Setting Up Your Google Ad Campaigns and How to Advertise On Google

Understanding how to effectively reach your target audience is critical for business success. Google Ads stands out as a powerful tool to achieve this.

But how does Google Ads work, you ask? It’s an online advertising platform that allows businesses to display short ads, service offerings, product listings, and video content within the Google ad network to online users. This platform is essential for businesses looking to increase their visibility and drive targeted traffic to their website(s).

The scope of Google’s advertising network is huge! It includes: search results on Google Search, videos on YouTube, and banners on millions of websites across the internet. These types of Google ads provide businesses with many options to reach various audiences, depending on their marketing goals. This blog post hopes to demystify the process of setting up Google Ads campaigns, offering a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you navigate the platform with confidence and maximize your advertising efforts.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is an advertising tool that helps businesses connect with potential customers by placing targeted ads on Google’s vast network of platforms. The platform operates on two networks: the Search Network and the Display Network.

The Search Network displays alongside search results on Google to target users looking for products or services. The Display Network shows ads on websites and apps to help businesses interact with audiences as they engage in other online activities. Google Ads has a gigantic reach and manages numerous searches every day making it an important tool for businesses looking to boost their online presence and increase conversions.

Central to the functioning of Google Ads is the Google Ads Auction, a process that determines which ads appear and in what order. Factors that come into play include quality score, a measure of ad relevance and landing page experience, and ad rank, calculated based on bid amount and quality score.

To improve ad performance, Google Ads offers extensions (assets) that allow advertisers to include additional information, such as phone numbers or links to landing pages, directly in their ads. The platform also provides various targeting options, including audience targeting based on demographics and interests, and location targeting to reach consumers in specific geographical areas.

How to Choose the Right Campaign Type

Now that you know a bit more about Google Ads, it’s time to discuss how to determine your campaign type. Selecting the campaign type for your Google Ads strategy plays an important role in effectively meeting your marketing goals and objectives. Understanding the types of Google Ads campaign types, such as search and display ads, allows you to tailor your approach based on specific goals and target audiences.

Search Ads are well suited for attracting the attention of users actively searching for related products or services by addressing their needs immediately. Google Display Ads are excellent for enhancing brand recognition and expanding your reach to an audience across websites and applications the user interacts with. By evaluating your marketing goals, whether it's driving direct sales or increasing brand visibility, you can determine your campaign type and optimize your strategy to connect with your audience more effectively.

Understand Your Goals for Advertising with Google

Knowing who you are trying to reach and where they are in the buying process is key when planning your Google Ads campaigns. You can strategically choose and time your Google Ads campaigns based around clearly defined goals. Whether focused on sales, leads, or brand awareness, it’s important to ensure that your advertising efforts are aligned with your marketing objectives.

What Are the Different Types of Google Ads Campaigns?

Google Ads offers a range of campaign types, each designed to serve specific marketing goals and reach audiences across various networks:

• The Search campaign places text ads in the search results on Google, perfect for capturing users actively searching for related products or services.
• Display campaigns showcase ads across Google's Display Network, including millions of websites, apps, and videos, ideal for building brand awareness and reaching a wider audience who might not have heard of your business before.
• Video campaigns allow advertisers to capture attention through engaging video content on YouTube and across the Display Network, effectively targeting users with visual storytelling.
• Shopping campaigns are great for retailers looking to promote their product inventory, showcasing product images and prices directly in search results and on the Shopping tab.
• Demand Gen campaigns help marketers engage users across Google's vast ecosystem with immersive ad experiences that appear in Gmail, YouTube, and Discover.
• App campaigns promote mobile apps across Google Search, Play, YouTube, and the Display Network.
• Smart campaigns provide a simplified approach, automatically managing ads to optimize performance based on business goals and typically have more specific location targeting.
• Performance Max campaigns leverage Google's entire inventory to maximize reach and performance across all channels.

Understanding these Google campaign types helps businesses strategically choose the right format to appear in desired locations, like the Google 3 Pack (a feature of Google's search engine results that displays the top three local businesses for a search query), ensuring their ads meet specific marketing objectives.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Your First Google Ads Campaign

Your first Google Ads campaign setup can be exciting and daunting at the same time. This step-by-step guide will walk you through what’s needed to create a Google Ads campaign that resonates with your target audience. You’ll be equipped with the knowledge to navigate the Google Ads platform and optimize your advertising efforts.

Setting Up Your Google Ads Account in Two Steps:

1. Create a Google Ads Account

To set up your Google Ads account, create the account itself:

• Start by visiting this URL to initiate the process.
• You'll need to add your business name and website URL, ensuring that your account is tailored to your business needs.
• Link to other Google accounts you may have, such as YouTube or Google Business Profile. This integration can streamline your advertising efforts across platforms.

Additionally, you have the option to create an account without launching a campaign immediately. This approach is recommended as it allows you to plan your campaign strategy before committing to live ads.

2. Set Up Billing Information

The next step is to set up your billing information:

• Start by selecting your billing country, currency, and time zone to ensure that your account settings are accurately aligned with your business operations.
• If you have a promotional code, this is the time to enter it, potentially saving on initial advertising costs.
• You'll then need to choose or create a payment profile, which can be done using a credit card, PayPal, or other available options.

Finally, submit your payment information to finalize the billing setup, enabling your Google Ads account to be ready for action when your campaigns are set to go live.

Creating Your First Google Ads Campaign

Here’s a brief step-by-step guide to creating a Google Ads campaign:

Select Advertising Objective and Goal

• Click the Campaigns icon in your account.
• Click the plus button and select “New campaign.”
• Choose your campaign objective (e.g., sales, website traffic) and goals.
  • Make sure your account conversion goals are set up correctly. You want to make sure they are tracking the action you want your user to take (purchase, form submission, etc.). If you do not have a goal created, Google’s algorithm will not know what to tell the data to look for in your ideal customer.
  
  

Select a Campaign Type

• Choose a campaign type based on your goals (e.g., Search, Display, Video).
• If needed, choose a subtype.
• Click Continue.

Set Up Campaign Details

• Set up targeting, ad groups, and ads.
• Select keyword targets (if applicable).
• Adjust bidding, budget, and other settings based on your campaign type.
• Review notifications for any issues with settings and fix errors if needed.

Pro tip: most companies will designate a “monthly budget” for advertising. Google operates on fixed budgets per campaign, or daily budgets. To find your daily budget, follow this formula (Monthly Budget / 30.4 = Daily Budget). Google suggests 30.4 as it is the average number of days in a month.

Complete and Publish

• Finalize your campaign settings.
• Publish your campaign after addressing any alerts or errors.

What is Google Ads Keyword Research?

Now that you’ve set up your campaign, let’s discuss some of the details for ensuring you have a successful Google Ads Campaign run.

Google Ads Keyword Research involves identifying and selecting the right keywords that potential customers use to find products or services similar to yours. This process includes understanding different match types, broad, phrase, exact, and negative, each of which dictates how closely a user's search query must match your keyword for your ad to be triggered.

Segmenting keywords by ad group creates more targeted and relevant ads because it allows advertisers to tailor ad copy and landing pages to specific keyword themes. Tools like the Keyword Planner help in discovering new keywords and estimating their potential performance, while the Performance Forecaster helps predict the impact of these keywords on your campaign's success.

Best Practices for Writing Search Campaign Ads

Writing compelling ad copy for Google Search Campaign Ads involves focusing on clarity, relevance, and persuasiveness to capture the attention of potential customers. Your headlines have to be impactful and clearly communicate value because they are often the first thing users notice. Ad headlines should adhere to Google's specifications, allowing up to 30 characters per headline with a maximum of three headlines.

Descriptions can extend up to 90 characters, providing a space to elaborate on your offer and include a strong call to action (CTA). It's important to remain within these character limits while maintaining a natural and engaging flow.

Please note: be mindful of Google's rules regarding special characters. Avoid excessive punctuation or symbols, as these can lead to disapproval of your ads.

Configuring Campaign Settings and Adjustments

You may ask, how do I adjust when ads are shown in Google? Configuring campaign settings and adjustments in Google Ads is crucial for tailoring your campaign to meet your objectives. One of the primary settings you need to define is the campaign name, which helps you easily identify and organize your various campaigns. The campaign type dictates where and how your ads will appear, such as on the Search Network or Display Network, affecting the audience that sees your ads.

Bidding and budget settings are important because they determine how much you're willing to spend on each click or impression and these settings control your overall campaign expenditure. Properly configuring these settings can optimize your ad spend and improve campaign performance.

Another important aspect of campaign configuration is location targeting. This allows you to specify the geographical areas where your ads will be shown. This setting is vital for reaching audiences that are most relevant to your business. Additionally, the schedule setting lets you decide when your ads should appear, providing control over the days and times your ads are active.

Adjusting when ads are shown in Google can help maximize visibility during peak business hours or specific time frames when your target audience is most likely to engage. By carefully adjusting these ads settings in Google, you can effectively reach your desired audience and drive better results from your Google Ads Campaigns.

Audience Targeting and Demographics

Mastering audience targeting and demographics in Google Ads is key to maximizing campaign performance. By strategically reaching the right users and crafting personalized marketing strategies, your ad’s effectiveness and your conversion rates will greatly improve.

Targeting the Right Audience

Audience targeting is a powerful tool that allows advertisers to reach individuals most likely to be interested in their products or services. Through audience segmentation, businesses can categorize users based on their behaviors, engagement levels, and interest so that ads are shown to the most relevant audience.

Google Ads demographic targeting allows advertisers to refine their audience further by concentrating on specific demographics such as age, gender, income level, and parental status. This targeted approach increases the likelihood of conversion by delivering personalized content to users who are statistically more inclined to engage with the brand. Be careful though, some demographic settings may not work for certain industries (like finance) because of laws or regulations certain countries have in place to remove discrimination.

Creating Custom Google Ads Audiences

Creating custom audiences in Google Ads provides opportunities for personalization that resonate with specific user groups. Custom audiences can be crafted by utilizing Google's robust ads audiences feature, which enables advertisers to merge various targeting options, such as interests and purchase intent. Audiences can be imported from other platforms like Google Analytics 4 (GA4), enhancing their targeting capabilities with additional data insights.

By leveraging these custom audiences, more relevant ads will be delivered and it will improve user engagement and ultimately drive better results. This ensures that marketing messages are not only seen by the right people but also resonate with them on a deeper level.

Google Ads Bidding Strategies and Options

Understanding Google Ads bidding strategies and options is crucial for optimizing your advertising spend and achieving campaign objectives. With a variety of approaches to consider, businesses must choose between manual and automated bidding, each offering distinct advantages tailored to different marketing objectives.

Google Ads Bidding Options

Cost-per-click (CPC) is a popular strategy where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad, making it ideal for driving traffic to websites. Cost-per-impression (CPM) involves paying for every thousand impressions, which is beneficial for increasing brand visibility and awareness. Lastly, cost-per-acquisition (CPA) allows advertisers to set a target cost for acquiring a conversion, making it suitable for campaigns focused on specific actions like sign-ups or purchases.

Manual vs. Automated Bidding

Now let’s take a look at manual versus automated bidding for Google Ads campaigns. Manual bidding offers a high level of control and precision, allowing advertisers to set specific bid amounts based on their insights and strategies, which can be particularly good for campaigns with distinct performance goals and budgets. However, this approach can be time-consuming and requires constant attention.

In contrast, automated bidding uses Google's machine learning algorithms to automatically adjust bids in real-time, optimizing for desired outcomes such as conversions or clicks. This efficiency and data-driven optimization can save time and enhance campaign performance by responding swiftly to changing market conditions. Despite its advantages, automated bidding may lack the nuanced control that some advertisers prefer and can sometimes lead to unpredictable results if not monitored carefully. Therefore, the choice between manual and automated bidding should align with the advertiser's specific goals, resources, and comfort level with technology-driven solutions.

Using Google Ads Assets (Formerly Extensions)

Incorporating Google Ads Assets, previously known as Extensions, is an important strategy for maximizing ad performance. By leveraging the best ad extensions, advertisers can significantly enhance their ad visibility and engagement, ensuring that their messaging reaches the right audience more effectively. These assets provide versatile tools to enrich ads with additional information and CTAs, ultimately driving better results.

What Are Google Ads Assets?

Google Ads Assets improve the visibility and effectiveness of advertisements by providing additional information and interactive elements. These assets can be set at various levels – account, campaign, and ad group – providing flexibility to your advertising strategy. For example, at the account level, a phone number asset is ideal because it maintains consistency across all ads, ensuring potential customers can easily reach you no matter where your ad appears. Campaign-level assets might include promotional offers specific to a certain product line, while ad group-level assets can be tailored to target distinct segments, such as site links directing users to specific landing pages.

Final Checklist Before Launching Your Campaign

Before hitting the "publish" button on your Google Ads campaign, run through this Google ads checklist to ensure everything is set for success:

1. Review campaign settings including daily budget, schedule, location and audience targeting.
2. Confirm conversion tracking is firing properly – this is critical!
3. Review ad copy and assets and landing pages for spelling and grammatical accuracy and overall quality (no dead landing page links).
4. Review keyword targets and negative keyword targets (if applicable) to minimize irrelevant clicks.
5. Publish your campaign!
6. Check for any disapprovals or “limited” statuses on ads and ad groups.

This thorough preparation is key to launching a successful and efficient Google Ads campaign.

Duplicating Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Ads

Google's duplication feature is a powerful tool for advertisers looking to streamline the process of creating and testing new campaigns, ad groups, and ads. By allowing users to duplicate existing successful elements, it answers the common question, "Can you duplicate Google Ad campaigns?" with a resounding yes. This feature not only saves time and effort by eliminating the need to rewrite each component from scratch but also provides a seamless way to experiment with variations and modifications.

By duplicating and tweaking already proven ads, marketers can efficiently optimize performance and explore new strategies without the hassle of starting from a blank slate. Whether you're testing different targeting options or adjusting ad copy for various audiences, this feature ensures that advertisers can maintain consistency while innovating, ultimately leading to more refined and effective advertising efforts. Be careful though, you cannot change the ad type when you duplicate an ad, once a Search or Display Ad, your copy will remain a Search or Display Ad!

Partner with an Expert Digital Marketing Strategy Agency

The primary goal of Google Ads is to generate immediate leads for a website and boost search engine visibility. Americaneagle.com plays a critical role in in this process by crafting targeted ad copies, refining bidding strategies, and adjusting device targeting to maximize reach and effectiveness. Our dedicated paid search and PPC management services team constantly monitors the ROI of each keyword, ensuring that every dollar spent contributes to achieving your goals.

If your organization needs help setting up, managing, and monitoring a Google Ads campaign, contact us today. We also offer an array of digital marketing services – we’re your end-to-end digital partner. We’ve helped clients in many different industries achieve measurable and real results and we’d love to do the same for you!