Google has quickly topped the ranks as one of the most powerful organisations on the planet. With continuously rising revenues in the billions of dollars, it’s pretty clear that it’s not going anywhere, anytime soon.
Google is renowned for its leading search engine, email service, web browser and numerous online tools that millions of people use on a daily basis.
A large portion of Google’s $110.8 billion revenue in 2017 came from its proprietary advertising service, i.e. Google AdWords , or what is now called Google Ads, for search advertising.
When you search on Google, you’re shown a list of search results generated by Google’s algorithm, that tries to provide the most relevant results for your query. You might be wondering: “What is Google AdWords then?”. Well, along with these results, you’ll also be shown suggested pages from a Google Ads (AdWords) advertiser; that’s exactly what it is.
What Is Google AdWords?
Google AdWords, AKA Google Ads, is Google’s digital advertising system in which advertisers bid on certain keywords in order for their clickable ads to appear in Google’s search results. Adverts can include a variety of things from service offerings, product listings and video content, to calls to action that generate mobile app installs, and anything in-between.
Google profits from search simply because advertisers have to pay for each click. Clicks can vary in cost from a few cents to over $50 for competitive search terms.
To gain the top spot in advertisements, you would need to outbid the competition for the relevant keyword. Higher bids creep up the list while lower bids may not even be displayed at all.
How Does Google AdWords Work?
When a user searches for something on Google, Google explores the Google Ads advertisers pool and determines whether there will be an auction. If more than one advertiser is bidding on a keyword that Google thinks is relevant to the search query, then an auction starts.
The advertisers themselves identify keywords they want to bid on, and how much they’re prepared to spend. They then create groups of these words that they pair with the ads. Google then enters the keyword it deems most relevant into the auction, taking into consideration the maximum bid that’s been specified.
Once you’re entered into the auction, Google looks at two factors i.e. your maximum bid as well as your quality score. Your quality score is the rating of the quality and relevance of both your keywords and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. It’s the metric used by search engines that influences the ad rank and cost-per-click (CPC) of adverts. Your ad rank is your CPC multiplied by your quality score.
These auctions get run billions of times each month so that users can find ads that are relevant to what they’re looking for. Advertisers connect with potential customers at the lowest prices possible, and Google keeps raking in the revenue.
Why Google Ads May Not Be Worth It For Your Business
Google makes money from Google Ads because people keep using it. Some of the biggest spenders on AdWords spend $50 million a year; they wouldn’t be dropping that kind of money if they weren’t getting a great return on investment (ROI).
In reality, most organisations don’t have that kind of money to throw into Google Ads.
Depending on the competitiveness of the keywords you’re bidding for, as well as the relevancy of that keyword to actual conversions for your business, Google Ads may not work for your business.
If you waste your budget on the wrong keywords, or if you write weak, low click-through rate ads then it certainly won’t work.
1. Google Ads Is Expensive
Google Ads can get expensive if you don’t have the expertise required to use it.
The number one reason people usually waste money on Google Ads is because they haven’t taken the time/ don’t have the time or skill to learn how to use it. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy-to-understand system nor is it self-explanatory.
If you’re just starting out, you’ll most likely allocate your marketing dollars to the wrong places, causing you to lose faith in the platform. If you’re lacking the knowledge and skills required, your account is most likely running on auto-pilot due to a lack of understanding, wasting a ton of money.
In order to maximise your ROI, you will either need to learn how to use it or engage an expert who has the skills and knowledge needed to use your funds wisely.
It takes time and experience to learn and understand the ins and outs of how paid search works. If you do take it on yourself, you’ll need to spend time reading and watching instructional webinars so you get your head around things like account structure, match types, negative keywords, bidding strategies etc.
If this all sounds too hard then you can reach out to a company that provides professional PPC Services. Here are a few things they’ll do to make Google Ads less expensive and more profitable for your business.
Restrictive Match Types
Broader match types means your ads are most likely being served to a much larger audience that could be irrelevant, leading to wasted clicks.
An experience PPC agency will do things like set up negatives to block irrelevant searches, bid on phrase and exact keywords at higher bids to get more relevant clicks, and regularly monitor your Search Query report to ensure your bidding relates to keywords that people are actually searching for.
Realistic Budget And Bidding Strategy
Defining budgets and bids can be a full-time job in itself if you don’t fully understand the system. Your agency will most likely map out what you’re realistically able to spend on each campaign, and set your daily budget accordingly. They’ll also bid manually if need be so they have better control over your account, rather than letting Google run things.
Search with Display Select
Your daily budget will get depleted quickly if this option is selected for your campaign. It works well for advertisers looking to get maximum visibility and branding possible, but does eat into a budget quickly.
If this option is selected, the display network takes your ads and displays them across the internet rather than just in the search results. Intent is different when browsing the internet compared to doing a search, so an agency will determine which approach will give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Track Your Spend
Knowing how to use the system and implementing smart strategies is one thing, but tracking spend is another ball game altogether. There can be many reasons why your ad spend gets out of hand if you don’t know the ins and outs of Google Ads. Your keywords could be activating irrelevant clicks, automated bidding could be quickly reducing your budget, or an algorithm update could cause your spend to drastically increase.
A professional PPC agency will know how to track and monitor your spend to ensure that you’re getting the highest ROI. They’ll be keeping on top of things like algorithm updates and current trends, which you most likely won’t have the resources to do.
2. You Have Top-Class SEO
While paid search both complements good SEO and can increase overall profitability, it doesn’t act as the sole driver for great SEO.
Granted, targeting new keywords in organic search can take a long time for your content to rank, but at the end of the day you don’t pay for it. You do need to put resources into building your SEO but you don’t pay per each click, and it keeps producing results long after you stop doing it. If you stop paying for Google Ads, the traffic stops too.
Stats show that nearly 80% of searchers are more likely to click on organic results over paid results.
If you are keen to compliment your SEO, then a PPC professional can work with your existing SEO strategy and implement an effective paid strategy that aligns.
They’ll use the paid and organic report in Google Analytics to help you fully understand the value of combining SEO and paid efforts, and help you win big.
3. Traffic From Google Ads Doesn’t Always Convert
Many companies fail to get conversions from paid search.
Unless you know exactly how to structure your account, how to use dynamic keyword insertion and so on, then you too may fail.
A professional PPC agency will ensure your account is perfectly structured so you get the most from Google Ads.
They’ll make sure you’re only targeting specific and relevant keywords, using negative keywords to block irrelevant searches, your ad groups are optimised etc. so you achieve results with paid search.
They’ll use dynamic keywords insertion effectively to make sure you’re not showing up for unrelated terms. This is an option where you can insert a query searched for on Google into your ad to make it as relevant as possible, and ultimately increase click opportunity, it’s just one of the things a professional PPC agency will do for you.
A professional Digital Marketing agency should not only be able to optimize your Google Ads, they’ll also be able to help you with:
Creating Relevant Ads
Relevancy is key when it comes to Google Ads. Your keywords need to match your ads, which in turn need to match your landing page. If your ads aren’t relevant, you’ll have a high bounce rate, end of story.
A professional agency won’t make the mistake of grouping together large sets of keywords, that direct to a specific ad that’s not exactly related to the keywords that are searched for, that then leads the searcher to a homepage. This seems obvious but happens when companies aren’t savvy.
Landing Pages That Convert
If your landing pages are below par then your paid advertising won’t convert. A PPC agency will work with you to ensure that you have landing pages that convert. They’ll run A/B tests to try out variations of pages, and use other strategies to fine tune your landing pages.
Utilise Remarketing
A professional PPC agency will use remarketing in the right way to ensure that your reinforcing your brand, and reminding potential customers of their need to buy your products or services.
With professional PPC management you can turn your paid search into a conversion producing machine, if it’s done in the right way.
4. You Don’t Have Time To Manage It
Paid search can be time-intensive because you constantly need to evaluate, track and tweak your PPC campaigns. If you’re a rookie then this can take much more time and effort than you would like. It can lead to frustration, budget blowouts and limited time for what’s really important.
A professional PPC agency will have the tools, systems and expertise you need to get the most from Google Ads. They’ll comb through your Google Ads account to identify areas that need improvement, for instance if an ad isn’t performing well, or a keyword that’s bringing in irrelevant traffic they’ll set it as a negative keyword.
They make it look easy because they are the experts, and sometimes it’s best to leave it to them; you will see quick results that pay off.
Conclusion
In short, Google Ads (AdWords) works.
However, skills and expertise are required in order to use Google Ads as an affordable form of advertising. If used correctly, it allows for targeting real, in-market prospects, and if managed well, it can deliver a high ROI, helping you grow your sales funnel.
Google Ads advertising produces clicks from search. However, in order to avoid a budget blowout, you need to have the know-how required to get the most out of those clicks.
So, what is AdWords? It’s a system that can bring you large amounts of traffic if used correctly. Your bottom line will improve if every aspect is tweaked perfectly.
Don’t be afraid to reach out, speak to a PPC services specialist before it’s too late. Avoid the frustration and a large dent in your pocket.