How to use Google Ads to promote your business

Google Ads was developed by Google back in 2001. It is a platform for online advertisement where you can display brief advertisements about your service offerings, product listings, or even media about your business to your potential customers on the web.

Deploying Google Ads as part of your marketing strategy is a very good way to give your business the visibility and reach it needs to succeed and grow to its full potential.

However, just like other advertising mediums such as Facebook and the likes, you need to be equipped with the right information to get the best out of Google Ads. 

To help you, you’ll find more information about this online advertising platform, and how to use it to promote your business 

How does Google Ads work?

Google Ads is a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which means that you can target specific keywords on Google and make bids on that keyword(s) as the case may be. So, the more you’re willing to pay for the keyword, the better your chances. 

Your ad’s bid value is evaluated by Google using something known as a Quality Score, which is regarded as “an assessment of the quality of your advertising, keywords, and landing pages.” Better ad locations and lower prices are both associated with improved ad quality. There is a 1–10 scale for the Quality Score, with 10 being the best result. Therefore, a higher quality score is required for better ad conversion.

Step-by-step guide on how to use Google Ads to promote your business

Here are steps to use Google Ads to promote your business:

1. Create a google ad account

To advertise on Google, you have to set up a Google Ads account first. This is free and easy to create.

Go to the Google ad homepage, click on start now and you will be redirected to a new page to sign up. Just follow the process.

2. Select your brand name

Then in the next phase, you will be directed to a page where you enter your company name and website after logging in. If your business doesn’t have a website yet, no need to worry as you can still advertise on Google using what is called a Smart campaign; being the default Google Ads experience for new advertisers. 

There are two modes available when creating your Google ads account. They are; Smart mode and Expert Mode. The smart mode is the default mode for beginners and first-time users, however, if you’re a professional marketer, you can switch to Expert Mode.

3. Choose your advertising objective

Be clear about your advertising objective/goal. There are four main options you have to choose from: Get more calls; Get more visits to your physical location; More website sales; and lastly, More views and engagement for your YouTube. You choose the one that suits your intended purpose.

4. Create your ad

This step requires more work. You need a deep knowledge of sales and marketing here so that you can get quality leads from the ad. 

However, Google also gives some hints on how to create your ad on the page, so you can work with that. 

5. Adding of keywords

The next step is to add keywords. This is where you need knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

You can use Google-suggested keywords If you don’t know how to do keyword research. After that, you select next.

6. Choose your ad location

This is where you add the specific location you want your ad to appear. You can set your physical address or anywhere else.

However, know where your audiences are concentrated first before running your ad.

7. Set a realistic budget

After adding the target location, the next is to set your ad budget. You can use the budget option from Google or enter your own. However, the more your budget, the more your reach.

8. Make payment

The next step is to make payment, you provide all your billing information, and once it is done, your ads will be submitted for review. After the ad is submitted for review, there are some steps you need to take so that you can be sure your ad is optimally set and easily trackable. They include:

• Link with Google Analytics

It is crucial to connect your google ad account with Google analytics (If you have linked it with your website). This is to track your ad progress. It also helps to create a report about your website traffic and conversion.

• Switch on conversion tracking and include UTM codes.

The next is to add UTM (Urchin Tracking Modules) at the campaign level. The main function of UTM codes is to track any related activity link. By adding it to your account, you will be able to check your ad progress and conversion. Also, always switch on the conversion tracking to know the number of sales or leads generated from each ad.

Advantages of Google Ads for your Business

Advertising with Google Ads comes with a lot of advantages for your business.

1. Google Ads are budget-friendly and cost-effective. You are charged only when someone clicks on your business ad.
2. Geotargeting. This enables businesses to qualify clicks by location, and it helps businesses appear in search.
3. Bigger and Better Reach to people who are looking for your product or service: People enter queries on Google usually with an intent. Hence, you can reach people the moment their intent is what your business is offering.
4. Google Ads gives you the ability to take user query intent a step further by qualifying them based on location, using geographic targeting so that ads can only display to users in certain locations.
5. Reach warm leads: A warm lead for your business is a customer with a pre-existing interest in your products or services. So With Google Ads, you can create remarketing campaigns, where your ads are set up to display to people who have recently visited your website and also provides comprehensive data and analytics that can help you as a business owner to better understand your audience and create better ads 

Conclusion

Whether you are a small business owner, or even a “big and successful” business owner or you’re in between that spectrum, employing Google Ads is surely a good way to promote your business, acquire new customers, and close more sales. So, don’t be left out.