Google Ads is an online advertising platform that was developed by Google. Digital marketers will use the platform to display their advertising material, service offerings, list their products, video content, and drive app installs within the Google Ads network, namely the Google Search Network and the Google Display network. Google offers advertising services using a pay-per-click pricing model as well as some other advanced pricing models. Google Ads was launched in the year 2000 which is twenty years ago already.
Why choose to market on Google?
When using the Google ads platform, you get access to a wide range of advertising products that will help you read your potential share of the market based on their interests and what they are searching for. Google’s advertising platform uses smart technology and as long as you keep up to date with what’s new and how to use the various tools, you will be better equipped to drive better results from your advertising initiatives.
Why Google ads you may ask? Here are some reasons that you should consider when conducting the online marketing strategy for your business:
- Google Ads will assist you in driving sales: Google ads can assist you in growing your business online; this phenomenal online advertising platform can also assist you in growing your online presence through in-app marketing, driving traffic to your business etc and in-person.
- Google Ads can generate leads for your business: Boost conversions by encouraging people to take action.
- Increase website visits through Google advertising: You are able to target people who are looking for your product or service offering and therefore you can reach and target the right people and action them to visit your website.
- Influence consideration: Through Google advertising, you can encourage people to explore your products and services.
- Build awareness: Reach a broad audience and maximize exposure.
- Promote your app: Increase installs and interactions with your app.
Grow your business with the Google Ads platform.
There are so many case studies available for you to read through about businesses who started off small and have grown in size and revenue just by advertising on Google. Whether you’re a small business owner or enterprise marketer, Google Ads makes it easy to connect with billions of people at the moment they’re looking for the products that you offer or the services that you provide. For every second that passes there is a user that is searching Google for information in order to get what they need to be done. Google ads will help you, as a digital marketer, to transform your potential target market invaluable customers to help you grow your business.
Relevance, control and results.
Google ads are built on three main principles, namely: relevance, control and results.
- Relevance: With this advertising platform you are able to target the right people and the right time- when they are searching for the very thing that you offer. Your ads will appear on the Google networks or on Googles partnering websites, therefore your ads could appear on the Google Search network or even on YouTube. You can customize your keywords and location, for example, to ensure that your ad is being shown to the most relevant consumers.
- Control: You have complete control over your budget; you can choose how to spend your money and where! You will choose the amount you spend per month, per day and per ad; giving you complete control over your finances. The Google ads platform using an ad auction to determine which ads get shown. You also have full control over your ad campaigns, at any time you can adjust your ad, make changes to your budget, pause campaigns and restart campaigns.
- Results: The nice thing about Google and the pricing models that they use is that you only pay when you receive results, for example, you will only pay when someone clicks through to your website or when someone calls your business. Through the analytical tools that Google uses, you can easily see results like how your website, apps and ads are performing on the Google ads platform. Due to the fact that Google ads let you create, manage and optimize your ad campaigns, you can rest assured that you are getting the most out of your investment.
The various campaign types that are available on the Google ads platform.
There are a number of different campaign types available on the Google ads platform, which is good news for the advertiser because it helps us maximise on results, and gives us the opportunity to reach people on different places on the web.
The various campaign types are as follows:
- Search- search ads are text ads and are found next to the Google search results, and can also be found on Google partner sites like YouTube. Search campaigns ensure that potential customers notice your brand, consider your products and take action.
- Display- Google Display ads can appear across a network of more than two million sites and apps, reaching 90% of people on the internet. Your ads get matched to content related to your business or to your customers’ interests.Use a Display campaign to increase exposure and reach audiences with specific interests across the web.
- Video- Video ads help you reach the right audience and capture their attention. Show your ads on their own or within other streaming video content on YouTube and across Google’s network of websites and apps. With video ads, you only pay when people choose to watch your ad. Video campaign are engaging in different ways; for example, you can show your ads before favourite music videos or while the potential customer is researching an upcoming purchase.
- Shopping- Shopping ads appear on Google Shopping next to search results. Shopping ads promote your products by giving consumers detailed information about what you’re selling before they even select your ad.
Use a Shopping campaign to advertise your online and local inventory, boost traffic to your website or local store, and find better-qualified leads.
- Apps- App campaigns run ads across Google’s largest properties, including Search, Play, and YouTube, as well as thousands of mobile sites and apps. Your ads and bids are automatically adjusted to get the most downloads. All that app campaigns entail are a few lines of text, a bid, and some assets, and the rest is optimized to help customers find you.
With an App campaign, you can increase engagement, app installs, and even in-app actions, like signing up for a newsletter or ordering a product.
Why is having a Google Search Campaign important?
Stats show that around 3.5 million searches are made by using Google search every day! People are searching for information, shopping online, comparing product prices, getting directions, or just learning something new from all over the world in all walks of life. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of this opportunity?
Understanding the Google ads auction.
Google Ads uses an auction system to rank the ads that appear on the search engine results page, and to determine the cost for each ad click- remember that Google ads use a bidding model called pay-per-click which means that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. The order in which ads appear on the page is based on a calculation we; digital marketers; call Ad Rank.
Google users want ads they see to be relevant to what they are searching for. Users don’t want to be bothered with ads that aren’t closely related to what they’re searching for, in this day and age people have become impatient and want things to happen in real-time.
Google wants to provide a good experience for users and value to advertisers so that they come back and use our services again in the future.
Google uses a special version of a second-price auction that takes into account more than just bids. In a standard second-price auction-based only on bids, the advertiser doesn’t have to pay their full bid. They only have to pay $0.01 more than the amount of the next highest bidder.
How Ad Rank determines your ad position
Bid: When you set your bid, you are setting the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad. You often actually end up paying less, and you can change your bid at any time.
Ad rank threshold: To help ensure high-quality ads, Google will set minimum quality thresholds that an ad must achieve to show in a particular ad position.
Context of query: With the ad auction, context matters. When calculating Ad Rank, Google looks at the search terms the person has entered, the person’s location at the time of the search, the type of device they’re using (e.g., mobile or desktop), the time of the search, the nature of the search terms, other ads and search results that show on the page, and other attributes.
Ad extensions impact: When you create your ad, you have the option to add extra information; these are known as ad extensions.
Auction-time ad quality: Google Ads also looks at how relevant and useful your ad and the website it links to are to the person who’ll see it. Quality Score is an estimate according to Google’s assessment of the quality of your ad.
The three main factors that determine the quality of an ad
Expected clickthrough rate: This is Google’s prediction of how often an ad will be clicked on when it’s shown. Google relies on user feedback to drive decision making, and user clickthrough rates (CTRs) tell us what users respond to.
Ad landing page experience: Users want ad landing pages that help them find what they’re looking for. A highly relevant landing page will ensure a higher quality score.
Ad relevance: Ad relevance is a measure of how well an ad matches what the user is searching for, and helps to make sure that only useful ads are shown. It also prevents businesses from simply paying their way onto a search that’s unrelated to their product or service.
The RCM Digital College.
The RCM Digital College is a digital college which focuses on digital skills primarily focused on digital marketing, web design, web development, animation and mobile application development. The digital college is fully accredited locally and internationally. The RCM Digital College offers
The full-time courses that are offered by this digital college are recognized locally by the MICT Seta and the ICITP as a diploma qualification. The full-time courses are inclusive of a fully trained facilitator with a wealth of knowledge who presents the study material, moderation fees, assessment fees, accreditation fees, textbooks, full access to a computer that has the software that you will need to complete the course, registration fees, examination fees, and full access to a student advisor for on-going assistance. The facilitators are skilled in the field of digital and have completed ‘train-the-trainer’ courses which help them identify the needs of the individual learner. Their lesson plans are designed to cater to every students’ needs and of course their preferred style of learning. Full-time courses also offer a very unique practical component whereby the students are encouraged to work on client campaigns that are fed from the digital agency, Right Click Media, this unique practical component better prepares the student for the working environment.
Are you keen to learn the skills that are required to become a Google Ads professional? Contact The RCM Digital College.
Check out our awesome website for all you need to know: www.schoolofexcellence.co.za. Give us a call on 011 867 6380 or send us an email info@rcmdigitalcollege.co.za and a student advisor will be happy to assist.
