Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is the oldest and, by far, the biggest internet advertising network. If you’ve ever used the internet or used an app on your phone, you’ve already seen adverts from Google’s advertising platform.
Google Ads – The ‘De Facto’ Advertiser for Business
Every second of every day, billions of searches are performed on Google. The numbers are mind-boggling. The vast majority of the results from those searches include Google ads. An integral part of any online promotion, Google Ads is a very effective way of driving relevant, quality traffic to your website exactly when people are searching for the types of products or services you offer.
If you don’t read past this line… if you’re in business, use Google Ads. It works.
Google’s service offers a wide range of advertising campaign types, each with their own pros and cons. You can, of course, set up your own Google campaign, it’s open to use by everyone! I frequently suggest clients get more involved in their advertising campaigns and many do, but the Google Ads system is quite a monster and can be confusing. There’s a lot to learn
PPC (Pay per Click) Search Adverts
These are probably the ones you’re mostly familiar with. Every Google search lists a number of relevant website, with a chunk of three or four paid adverts at the top of the list (often at the bottom, too).
They are the most common use of Google’s advertising network, but they’re also the most expensive. The good thing about PPC ads is they are seen at the point of a person searching for something. For example, you have a hotel in County Kerry and a person in, let’s say Oshkosh, Wisconsin is searching for “hotels in kerry“. This is when your ad should be seen, just as they are searching for you. The network uses a bidding system, so the person offering to pay the most for their advert gets the top spot. This bidding system can lead to enormous costs per click. I’ve seen companies spending over €10 per click! That’s a lot for one click, and of course, is no guarantee of securing a sale.
Display Ads, Sometimes Called ‘Brand Awareness’ Ads
Display ads are those which appear on websites other than Google’s search listings. For example, you might visit the popular news aggregator, buzzfeed.com. Dropped in amongst the news articles, you’ll see adverts. These are served from Google’s network.
Personally, I prefer these ads to the PPC ones. Granted, they do not show at the point of search, but they are excellent for ‘brand awareness’, they can be targeted to those who have been searching, or looking at, the products or service you offer and are significantly less expensive. They tend to have a much lower impressions to clicks ratio, but certainly bring traffic and I believe brand awareness is a very important part of any marketing campaign.
YouTube Ads
If you’re one of the few remaining people not using some kind of ad-blocking, you have seen those irritating adverts on YouTube. In my experience, they can be very expensive and tend not to bring a satisfactory number of clicks. They also come with the extra responsibility of having a high-quality video made. That alone, can be very expensive.
Product Adverts
If you have, or are interested in, an e-commerce, selling website, these can be useful. Google currently places ‘Product Ads’ at the top of its search listings, meaning your product will be right there on search. The downside is, these ads can often get ‘lost’ when many others are selling the same or very similar products and your company name is not prominent. If your products are, without question, the best price, these ads should probably serve you well, but if not, these ads can be pricey and not too effective.
Conclusion
I always recommend a brand awareness campaign, back up with a search campaign with a smaller budget. I favour the less popular terms, so for example, you own a hotel. Don’t just concentrate on the keyword ‘hotel’, but go for the less searched terms, like ‘luxury hotel;, or ‘beachfront hotel’, or ‘four star hotel’. Focusing on less ambiguous keywords tends to lead to a better rate of return from your advertising budget.
Digital Marketing & Advertising with Google
While the biggest player in the online adverting market, Google certainly isn’t you only option. Facebook have a comprehensive advertising platform too, as do all the other ‘social media’ websites. I’ve used Facebook ‘boosted posts’ a lot over the last decade and have had mixed results. They seem to deliver very good results some of the time, but not always.
As to the others, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., I’m not convinced by the efficacy of them, at all. I can certainly build advertising campaigns in all these platforms, but they aren’t something I would use myself.
A Comprehensive Digital Marketing Campaign
It’s not worth relying on just one medium to advertise. Spread your budget over Google, Facebook and email marketing, with the bedrock of a solid, SEO-friendly website, for the best results.