Are you a small business, looking to increase traffic to your website, generate more leads and maximise sales? Google Ads is a great tool to do all of the above. Navigating the platform can be overwhelming at first and if you’re wondering where to start and what to pay attention to, please read on.
The first question you need to ask yourself is, “Is Google Ads right for my business?” The short answer is “yes”, every business, no matter what size can profit from Google Ads. Search engines play a crucial role when it comes to researching products and services with 71% using a search engine for this purpose. With over 90% market share, Google is still dominating the search engine landscape. And while a lot of people claim to “never click on the ads” 65% of people click on Google Ads when they are looking to buy an item online.
While there are several ad formats available on Google Ads, search ads tend to work the best for most businesses, due to their highly targeted approach. If someone is actively looking for a keyword related to your business and the products or services you’re selling, chances are high that they’re ready to buy or at least ready to consider buying from you.
But how do you know if people are searching for your product or service? The answer is: The Google Ads Keyword planner. I would recommend the following approach to everyone who’s getting started on their Google Ads journey:
- Create a Google Ads account
Tip: When prompted to create a campaign, hit ‘skip’ and create the account without creating your first campaign. You want to do this properly, in your own time and only after thorough keyword research.
- Use the keyword planner to research potential keywords for your campaign
Tip: download all keyword ideas into a spread sheet and go through them thoroughly. Identify both relevant and irrelevant keywords to add to your list of keywords and negative keywords
- Divide the keywords into ad groups and campaigns
Tip: use a structure that is based on your website’s structure and/or keyword themes that you discover throughout your research
- Write compelling ad copy
Tip: think about your USPs, your years of experience, customer review scores, shipping options etc. It also helps to look at your competitors’ ads to craft a targeted, unique search ad that will attract buyers.
- Identify your goals and track them
Tip: track any action a user can perform on your website – a phone call, contact us form submission, PDF download or sale. This step often prompts businesses to look at website usability and make sure it’s easy for potential customers to interact with their business.
- User Google Ads Editor to launch your campaign
Tip: when you’re ready, instead of manually creating campaigns, ad groups and ads in the Google Ads interface, use Google Ads Editor, a free tool that enables you to make changes offline and in bulk before posting them to Google Ads.
While these are all good tips to get you started, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Google has many features and starting to create your campaign will most likely leave you with more questions than you had before.
If you would like to delve deeper into this topic, join our upcoming Google Ads Masterclass where we look at setting up and structuring your account, setting realistic goals and optimising your campaigns once they’re up and running. We’ll perform live keyword research and examine an established account to highlight the most important features and things to look out for. You can register here.
About the Author
Flavia Abma has been helping businesses succeed with Google Ads for over 20 years. She specialises in supporting small businesses and is a collaborator with Basic Bananas, sharing her expertise to help entrepreneurs navigate the platform. When she’s not working with business owners, Flavia enjoys life on her 100-acre farm in the Byron Bay hinterland with her family.