Google Ads was launched just two years after: Google.com one of the worlds most popular websites. The advertising platform came on the scene in October 2000 named Google Ads, but after some rebranding in 2018, it was renamed as Google Ads.
So how do you go about using Google ads as part of your marketing strategy, will Google ads work for my business, is it even worth it?
We get these questions daily and aim to discuss most of them not only on this page but others. So if you are interested dive deep click on some other articles and learn more how you can use google ads as an advertising strategy along with your other marketing strategies.
What is Google Ads & How does Google Ads work?
Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that falls under a marketing strategy channel known as pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. The advertiser pays per click or per impression (CPM) on an ad you created to be shown in search results when certain keywords you chose are searched.
Google Ads is an extremely effective way to drive qualified prospects to your business while they’re searching for related products and services. Google Ads results in a boost of your website traffic, receiving more phone calls, and increases your in-store visits.
A prospect will search for something closely related to the product or service you offer. The ad that you created will then show up based on the keywords entered into the search field. You compete with other advertisers based on an auctioning of whose ad will appear.
What makes Google ads so useful is that you can show up exactly when your potential customer is searching for a solution to their pain point.
Now that you understand what Google ads is let’s look a bit at the mechanics behind how Google ads work.
A campaign will start with you naming your campaign and choosing bidding strategies and budgets.
Google takes the keywords you specify per campaign which will trigger the ads you have setup.
These keywords need to be relevant to what your business sells. Google makes this a bit easier giving you access to the Google ads keyword planner where you can discover additional keywords from your main keywords to bid on.
Then you specify to Google how much you are willing to pay for each click on your advert. This is called your maximum cost per click (CPC). Google Ads works on an auction basis, so the amount you bid is one of the things that will affect how good an ad position your get. Generally speaking, the higher your bid and quality of your ad, the higher up the page your ad will appear.
Having chosen your keywords and set your bids you then have to write your advert copy. Your advert has room for headlines and descriptions so it’s important to get your message across succinctly.
An ad auction happens whenever a user searches anything on Google Search or visits a website in the broader network.
At every auction, Google calculates an Ad Rank for every ad in the auction, which determines if the users see your ads in the first place.
You then need to make sure each advert points to the most relevant landing page on your site so as the visitor always gets straight to what they were searching for. And that is a high level view of how Google ads work.
Is Google ads worth it?
To answer the all important question if Google ads are worth it?
Based on your businesses individual goals and setup there is in most cases room for Google ads as a paid advertisement channel. The conundrum is finding the ideal fit and use case for your specific business.
Although it will depend on your business current performance and room for improvement as well as the market you are in here are a few basic Google ads statistics to give you an idea of the power behind Google ads.
- 76% of people who search for something nearby on a smartphone will visit a business within one day.
- Search ads increase brand awareness by as much as 80%.
- 75% of people say paid ads make it easier to find what they need
- For every $1 spent on Google Ads, businesses earn an average revenue of $2
- The average click-through rate for an ad in the first position is 7.94%
- The average CPC in Google Ads is $2.69 on the search network and $0.63 on the display network.
- Only 10% of Google Ads accounts are optimized once a week
Why you should use Google ads for your business.
- To keep this short and to the point here are 5 advantages of advertising on the biggest search engine on the planet.
- Google has massive reach locally and internationally, even your grandma will correct you and say you should “Google” that.
- You can quickly get into the market and compete with the giants with a small ad budget.
- Results show up fast and give you data to react faster and make better decisions.
- Google ads is a measurable and trackable marketing channel where you know the costs involved and can calculate a return on investment on your advertising spend.
- You can increase your brand awareness rapidly.
How much does it cost to advertise on google ads?
We looked how much a business should budget for google ads in How Much Should A Small Business Spend On Google Ads?
Here is a quick summary. Although there is no clear cut cost on how much Google ads will cost you and is largely based on what you are willing to spend.
As mentioned in the statistics above, and again highly dependant on industry an average cost per click is about R40 although it can be much lower in certain industries. But lets go for worse case scenario.
If you are willing to pay R40 per click get and get 6 clicks per day for 20 days per month. This is bare minimum. You will pay a minimum R4800 for Google ads. Then there is the cost you will incur based on who is going to run your campaigns. It will be either inhouse by an employee or outsourced to a advertising agency, consultant or expert.
This cost for inhouse or outsourced solutions can be anything from R25 000 and up. So that brings your total cost to R29 800. This might seem like alot and it is my first impression.
But before you click away let me show you something interesting.
You paid for 6 clicks over 20 days. That means you have 120 additional prospects entering your business. Based on your sales performance and expertise this can impact on your business massively.
If only 10% converts on your landing page and become a potential customer and of those you can sell your product or service to let’s say 20%. You will have an additional 3 sales.
If your customer value is R20 000 over the lifetime that customer is doing business with you. You have an additional R60 000 in revenue which you paid R29 800 for.
So how many twenty nine thousand Rands will you spend to make an additonal sixty thousand rand. Probably unlimited or at least how much your fulfillment team can handle.
To learn more go to this Google ads budget post.
Getting Google ads managed, Inhouse vs. outsource
A skilled Google Ads pro can help you generate leads, increase your online traffic and scale your revenue but should you hire a Google ads expert or do it in-house?
In-House Ads Specialists
If you have a large, complex Google ads account with lots of corporate rules, you may find that an in-house specialist is the best way to go. Big corporate advertising accounts take hundreds of hours of work to build. They require intimate knowledge of your product offerings and services to succeed.
This might mean devoting one or two specialists to these major accounts full-time, and this can be very expensive when using an agency to accomplish the task. So in-house roles are appealing for large advertisers.
Freelance consultants or Agency Google ads management
Freelancers for small businesses and agencies are a great fit for the majority of Google ads account needs. They are cheaper than hiring a full-time resource, have the ability to make comparisons across dozens of accounts, and have the tools needed to deliver results at scale..
Advertising for a service business is usually focused on location-based lead generation. These businesses don’t need complex account structure or 100’s of product listings. But they do need a competent PPC manager that knows how to find leads and manage a cost-per-acquisition budget.
Many consultants or freelancers also work on month-to-month contracts. Whereas, agencies may require a six to twelve-month commitment.
The bottom line: Is in-house or outsourced Google Ad management better? It comes down to the size of your business and the amount of marketing budget you are going to put towards Google ads.
Google ads in South Africa
Running Google ads in South Africa
The Google ads landscape in South Africa is vastly different compared to other countries. Here are some statistics surrounding industries in South Africa.
Some of the most expensive keywords in South Africa are within the following industries:
- Insurance: R103.93 average CPC
- Car insurance 5400 searches per month with R428 CPC
- Budget insurance 27100 searches per month with R101 CPC
- Insurance quotes 2900 searches per month with R366 CPC
- Handyman services: R58.17 average CPC
- Electrician near me 4400 searches per month with R75.74 CPC
- Locksmith near me 18100 searches per month with R52.23 CPC
- Plumber near me 9900 searches per month with R61.60 CPC
- Removal services: R41.03 CPC per month
- Moving companies centurion 140 searches per month with R123 CPC
- Long distance furniture removals 10 searches per month with R49.92
- Eezi move 3600 searches with R40.84 CPC
Additional aspects to take into consideration to optimise Your Google Ads
Copywriting essentials. Your ad copy and headline are not the only component that will make your paid campaign successful. Getting a user to click on your ad is only the beginning. They then arrive on a landing page that’s optimised to convert. All of this is based on using the correct and converting words called copywriting.
Landing Page Best Practices needs to be in place so that your landing pages are primed for conversions so you don’t waste those precious clicks.
Optimised “Thank You” Pages shows you what to do with your new lead post-conversion, how to keep them on your site, and ways to maintain their attention.
Constant optimising Google Ads campaigns will secure you stay on top and get clicks at the best prices available.
Quality Google Ads Examples That Convert shares examples of Google advertising campaigns that got it right.
Conclusion
Given its reach and authority, Google Ads should be a part of your paid advertisement strategy.
All the more reason to start your campaign today or relook your current ad campaigns. If you ever need any help, we are one click or phone call away.
Get Google Ads Expert help or learn more below.
