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What Are Google Ads and How Do They Work?

Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is a powerful online advertising platform used by businesses across the globe. It gives small business owners the ability to reach potential customers precisely when they’re searching on Google for the things you offer.

Understanding Google Ads

At its core, Google Ads is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising system, meaning that advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads. By allowing businesses to display targeted ads in Google’s search results and on other Google properties, this platform efficiently connects products and services with individuals actively seeking them.

The Mechanics of Google Ads

When you set up a Google Ads campaign, you’re essentially entering into an auction. Every time a search query matches your chosen keywords, Google dips into the pool of ads and determines which to show based on a combination of factors:

  • Bid: The amount you’re willing to pay per click.
  • Quality Score: A value that takes into account your click-through rate, relevance, and landing page quality.
  • Ad Rank: The combination of your bid and Quality Score determines your ad’s position.

This system ensures that not only the highest bidders get visibility but also those providing the most relevant content to users.

The Types of Google Ads

Google offers a variety of ad formats to cater to specific business needs:

  • Search Network Campaigns: Text ads on Google Search results.
  • Display Network Campaigns: Visual ads on websites that partner with Google.
  • Shopping Campaigns: Product listings on Google.
  • Video Campaigns: Video ads on YouTube and other Google Display Networks.
  • App Campaigns: Promotions for your mobile app in Google Search, YouTube, and Google Play.
  • Performance Max Campaigns: This is a new type of campaign set up enabling advertisers’ access to their portfolio of Google ads from one campaign.

These campaigns can be customised with ad extensions, providing additional information to potential customers, such as contact details, links to certain parts of your website, or even product ratings.

How Google Ads Benefits Small Business Owners

Google Ads can be an incredibly beneficial tool for small business owners looking to gain a competitive edge:

  • Targeted Reach: Show your ads to users based on their location, search terms, and device.
  • Controlled Costs: You decide how much to spend per month, per day, and per ad. You only pay when someone clicks your ad.
  • Measurable Impact: Detailed reports show how your ads are performing in terms of generating clicks, impressions, and conversions.
  • High Flexibility: You can pause, start, or adjust your ads anytime based on business needs or results.

Setting Up a Google Ads Campaign

Getting started with Google Ads involves a few strategic steps:

  • Identify Your Objectives: Understand what you wish to achieve, be it increased traffic, sales, or brand awareness.
  • Select The Right Campaign Type: Choose the campaign that aligns with your goals and where your advertisements will be shown.
  • Conduct Keyword Research: Find the keywords that potential customers might use to search for your products or services.
  • Set Your Budget: Determine how much you can spend on your campaign and set your bids accordingly.
  • Create Engaging Ads: Write compelling ad copy and, if you’re using the Display Network, design enticing visuals.
  • Monitor and Optimise: Continuously monitor your ads’ performance and make improvements based on data collected.

PPC With Google Ads

Google Ads is a sophisticated tool that can drastically increase the visibility of your small business online. By leveraging the platform’s capabilities to target specific audiences, control your ad spend, and measure the performance of your campaigns, you can effectively drive more traffic to your website and quality leads to your business.

Small business owners should consider Google Ads as not just an advertising platform but an investment in their digital presence and overall marketing strategy. With proper understanding and strategic utilisation, Google Ads can provide robust support in realising your business growth objectives.

For those who may feel overwhelmed by the complexity of Google Ads, seeking professional advice or services may ensure that your efforts yield the best possible returns. Always invest the time to learn and adapt; mastering this platform means mastering a significant part of online marketing.

As a PPC marketing agency in Croydon, we can help local businesses set up their next Google Ads Campaign or provide a review of their current PPC campaign

Check out our PPC Pricing Calculator to help you optimise your PPC Ad spend.

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5 Reasons Why Smart Cow Marketing Can Increase Your Visibility Through PPC Campaigns

PPC ads (Pay Per Click) help you get seen and bring in more customers for your business. However, creating a successful PPC campaign takes more than just setting up an ad and waiting for the clicks to come in. 

At Smart Cow Marketing, we specialise in creating and managing PPC campaigns, including Google Ads and paid social media, that get results. Working with us boosts your visibility and website traffic through PPC advertising. Here are five reasons why it’s beneficial.

Keyword Research

One of the most important components of a successful PPC campaign is choosing the right keywords. We start by conducting thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-traffic keywords used in search queries for your business. We can use specific words in your ads to attract the right people to your website. This will also make your website more visible on search engines.

Ad Copy and Landing Pages

In addition to choosing the right keywords, the copy in your ads and on your website landing pages is critical to success. We create ads that use keywords that catch attention to increase the chances of getting clicks and improve conversion rates. 

It’s also important to have a relevant website landing page for your PPC campaign to clearly showcase your product or service with a clear call to action. Our landing pages are designed to increase the chances of visitors taking the desired action. These actions include signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or filling out a contact form.

Targeting Options

PPC advertising offers a variety of targeting options, including location, device, and audience demographics. We study your desired audience and develop a personalised strategy to ensure your ads reach the right people at a time convenient to them. By narrowing the audience, you save money by not advertising to those who aren’t interested. 

A Google ads campaign can also comprise of different ad options such as search, display ads, shopping ads and video ads.

Analytics and Reporting

PPC advertising lets you monitor your campaign’s progress instantly, which is a major benefit. We use advanced analytics tools to monitor your ads and make adjustments as needed. We offer reports that show how well your campaign is doing, so you can see the return on your investment.

Continuous Improvement

Creating a successful PPC campaign is an ongoing process, and at Smart Cow Marketing, we’re committed to continuous improvement. We constantly monitor and adjust your campaign to ensure it’s delivering maximum value for your business. We’re data driven. We constantly search for ways to enhance your PPC campaign and increase your online visibility. This is done through testing new ads, landing pages, and targeting strategies.

PPC Services

In today’s digital age, PPC advertising is essential for businesses looking to attract new customers and grow their revenue. However, creating and managing a successful PPC campaign requires expertise, experience, and a keen eye for detail. 

PPC Croydon

At Smart Cow Marketing, we have a proven track record of helping businesses of all sizes increase their visibility and achieve their goals through effective PPC advertising. By working with us, you can rest assured that your PPC campaign is in good hands and that you’ll see results that exceed your expectations. 

Contact us today to learn more about how a PPC strategy can help you increase your online presence and attract more customers through PPC advertising.

Google Ads Leads

5 Ways to Improve Your Google Ads Campaign and Get More Leads

In today’s digital world, businesses must have an online presence to succeed. One of the best ways to get noticed online is through Google Ads PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns. By using this advertising platform, businesses can target specific keywords to reach their desired audience and get more leads. However, getting the most out of your Google Ads campaign can be challenging. It takes time, dedication, and a good strategy to make it work. Here are five tips on how to improve your Google Ads campaign and get more leads. 

Top 5 Tips for Your PPC Campaign

Target the Right Audience: The first step in optimising your Google Ads campaign is to target the right audience. You can achieve this by narrowing down your target audience based on demographics, interests, and geographical location. By doing so, you’ll ensure that your ads are seen by the people most likely to be interested in your products or services. 

Use Relevant Keywords: Keywords are essential for any Google Ads campaign. You should start by identifying the keywords and phrases your target audience is likely to search for. This way, you can use those specific keywords to optimise your ads. Google has a Keyword Planner tool that can help you find the most relevant keywords for your campaign. 

Create Compelling Ad Copy: Once you’ve targeted the right audience and selected the best keywords for your campaign, it’s essential to create compelling ad copy. Your ad copy should be engaging and persuasive, clearly explaining the benefits of your product or service. Be sure to use strong call-to-action statements that encourage potential customers to take action.  

Monitor Your Campaign: Once your Google Ads campaign is up and running, you must monitor its performance continuously. Check the metrics regularly, such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and average cost-per-click. By doing so, you can fine-tune your campaign to get the best results. Google offers recommendations for campaigns so keep an eye on but choose carefully as to what will truly be beneficial for your campaign. The optimisation indication provided by Google is a good benchmark to monitor too.   

Optimise Your Landing Pages: Your Google Ads campaign must lead to a landing page that’s optimised for conversions. You want to ensure that the web page has clear and concise information that matches the messaging used in your ad copy. Also, make sure that your landing page has a strong call-to-action that encourages visitors to take the desired action.

PPC Campaigns To Boost Your Online Prescence

Google Ads is an effective advertising platform that can help businesses grow their online presence and generate more leads. However, to get the most out of your campaign, you need to have a good strategy in place. By targeting the right audience, using relevant keywords, creating compelling ad copy, monitoring your campaign, and optimising your landing pages, you can significantly improve your Google Ads campaign’s performance.  

If you are currently running a Google Ads PPC Campaign, why not take advantage of our PPC Review Service? Our team can review your current campaign and provide advice if any improvements can be made to optimise your campaign further to generate leads.

PPC Pay-per-click

Tips for your next PPC campaign

Pay Per Click (PPC) is online advertising which offers a very targeted way to reach your audience. Advertisers pay when someone clicks on an advert that they have running.

The most common form of PPC that advertisers use is paid search such as Google Adwords. This means that the ads will appear in relation to a relevant search typed into a search engine to find products or services.

While Google Adwords is the most popular, you can of course also run PPC campaigns on other search engines such as Bing as well as social channels like Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Here’s a few tips for setting up your next Google Ads campaign.

  • For your Google ad search campaigns, create more than one expanded text ad so that the best ad can be found.  
  • Create responsive search ads as well as text ads. This enables Google technology to create the best combination of title and text into the ad based on which is performing well.  
  • Think of targeted keywords that you want to be found for in search and add these to your ads. Utilise the ‘ad strength’ guide when you create your ads to make sure that headlines and descriptions are rated ‘good’.
  • Ad extensions provide someone searching with extra information about your business under the main ad. The extensions only show for the ads in the top 3-4 positions and they really help standout. Ad extensions can include maps highlighting business location, product information or pricing.
  • Be found with remarketing. Remarketing is another way of getting you found online. Ads can show when clients are searching for your business on Google which really reinforces your brand message.
  • Google display ads also offer a way to reach a wide number of people. These ads show across over 2 million sites, videos or apps – part of a Google Display Network. Ads will appear based on online activity.  
  • Unlike a traditional advertising campaign, you can continually change online ads to reflect analysis. For instance, with Google Ads you can review regular recommendations for tailoring your ads even further. This means you can add and remove keywords or negative keywords, change the content of ads or snippets to help optimise performance.

Google AdWords certified 

Each year at Smart Cow Marketing we ensure that we are Google AdWords certified. We are now a Google Certified Partner and the only Google AdWords Partner in Croydon 

While gaining the AdWords certification qualification year on year highlights our in-depth knowledge and expertise on the fundamentals of setting up and managing successful AdWords campaigns, being a Partner shows that Google trusts us even more with the support we offer clients. 

PPC agency Croydon

If you need a boost in search engine results pages (serps) or want to specifically target an audience segment then Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) can help your firm be found and to stand out in local search results against your competitors.

With many digital marketing tactics whether social media, new website design, search engine optimisation (SEO) or PPC management, we can help guide your online marketing 

We can provide a tailored digital marketing strategy for your business needs. Book a free consultation. 

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