Get a clear explanation of how Google Ads works and how you can use the platform to attract more traffic and increase your sales effectively.
Martin Langborg Hansen
Your customers are online right now, and you can capture their attention with Google advertising. And yes, many people do click on the ads. Measurements show that often around one-third of users click on the ads Google presents, rather than on the unpaid results.
Fierce competition for visibility in Google’s results
It is becoming increasingly difficult to be found through a natural (organic) Google search. When a user searches for a product, you ideally want to appear at the top. Being in the top three results brings significantly more traffic. That is where users click and enter your site.
Google Ads give you an extra chance to be found
Google’s extensive advertising universe makes you more visible online, and you can tailor your message to reach exactly the customer group you want.
– Which geographical areas do you want to sell to?
– Which age groups would you like to target most?
– What gender? (Different message?)
That is how precise your advertising can be. This delivers real results, as your ads become relevant and appealing. In the image below, you can see how much space Google Ads now occupy. Also note how similar the ads are to the “organic” search results further down – this is not by chance. That is precisely why so many click on the ads.
Your customers are not always ready to buy
If your customer is not ready to buy, the price can be as good as you like – they still will not buy…
Perhaps your customer is simply gathering information and getting an overview of what is available on the market.
You can adapt your advertising strategy to this. This applies to both the content (the offer/message) and the Google Ads platform you choose. We help you understand your customers’ buying process, and how you can most effectively (and cost-effectively) encourage them to make a purchase.
Google offers you many advertising opportunities
Google provides several platforms where you can reach both existing and potential customers:
– Advertising on YouTube (pre-rolls)
– Display advertising on Google’s ad network (other websites)
Each has its own strengths, and we can help you find the smartest approach to give you the best return on investment.
Google Ads are the adverts that appear above the search results when you search on Google.
With Google Ads, you can deliver your message and offer to your customers in a highly targeted way.
Visible exactly when a customer searches for a product like yours
The great thing about Ads is that your advert appears when customers are searching for products like yours. This makes your advert relevant, and potential customers are more likely to be interested in your message.
The combination of appearing in both the organic results and Google Ads adverts is very powerful, and users often click on the adverts as they are very prominently positioned.
In the image below, you can see that AUBO Kitchens are displayed in both the Google Ads adverts and the organic results – AUBO have done a great job with both Google Ads and SEO optimisation.
Different behaviour on different devices
Your customers can find you in many ways. Most people use a mobile, tablet, and computer, and behaviour can vary greatly depending on the device being used.
Mobile search is becoming increasingly important and now accounts for over half of all searches. However, displaying Google Ads on mobile has its own challenges and strengths – the screen is, after all, smaller.
Your ad at the right moment
When set up correctly, you can deliver the right message based on whether a potential customer is searching for general information or is ready to buy right now. If you are not sure when to do what, get in touch with us to hear how to advertise most effectively and cost-efficiently.
Clear insight into your advertising’s impact
You can control your advertising very precisely, and you receive clear information about what the ads are doing for your business. You can see how many times your ad is shown, how many people click on it, or even how many call you.
Which keywords should you be found for?
In principle, Ads is quite simple; people click your ad, which leads to your site, and you pay for that click. You can specify how much that click is worth to you, and that is your bid compared to others – rather like an auction.
When searching for well-known brands, you cannot necessarily just outbid the others and appear at the top. Competing with large brands will be difficult and very expensive. It is much more worthwhile to find your niche and your angle on what you offer. For example, your “product + geographical area/colour/customer group”, also known as long-tail.
Sometimes, online shoppers just need an extra push to visit your website. With Google Shopping, you can present your offers even better and more attractively. Shopping ads allow your products to be displayed with images when people search for your type of products.
The visual element grabs extra attention, especially as the price can also be shown.
In the image below, you can see how prominent the ads become with images (here, the normal Google Ads are not shown). Notice also that Dansk Outlet appears at the very top of the organic search results; the images capture attention and the text below explains – this is a very strong display that drives significant traffic to the site.
A bit technical, but highly effective
Google Shopping ads operate differently from standard Google Ads, and are a bit technical to set up, but afterwards are easier to manage as you do not need to spend time optimising keywords.
Both types of ads at the same time
The two advertising methods mean you can display both types of ads at once: both standard Google Ads and Shopping image ads. This synergy makes your advertising significantly stronger and is definitely worth pursuing.
More visible than your competitors
Image ads clearly stand out over standard Google Ads, so you can significantly strengthen your advertising compared to competitors who do not use this method. You may even see several of your shopping ads displayed in the same search, which is not possible with standard Google Ads.
The right audience – words are helpful, but price…
Quality is a broad concept, and it can be very difficult to assess quality from a Google Ads text alone. Shopping ads display your product’s price, giving you another way to target the right customers. You can signal high quality with a certain price level, or target the very price-conscious with low prices. This way, you immediately reach the right audience, and filter out those who are not interested.
The video medium is fantastic for conveying a message, and customers often prefer to watch a video about a product rather than read about it. YouTube is the major platform where you can find videos on almost anything.
Your customers are here
In fact, YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. That is where your customers are, and that is where you can reach them with your messages. It is not just cat videos; YouTube is widely used to research products before deciding to purchase.
In-stream advertising – relevance!
Your video can be shown before the user’s chosen video starts – they will be exposed to your video, as you typically have to wait 5 seconds before you can skip it. So you definitely have the user’s attention for at least 5 seconds, and crucially, their full attention.
Just like Google Ads, your video is shown when it fits the context of what the user has searched for.
Relevance, relevance, relevance
As users actively choose to watch a particular video, your video will therefore be an interruption. It is essential to be sharp and clear about your message right from the start. A common mistake is to use the first few seconds to show the company logo. Unless your aim is branding, you are wasting valuable time.
What do you want the viewer to do?
Your video’s success improves significantly when you are clear about your goal:
– Should it tell a story in itself
– Should it link to your site
– Should it link to a campaign page on your site
This helps you create a message that is clear and resonates with the user.
Keep the user engaged
Now that you have captured a user’s attention, you should work to keep them engaged.
You can do this for example by directing people to a campaign site. Often, a simple and concise message in a video is very effective at enticing viewers to find out more on your own site.
Plan your YouTube advertising
Let us discuss how you can optimise your campaign to precisely reach your target group and deliver your message.
There are countless websites that could be highly relevant for featuring your product and advertising. You can probably find many sites or blogs where it would be interesting to advertise – and in fact, it is possible on many of them.
Advertise on relevant sites
Many of these sites are part of Google’s display network, where you can show your ads, banners, and videos.
This has several advantages, as visitors to a relevant site are already thinking along the lines of your products, and perhaps are currently researching similar products. These impressions are often cheaper than those shown in Google’s search results. However, the right setup and targeting to the correct groups are essential.
Strengthen your branding value
The visual expression allows you to better exploit and develop your branding value, so impressions themselves have value (even without clicks). This makes your advertising much more flexible, and potentially more profitable. You can choose whether to pay per click or per impression (or both).
Extra effective segmentation – sharp message
Your ads will, as mentioned, be displayed on relevant sites, but you can make your advertising even more precise by segmenting by gender, age, interests, topic, and geographical areas. By taking advantage of this precise segmentation, you can also craft your message even more sharply for the target groups you have in mind. You can even choose on which types of media you want your display ad to appear – even in apps, or on YouTube. Likewise, you can decide whether to target niche sites specifically or go broad on the major national sites.
In principle, you can decide yourself how much it should cost for someone to click your Google Ads advert to enter your site. The display of adverts works via an auction-style bidding process.
However, it is important to know that you cannot simply buy all the attention by raising your bid significantly. Especially not if the campaign is not set up for it. Google will show relevant ads, and that requires you to do your homework. Both your ad and landing page are assessed, which results in a quality score (QS).
Your ad position – AdRank
Google uses the concept – AdRank – which takes both factors into account:
AdRank = QS x Maximum Bid
The better you set up your campaign (and landing page), the less you will have to pay per click.
What will you actually pay?
Often, you do not even pay your maximum bid, especially if the competing bid has a lower quality score (QS):
Example:
Your bid: 9 kroner – Your QS: 8 – That gives an AdRank = 72
Competitor bid: 10 kroner – Competitor QS: 6 – That gives an AdRank = 60
You will pay: 60/8 = 7.5 kroner and not 9 kroner!
So it really pays to work on your campaign and landing page to increase your QS. You could say that Google rewards you for doing a good job.
Advertising on a low budget?
It is possible to generate good traffic even with a modest budget.
A good tip is to start with the keywords that you know generate a lot of traffic and convert well. It is always a good idea to specify your maximum daily spend. That way, you avoid clicks getting out of control. Google then automatically stops showing your ad.
Are your keywords expensive?
You do not necessarily need to be number 1 with your ad. If your competitor is above you and paying a high price for their clicks, you may not be able to compete.
In that case, it is smarter to work on your QS:
– Write a more compelling headline
– SEO optimise your landing page
– Make your landing page even more relevant; write good content that covers your keyword
– Make your keywords more specific; for example, instead of “car”, optimise for “family car”
Mobile advertising prices
It can be harder to get clicks when advertising is shown on mobile devices (although this is not always the case). If so, it may be a good idea to lower your bids specifically for mobile.
Analysing your site traffic can show if it is worthwhile to increase or decrease your bids. However, you need to be even sharper and more compelling to get your message across when your users are on mobile.
At WeMarket, we offer businesses a benchmark report that compares their marketing efforts with their key competitors. You decide which competitors we should compare against.
We specialise in selling physical goods online and growing webshops – and now you can benefit from this expertise, even if you’re not already a client.
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