Google Search Ads and What You Need to Know Before Running Ads
Google Search Ads are one of the most popular forms of advertising in the Digital Marketing industry and are also Google’s hottest advertising format. The popularity of Google Search Ads is due to their high effectiveness, fair competition, and especially the audience segment with a high demand for products/services.
In this article, we will explore in detail the Google Search Ads format and the important information you need to know before you start advertising with Google Search Ads.
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What are Google Search Ads?
Google Search Ads are the search results that appear at the top or bottom of the Google search results page and are marked with the label “Ad.”
For ads on Google’s search results page, in addition to the “Ad” label, they stand out more compared to unpaid search results (SEO) due to their ability to display more enticing information, such as phone numbers, store addresses, hot promotions, or multiple links within the same search result. These additional elements are called extensions, which Google allows to be added only to paid search results.
How are Google Search Ads Charged?
With Google Search Ads, Google charges for each click on your ad. If your ad is shown to users but they do not click on it, you will not incur any costs. This pricing model is known as PPC (Pay Per Click), which means you pay for each click. The amount you pay Google for each click on your ad is referred to as CPC (Cost Per Click).
The actual CPC you will pay to Google depends on the level of competition in each industry, the specific keywords, and the ad placement.
For example, if the keyword “buy laptop” has a minimum CPC set by Google at 2,000 VND, advertisers must pay at least 2,000 VND if they want their ads to be displayed on the search results page for the keyword “buy laptop.”
Additionally, if you want your ad to be placed in the top positions on the search results page for your sponsored keyword, you must offer a higher CPC than the average CPC that other advertisers are willing to pay. For example, if most advertisers set their CPC between 2,100 and 3,000 VND for the keyword “buy laptop,” you would need to set your maximum CPC to be greater than 3,000 VND to have a chance of being ranked at the top of the search results for “buy laptop.”
In practice, the CPC bid will always fluctuate in real-time, meaning the CPC for a keyword can increase or decrease depending on the number of advertisers participating in the bidding, the recent search volume for that keyword, and finally, the quality score of the ad (ads that have higher interaction and clicks from users will have a higher quality score).
How Google Search Ads Work
Google Search Ads operate on the principle that advertisers select keywords they want to sponsor and bid against each other to display ads to customers searching for related queries or containing the keywords they sponsor. The operational principles are as follows:
1. Advertisers select keywords to run ads.
First, you (the advertiser) must inform Google which keywords you want to sponsor in order to display ads for customer search queries related to those keywords.
For example, if you want to reach people searching for keywords related to “laptop,” you should sponsor keywords like “laptop,” “portable computer,” “affordable laptops,” etc., to reach more potential customers who are interested in laptops.
However, in practice, your ads may not always be triggered for search queries related to the keywords you are sponsoring. This is dependent on many other factors, such as: keyword match types, bidding types, and the ad targeting location (geography).
Let’s explore how different keyword match types can affect your ad’s visibility.
2. Participating in Bidding
As mentioned earlier, you can see that Google has only 7 ad positions on the search results page, including 4 at the top and 3 at the bottom. So what happens if there are more than 7 advertisers bidding at the same time for a keyword? Will they take turns displaying ads, or will they have to compete for positions?
The answer is both. Since there are only 7 positions available for ads on Google’s search results page, if too many advertisers are bidding for the same keyword, they must compete against each other for a chance to be displayed on the search results page. The criteria Google uses to prioritize the ranking and display of ads include the quality of the ad (ads that receive more user interactions) and/or who bids higher will be placed in higher positions and be prioritized for more ad displays.
In a bidding session, the advertiser with the higher CPC bid is not necessarily the winner; Google always prioritizes ads that are user-friendly. This means that if your competitors’ ads have a low quality score but they are bidding very high to secure the top positions, while your ad has a lower quality score but a lower maximum CPC bid, you could still be ranked higher by Google or only have to pay lower CPC rates compared to other advertisers.
Google allows you to manually adjust your maximum CPC bid for each auction, or you can set up Google’s AI machine learning system to automatically set bids for each of your auctions through automated bidding strategies.
3. Displaying Ads to the Right Users
After Google’s Ads system has gathered important information such as the keywords you want to sponsor, bidding methods, and bid amounts, the final step is to display your ads to customers who are searching for keywords related to or containing the keywords you are sponsoring.
Your ads will appear on Google search results pages or on Google partner sites such as YouTube or other search engines linked to Google. Which users your ads will be shown to and the frequency of ad displays will depend on various factors such as your budget, ad quality score, bid type, and the demographic factors you have chosen.
You need to write compelling ad copies, with attractive headlines and descriptions combined with diverse ad extensions and a final URL leading to your landing page to ensure that you attract more clicks and engage more users with your ads compared to your competitors.
What are the benefits of Google Search Ads?
Google Search Ads are known as one of the most effective forms of digital advertising, offering the highest return on investment due to the massive daily search traffic and a target audience with a high demand for products/services. Let’s highlight some key advantages that Google Search Ads provide.
Rapid Top Rankings in Search Results
As you can see, whenever you search for a keyword on Google, there are thousands to millions, or even billions of different results for that keyword. So how can you ensure that your website is ranked among the highest positions on Google to reach customers more easily?
The answer lies in running Google Search Ads. With this type of advertising, your website will be instantly placed in the top four search results or the three positions at the bottom of the search page.
If someone tells you that SEO can also help you rank at the top of Google search results without spending on ads, that argument is not entirely accurate. SEO typically requires at least 3-6 months to see positive results, while with advertising, you will see your website appear in the search results immediately. Additionally, Google always prioritizes advertising results over non-paid (SEO) results on its search results page.
High Conversion Rates
Everyone knows that when people want to shop or search for information about a specific product/service, they will definitely go to Google to look for relevant products/services or the nearest store to make a purchase. This demonstrates that Google is an excellent place to reach customers who have a clear purchasing intent and are actively seeking where to find the products/services they need.
Therefore, if you run Google Search Ads, whenever someone searches for a keyword related to the product/service you are promoting, they will see your ad at the top of the search results for that keyword. You just need to have an attractive ad combined with a landing page that provides all the necessary information about the product and makes payment easy, and you are sure to receive orders from customers.
Suitable for All Marketing Goals
Whether you want to increase brand awareness, seek potential customers, retarget (Remarketing), or generate more online orders through your website, Google Search Ads can meet all of your marketing objectives.
With a variety of targeting options and different audiences, Google Search Ads allows advertisers to target various customer segments and choose the appropriate bidding methods to achieve the best marketing results.
Intelligent AI Machine Learning System
When you select the advertising goals you want to achieve with Google Search Ads, Google’s machine learning system will know how to deliver your ads to the most relevant and promising customers to achieve the best results for your advertising objectives.
For example, if you set up your Google Search Ads campaign with the goal of maximizing purchases on your website, Google will only show your ads to customers that its AI system assesses are likely to purchase from your site. Customers deemed non-potential by Google’s machine learning system will not trigger your ads, even if they search for the keywords you are sponsoring.
With such an intelligent AI machine learning system, your advertising campaigns will operate more effectively, yield better results, and help you save costs compared to manual adjustments.
Google Search Ads is a Fair Playing Field
As mentioned earlier, Google is very transparent in selecting the most relevant and user-friendly ads to display in the highest positions on the search results page. Just because someone has more money doesn’t mean they will win and manipulate the best ad positions; the top criterion Google prioritizes for displaying ads is ad quality. Ads that are loved by users and receive more interaction will automatically be ranked higher by Google, and advertisers will pay a lower CPC than other competitors. Other advertisers wanting higher ad positions will have to pay significantly more than you to be considered for top positions on the search results page.
From the above algorithm, we can conclude that Google always prioritizes quality over quantity and consistently places user experience at the forefront in all situations.
What You Need to Prepare Before Starting with Google Search Ads?
Google Ads Account
To start running Google Search Ads, you need to have a Google Ads account. This is a tool for setting up and creating various advertising campaigns, including Google Search Ads and many other types of ads that fall under Google’s owned advertising solutions and channels.
To participate in the Google advertising market, you must have a Google Ads account to start creating advertising campaigns as you wish.
Learn more about Google Ads and how to create a new account [here].
Relevant Keyword Groups
Before starting to run Google Search Ads, you need to create a list of keywords that you want to sponsor for your ads. These keywords must be relevant to the products/services you are offering and should be categorized specifically according to different product characteristics.
For example, if you are a retail store specializing in electronic devices like smartphones from famous brands like Samsung and Apple, you should select various keyword groups related to the different product lines you want to advertise. This means you need to create a separate keyword group for Samsung phones and another for Apple iPhones. You should avoid lumping all your keywords for different products into a single group; instead, break them down for easier management and optimization of your ads later.
A Clear Landing Page
A crucial factor in the success of your advertising campaign is the landing page you want to direct customers to after they click on your ad. A landing page that is closely related to the keywords you are sponsoring and the ad copy you are running will help customers quickly find the information about the products/services they are interested in. This way, your conversion rates and order closures will be higher.
You should also regularly check if your landing page functions well across all devices (phones, computers, tablets) to ensure that customers can easily view your products/services, regardless of the device they are using. Additionally, check if your website has clear steps for customers to complete their purchases or contact you to guarantee a seamless customer experience, making their shopping journey on your site simple and fast.
Equip Yourself with Knowledge or Choose a Reliable Agency
If you want to start running Google Search Ads on your own, you need to equip yourself with sufficient knowledge to optimize your ads better and handle any issues that may arise during the advertising process. At Buybm365, we have developed a comprehensive Google Ads course called Google Ads G-Master, designed for beginners who want to become experts in Google advertising after completing the course. This course will guide you through all the knowledge about the various types of ads currently available on Google and advanced techniques to help you confidently and successfully navigate Google Ads.
If you are a busy business and want to find a reliable agency partner to delegate the execution of Google Ads campaigns, Buybm365 confidently positions itself as a trustworthy destination for your business. With a skilled and experienced team in running Google Ads across various markets and many large and small partners, Buybm365 prides itself on being a transparent digital marketing agency that bases its commitment on effectiveness and clear project implementation costs that your business can trust.
Conclusion about Google Search Ads
- Google Search Ads remain one of the most effective digital marketing channels today and are suitable for all marketing goals that businesses desire.
- Google Search Ads charge based on each click (PPC – Pay Per Click).
- In search ads, Google prioritizes displaying high-quality ads over those with higher bids.
- Classify your keyword groups clearly according to different product/service categories rather than lumping everything into one keyword group.
- Ensure that the user experience on the landing page is seamless and closely related to the keywords and ad copy being run.
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