The Ultimate Guide to Google Ads

Many people have doubts about the Google Ads tool or have only heard about it, but they are not sure what it is, how it works, and the best ways to generate income with it in Digital Marketing.

Today we bring you the solution to your problems!

We tell you everything you need to know to create profitable and successful Ads campaigns in this post. Here you will learn:

What is Google Ads?

Ads are the advertising platform of Google (previously called Google AdWords). Through this service, advertisements are displayed in sponsored links when someone performs a search, either through computers or smartphones.

Ads displayed in search results related to the keywords used in that search.

It is an incredible proposal. After all, nothing is more relevant than showing a relevant ad that “delivers” what people are looking for when they are looking for a product or service.

But that is not all. Other ad formats are available in Google Ads besides the search network. They can be displayed in banners and videos, in special areas, and visible on various Google partner sites.

This huge collection of partner sites makes up the Display Network, including YouTube, a Google-owned video platform that is considered the second largest search engine in the world.

Google Ads is Google’s main source of income. In 2019, the advertising platform generated more than $134 billion, representing 70.9% of the company’s total revenue.

All these revenues make it clear that companies already understand that it is extremely important to be present where people do their research.

Announcement indicator color

Ads display an indicator to differentiate ads from organic results, which looks like a small label: “Ad.”

Previously, this tag was yellow and thus made it more obvious that the search result was a paid offer.

It has turned green, making the ad even more similar to a normal search result for the more inattentive. It certainly counts points for the number of clicks these options receive.

Extended Ads (ETA)

In 2016, Google released a new standard for its text ads for search results. They got the name stretched ads because they are larger than the previous standard.

The new model has 2 titles with 30 characters and the third line with space for 80 characters. In the past, ads offered one 25-character title line and two 35-character description lines.

• old model:
• new model:

Another difference between them, in addition to the amount of text, is that the extended ones are responsive; they adapt to both desktop and mobile searches. In short, the same advertisement will be valid for both situations.

As we have already said, thanks to the increasing use of smartphones for searching, a good practice among Google AdWords advertisers was to create specific ads for desktop and mobile to maximize results.

Doing so is still valid, but for a limited time. Google has already announced that only stretched ads will soon appear in search results.

Price extension

Price extensions are intended to display the prices of certain products or services before the search engine clicks on the ad.

This extension only displays search results made through smartphones. Therefore, if the site is not responsive or does not have a mobile version, the extension will not work. Also, the ad must be in the first position in the search result for the extension to show.

It is also important to remember that the prices displayed in the extension do not update automatically, as they do with Google Shopping ads that are sent through a feed.

For this reason, the prices entered must be constantly updated, avoiding any discrepancy between the price shown in the ad and the one on the Landing Page (landing or conversion page).

Now that we know what Google Ads is and are aware of the latest news, let’s look at some good reasons to advertise.

Good reasons to advertise on Google Ads

A good ad must reach the right people at the right time. That is why Ads are an excellent option for those who want to promote their business, product, or service focused, segmented, and measurable.

Keep reading and know the details of each of the differentials that only Google Ads can offer your business.

Potential

Google is the largest search engine globally, and this is nothing new. The famous term “Googling” has already crossed cultural barriers and become ubiquitous in people’s lives. When we have a question, we immediately Google for answers.

The search engine answers questions and finds relevant information about places, products, and services.

This moment of interest has great potential because if a company has the solution to a problem, there is nothing more relevant than being there at the right time and offering to solve it.

According to Stat Counter, until the end of 2019, Google had 92.71% of searches performed on desktop and mobile devices.

That alone is reason enough for a business, big or small, to want to show their ads in their search results.

Segmentation power

In addition to serving ads at times of high interest to people, Ads allow the use of different forms of targeting to make the display of ads even more effective. Check out the available segments below:

• Keywords or: the ads will be shown to people who perform a search on Google using words or phrases that represent the products and services or who have visited websites on the same researched topic (browsing history).
• Topic and channel targeting: The platform allows you to choose a specific topic and will display ads on multiple sites on that particular topic. It is also possible to directly select the areas that your audience accesses the most and show them your ads on them.
• Target audience: With target audience targeting, you can show ads to interested people even when browsing websites, using apps, or watching videos that aren’t directly related to your products and services.
• Ad display location: you can choose where your ads will appear

1. in search engines;
2. commercial sites;
3. Personal sites (blogs, for example).

• Age, location, and language: the platform allows you to choose the period, geographic location, and language of who will be reached by the ads.
• Schedule (days, times, and frequency): there is the possibility of showing the ads at certain times or days of the week and choosing the frequency of display of these ads.
• Device targeting: Ads can appear on all types of devices (computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones), and you can adjust when and on which your ads will appear.

These are the goals within Google Ads, which still gives you the ability to combine them to display creative and relevant ads, making the ad much more efficient than any other media.

Investment control

With Ads, the advertiser has full control over the amount invested. You can determine how much will be spent per month, day, and campaign.

It is also possible to charge only when the ad is clicked, every 1,000 impressions (CPM), or only when a conversion occurs on the site.

ROI evaluation (return on investment)

In Ads, the advertiser has valuable information on hand about the interaction of the public with their ads.

It is possible to count impressions and clicks and know if those who clicked made any conversion on the site (how to make a purchase, make contact by form, download your application, or call to place an order).

You can also “track” that person and show them new ads through remarketing. All this is properly accounted for so that the advertiser has figures that will help demonstrate the return on investment in ads.

With the information provided by the ads, the advertiser can identify which ads received clicks and which are not performing well, prioritizing investment where the return is better. These insights, when properly controlled, can increase performance.

The platform allows you to see many other valuable data, including the average cost of advertising that resulted in purchases or calls from your customers motivated by mobile ads.

Additionally, analytics tools such as Google Analytics can and should be used to gain insight into customer buying habits, such as how long they tend to research your product before purchasing or at what point on the site they may be abandoning the purchase process.

If you want to increase your analysis and thus improve your results with Google Ads, download the Complete Guide to Google Analytics and learn how to use these two tools as allies in your success strategy!

Cost

AdWords is a relatively cheaper medium than traditional ones, or even if we compare it with other sites that offer space for advertising (large portals, for example).

Just think about the value it takes to invest in mainstream media like TV, radio, and billboards and the ability to measure results: it isn’t easy to measure and prove the return of traditional media.

In Ads, it is possible to start small, feel the return, evaluate the public’s behavior, and only then gradually increase the investment.

“But I’m told it’s getting expensive. It is true?”

Over the years, it has been normal for the cost per click of certain niche keywords to increase due to new competitors’ entries. Regardless, this medium remains one of the best options for a quick and measurable return on investment.

It’s worth considering if the campaigns were run by someone who understands the subject. If the drive is not carried out and optimized carefully, the ads can become much more expensive than they should be.

Always do your campaign with someone who knows the subject or is looking for information to avoid making mistakes, such as reading this post.

Now that we know Google Ads, all the news, and its advantages, let’s learn more about all the tool’s possibilities and understand more about its operation and subdivisions.

How Google Ads works

The best way to use all the resources available on the platform is to know how it works and what it can offer you. Simple, functional, and intuitive, Google Ads has everything to become a great ally in your marketing strategy.

Search Network

The Search Network comprises Google search results and associated search sites. Ads are shown in prominent areas in search results, usually in the top 4 positions and, for highly competitive keywords, also in the bottom 3 positions:

In addition to Google’s search sites (Google itself, Google Play, and Google Shopping), search results from major portals and smaller sites with search engines are also part of the Internal Search Network and the Internet. Of Google affiliates: Google AdSense.

The main advantage of advertising on the Search Network is that the ads are shown to interested people, that is, who are looking for information about services and products of a company, which increases the chances of receiving a click.

Red Display

The Display Network comprises thousands of sites from different segments, like the NYTimes. com and weather. com, and specific Google sites, such as Google Finance, Gmail, Blogger, and YouTube, that display ad. The network also includes websites and applications for mobile devices.

By showing ads on the Google Display Network, the advertiser can reach a wide range of customers with various interests at different times in the purchase cycle, showing ads in other formats: text, image, video, or rich media.

For example, a mother researched the best paints for her son’s room. She found, through Google, a blog with some tips, and there was a banner for a paint store, available through Google Ads, that offered a promotion for one of the brands investigated.

This ad has great chances of conversion precisely because of the moment of the purchase day in which it is found.

One of the advantages of this network is the possibility to select the topics of the page or websites on which will display the ads and to which target audience.

The Display Network allows you to:

• Create all types of ads: text, image, interactive, and video;
• Place them on websites that are relevant to the product and service to be sold;
• Show them to people who are likely to be interested ;
• Manage and monitor your budget, campaigns, and results along the way, just like you do on the Search Network.

Special Tip: Display Ad Builder

You have a great idea for an ad for the Google Display Network, but you don’t have a designer or don’t have the money to hire one to create it. And now?

Rest assured, there is a solution!

Within Ads itself, there is an ad generator for the Display Network, which uses the website’s content or the landing page to generate the banners.

Just follow the step by step, and you will quickly have a set of ads in all the banner formats available to advertise.

YouTube Ads

Hundreds of thousands of people visit YouTube every day and watch more than six billion hours of video.

They are people looking for entertainment, information, advice, and solutions to problems. No wonder YouTube has become the second largest search engine online, second only to Google.

YouTube belongs to Google, and for that reason, in addition to its absurd number of visits, it would not be left out of the Ad Display Network.

You can display a variety of ad formats on YouTube. You can also decide where and when a video ad will appear and determine an audience made up of leads.

YouTube supports various ad formats and targeting options, and advertisers don’t need video inventory to advertise on the channel. Take a look at the available formats below:

Graphic assets

• Standard / Multi-Purpose Banner (MPU)
• video

Video assets

• Standard In-Stream
• True View

Another resource

• Masthead expandable from the home page (available only on demand, requesting it from the Google sales team)
• Rich Media

Google Shopping

If you have an e-commerce with many products or you have a client who wants to advertise their online store, you must be thinking:

“How am I going to advertise a huge list of products? It will take years to create all the ads; there is no way to do it all by hand!”

There is a possibility in Ads that can help in these cases, which provides great results for online stores.

With Google Shopping Ads, you can create campaigns to promote eCommerce products, increase traffic to your website and even physical stores, and generate more qualified leads.

To advertise on Google Shopping, you need to submit product data to Google Merchant Center using a data feed (usually a .xml file that contains all the specifications about the products, prices, and images).

Then create a campaign in Google Ads, which will use information from the Google Merchant Center product feed to determine how and where your ads will appear.

In this format, the ads do not use keywords in the targeting, but the information in the feed, which Google will match what people are looking for.

Once the information is provided, Ads will be able to dynamically create ads, which will appear on the Google Search Network and the Display Network, where all potential customers will be able to see the products.

These product ads differ from simple text ads in that they display a photo of the product and a title, price, store name, and other relevant information.

This type of information gives people a good idea of ​​the product being sold before clicking on the ad. The result of this is more targeted clicks and more qualified leads; after all, they already have enough information to gauge whether or not they are interested in the product.

Your Google Shopping ads can appear simultaneously as a text ad on the Search Network. Users may have the most varied information and options about the product even before clicking on a page, which increases the chances of purchase.

Mobile app campaigns

If your brand has an app, Google Ads has several ways for people to download or interact with it.

• Mobile app installs campaign: This format allows you to promote your app on the Search Network, Display Network, or YouTube, to drive more app installs.
• Universal App Campaign – With this format, you’ll be able to advertise a campaign on Google Play, Google Search, YouTube, and other mobile apps that will drive people to your app’s listing on the Google Play Store.
• App engagement campaigns: For those who want to find people interested in your app’s content or for those who have already installed your app to use it again or take some action.

Remarketing

Surely you already had the feeling that you were being chased by an advertisement while browsing different websites. Typically, this ad is a banner for some product previously seen on another website.

This strategy of displaying an ad for something that had previously captured a user’s interest is called remarketing.

Using remarketing, you can reach people who have already visited your site or used your app. These “previous visitors” may see your ads while browsing sites part of the Google Display Network or when doing new searches for related terms.

To set up remarketing, you’ll need to place the remarketing tag provided by Google Ads on the pages of your site or app.

When people visit pages with this tag, it’s as if they were “tagged” for a certain amount of time. This tag is what will identify them for remarketing.

Then, the lists of these “marked” people who visited your website or carried out a specific action are defined, creating remarketing campaigns.

Types of Google Ads Remarketing:

• Standard Remarketing: Ads are shown to previous visitors as they browse sites and apps on the Display Network;
• Dynamic Remarketing: You can show dynamically generated ads, that is, created: by Ads itself, to people who have previously visited your site, with products and services that they viewed while browsing sites and applications in the Display Network;
• Mobile Remarketing: You can show ads to people who have used your mobile app or mobile website while using other apps or visiting other sites;
• Remarketing lists for search ads: You can show ads to people who have already visited your website while continuing to search for what they need on Google after they leave your site;
• Video remarketing: People engaged with your videos or YouTube channel can also be reached again while browsing YouTube and other Display Network videos, sites, and apps.

Similar audiences, the “Look like” of Ads

With Google remarketing, you can reach people who have already visited your website and show ads to an audience already interested in your products and services.

But what if it were possible to find new people with similar characteristics to those already your customers or who have already shown interest? It is also possible, just like in Facebook ads.

With the “Similar Audiences” feature, Ads find people with characteristics in common with your site visitors.

If you add “Similar Audiences” to your ad group, you can show your ads to people whose interests are similar to those of your site visitors. Thus, it is possible to reach new potential customers, with great chances of conversion.

Announcements for mailing lists

With Ads, it is possible to create specific campaigns for people who are already customers or even create something more specific for a certain group of customers.

With the ads feature for Ads email lists, you can use a customer email base to show ads on Google Search, Gmail, or YouTube.

This possibility has great potential to reactivate customers with promotions or even campaigns to nurture leads. It is also possible to generate a similar target audience with the email list to impact people with the same profile as the existing list.

Call only campaigns

For businesses that prefer to receive phone calls or even those that don’t have a website to set up a call-only campaign, Instead of clicks, the offers will generate automated phone calls, not a redirect to a page with this option.

Now that we know the various possibilities that ads have let’s understand how Google determines ad placement, auctions, and cost of clicks.

How Google Ads works

It is also important to increase your chances of achieving good results that you know and its functionalities exactly how Google Ads creates and publishes your ads.

With this, you will be able to act even more strategically, reduce your costs per ad and make your campaign even more targeted.

How do Ads determine the position ads?

Every time someone searches on Google, Ads runs an auction for the searched keyword. The process determines which will display ads for this search and what order they will be displayed in the search result (SERP).

Whenever an ad is eligible to appear in a search, it goes through this ad auction. But this is not a simple auction in which the highest bidder wins.

Using Google Ads will be ranked alongside those of other advertisers based on Ad Rank, determined by your maximum cost per click (CPC) and Quality Score.

If your Quality Score is higher than that of another advertiser directly below you, your ranking may be higher, even if their bid is higher than yours.

In summary, the choice of location works as follows:

1. The Google Ads system finds all the ads whose keywords match the search when someone searches.
2. Of these ads, the system ignores any advertisements that are not rated, such as ads that are disapproved or targeted to a different country.
3. Can show only those with a high enough Ad Rank of the remaining ads. Ad Rank is a combination of your bid and your ad’s Quality Score.

That way, thanks to the Quality Score, even if your competition’s bids are higher than yours, your ad can still get a more elevated position for a lower price, using your chosen keyword.

• AD POSITION = (maximum price per click) x (keyword quality index that triggered the ad).

Since the auction process repeats with each Google search, each auction can potentially have different results, depending on the competition. Thus, it is normal to see some fluctuation in the ad’s position on the page and the ability to show the ad.

Quality Index? What is it, and where do I see it?

As we have already said, the Quality Index makes the ads work more fairly with those who offer advertisements that are relevant to people.

It estimates the quality of the ads, keywords, and landing page.

You can get a general idea of ​​the quality of your ads in the “Keyword Analysis” field of your account (displayed on a scale of 1-10). Select the “Keywords” tab and click the icon next to a keyword’s status to find this number.

In addition to the previous option, there is another way to see the Quality Index:

1. Go to the Keywords tab.
2. Click Columns and then Customize Columns.
3. Under Attributes, add the Quality Index option.

The more relevant your ads and landing pages are too impacted people, the more likely you are to find better Quality Scores and enjoy the benefits of having a qualified ad, such as a higher position or lower cost per click (CPC).

The components of the Quality Index are:

• click through rate (CTR);
• ad relevance;
• landing page experience.

CTR: Click-through rate

To calculate the Quality Score, Google evaluates the CTR (click-through rate) of the keyword that triggered the ad, i.e., the number of times the ad was clicked divided by the number of times the ad appeared on the page. Someone’s screen (impressions). CTR believe to be the strongest factor in the Quality Index.

If the ad gets a lot of clicks compared to others, it’s probably more relevant than the others.

Ad relevance

Ad relevance indicates the value of your keyword relative to the ad’s message.

A simple example: someone searched on Google with any keyword and found an ad consistent with the investigation because it contained the keyword they were looking for and more information. This ad is relevant.

There are three states of relevance:

1. above average;
2. average;
3. Below average.

A status of “average” or “above average” indicates that the ad’s relevance is good for the keyword compared to all other keywords in Google Ads.

But a “below average” status indicates that the ad or keyword may not be clear enough or that the ad group contains too many topics.

Landing pages

Landing pages, commonly known as Landing Pages, are very important in the Quality Index of ads. This weight has been increasing over time since the use of smartphones to perform searches requires that these pages have good usability on mobile devices.

In short, when a person visits a page through an ad, they have an expectation. They’ll likely reject the page and return to Google for a new search if the expectation is met.

“Landing page experience” refers to Google’s opinion of how positive the user experience is when they reach your landing page (the web page they go to after clicking your ad).

Tips to improve the experience of a landing page:

• Offer consistent, relevant, and original content in ads.
• Convey credibility and trustworthiness, for example, offering explanations about your products or services before asking users to fill out forms or buy something.
• It makes navigation easy, especially on mobile sites. If your audience searches using a smartphone, this is a priority! Good usability encourages visitors to spend more time on your page. It’s important to make sure it loads fast enough so that people who click your ad don’t give up and leave your site.

The landing page experience affects your quality score, ad rankings, and advertising costs.

Ad extensions

As we said earlier, ad extensions are set at the campaign level but can be activated after the ads are created. These extensions are extremely important as they display additional information about what is being advertised.

They help give more prominence to the ads that appear above the organic (free) search results and help improve the click through rate (CTR, which, as we saw earlier, is one of your ads’ Quality Index factors). The more clicks your ad receives, the more customer traffic you will have.

To add an extension, simply click on the “Ad Extensions” tab and then click on ” + Extension “:

Application extensions

This extension displays a link below the ad text that directs users to the app store or starts the app download in case of a mobile search.

Call extensions

With this extension, your ad allows people to click a button that will directly call the number used to set up the extension.

Location Extensions

As its name implies, the location extension shows the business address in the ad for people who are near the physical store.

Comment Extensions

Ads can identify any positive feedback on your Google Business site, blog, or page and display that feedback in ads to convey credibility.

Site link extensions

Sitelinks are other pages on your site that can show in ads to offer other related possibilities to those who search.

Callout extensions

Featured texts help draw the search engine’s attention with phrases that indicate the benefits offered by the advertiser. It is worth using creativity, but always consistent with what is advertised.

Consumer reviews

If there is any kind of research, something that qualifies the company against the competition, it is worth activating this extension since it helps to demonstrate quality and credibility.

Previous visits

When a person likes the experience they had on a website, it’s normal to come back, especially in e-commerce. Reminding her that she was already there could be a good idea to bring her back.

Dynamic structured snippets

Google Ads can identify structured data within landing pages and display supplemental information in the ad using this extension.

Seller rating

The stars attract attention. They make the ad attractive and, at the same time, confirm that it is a quality product, well-rated by other consumers.

Price extension

The novelty that we mentioned at the beginning of this post is now available. Priced mobile ads are worth highlighting as they are often deciding factors for consumers.

Keywords

Still, in the creation of the ad group, it is necessary to inform the keywords that will use to target the ad that has just been created:

Reports

Once you’ve created your account, campaigns, ad groups, ads, and extensions, you’re ready to start showing your ads.

One of the most important parts comes, if not the most important, which is the accompaniment. Good monitoring makes it possible to optimize the campaign to get better and better results.

To do this, Google Ads offers the possibility of generating reports that show performance metrics, as the ads are displayed, through the moment they receive clicks or interactions, and after the click, identifying the conversion count.

With these reports, you can see the results of users who clicked on your ads.

To generate the reports, click on ” Tools and Settings ” in the main menu and then click on ” Conversions, “as shown in the image:

There are several types of reports, and it is possible to configure all the necessary metrics for their monitoring.

For example, which campaigns drive the most conversions and revenue? It is possible to analyze which keywords are really bringing profitability to the campaign and even find out what is the best time of day to show your ads.

It is also possible to export all the information, making it much easier for other people involved in the campaign to access the results.

It may seem complex and somewhat extensive, but Google Ads is an intuitive platform that is easy to use. However, like everything, it takes practice to master and follow up to achieve good results.

Extras

In addition to all the functionality of Google Ads, some plugins and applications can compose and improve your advertising strategy’s execution and elaboration.

We have separated the best bonus options for you to know and integrated them into your marketing campaign to achieve even more incredible results!

Ads Editor

Ads Editor is a free downloadable Google app that efficiently manages large Google Ads accounts.

Download your campaigns, make changes using the editing tools, and bulk upload those changes to Google Ads.

In addition, through the free computer application, it is possible to manage your account offline and make changes quickly and conveniently.

Scripts

Google Ads Script is a new way to interact with Google Ads campaigns, with the ability to automate tasks, communicate with external systems, pull custom reports, and issue alerts based on information collected by the script.

It is an advanced feature of Ads. You don’t need to be a programmer to use the scripts, but it’s important to have some coding knowledge or have someone who understands to make sure the hands are safe and won’t affect your campaign.

Google Partners

Google Partners is the certification program for Google Ads professionals and agencies. The certificate makes it possible to prove the platform’s domain and provide security and credibility to those who intend to advertise.

Through it, agencies and professionals have access to various study materials and online exams. Currently, it is necessary to pass the following tests:

• search advertising;
• video advertising;
• mobile advertising;
• display advertising;
• commercial advertising.

When you pass the exams, you receive the certificate for each exam. However, to obtain the Google Partner badge, the professional or agency must meet other requirements, such as the history of good account practices, the value generated by the accounts in the last 90 days, and the types of campaigns in execution.

Currently, there are two types of partner seals:

conclusion

Now that you know how Google Ads works and its benefits, it’s time to put your knowledge to use and create your first campaign. One piece of advice is to use the coupons that Google offers for those making their first campaign.

It is important to evaluate all the moments your audience can be affected by the platform and identify which moment of the decision they are. With this information and analysis, it is possible to create effective campaigns and determine what type brings the best return.

The ideal is to use Google Ads as one of the channels to acquire fast return traffic, especially at the beginning of a Digital Marketing campaign, where its support is essential.

With campaigns, it is possible to identify high-performing keywords and use this information for content creation and SEO.

It is another key point: never stop planning your Content Marketing strategy. In the medium or long term, you are already generating good traffic for your main keywords, thus reducing your investment in Ads and using it only for keywords in those not yet positioned organically.