Boost Your Online Business with Google Ads
What is Google Ads?
Why is online advertising important for my business?
How do I set up Google Ads?
Imagine Placido is an experienced plumber who gets most of his business from satisfied customers telling their friends about his great work.
But lately, business has been slow. Placido needs new customers, so he’s thinking about doing some advertising. But he doesn’t know the first thing about marketing, and isn’t sure how he can get the most bang for his buck.
Let’s help Placido decide what kind of advertising would attract the most new customers.
Placido is a magician with pipes and faucets, but the Internet is a different story. If he’s going to advertise online, he needs it to be easy to figure out.
That’s why Google Ads is great for Placido and other small business owners. It’s a simple, low-maintenance program that lets your business advertise its products and services on Google.
Google Ads works by displaying your business information to potential customers based on what they’re searching online. Ads appear in 2 places: people’s Google search results and websites that show Google Ads.
In Google search results, your ads appear at the top and bottom of the page, above and below the organic (unpaid) search results. The ads contain 2 headlines, a description line, and a URL for your web address.
The ads show up when people search for keywords or go to websites related to your business. Unlike an ad in the phone book or a newspaper ad, you only pay for your Google Ads when someone clicks on them.
Once you set up an account, Google Ads automatically creates keyword lists and runs your ad to help get the most clicks within your set budget. This way you spend less time on ads and more time with your customers.
If you’re ready to give online advertising a try, go to ads.google.com/home. You’ll need a Google or Gmail account to sign up.
During the Google Ads signup process, you’ll be asked to enter details about your business so Google can figure out where to run your ad.
First, you’ll be asked to choose a goal for your ad. This could be to get customers to call your business, visit your store, or go to your website.
If your goal is to get people to call your business or visit your store, you can put your phone number in your ad. People using their mobile phones will be able to call your phone number simply by clicking on it in the ad.
After choosing a goal, you’ll be asked to pick a category for your products/services. Placido, for example, would choose the plumbing category and have Google Ads automatically generate search phrases related to his industry.
Next, you need to write an ad that Google Ads can show to potential customers online.
When writing your ad, think about how you’re different or better than your competitors (like “the lowest prices in the city”) and include your unique selling points (like “free shipping”).
It’s also smart to include a CTA (call to action) that encourages potential customers to do something. For example, Placido’s CTA might be “Call for help 24/7.”
You’ll also want to send people to the most relevant page on your website. For example, if your ad says “Get 20% off,” then people who click on your ad should be taken to a page where they can take advantage of that offer.
Once you’ve written an ad, choose a geographic target audience. You can target people based on how close they are to your business or by cities and regions.
Placido can choose the range in which people can see his ads. He can set his radius anywhere from 5 to 40 miles from his location. People who do business all over can choose specific cities, regions, or a whole country.
Whether you’re targeting by distance or by region, Google Ads will show your estimated audience size. Make sure you’re targeting likely customers, not just as many as you can. Placido might not want to drive 400 miles for a job.
The next step is to set a monthly budget. This will determine the amount you’re willing to spend for clicks on your ad for that period of time.
The cost for ads can vary from click to click, but no matter what, you won’t be charged more than the maximum monthly budget you’ve set (and again, you only pay when people click on your ads).
To adjust your budget, drag the slider that appears or type in a dollar amount. When you create your ads, Google will recommend a budget based on the average number of clicks for your business type and location.
As you adjust your budget, you’ll see an estimated ad reach on the right side of the page. This tells you approximately how many clicks and calls your ad might expect per month, based on the budget.
You can track how much you’ve spent and adjust your budget anytime in your Google Ads account.
LISTEN UP
If there are certain days or times that are most relevant for your business, you can set up optional “Ad Scheduling” that will only run your ads at the times you choose. For example, a pizza parlor might only want to run their ads for a special Friday discount on Fridays.
After you’ve set up an ad on Google Ads, you can see how well it’s doing with the reports that Google Ads provides.
Google Ads reports show you what kind of device people are seeing your ads on, which ads they’re seeing most, and which search phrases get clicks on your ad.
It pays to check out your report from time to time and make changes to your ad based on how well it’s performing.
DO THIS NOW
Google Ads can help you find more customers. To get started, let’s make a checklist of the steps you need to take to set up your account.
If you’re participating in the course, go to the next section to access your self assessment.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Google Ads is a simple, low-maintenance options for advertising products and services on Google.
4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information, so advertising there can help you get more customers.
You can go to ads.google.com/home to create an account and advertise your business online.