Campaigns in Google Ads
Creating a Google Ad Campaign has been an option since 2000, during the well-known ‘tech crunch’ in our commercial history. It’s no secret that Google is one of the most successful and profitable businesses in history, with revenue that surpassed $52 billion in 2015 – all from ads!
Now that Google Shopping has made it free for businesses to list products, it’s the perfect time to learn all about marketing with Google.
One of the many reasons Google has seen success like this is that it is a platform used by businesses of all sizes. It can be used by small eCommerce businesses and large corporations alike. You are advertising on the same platform, regardless of your industry or business offering.
This article will discuss how to get started with a Google Ad campaign and hopefully teach you just what a Google Ad Campaign is! We’re excited to help you unlock your Google Ad potential.
What is a Google Ad Campaign?
Let’s start from scratch. What exactly is a Google ad campaign anyway?
Simply put, a Google Ad campaign is a set of at least one group (this can include more) that share settings such as location, budget, targeting, language, bids, distribution and more. Some of the groups available include bids, keywords, and actual ads in their entirety.
The purpose of campaigns is to organise categories of products or services that are offered by a business. It’s common for larger advertisers to create separate ad campaigns in different regions or use budgets of various sizes.
In addition to this, there are different types of campaigns that you can create. These are centred on various locations within Google’s network, including YouTube, Google Search and Google Display. You can think of these networks as places where your ads will appear, as this is an easy way to remember the different types. These include mobile sites and ads, too, in case you were wondering.
Types of Google Campaigns
Some of the Google campaign types you can choose are:
- Google Shopping ads
- Display network ads
- Search network ads
- Video campaigns
- App campaigns
It’s essential to note that you’ll have specific settings and features depending on which campaign you choose to best support the particular campaign type.
For instance, if you’re running a video campaign, your available options and settings will relate to the videos you will display as ads. You might want to use skippable ads, non-skippable ads, video discovery ads or bumper ads within this category type.
Once you’ve decided on the kind of video ad you want, you can select a specific audience for your ad.
How to start a Google Ad campaign in a few easy steps
Step 1. Create a Google Ads account and sign in.
Step 2. From the left side of the screen, click on Campaigns.
Step 3. Click on the plus button and then ‘New campaign’
Step 4. Select at least one goal for your campaign. If these don’t fit your desires, you can choose ‘Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance’.
Step 5. Choose a campaign type.
Step 6. Click continue.
Step 7. Choose your campaign settings
Step 8. Select ‘Save and Continue’
Your campaign is now active, but you’re far from finished. What you’ll want to do next is set your campaign up for success by setting up conversion tracking on your website.
You can use bidding to maximise conversions, expand your targeting settings or keywords into multiple groups, and write relevant ads for your products. You can read more about this to understand the specifics better.
Google Ad Formats
Something you’ll need to do during the inception of your campaign is to choose your ad format.
The formats available to you will depend on your campaign type and subtype. Also, some ad types will only show ads on mobile devices, such as app promotional and call-only ads.
Here’s how to choose an Ad format:
- Select the campaign and ad group that you want to create.
- Click on the Ads tab.
- Click on the +Ad button (it is a dropdown button).
- Choose the ad format you desire and complete the specific instructions for that particular ad format.
- Save your ad. After you do this, you should see your new ad listed in the ‘Ads’ tab. However, your ad will still need to be reviewed and approved before it goes live. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the ad format you choose.
Reaching the right audience.
To make sure you create the best possible ad for your customers, you should consider their preferences and online activity.
Understanding your prospective customer’s habits and actions should help you choose the most appropriate settings pertinent to your campaign.
Some things you should consider are:
- The words and phrases used by your potential audience when searching online. Think about the keywords that align with your business and products. This often includes specific terms instead of being too vague. Doing some research can help you determine which keywords you should use in your ads.
- The geographical location of your potential customers. If you are only offering services to a specific area, you should think about updating your campaign’s location targeting settings to reflect this.
- How you want to be contacted by customers. You should highlight your preferred method of contact in your ad. If you prefer physical visits, include your store’s address. If you’re online-only, add in your website.
- Your budget for the campaign. How much do you want to spend for your customers to reach your ads? What kind of results are you expecting from your campaigns? You can set a daily ad spend with Google ads that you can arrange for each campaign. This feature can help you align to a specific budget if you’re under pressure.
- Keep testing, even after you go live. You’ll want to monitor your campaigns and make minor yet constant adjustments. Maybe you change a few keywords, your landing page, or a few words of your copy. The point is to see what works and what isn’t working as your ad reaches a bigger audience.
- Create a landing page for your ad. You want your Google ad to redirect customers to a specific page – this can lead to better performance than linking to a homepage. If your users are searching for a particular item, link them to your product page.
- Choose one goal for each campaign. While you may be excited to combine many ideas into one, you don’t want to complicate the process. It’s a good idea to have one goal per campaign created.
Conclusion
Creating and playing around with a new Google Ad campaign is an exciting process. The overarching goal of getting involved on this platform is to meet specific business goals and, ultimately, improve your revenue and customer base.
If you ever need help with setting up a Google Campaign, contact ShoppingFeeder agency for further assistance.
