeoncetheyclickyourad?Isyourlandingpageoptimizedforconversions?Doesthepagesolveyouruser’spainpointoranswertheirquestion?Yourusershouldexperienceaseamlesstransitionthroughtheconversionprocess. Tip:Reviewlandingpagebestpracticesandimplementthemtoincreaseyourconversionrate. GoogleAdsTermstoKnow AdRank Bidding CampaignType Click-ThroughRate ConversionRate DisplayNetwork AdExtensions Keywords PPC QualityScore Thesecommontermswillhelpyousetup,manage,andoptimizeyourGoogleAds.SomeofthesearespecifictoGoogleAds,whileothersaregenerallyrelatedtoPPC.Eitherway,you’llneedtoknowthesetorunaneffectiveadcampaign. 1.AdRank YourAdRankdeterminesyouradplacement.Thehigherthevalue,thebetteryou’llrank,themoreeyeswillfallonyourad,andthehighertheprobabilityofusersclickingyourad.YourAdRankisdeterminedbyyourmaximumbidmultipliedbyyourQualityScore. 2.Bidding GoogleAdsisbasedonabiddingsystem,whereyou,astheadvertiser,selectamaximumbidamountyou’rewillingtopayforaclickonyourad.Thehigheryourbid,thebetteryourplacement.Youhavethreeoptionsforbidding:CPC,CPM,orCPE. CPC,orcost-per-click,istheamountyoupayforeachclickonyourad. CPM,orcostpermille,istheamountyoupayforonethousandadimpressions;thatiswhenyouradisshowntoathousandpeople. CPE,orcostperengagement,istheamountyoupaywhensomeonetakesapredeterminedactionwithyourad. And,yes,we’llreviewbiddingstrategiesbelow. 3.CampaignType BeforeyoubeginapaidcampaignonGoogleAds,you’llselectbetweensevencampaigntypes:search,display,video,shopping,app,smart,orperformancemax. SearchadsaretextadsthataredisplayedamongsearchresultsonaGoogleresultspage. Displayadsaretypicallyimage-basedandareshownonwebpageswithintheGoogleDisplayNetwork. Videoadsarebetweensixand15secondsandappearonYouTube. ShoppingcampaignsappearonsearchresultsandtheGoogleshoppingtab. Appcampaignsuseinformationfromyourapptooptimizeadsacrosswebsites. SmartcampaignshaveGooglefindingthebesttargetingtogetyouthemostbangforyourbuck. PerformanceMaxisanewcampaigntypethatletsadvertisersaccessallGoogleAdsinventoryfromasinglecampaign. 4.Click-ThroughRate(CTR) YourCTRisthenumberofclicksyougetonyouradasaproportionofthenumberofviewsyouradgets.AhigherCTRindicatesaqualityadmatchingsearchintentandtargetingrelevantkeywords. 5.ConversionRate(CVR) CVRisameasureofformsubmissionsasaproportionoftotalvisitstoyourlandingpage.Simplisticallyspeaking,ahighCVRmeansthatyourlandingpagepresentsaseamlessuserexperiencethatmatchesthead'spromise. 6.DisplayNetwork GoogleadscanbedisplayedoneithersearchresultspagesorawebpagewithinGoogle’sDisplayNetwork(GDN).GDNisanetworkofwebsitesthatallowspaceontheirwebpagesforGoogleAds—theseadscanbetext-orimage-basedandaredisplayedalongsidecontentrelevanttoyourtargetkeywords.ThemostpopularDisplayAdoptionsareGoogleShoppingandappcampaigns. 7.Extensions AdExtensionsallowyoutosupplementyouradwithadditionalinformationatnoextracost.Theseextensionsfallunderoneoffivecategories:Sitelink,Call,Location,Offer,orApp;we’llcovereachoftheseadextensionsbelow. 8.Keywords WhenaGoogleusertypesaqueryintothesearchfield,Googlereturnsarangeofresultsthatmatchthesearcher’sintent.Keywordsarewordsorphrasesthatalignwithwhatasearcherwantsandwillsatisfytheirquery.Youselectkeywordsbasedonwhichqueriesyouwanttodisplayyouradalongside.Forexample,asearcherthattypes“howtocleangumoffshoes”willseeresultsforadvertisersthattargetedkeywordslike“gumonshoes”and“cleanshoes.” Negativekeywordsarealistofkeywordtermsthatyoudonotwanttorankfor.Googlewillpullyoufromthebidonthesekeywords.Typically,thesearesemi-relatedtoyourintendedsearchtermsbutfalloutsideoftherealmofwhatyouofferorwanttorankfor. 9.PPC Pay-per-click,orPPC,isatypeofadvertisingwheretheadvertiserpaysperclickonanad.PPCisnotspecifictoGoogleAds,butitisthemostcommontypeofpaidcampaign.It’simportanttounderstandtheinsandoutsofPPCbeforelaunchingyourfirstGoogleAdscampaign. 10.QualityScore(QS) YourQualityScoremeasuresthequalityofyouradbyyourclick-throughrate(CTR),therelevanceofyourkeywords,thequalityofyourlandingpage,andyourpastperformanceontheSERPs.QSisadeterminingfactorinyourAdRank. ClicktogetourfreeguideonhowtouseGoogleAds. HowdoesGoogleAdswork? GoogleAdsdisplaysyouradtopotentialleadsorcustomerswhoareinterestedinyourproductorservice.Advertisersbidonsearchterms,orkeywords,andthewinnersofthatbidareplacedatthetopofsearchresultspages,onYouTubevideos,oronrelevantwebsites,dependingonthetypeofadcampaignselected. Manyfactorsimpactyourabilitytocreateeffectiveandhigh-performingGoogleAds.Let’scoverthembelow,plussomeGoogleAdsexamples. AdRankandQualityScore AdRankdeterminestheplacementofyourads,andQualityScoreisoneofthetwofactors(theotherbeingbidamount)thatdeterminesyourAdRank.Remember,yourQualityScoreisbasedonthequalityandrelevanceofyourad,andGooglemeasuresthatbyhowmanypeopleclickonyouradwhenit’sdisplayed—i.e.,yourCTR.YourCTRdependsonhowwellyouradmatchessearcherintent,whichyoucandeducefromthreeareas: Therelevanceofyourkeywords IfyouradcopyandCTAdeliverwhatthesearcherexpectsbasedontheirsearch Theuserexperienceofyourlandingpage YourQSiswhereyoushouldfocusmostofyourattentionwhenyoufirstsetupyourGoogleAdcampaign—evenbeforeyouincreaseyourbidamount.ThehigheryourQS,theloweryouracquisitioncostswillbeandthebetterplacementyou’llget. Location WhenyoufirstsetupyourGoogleAd,you’llselectageographicalareawhereyouradwillbeshown.Ifyouhaveastorefront,thisshouldbewithinareasonableradiusaroundyourphysicallocation.Ifyouhaveanecommercestoreandaphysicalproduct,yourlocationshouldbesetintheplaceswhereyouship.Ifyouprovideaserviceorproductthatisaccessibleworldwide,thenthesky'sthelimit. Yourlocationsettingswillplayaroleinplacement.Forinstance,ifyouownayogastudioinSanFrancisco,someoneinNewYorkthatenters“yogastudio”willnotseeyourresult,nomatteryourAdRank.That’sbecauseGoogle’smainobjectiveistodisplaythemostrelevantresultstosearchers,evenwhenyou’repaying. Keywords Keywordresearchisjustasimportantforpaidadsasitisfororganicsearch.Yourkeywordsneedtomatchsearcherintentasmuchaspossible.That’sbecauseGooglematchesyouradwithsearchqueriesbasedonthekeywordsyouselected. Eachadgroupthatyoucreatewithinyourcampaignwilltargetasmallsetofkeywords(onetofivekeywordsisoptimal),andGooglewilldisplayyouradbasedonthoseselections. MatchTypes MatchTypesgiveyoualittlewiggleroomwhenitcomestoyourkeywordselections—theytellGooglewhetheryouwanttomatchasearchqueryexactlyorifyouradshouldbeshowntoanyonewithasearchquerythat’ssemi-related.Therearefourmatchtypestochoosefrom: BroadMatchisthedefaultsettingthatusesanywordwithinyourkeywordphraseinanyorder.Forexample,“goatyogainOakland”willmatch“goatyoga”or“yogaOakland.” ModifiedBroadMatchallowsyoutolockincertainwordswithinakeywordphrasebydenotingthemwitha“+”sign.Yourmatcheswillincludethatlocked-inwordattheveryleast.Forexample,“+goatsyogainOakland”couldyield“goats,”“goatslikefood,”or“goatsandyoga.” PhraseMatchwillmatchwithqueriesthatincludeyourkeywordphraseintheexactorderbutmayincludeadditionalwordsbeforeorafterit.Forexample,“goatyoga”canyield“spottedgoatyoga”or“goatyogawithpuppies.” ExactMatchmaintainsyourkeywordphraseasitiswrittenintheexactorder.Forexample,“goatyoga”willnotshowupifsomeonetypes“goatsyoga”or“goatyogaclass.” Ifyou’rejuststartingoutanddon’tknowpreciselyhowyourpersonawillbesearching,movefromabroadmatchtoamorenarrowapproachsoyoucantestwhichqueriesyieldthebestresults.However,sinceyouradwillberankingformanyqueries(someunrelated),youshouldkeepacloseeyeonyouradsandmodifythemasyoucangainnewinformation. HeadlineandDescription Youradcopycanbethedifferencebetweenaclickonyouradandaclickonyourcompetitor’sad.Therefore,it’simportantthatyouradcopymatchesthesearcher’sintent,isalignedwithyourtargetkeywords,andaddressesthepersona'spainpointwithaclearsolution. Toillustratewhatwemean,let’sreviewanexample. Asearchfor“babyswimlessons”yieldedthisresult.Thecopyisconciseanduseslimitedspacewiselytoconveyitsmessageandconnectwithitstargetaudience. TheSwimRevolutionknewtoputthekeywordintheirheadline,soweinstantlyknowthatthisadmatcheswhatwe’relookingfor.Furthermore,thedescriptiontellsuswhythisisthebestoptionforswimlessonsbecauseitaddressestheconcernsoftheirpersona—aparentlookingtoenrolltheirbabyinaswimclass. Theyusewordslike“skills,”“fun,”“confidence,”and“comfortinthewater”toeaseournervesaboutputtingababyinapoolandtoprovetousthatwewillgetwhatwewantoutofthisclass—aninfantthatcanswim. Thiskindofadcopywillgetyouclicks,butconversionswillresultfromcarryingthislevelofintentionintoyourlandingpagecopy. AdExtensions Ifyou’rerunningGoogleAds,youshouldbeusingAdExtensionsfortworeasons:they’refree,andtheygiveusersadditionalinformationandanotherreasontointeractwithyourad.Theseextensionsfallwithinoneofthesefivecategories: SitelinkExtensionsextendyourad—helpingyoustandout—andprovideadditionallinkstoyoursitethatofferusersmoreenticingreasonstoclick. CallExtensionsallowyoutoincorporateyourphonenumberinyourad,sousershaveanadditional(andinstant)waytoreachouttoyou.Ifyouhaveacustomerserviceteamthatisreadytoengageandconvertyouraudience,thenincludeyourphonenumber. LocationExtensionsincludeyourlocationandphonenumberwithinyouradsoGooglecanoffersearchersamaptofindyoueasily.Thisoptionisgreatforbusinesseswithastorefront,anditworkswellforthesearchquery“...nearme.” OfferExtensionsworkifyou’rerunningacurrentpromotion.Itcanenticeuserstoclickyouradoverothersiftheyseethatyouroptionsarediscountedcomparedtoyourcompetitors. AppExtensionsprovidealinktoanappdownloadformobileusers.ThisreducesthefrictionofperforminganewsearchtofindanddownloadtheappinanAppStore. GoogleAdsRetargeting Retargeting(orremarketing)inGoogleAdsisawaytoadvertisetouserswhohavepreviouslyinteractedwithyouonlinebuthavenotyetconverted.Trackingcookieswillfollowusersaroundthewebandtargettheseuserswithyourads.Remarketingiseffectivesincemostprospectsneedtoseeyourmarketingmultipletimesbeforebecomingacustomer. TypesofGoogleAdsCampaigns Search Display Video App Shopping YoucanselectfromoneoffivecampaigntypesonGoogleAds.Let’scovertheoptimalusesforeachandwhyyoumightchooseoneovertheother. 1.SearchAdCampaigns SearchadsaretextadsthataredisplayedonGoogleresultspages.Asanexample,asearchfor“pocketsquares”returnssponsoredresults: Thebenefitofsearchadsisthatyou’redisplayingyouradintheplacewheremostsearcherslookforinformationfirst—onGoogle.AndGoogleshowsyouradinthesameformatasotherresults(exceptfordenotingitasan“Ad”),sousersareaccustomedtoseeingandclickingonresults. ResponsiveSearchAds Responsivesearchadsallowyoutoentermultipleversionsofheadlinesandadcopy(15andfourvariations,respectively)forGoogletoselectthebestperformerstodisplaytousers.Withtraditionalads,youcreateonestaticversionofyourad,usingthesameheadlineanddescriptioneachtime. Responsiveadsallowforadynamicadthatisauto-testeduntilyouarriveattheversionthatisbestsuitedforyourtargetaudience—forGoogle,thatmeansuntilyougetthemostclicks. 2.DisplayAdCampaigns GooglehasanetworkofwebsitesinvariousindustriesandwithanarrayofaudiencesthatoptintodisplayGoogleAds,knownastheGoogleDisplayNetwork.Thebenefittothewebsiteowneristhatthey’repaidperclickorimpressionontheads.Thebenefittoadvertisersisthattheycangettheircontentinfrontofaudiencesthatarealignedwiththeirpersonas. Thesearetypicallyimageadsthatdrawusers'attentionawayfromthecontentonthewebpage: ImageSource 3.VideoAdCampaigns videos.Remember,YouTubeisasearchengine,too.Sotherightkeywordswillplaceyouinfrontofavideo,disruptingtheuser’sbehaviorjustenoughtograbtheirattention. Here'savideoadvertisementthatpopsupinthemiddleofanothervideoonhowtotieatie: ImageSource 4.AppAdCampaigns GoogleAppCampaignspromoteyourmobileapplicationthroughanaddisplayedonGoogleSearchNetwork,YouTube,GooglePlay,GoogleDisplayNetwork,andmore. Youcanrunadsthatencourageyouraudiencetoinstallyourappor,iftheyalreadyuseit,totakeacertainactionwithinyourapp. Unlikeotheradtypes,youdon'tdesignanAppadcampaign.Instead,provideGooglewithyourapp'sinformationandaudience,andplaceabid.Googledoestheresttogetyourappinfrontoftherighteyes: ImageSource 5.ShoppingAdCampaigns AnothertypeofGoogleAdisGoogleShoppingAdCampaigns.Shoppingcampaigns,liketheseothertypesofads,aredisplayedonSERPsandincludedetailedproductinformationsuchaspriceandproductimagery.YoucanrunaShoppingcampaignthroughGoogleMerchantCenter,whereyouinputspecificproductinformationthatGooglepullsfromtocreateyourshoppingads. Insteadofmarketingyourbrandasawhole,ShoppingAdsallowyoutopromotespecificproductsandproductlines.That'swhy,whenyousearchforaparticularproductonGoogle,you'llseeadsfordifferentbrandspopupalongthetopand/orside.ThisiswhatIseewhenIsearch"runningshoes."TheadsatthetopareGoogleSearchads,butthespecificproductsadvertisedonthesideareShoppingadsoptimizedforthekeyword"runningshoes": HowtoUseGoogleAds ConvincedthatyoushouldstartusingGoogleAds?Good.Gettingstartedissimple,butrequiresafewsteps.Here’sastep-by-stepguideforsettingupyourfirstcampaignonGoogleAds. 1.SetupyourGoogleAdsaccount. First,gototheGoogleAdshomepage.Onthetopright-handcorner,clickon‘StartNow.’ You’llbedirectedtosigninwithaGoogleaccountorsetupanewone. 2.Chooseyourbusinessnameandwebsite.  Aftersigningin,you’llbetakentoapagewhereyou’llprovideyourbusinessnameandwebsite.TheURLyouprovideiswhereanyonewhoclicksonyouradwillbetaken. 3.Selectyouradvertisinggoal. Next,selectyourmainadvertisinggoal.Youhavefouroptions:Getmorecalls,getmorewebsitesalesorsign-ups,getmorevisitstoyourphysicallocation,andgetmoreviewsandengagementonYouTube. 4.Craftyourad. Thenextstepistocreateyourad.Thisrequirescreativityandcanbeabitchallenging. Thankfully,Googlegivesyoutipsonwhattowrite.But,ofcourse,themostimportantthingistowriteanadthat’llattractandconvertyouraudience. 5.Addkeywordthemes. Onthenextpage,youcanchoosekeywordsthatmatchyourbrand.Googlewillsuggestafewforyou;ifyou’renotfamiliarwithkeywordresearch,wesuggestselectingtheonesGooglehassuggestedtostart.Afterselectingtherightkeywords,click‘Next.’ 6.Setyouradlocation. Thenextpageletsyouchoosethelocationorlocationswhereyouwantyouradtoappear.Itcanbenearyourphysicaladdressoranywhereelse. 7.Setyourbudget. Here,you’lleitherusethebudgetoptionsofferedbyGoogleorenteraspecificbudget. 8.Confirmpayment. Lastly,provideyourbillinginformation. Andthat’showeasyitistocreateyourfirstGooglead! Asyoucansee,settingupyourpaidcampaignsonGoogleisrelativelyeasy(andquick),mostlybecausetheplatformtakesyouthroughthesetupandprovideshelpfulhintsalongtheway.Ifyouhaveyouradcopyand/orimagescreated,thesetupshouldtakeyounomorethan10minutes. Whatmaybelessobviousarealltheadditionalthingsyouneedtodotomakesureyouradsareoptimallysetupandeasilytrackable.Let’scoverthesetogether.Thesearethestepsyou’lltakeonceyouradsaresubmittedforreview. 9.LinkyourGoogleAnalyticsaccount. YoulikelyhaveGoogleAnalyticssetuponyourwebsite(ifnot,here’showtodoitonWordPress)soyoucantracktraffic,conversions,goals,andanyuniquemetrics.YoualsoneedtolinkyourAnalyticsaccounttoGoogleAds.Linkingtheseaccountswillmaketracking,analyzing,andreportingbetweenchannelsandcampaignsmucheasierbecauseyoucanviewtheseeventsinoneplace. 10.AddUTMcodes. UrchinTrackingModule(UTM)codesareusedbyGoogletotrackanyactivityassociatedwithaspecificlink.You’veprobablyseenthembefore—it’sthepartofaURLthatfollowsaquestionmark(“?”).UTMcodeswilltellyouwhichofferoradledtoaconversionsoyoucantrackthemosteffectivepartsofyourcampaign.UTMcodesmakeiteasiertooptimizeyourGoogleAdssinceyouknowexactlywhat’sworking. Thetrick,though,istoaddyourUTMcodesatthecampaignlevelwhenyousetupyourGoogleAds,soyoudon’thavetodosomanuallyforeachadURL.Otherwise,youcanaddthemmanuallywithGoogle’sUTMbuilder. 11.Setupconversiontracking. Conversiontrackingtellsyouexactlyhowmanycustomersorleadsyou’veacquiredfromyouradcampaigns.It’snotmandatorytosetup,but,withoutit,you’llbeguessingtheROIofyourads.Conversiontrackingallowsyoutotracksales(orotheractivities)onyourwebsite,appinstalls,orcallsfromyourads. ManageandorganizeyouradswithourfreeGoogleAdsKitandTemplates. 12.IntegrateyourGoogleAdswithyourCRM. Thereissomethingtobesaidaboutkeepingallofyourdatainoneplacewhereyoucantrack,analyze,andreportonit.YoualreadyuseyourCRMtotrackcontactdataandleadflows.IntegratingGoogleAdswithyourCRMgivesyoutheabilitytotrackwhichadcampaignsareworkingforyouraudiencesoyoucancontinuemarketingtothemwithoffersthatarerelevant. Source GoogleAdsBiddingStrategies Onceyou’vesetupyouradcampaignsandhavetrackinginplace,it’stimetostartbidding.Remember,yourabilitytorankinGoogleAdsdependsonhowyoubid.Whileyourbidamountwilldependonyourbudgetandgoals,thereareafewstrategiesandbidsettingsyoushouldbeawareofwhenlaunchingyourpaidcampaign. Automatedvs.ManualBidding Youhavetwooptionswhenitcomestobiddingonyourkeywords—automatedandmanual.Here’showtheywork: AutomatedBiddingputsGoogleinthedriver’sseatandallowstheplatformtoadjustyourbidbasedonyourcompetitors.Youcanstillsetamaximumbudget,andGooglewillworkwithinarangetogiveyouthebestchanceatwinningthebidwithinthoseconstraints. ManualBiddingletsyousetthebidamountsforyouradgroupsandkeywords,givingyouthechancetoreducespendingonlow-performingads. BiddingonBrandedSearchTerms Brandedtermsarethosewithyourcompanyoruniqueproductnameinthem,like“HubSpotCRM.”Thereismuchdebateonwhethertobidonyourbrandedtermsornot.Ononesideofthedebate,biddingontermsthatwilllikelyyieldorganicresultscouldbeseenasawasteofmoney. Ontheotherside,biddingonthesetermsgivesyoudomainoverthesesearchresultspagesandhelpsyouconvertprospectsthatarefurtheralongtheflywheel.Forinstance,ifI’vebeenresearchinglivechattoolsandamheavilyconsideringHubSpot’sLiveChat,thenasimplesearchfor“HubSpotlivechatsoftware”willyieldpreciselytheresultI’mlookingforwithouttheeffortofscrolling. Theotherargumentinfavorofbiddingonyourbrandedtermsisthatcompetitorsmaybidonthemifyoudon’t,therebytakingupvaluablerealestatethatshouldbelongtoyou. CostPerAcquisition(CPA) Iftheideaofspendingmoneytoconvertprospectsintoleadsmakesyouuneasy,thenyoucansetaCPAinsteadandonlypaywhenauserconvertsintoacustomer.Whilethisbiddingstrategycouldcostmore,youcantakecomfortinknowingthatyouonlypaywhenyouacquireapayingcustomer.Thisstrategymakesiteasytotrackandjustifyyouradspend. AdditionalResourcestoOptimizeYourGoogleAds Youradcopyandheadlineisnottheonlycomponentthatwillmakeyourpaidcampaignsuccessful.Gettingausertoclickisonlythebeginning…theyshouldarriveonalandingpagethat’soptimizedforconversionandthenbetakentoaThankYoupagethattellsthemwhattodonext. IfyouwantyourGoogleAdstoproducequalifiedleadsandcustomers,thencheckouttheseadditionalresourcesandusethemasguidelinesasyousetupyourGoogleAdscampaign. LandingPageBestPracticeswillteachyouhowtosetupalandingpagethat’sprimeforconversionssoyoudon’twastethosepreciousclicks. Optimized“ThankYou”Pagesshowsyouwhattodowithyournewleadpost-conversion,howtokeepthemonyoursite,andwaystomaintaintheirattention. TipsforMobileGoogleAdsteachesyouthekeydifferencesbetweendesktopandmobileadsandhowtooptimizeboth. OptimizingGoogleAdsCostswillshowyouhowwe,atHubSpot,maximizeourGoogleAdsspendtogetthebestROI. QualityGoogleAdsExamplesThatConvertsharesexamplesofGoogleadvertisingcampaignsthatgotitright. GoogleAdsTips NowthatyouknowhowtouseandsetupaGoogleAdcampaign,hereareafewshorttipsorbestpracticestofollowtohelpyoucreatesuccessfulcampaigns. We’vecoveredtheseatlengththroughoutthispost,buttheirimportancecan’tbeoverstated.Usethisasachecklistyoucanrefertoagainandagain. 1.Haveacleargoal. It’svitaltodefineyourobjectivesbeforeyoucreateyourad,insteadofcreatinganadfirstandthentweakingittofityourobjectives.SitdownwithyourmarketingteamtoprepareanadvertisingplanandcreateSMARTgoalsforyourGoogleAdscampaigns. 2.Createarelevantlandingpage. WhenpromptedtoaddyourURLwhencreatingyourad,ensurethattheURLyouprovideleadstoarelevantlandingpage.Ifyouradisinterestingenoughtogetclicked,youcouldundoallthatgreatworkifitdirectsthemtoapoorlandingpage. Therefore,optimizeyourlandingpagessothatyouradwillhelpconvertacuriousvisitorintoapayingcustomer.Checkoutourlandingpageguidesoyouknowexactlyhowtocreategreatlandingpages. 3.Usetherightkeywords. Keywordsaresuperimportant,soit’sonlyrightthatyouchoosethebestonesforyourad. Long-tailkeywordsaresomeofthebesttypesofkeywordsbecausetheyareveryspecificandcantargetonebusiness. Forexample,sayyourunacatclinic.Agenerickeywordlike‘catclinic’won’ttargetpeopleinyourarea,butsomethinglike‘catclinicinbelvedere’ismorelikelytoattracttherightaudience. 4.Automatetheprocess. Youcanmaximizeconversionsbyoptimizingthebiddingprocess.ToolslikeSmartBiddingcanincreaseorreducebidsforyou,dependingonthechanceofsuccess. Therefore,you’llspendmoneyonlywhenthere’sahigherchanceofsuccess. 5.UseAdExtensions. Extensionscantakeyouradperformanceupanotch.Theseextensionsallowyoutospecifyyourlocations,services,goods,orsalespromotions. Forexample,youcouldincludeatelephonenumberinyouradsopeoplecancallyoutoinquireaboutyourservicesrightaway. 6.Usenegativekeywords. GoogleAdsallowsyoutoincludenegativekeywords.Usingthesekeywordsindicateswhatyourproductorserviceisnot,thuspreventingyoufromshowingupinirrelevantSERPs. Usingthecatclinicexample,youmightonlycatertocatsandnotdogsorotherpets.Inthiscase,youcanexcludetermslike‘dogs’andotherqualifiers. 7.Measureandimproveuponyourstrategy. WhenyouintegrateyouradswithGoogleAnalytics,youcantrackimportantmetricslikepagepopularity,thekeywordsthatdrivethemosttraffic,andmore. Collectingandanalyzingtheseandothermetricswillhelpyouimprovethequalityofyourads,boostyourconversions,andincreaserevenueovertime. StartYourGoogleAdsCampaign Givenitsreachandauthority,GoogleAdsshouldbeapartofyourpaidstrategy.Usethetipswecoveredtogetstarted,andremembertorefineanditerateasyougo. There’snosuchthingasaGoogleAdscampaignthatdoesn’twork—thereareonlyonesthatneedabitmorework.Usingthestrategyandinformationprovidedabove,youhavewhatyouneedtocreateasuccessfulGoogleAdcampaignthatdrivesclicksandconvertsleads. Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinNovember2015andhasbeenupdatedforcomprehensiveness.   OriginallypublishedJul28,20227:00:00AM,updatedJuly282022 Topics: GoogleAds Don'tforgettosharethispost! RelatedArticles ExpandOffer SocialMediaContentCalendarTemplate Getitnow Getitnow DownloadforLater