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Our Google Adwords Tutorial for Beginners

pwd staff OLIVER WOOD
Oliver Wood

|31st May 2019

Welcome to our Google Adwords tutorial for beginners. Google Adwords, which has now changed its name to ‘Google Ads’, is one of the most powerful and widely used platforms for online advertising. With over 8.5 billion daily search queries, Google is the go-to search engine for millions of people globally. Utilising Google Ads can reach your potential customers when searching for your products or services.

How Do Google Ads Work?

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Google ads campaigns operate on a bidding system where advertisers bid on specific keywords relevant to their business. When a user searches for those keywords, Google will display the search ads of the highest bidders in the search results.

When managing your Google advertising cost, there are three bidding options: CPC, CPE, or CPM. Here’s more on each one below:

  • CPC (cost-per-click) means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Depending on how competitive your chosen keywords are, the cost-per-click can vary greatly.
  • CPE (cost-per-engagement) means paying when a user takes a specific action, such as filling out a form or watching a video.
  • CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) means paying for every thousand times your ad is shown.

A Google Ads Tutorial Made Easy

Before you get started with Google Ads, you’ll need to have a Google Adwords account. Don’t worry – this is simple to set up. All you need is a Google account, which you can easily create if you don’t have one already. This will allow you to create Google ads with ease.

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How to Set Up Your Google Ads Manager Account

  1. Go to the Google Ads website and click “Start Now.”
  2. Sign in with your existing Google account or create a new one.
  3. Fill out some basic information about your business, including your time zone and currency.

It’s that simple. You now have a Google Ads Manager account and can set up your first ad campaign.

How to Get Your First Campaign Started

Before you start your first Google Ads campaign, there’s a bit of groundwork involved for your ads. Here are a few things to figure out before you get started:

  • Advertising Goals. What do you want to achieve with your ads? Do you want to increase website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales?
  • Advertising Budget. How much are you willing to spend on your ads? This will determine how long your ad campaign can run and how much exposure it can get.
  • Keywords. What words or phrases are related to your business? These will be the keywords you use in your ads, so it’s essential to choose them carefully. Use the Google Ads Keyword Planner tool to help you find the right keywords for your ads.
  • Landing Page Optimisation. Where will people go when they click on your ad? The effectiveness of your ad campaign depends on your landing page. If it’s not optimised for conversions, you may waste money on clicks that don’t result in any action.

Step One: Set Up Your Audience Specifications

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You can begin by logging into your Google Ads account. Once you’re logged in, the first thing to do is set up your audience specifications. This includes setting up your ad targeting, i.e. target locations, languages, and devices. You can exclude certain locations or devices if they don’t match your advertising goals.

Step Two: Enter Your Ad Copy

Next, you’ll create your ad copy. This will be the text in your ad to entice potential customers to click through to your website. Remember, you only have limited space for your ad copy, so make every word count. Headlines are limited to 30 characters each, and the body copy is 90 characters. If you choose the expanded ads option, you’ll get 80 characters for the headline, and the body copy will be automatically pulled from the designated website URL.

Make sure to include your keywords, but keep them as organic as possible. You can also use Google’s Ad Preview tool to see how your ad will display on different devices and in different locations.

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Step Three: Define Your Budget

Now comes one of the most important components – defining your budget/ad spend. As mentioned earlier, this will determine how long your ad will be displayed and how many clicks you could potentially receive. There are two budget options: daily budget and shared budget.

Daily budget is the amount you are willing to spend each day on your ads. This will help control your costs and prevent overspending. A shared budget allows you to allocate a single budget across multiple campaigns, which can be helpful if you have several campaigns running simultaneously.

If your budget is too limiting and causing your campaign to underperform, Google will recommend a higher budget for optimal results.

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Step Four: Review and Publish Your Ad

Once you’ve created your ad and set your budget, it’s time to review everything before publishing. Ensure all the information is accurate and there are no errors in your ad copy. You can also preview how your ad will look on different devices before finalising. If everything looks good, you’ll be good to publish.

Step Five: Track Conversions

When your ad is up and running, it’s essential to review its performance regularly. Google Ads provides extensive data on how your ad is performing, including the number of clicks, click-through rate (CTR), average cost per click (CPC), and many other metrics.

This data is valuable – it allows you to see what’s working and what’s not, so you can make adjustments as needed. For example, if your ad has a low CTR, you might need to revise your ad copy or adjust your targeting.

Google also allows you to track conversions, which is when a user performs a particular action on your website – such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form. Using a code snippet, Google can track the user from when they clicked on your ad to when they completed the desired action, giving you much-needed insight into the effectiveness of your ads.

Need more help? Hire a Google Ads Specialist

Don’t get discouraged if your ad doesn’t perform as well as you’d hoped. Google Ads is all about trial and error, so keep experimenting and making adjustments until you find what works best for your business. If you can’t seem to navigate the Google ads platform, hire an ads specialist to help optimise your campaign.

Here at PWD, we have a team of experienced Google Ads specialists who can help you create and manage successful campaigns tailored for the Google search network. Contact us to learn how we can help your business grow through digital advertising.