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5 Types of Google Ads & Which One is Best For Your Business

Person Holding A Smartphone Displaying A Google Ads Logo

Taking your business online is incomplete without the involvement of Google. From website analytics to online advertising, Google has various tools to help you reach your online marketing goals. With over 3.5 billion searches every day, Google is the number one search engine in the world, followed by YouTube (owned by yours truly, Google). So, businesses must have an online presence on Google. Now, ranking organically on the first page of the largest search engine in the world is not an easy task. You need to optimize your website, which can take months or even years.

But there’s a workaround for organic search. Like offline billboards, you can pay Google to display online ads on SERP (search engine results page), including YouTube, and even on millions of websites affiliated with Google Ads. Social media marketing costs are also a factor to consider, but that’s a story for another day.

Sure, search engine optimization is the cheapest way for clicks and impressions, and even to run ads, you need to make sure your landing page is relevant to the ad, but pay-per-click advertising is a go-to if you have good marketing budget. And anyone can run a Google Ad. Irrespective of your digital marketing experience, you too can run ads on Google. First, let’s talk about Google Ads and determine why they may be the best choice for your marketing campaign.

What are Google Ads?

According to Google, Google Ads is an online advertising program that can create ads to reach people exactly when they’re interested in the products and services you offer. Pretty straightforward, isn’t it? You set a monthly budget cap for your ad campaign and run relevant ads, looking for the right audience.

With millions of partnering websites in the Google Display network, you can even display ads outside Google Search Network (Maps, Shopping, YouTube). As a result, you can find the right audience for your product or service anywhere on the internet. All you have to do is set up a Google Ads account using your existing account, enter your company information, and you are good to go!

Difference between organic search results and paid ads

When you search for a keyword related to a product or service, the search page shows millions of results in seconds. But the only links that matter and are clicked are on the first page of the search results. 75% of people never scroll past the first page, according to Hubspot data. So, ranking at the top of the search result is the only way to generate traffic to your website. 

What you see above are organic search results. These websites ranked without paying money to Google. Instead, they optimized their website and the content to be on top of SERP. We also need to consider that it took them a long time.

Here, you can see the ads. They may not be as optimized as the ones we see on the organic search, but you will still see them on the first page. These are Search Ads on Google. And want to know the best part? They are shown before the organic listing!

Google Ads show up before organic listing

How do Google Ads Work?

When someone clicks on your ad on Google, it is considered a ‘click’. Ads operate on the pay-per-click (PPC) model. In simple terms, it means you pay for an ad only when someone clicks on it. Many people may view the ad, but you won’t be charged if they don’t click on it. That’s why it is necessary to place ads on relevant searches. Or you may lose money targeting the wrong audience when they click on your ad.

Altois has been recognised as the top Top Pay-Per-Click Management Companies in the UK by DesignRush

When someone searches for the keyword you put up a bid on, an auction takes place to get a spot for the ad. Factors such as landing page experience, bid amount ad relevance, and expected click-through rate determine the Quality Score.

Where can I see my Google Ads?

Google Ads allows users to advertise on various websites, including Google search sites and apps (Play Store, Maps, Shopping tab, YouTube, Gmail) and Google search partners (non-Google sites that show ads and product listings). Ads can be in text, video, image, and even dynamic HTML ads.

Terms associated with ads

You may come across a few terms when you run ads. Let’s discuss what each term means and how it relates to running an online ad without going to any technical details.

CTA (Call-to-Action)

When someone sees your ad, you want them to take action. Maybe, take them to your landing page or help them make a purchase. And to do so, you create a friendly little prompt, linking them to relevant sections of your website, which enables them to proceed further into the process. It can be a button or a hyperlink.

CTR (Click-Through-Rate)

It is the ratio of the number of people who click on the ads to the number of people who viewed them. It is often expressed as a percentage, and a higher number generally means that your ad is relevant to the target audience.

(Clicks / Impressions) * 100  = CTR 

CPC (Cost-Per-Click)

Let’s start with a real-life example here. In a bidding auction for paintings, you bid for the highest amount you are willing to pay for the painting and compete against other bidders. Like the offline world, online ad bidding occurs, but you bid for an ad click instead of a painting. You set a max CPC beforehand and Google, taking into account the quality score and bid amount, decides whether it should provide you with the ad space or not.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

Often used in Google Ads, it is a model through which advertisers pay a fee each time someone clicks on their ad. As mentioned earlier, Google follows a PPC model for its Search Network Ads. 

CPM (Cost-Per-Thousand or Cost-Per-Mille)

Contrary to CPC, which considers clicks as a metric, CPM refers to the amount that an advertiser pays for every thousand impressions or its Display Network Ads. CPM bids are only judged on the bidding price, unlike CPC bids, which take into account CTR, Quality Score, and other factors related to ad relevance.

Types of Google Ads

Depending on your business and its target audience, you need to decide what type of Google Ad is relevant, so that your ideal customers click on it and lead to a better CTR. For example, if you want people to download your app, choosing an App campaign will promote your app across the Play Store, where we usually go to discover and install apps. Now, let’s dive right in and understand each of them individually.

Search

Search campaigns place your ad on the search result page when people search for your products or keywords. Ads can appear above or below the organic search results, Google Play, Shopping, Images tab, and even Google Maps. Search ads are a great option if you want to generate leads or drive traffic to your website as people are actively searching on Google for the product/service you offer. 

Shopping

As we see on popular sites such as Amazon and Flipkart, listing your product on Google Search and Shopping tab is a great way to sell your inventory online through your website or even physical stores. Ad customization based on your physical inventory is the key feature. This helps to increase physical walk-ins by customers, a combination of online ads with offline customer acquisition.

Video

Familiar with the ads on YouTube before a video starts playing? Video Ad Campaign are Google Ads for YouTube and take place on other Google-affiliated video streaming sites. It is generally used to increase brand awareness, as video is an excellent medium for brand storytelling. 

App

An app campaign is generally used to display ads for an app inside the Play Store, YouTube, and Millions of websites and apps under the Google search network. Helps to drive app installed on mobile devices. You need to provide some assets, and a few lines of text and Google will do the rest for you.

Display

Like offline billboards, the Google Display campaign uses millions of other websites sharing their ad space with Google and displays visually appealing ads with a strong CTA. 

Display Banner ad on the NY Times website

Which ad campaign is suitable for your business?

Now that we know about the various ads available on Google, we can answer the final question: which ad should I use for my business? I have generalized and listed the two most common reasons that lead firms to start their online advertising journey with Google to keep things simple.

Increase sales: Search, Shopping, and App

Boost your online signups and sales through searches. People are actively looking for your product/service, ready to cash in. Also, using smart campaigns, you can easily set up ads due to campaign automation.

Increase awareness: Video and Display

Not only is it great for showcasing your product/service to potential customers, but it can also help retarget. Creating video campaigns generates brand awareness while browsing YouTube, the second largest search engine in the world. It can also lead to signups if people click on the ad, but using it to increase awareness is better for these ad types.

Do you want to start your online advertising journey but don’t know where to start? We can help! Just fill up this form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

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