Google Ads: My Experience, Tips, Errors, and How to Improve
As usual, being a beginner, I thought that it would be enough to create an advertisement, select certain keywords, spend some money, and that was it, the traffic would come on its own.
It turned out to be far from this way.
My first ad campaign spent money much faster than I expected, but the results were really bad. I had some clicks, but the visitors were uninterested in my products. After analyzing the results, changing the keywords, creating better landing pages, and changing ad texts, I gradually learned how Google Ads works.
Google Ads is not only about spending money to get traffic. It is more about presenting the correct message to the correct target audience.
In this guide, you will find some practical advice on how Google Ads works, how beginners can work with it, errors I have made, and lessons that can save you money on advertising.
What Are Google Ads?
Google Ads is an online advertising service developed by Google and enables companies, bloggers, application developers, and webmasters to place their ads on Google's network.
Such ads can be displayed:
In Google Search results
In YouTube videos
In mobile applications
On websites that are part of Google Display Network
In Google Shopping results
On Google Maps
For instance, when someone searches for:
"best gaming laptop under 500$"
The company that sells laptops may create an ad that will show up at the top of the Google Search results page.
This type of advertising involves paying for each click on the ad. The common term for such marketing strategy is PPC or Pay-Per-Click advertising.
Reasons for Using Google Ads
While developing websites, it was taking a lot of time to get traffic via Google Search engine. Even after posting informative articles, ranking on Google would take time, proper SEO, and effort.
With Google Ads, one can easily test ideas.
For instance, while posting an article on different ways of earning online, one can utilize Google Ads for testing whether:
Are people interested in this idea?
What kind of keywords generate visits?
Which kind of headings generate click-throughs?
Are the visitors sticking on my website?
But instead of waiting for months, in days, I could gather all the information.
However, there is one lesson that I have learned.
Even though Google Ads can generate visits in quick time, they cannot solve problems related to bad content and a bad website.
If your landing page is useless, you would lose all your money.
Types of Google Ad Campaigns
Depending on what you want to achieve, Google Ads has different campaign types for you.
1. Search Ads
Search ads are the most common choice for newbies.
The ads will be shown to the users who look for certain keywords.
Example:
A person looks for:
"buy gaming mouse online"
Your store can advertise gaming mice.
Search ads are effective since people are interested in your product or service.
2. Display Ads
As the name says, these ads are displayed on websites, blogs, and applications.
You might have seen banner ads while browsing for some article online.
Display ads are good for:
Raising brand awareness
Retargeting visitors
Advertising visually-based products
However, one of the typical mistakes that beginners make is to use display ads right from the start before knowing the audience.
3. YouTube Ads
YouTube is a Google property, which means you can place video ads via Google Ads.
The ads will appear:
Before video
In videos
In YouTube search results
Video ads are great for:
Gaming channels
Tutorials
Software products
Online courses
4. Shopping Ads
Shopping Ads are mostly employed by online shops.
Showcase:
Product image
Price
Shop name
For instance, while trying to find a smartphone online, you can come across product cards that are shown on top of Google's search engine results page.
How to Set Up Your First Google AdWords Campaign
While setting up your first campaign might look intimidating, it is quite simple.
Step 1: Set up a Google AdWords Account
Sign in to the Google AdWords website and log in using your Google account.
You need to have:
Business information
Payment information
Location
Advertising goals
Step 2: Select Your Campaign Goal
Google will ask about your advertising goals.
The following objectives are common:
Website traffic
Sales
Leads
Application installs
Brand awareness
Select a goal according to your real advertising goal.
For example:
If you have a blog, you can set your goal to web visitors.
If you sell goods, your goal is sales.
Step 3: Choose your target audience
One of the most critical steps.
You can choose:
country;
city;
language;
age groups;
interests.
A mistake often made by beginners is choosing everyone.
For instance, if you have a service to offer locally in Pakistan, showing ads worldwide means losing money.
It is better to choose a smaller audience.
Step 4: Do keyword research
Keywords are used to show your ads in the right moments.
Tools that can be used:
Google Keyword Planner;
Google Trends;
SEMrush;
Ahrefs.
At the beginning of my experience, I chose the keywords that seemed popular but too broad.
For instance:
"online work".
This keyword is widely searched, but it has enormous competition.
It is better to use specific keywords like:
"online data entry jobs for beginners"
Specific keywords attract more interested people.
Step 5: Write an advertisement
A Google Search Ad usually should include:
headline;
for example:
"Learn Online Skills From Home"
description.
Explain to the audience what they are going to receive.
Be careful not to say such things as:
"Earn $1,000 daily without work."
Such ads may get clicks but will give poor results.
My Biggest Google Ads Blunders
Blunder 1: Overexpenditure at Start
Initially, I spent more money as I was eager for quicker results.
What was wrong?
I lacked knowledge about which keywords were really worth using.
Instead:
Begin slowly.
Create various ads.
Analyse their effectiveness.
Only increase the budget after getting good results.
Blunder 2: Not Using Negative Keywords
Negative keywords tell Google not to show you your ads on certain queries.
For instance, if you have premium software, you would not want your ads to appear in searches such as:
Free download
Cracked version
Torrent
Therefore, the use of negative keywords may save you a lot of money.
Mistake 3: Sending Traffic to the Wrong Page
Novices tend to send traffic to the homepage.
This is not always effective.
The person who clicked on your advertisement must be taken to a page that relates to your ad.
For instance:
Advertisement:
"Best Budget Gaming Mouse"
Visitor lands at:
Comparison of gaming mice.
And not at:
Home page for computer accessories.
Actual Google Advertisements Tips
1. Increase Your Quality Score
Google will not just take into account your budget.
It will also consider:
Relevance of ads
Experience of landing page
Expected clickthrough rate
The higher quality of an ad can sometimes work better despite being cheaper.
2. Try out Various Headlines
A little difference can make a huge impact.
Try different:
Headlines
Descriptions
Offers
Just because your initial advertisement was good does not mean that nothing else can be done.
3. Learn about Your Customers
Before making advertisements ask yourself:
What problems do I solve for them?
What keywords do they use?
Why should they pick me?
Effective advertising means knowing your customers well.
4. Use Remarketing
Not everybody who visits your website converts.
Remarketing would help you to reach out to people who have already visited your website.
For example:
Someone visits your online store but does not purchase anything.
They may see your ad once they visit other websites.
Is It Worth It for Bloggers to Use Google Ads?
Most bloggers believe that advertising is only meant for businesses.
This is not the case.
Google Ads may be used by bloggers for:
Experimentation of content
Promotion of essential articles
Generating emails
Brand building
Advertising all of your articles is not feasible most of the time.
Conclusion
It is important to say that my work with Google Ads has helped me realize that an effective ad campaign does not presuppose a huge amount of money but an understanding of the target audience, valuable content and constant improvements.
Google Ads looks confusing at the very start because of a lot of settings and options. But once you have learned how to use it, analyzed your results and avoided typical mistakes, it becomes a very helpful tool for promotion of your website or project online.
A person has to start with a small budget, try everything, analyze and think about making some benefits for visitors of the ads.
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