The ABCs of Google Ads: What Small Business Owners Need to Know

If you’re a small business owner, you’ve probably heard how important it is to have a strong online presence. But with so many online advertising platforms available, how do you choose the best one for your business? 

One of the most popular and effective options is Google Ads, a powerful search engine marketing tool that can help you reach your target audience, generate leads, boost conversions, and increase revenue.

Google Ads lets you create highly targeted ads that appear on Google’s search results page, where over 63,000 queries are processed every second. This means that your ads have a high chance of being seen by people who are looking for exactly what you have to offer. In fact, 46% of all Google searches are for a local product or service.

Whether you’re just starting or looking to grow your digital marketing efforts, Google Ads can help you achieve your business goals. In this blog post, we’ll take a quick tour through the basics of Google Ads and how you can use it to promote your small business online.

Understanding Google Ads and How it Works

Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is an online advertising platform developed by the parent company Alphabet. It allows just about anyone to create ads that appear on Google's search engine results pages (SERPs), YouTube videos, and partner websites. Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, meaning that businesses only pay when a user clicks on their ads.

Google Ads can often be referred to by using other names, e.g. PPC, Paid Search and Search Engine Marketing. They all effectively mean the same things…sponsored ads that appear on Google. 

There are several types of Google Ads campaigns that small business owners can use to reach their target audience, including:

Search Campaigns

These ads appear at the top of Google's search engine results pages when users search for specific keywords related to the business.

Display Campaigns

These ads appear on websites that are part of Google's ad network, such as news sites and blogs.

Video Campaigns

These ads appear before, during, or after YouTube videos.

YouTube Campaigns

These ads appear on YouTube search results, watch pages, and home pages.

App Campaigns

These ads promote mobile apps on Google Play and across Google's network.

Shopping Campaigns

These ads promote products on Google's shopping platform.

Key Terms You Will Want to Master

To measure the success of their ads, entrepreneurs and small business owners should understand key terms associated with Google Ads, including:

Pay per click (PPC)

The advertiser only pays when a user clicks on their ad.

Impressions

It refers to the number of times an ad appears to users, while Impression Share is the percentage of time an ad is displayed when it could have been shown (the lower the media budget, the lower the Impression Share).

Cost Per Click (CPC)

The average amount that a business pays for each click on their ads.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who click on an ad after seeing it.

Traffic

The number of users who visit a business's website as a result of their ad.

Landing Page

It is the specific webpage that a user is directed to after clicking on an ad, which is designed to provide a relevant and effective user experience that encourages the user to take a desired action. To have a high quality landing page designed and programmed by ION IGNITE, you can click here.

Leads

The number of potential customers who have shown interest in the business's product or service by completing and submitting a form.

Conversions

The number of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) or Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Refers to the total cost associated with acquiring a customer, which can be calculated by dividing the total cost of the media spent by the number of conversions during a specific time period.

Conversion Rate

It is the percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, out of the total number of users who click on the ad.

Return on Investment (ROI) or Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

It is a performance metric used to evaluate the efficiency of an advertising campaign by measuring the revenue generated relative to the amount spent on the campaign. If an advertiser spends $1,000 USD and converts revenue of $5,000 USD, then the ROAS would be 5:1.

Tips for Creating Successful Google Ads Campaigns

Creating a successful Google Ads campaign requires a strategy and an understanding of the platform. Here are some tips for you to consider when creating your first campaign:

Target the Right Audience

Effectively reach your target audience by carefully considering demographics and interests, as well as targeting specific locations at specific times of day, when creating your ads.

Relevant Landing Pages

Improve conversion rates by ensuring that the landing page content is relevant to the search query that the user originally typed into Google, and that the page is designed in a way that the user can easily digest and act upon the information. Providing clear call-to-actions (CTAs) is essential.

Testing Ad Variations

Optimize your ads by experimenting with different copy variations and identifying the ones that perform the best.

Tracking Conversions

Make informed decisions about your campaigns by using conversion tracking to measure the success of your ads, so that you know exactly which keywords and ads are producing results.

Real Life Success Story

Let’s look at a real-life example of how Google Ads can help a small business grow. Zyrobotics is a US company that makes educational apps and toys for children with special needs. They wanted to reach more parents and educators who need accessible and engaging learning tools for their children. 

The company decided to use Google Ads video campaigns to show their products and how they help children learn and have fun. They also included testimonials from happy customers who loved their apps and toys. Zyrobotics was able to increase their brand awareness and conversions with their video ads: they achieved a 300% increase in app downloads, a 200% increase in website traffic and a 50% increase in sales.

Start Using Google Ads to Drive Revenue for Your Business Today

Google Ads is a great way to reach your target audience online, no matter what kind of business you have. If you’re a small business owner, you can create effective campaigns that attract leads and increase conversions by learning the different types of campaigns and key terms of the platform.

We can help you IGNITE your brand’s growth through Google Ads - learn about this service here or book a FREE 30-minute strategy call if you’re ready to start!