Are you using Google AdWords as part of your advertising strategy for your business? If you’re not, you’re missing out on one of the most key components of your overall online marketing strategy.
Perhaps you’re not familiar with what it is, how it works, and how it can benefit your business? Let’s fill in some of the gaps for you…
What is Google AdWords?
Google AdWords in simple terms having the opportunity to get your ad in front of your ideal customers when they are searching for the products and services that you offer.
It’s Google’s solution to easy-to-enable online advertising to help marketers and businesses alike reach their target audience.
Just like the example above, when you search for a term on Google, the first two or three results usually have ‘Ad’ written boldly right beside them. These are ads run by marketers to get their websites on the front pages of search results relating to certain keywords.
In 2000, AdWords started with 350 advertisers. Today, they have over 1 million advertisers, generating revenue for Google through their different ad campaign offers.
How does Google AdWords work?
As a marketer who wants to run an advertising campaign, Google provides you with several ad display options to reach your target audience.
These are the different types of ads available:
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Search Ads
Like the example showed earlier, search ads are the ads displayed when you run a search on Google using a particular keyword. When there are several ads being run simultaneously using that keyword, Google considers several factors before deciding on which ad will come first in the search result.
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Display Ads
Do you notice those ads that pop up on the side or in the middle of your screen when reading a post or watching a video online? Those are display ads run using Google AdWords. They don’t necessarily have to be related to what the user is searching for. Based on the user’s internet use, Google will decide on what ads might interest them.
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Shopping Ads
If you’ve ever typed details of a dress you like into the search bar, and the first results you got were of dresses similar to yours. You’ve now experienced shopping ads. This type of ad is very beneficial to retailers. If a marketer runs a shopping ad for an online store, whenever someone searches for a product similar to one they have, it is displayed as part of the first search results, along with its price.
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Video Ads
Video ads are usually run on YouTube and other channels in the Google Display Network. These types of ads are very effective and provide a wide reach for the marketer. However, they require extra care in designing a video that a viewer will not want to skip within the first three seconds of watching.
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Universal App Ads
This ad type is very useful when designing a campaign for an app. A marketer can promote the app on different platforms including search, Play store and App Store, display pages and channels on the Google Display Network. The campaign will be run using the keywords and preferred location provided by the marketer.
How much does it cost to advertise with Google AdWords?
AdWords is a very customizable advertising platform, which means that its cost will depend on your requirements. Your advertising cost can be calculated using three methods:
- Cost-per-Click (CPC): payment is calculated for every click on your ad. This method is recommended for people looking to drive traffic to their websites.
- Cost-per-thousand viewable impressions (vCPM): this is an awareness building campaign option that is only available on the Google Display Network.
- Cost-per-Acquisition (CPA): this cost option is dependent on conversion; you are charged only when a visitor takes the intended action e.g. Signing up for a newsletter, purchase of a product, etc.
You might be asking yourself: “Is Google AdWords worth it?” and the answer is … Absolutely.
What are the benefits of using Google AdWords?
Google AdWords provides several benefits for business owners and marketers. Some of them are:
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Provides results faster than SEO
Google AdWords and SEO strategies are both focused on search, but the impact of the former is a lot quicker. AdWords improves your visibility. By providing you with an immediate route to the first search result page while taking even fewer efforts. You can also run several campaigns all at once.
However, using AdWords does not mean that your website has no need for organic traffic. The ranking and authority of your website is still very important, and can further boost the performance of your ad campaigns.
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Supports remarketing strategies
Remarketing involves showing paid ads of a product or service to users based on their web activity. For example, if a user goes on your website and clicks on a few products that interest them, remarketing allows you to show them ads for those products, reminding them that they are still available. Google AdWords can be used to build a remarketing list for accurately targeting previous visitors, using the products they showed interest in. You can also design a campaign to advertise products in your popular or seasonal category, which people might be interested in.
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Provides targeting options
AdWords provides sophisticated tools that are used to target the right audience for better results in conversion and ROI and better use of resources. AdWords allows you to target your audience in two ways: using your buyer persona or using demographic information.
For example, you can target users using their location, the types of devices they use, their language and even their time-zone. This information helps to understand who you are advertising to and provides a guide when creating an ad campaign.
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Its results are measurable
With traditional advertising, the best you can get is the evidence (in sales) that some of your advertising efforts are working. However, you can’t easily identify which.
AdWords provides you with real-time reports on your campaigns, showing you results of clicks and impressions made by users. You can easily track your ad campaign to see what is converting and what isn’t.
To get the most out of AdWords, there are some key tools you can use to maximize your campaigns. Here’s a list of some of the best AdWords tools available (but this is by far just a short list of 11 Google AdWords Tools You Must Know). Some of them are free and others are paid tools to work with your AdWords.
For businesses looking to drive traffic fast to support their conversion goals, Google AdWords is a recommended method. Do you have any further questions about Google AdWords? Let us know about them in the comment section below.
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