What I wish I knew when I first started using Google Ads

When I first started working on Google Ads for small businesses back in 2018 I’ll be honest… I didn’t know what I was doing. The dashboard was alien, I had no idea what most of the PPC terminology was, and I didn’t know where to start with setting up or managing an account. Fast-forward five years (and many Google Certifications later) I have a much better grasp of what it takes to set up a PPC campaign and have helped many Hertfordshire-based businesses leverage search engine marketing for increased website traffic, lead generation, and sales.

So, as a way of paying it back and helping out small businesses launch into the world of digital advertising, here’s what I wish I knew when I first started using Google Ads.

Setting up a Google Ads Campaign

Setting up a Google Ads campaign is a great way for small businesses to reach more customers in their local area and grow their business. However, before you dive into the ads platform, there are a few things you should know to make sure you’re maximising your opportunity.

Understand your target audience

Before starting a Google Ads campaign, it's important to understand who your target audience is and what they are searching for. This will help you create ads that are more relevant and effective.

Target audience research should include demographics, psychographics, and behaviour information. Demographics include information such as age, gender, income, education, and location. Psychographics include information such as values, interests, and lifestyle. Behavioural information includes information such as purchasing habits, online activities, and pain points.

By understanding your target audience, you can create ads that speak directly to their needs and interests. For example, if your target audience is young professionals, you can create ads that focus on the convenience and speed of your products or services, and use language and images that appeal to that demographic.

Additionally, by understanding what your target audience is searching for, you can choose keywords that are more likely to attract the right people to your ads. This can help increase the chances that your ads will be seen by people who are interested in your products or services, and ultimately lead to more conversions.

It's also important to note that your target audience may change over time, so it's important to regularly review and update your target audience research to ensure that your marketing efforts are still aligned with the current needs and wants of your target audience.

How will you measure success?

Before starting a Google Ads campaign, it's important to define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your ads? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive more sales, or generate leads? Having clear goals will help you create ads that are more effective and measure their success.

Once you have defined your goals, it's important to set up tracking and measurement tools to monitor the performance of your ads. Google Ads offers several built-in metrics that can help you track your progress, such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion. Or you can manually set up conversions using a platform such as Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics. These manual conversions can include visits to a particular page, purchases, adds to basket, email sign ups, and many, many others.

In addition to these metrics, you can also use UTM parameters to track specific actions on your website that are related to your ads. This will allow you to see how many people are clicking on your ads and then taking specific actions on your website, such as filling out a form or making a purchase. We can track specific ad campaigns on Google Analytics via these UTM parameters.

Choosing the right keywords for your ad campaign

One of the most important aspects of a Google Ads campaign is choosing the right keywords. These are the words and phrases that people use when searching for products or services like yours. By researching and selecting the right keywords, you can ensure that your ads are shown to the right people at the right time.

There are several tools available to help you with keyword research, such as the Google Keyword Planner. This tool allows you to see the search volume, competition, and suggested bid for different keywords related to your products or services. It also gives you ideas for new keywords that you may not have considered before.

When researching keywords, it's important to focus on both short-tail and long-tail keywords. Short-tail keywords are one or two words long and are typically more general and have higher search volume. Examples of short-tail keywords could be "shoes" or "coffee". Long-tail keywords are longer phrases that are more specific and have lower search volume. Examples of long-tail keywords could be "men's leather shoes" or "organic fair-trade coffee". Long-tail keywords tend to be more targeted and can help you reach a more specific audience.

Keyword research is never finished, you should monitor the performance of your existing keywords. This includes tracking their click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion. You should regularly analyse the performance of your keywords to identify which ones are working well and which ones need to be optimised or removed from your campaign.

Also use the search term report to see what users were actually searching for which may help you find new keywords or understand that you’re not bringing in the right audience to match your intent. You can use this report to identify some negative keywords and remove them from your targeting.

Managing a Google Ads Campaign

Managing a Google Ads Campaign is how you continually optimise and adapt based on incoming data, trends, and changes to your business. This is important as it is naive to think that what you set up the first time is perfect. What you set up might be exactly what you think your service or product is from your perspective, but the data will let you know if it’s what your audience think it is.

Monitor and make changes

Running a Google Ads campaign is an ongoing process, it's important to monitor your ads and make adjustments as needed. Use the data from your ads to see what's working and what's not, and make changes to improve the performance of your ads.

Once you have identified areas for improvement, you should make adjustments to your ads. This can include testing different ad copy, targeting different demographics, experimenting with different ad formats, or optimising your landing pages to improve the user experience. You should also consider A/B testing, which is a method of comparing two versions of an ad to see which one performs better.

In addition to making adjustments to your ads, it's important to regularly review and adjust your bidding strategy. This includes adjusting your bid for specific keywords, ad groups, or targeting options to ensure that your ads are shown to the right audience at the right time.

Take a step back and audit

Regularly auditing your Google Ads account is important for several reasons. One of the main reasons is to ensure that your ads are performing well and achieving your marketing goals. An audit allows you to identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to your ads to optimise their performance.

Another reason to regularly audit your account is to identify and eliminate any inefficiencies or waste. For example, you may find that certain keywords or targeting options are not performing well and are draining your budget. By identifying these inefficiencies, you can remove them from your campaign and redirect your budget towards more effective ads.

Furthermore, regular audits are important for staying up-to-date with the latest best practices and changes to the Google Ads platform. Google Ads is a constantly evolving platform, and new features and updates are rolled out regularly. By regularly auditing your account, you can ensure that you're taking advantage of the latest features and updates to improve the performance of your ads.

By following these tips, small businesses can create effective Google Ads campaigns that help them reach more customers and grow their business. With the right approach, a Google Ads campaign can be a powerful tool for any small business looking to expand their reach and increase their revenue.

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