What is Google Ads? Explained with Types, Importance for Businesses, and Starting to Learn

Let's learn about what Google Ads is and how you can start your career with it. 

If you know about search engine marketing, the most common term is PPC or pay-per-click.  Google has its own PPC platform - Google Ads, where businesses pay for every click on their promoted posts appearing on Google SERP above or below the organic results. These are search ads. But you will also find other types of Google Ads campaigns. Some common examples are display ads on websites and video ads before or during a YouTube video. 

Going for paid ads, i.e., Google Ads, helps a business drive sales quickly and stand out. Because it allows targeting based on the keywords interested customers type, their location, and the devices they use. Best is that it is also a budget-friendly option, where a business only has to pay when someone clicks on the ads.  

Google Ads is Google's platform for paid advertising campaigns across Google search sites, search partners, and its display network. Google Ads help a business maximise revenue by investing in various paid campaigns, including search, display, video, mobile app, call-only, hotel, shopping, and local. 

Google has most of the search engine market share, meaning it has the most users in the world. Also, Think With Google has mentioned 98% of global consumers shop online. You can imagine why every other business wants to use this search engine to drive sales. 

With Google Ads, a new small business can drive conversions much faster than SEO, which takes at least six months to bring results. Not to say that established businesses don't need Google Ads. They run branded and search ad campaigns together with organic ranking efforts - so even when their organic traffic drops, the paid ad from the same business will still appear on the first page of Google. 

When a user searches for a keyword, the result of the query is displayed on a search engine results page (SERP). The result can be a part of the paid advertisement that targeted the keyword. Google Ads operates under the pay-per-click model. Marketers target a particular keyword on Google and then make bids on that keyword along with other competitors who want that keyword. Alternatively, marketers can set a maximum daily budget for the ad. This will ensure that the marker does not exceed the budget.

Bids are made according to the maximum amount that marketers are willing to pay for an ad. If the bid is less than the CPC amount, then you will not get the ad placement. If the bid is more than the determined CPC, you will get the ad placement. Suppose, the maximum bid made by the marketer is $5 and Google has determined that the CPC is $3. The marketer will then get the ad placement. Marketers can bid via three options including the following:

1. Cost-per-click (CPC) to determine how much the marketer will pay whenever a user clicks on the ad.
2. Cost-per-mille (CPM) is the second bidding option to determine how much a marketer will pay on every 1000 ad impressions.
3. Cost-per-engagement (CPE) is the amount that the marketer will pay whenever a user performs a specific action on the ad such as signing up for a list or watching a video.

Google takes the bid amount and performs quality score to estimate the quality of the ad, keyword and landing pages. A higher-quality ad will have a lower price and a better ad position. Quality score is between 1 to 10 where 10 is the maximum score. Quality Score and bid amount together determine the position of the advertisement on the search results page. 

Once the user views the ad and clicks on it, the marketer will have to pay a small fee (pay-per-click). More clicks on the advertisement will bring in more leads, leading to better conversions, improving business ROI. 

Google offers different types of ad campaigns for different purposes including:

1. Search campaign: These campaign ads allow the ad placement across in search listing of Google search. The ads will be visible to people who are actively looking for such products. You will be allowed to pick keywords that will trigger search and display ads. You can easily create ads without the requirement of special assets. 
2. Display campaign: These are meant for running visually engaging ideas on Google Display Network for reaching out to viewers of millions of applications, websites and Google services such as YouTube and Gmail. These campaigns use advanced machine learning solutions to reach the right set of audience. The machine learning technology powers display features such as optimised targeting, responsive display ads and smart bidding.
3. Shopping campaign: These campaigns are used for promoting products by providing detailed information to users about the product before clicking on the ad. You will be able to track the performance of products over time through retail-centric reporting tools.
4. Video campaign: These are the video-based campaigns that display ads within videos on YouTube and other applications that run on Google video partners.  You can track campaign progress such as views, costs and budgets through Google Ads accounts.
5. App campaign: This campaign type is meant for app advisors who want to attract users who will pay. These campaigns streamline the app promotion method on different Google properties such as Google Play, search, YouTube, Discover and Google Display Network. Unlike other campaigns, there is no need for designing individual ads in the app campaign. You would be only required to add images, videos and assets from the application's store listing to design ads across different networks. 

Read more on the types of Google Ads to learn about the uses cases of each. 

Increased visibility

Google Ads enables businesses to appear prominently in search results, making their products or services more visible to potential customers. With strategically crafted ad campaigns, businesses can boost their online presence, reaching a larger audience and increasing brand awareness.

Targeted advertising

One of the most significant advantages of Google Ads is its ability to target specific audiences. Advertisers can refine their target audience based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and even geographic location. This precision targeting ensures that ads are shown to those most likely to be interested in the offerings, thereby enhancing the chances of conversion.

Measurable results

Google Ads provides comprehensive analytics and reporting tools that allow advertisers to track the performance of their campaigns. Metrics such as clicks, impressions, conversions, and return on investment (ROI) are readily available, enabling businesses to measure the effectiveness of their advertising efforts and make data-driven decisions to optimise future campaigns.

Reach potential customers on YouTube 

Through Google Ads, businesses can extend their reach beyond traditional search results and target potential customers on YouTube. With video advertising options, they can showcase their products or services through engaging video content, reaching a vast audience on one of the world's largest video-sharing platforms.

Those who want to build a successful online business should start learning Google Ads. This will be beneficial since you will be able to target the right set of audience without wasting time. Anyone who learns using Google Ads through certification demonstrates credibility and knowledge in the specialised niche. Certified professionals will be able to run campaigns effectively since they have the right set of skills. 

Those who want to run successful Google Ads campaigns must get certified through the following certifications:

1. Google Ads Display Certification from Google 
2. Google Ads Apps Certification from Google 
3. Google Ads Search from Google 
4. Google Ads - Measurement Certification from Google 
5. Google Ads Display from Google
6. Diploma in Google Ads from Alison