Google is your best friend. Is there any day at all when you do not use the ultimate search engine? Thanks to this Internet service, you can access a wealth of information in just a few clicks. And all for free! Of course, Google also has to make money, and it does so via the Google Ads service. Anyone who uses Google will come across online ads. In fact, these come in many forms. Google Ads offers roughly 5 different campaign types. The classic and most widely used form is the 'campaign in the search network'. These are the search results you usually see at the top or bottom of the page, after entering a search query. You can recognise them by the text 'Advertisement' before the URL. This blog discusses this form in more detail. The other four are the shopping, display, app and video campaigns.
Search campaigns: this is how it works
When you use a campaign in the search network, also called a search campaign, you advertise on specific terms entered in the search engine. The ad then appears among the results of that search. You do have to set up such a campaign all by yourself; Google only provides the 'space' in which the ad is placed. A search ad consists of a header, short description and destination URL (or SEA landing page). So you have to fill these in, but ensuring that your ad will actually be shown depends on the following points:
- Search term
- Budget
- Relevance
Good to know: ad costs are based on the number of clicks, not the number of views.
What is the quality score?
How do you make sure your ad comes out on top, or is shown most often in search results? Because there is more to it than the total budget you have available for this. Ultimately, this is determined by the combination of your bid and the quality score Google gives your ad. This in turn depends on relevance. A first factor that influences this is the expected Click-Through-Rate (CTR), or click-through rate. This is based on the use of ad extensions (for additional information), the quality score of your previous ads and the quality of your account. A second factor that Google checks is your chosen keywords. This is because they must be reflected in your ad. Finally, the quality of your chosen landing page also affects relevance. That page must have enough similarities with the ad and the search terms. Possibly, the chosen location is also taken into account in the assessment.
Searching for keywords
An important part of network campaigns are the keywords you choose. You need words that are as relevant as possible to your ad and message. The trick is to find a good balance between relevant words and words that users enter sufficiently in the search engine. How often that happens is called search volume. Fortunately, you can find this out more easily using Google's free keyword planner. This tool immediately estimates for you what the chosen word can yield and what the associated costs are. Moreover, it also displays suggestions for other relevant keywords.
Conversion tracking
On a website, visitors can often perform all kinds of actions. Making a purchase in an online shop is one example, but it also includes making an online reservation and subscribing to a newsletter. The number of visitors to a website who proceed to such an action is called the number of conversions, or expressed in percentages, the conversion rate. Using Google Tag Manager, you can track this exactly. This programme measures when and which 'triggers' are used, and which therefore have an effect. You can also apply this kind of data to Google Ads. For example, you can choose to have Google automatically bid based on such data. A bid is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a click. Valuable information, in other words!
Tip: use creative text in your search campaign!
You probably know them, texts like: 'Expect the best quality' or 'Do you go for us? Then you go for the fastest service'. Pretty generic and common one-liners that don't always cover the load well. It is important to have a relevant message that meets the needs of your target audience. When you know how to pack this into a catchy text, you can increase the click-through rate of your ad. It is therefore a good idea to test this a lot. You can do this by changing a single word or turning a sentence into a question (or vice versa).
Broad or exact advertising?
In Google Ads, you can set different search types. The default type is called 'broad search'. This allows you to ensure that your ad is also shown in searches in which your chosen keywords are not included exactly as they are, but are related to their meaning. This gives you a wider reach in searches without having to create an extensive keyword list. The opposite is exact-advertising. Here, your ad only comes up when the exact words or their synonyms are searched for. You can also exclude words, so that you are not found on them. Always make sure there is enough search volume for the chosen keywords.
The landing page
Okay then, one last point of attention. Your search ads are solid and keep on optimising. Don't forget to also make your SEA landing pages tiptop. Pay attention to the following:
- Are you using a question statement in your ad? Then make sure a clear answer can be found on your landing page.
- Optimise landing page load time.
- Place an eye-catching call-to-action (CTA) on your landing page, such as 'book now' or 'order here'.
- Provide the landing page with easy navigation.
- Make sure the landing page has enough variety between text and images.
- Make sure the landing page also works well on mobile.
Handy tip: keep monitoring the performance of your landing page via Google Analytics. The first thing to look at is the bounce rate; this shows the number of visitors who click off the page immediately. Next, look closely at the time a visitor spends on the page. Finally, of course, look at the conversion rate (the number of actions taken) discussed earlier.
A search campaign in practice
Time for a scenario: you have done extensive research into the keywords on which your ad should be found and you start setting up 2-3 campaigns. Perhaps after this, you can already see that your website is getting busier visits. The bounce rate just seems to remain high... So you have (too) few conversions, a high bounce rate can be an indication that something is not going right. It can then be difficult to put your finger on the problem. However, a realistic scenario is that your website visitors expected something else from the ads. So possibly your chosen keywords don't fit well with your website content.
Advertising on your own brand name
Of course, you can also choose to choose your own company name as your keyword. But why would you do that? Your company normally appears automatically at the top of those organic search results. However, anyone is allowed to advertise on your name, including your competitors. That way, someone else can knock you off your throne with your own name. Advertising in your own name is also inexpensive and strengthens your brand. So it is wise to set up at least 1 campaign for this.
Need help with Google Ads campaigns?
It's not surprising when you can't quite figure it out yourself with Google Ads. After all, creating and optimising campaigns is an art in itself. Moreover, it is a waste of your budget if you are already spending it while your campaigns are not yet running well. Fortunately, there are specialists who manage Google Ads to perfection. And they work with us! So, could you use some help setting up an ad campaign or conversion tracking? Don't hesitate and contact us!
