Originally called Google Adwords, Google Ads is a platform that allows you to advertise and promote your products and services when users search keywords that are associated with what you’re selling. The results of the search will show on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Google Ads is a performance-based system that works under a pay-per-click (PPC) model. This is a common advertising model in internet marketing. When people are searching for something on Google and they are typing keywords related to your product, your ad will show up.
In a PPC setup, you bid on specific keywords on Google — while competing with others also targeting the keyword. If it is a popular keyword, like heavy duty, you will pay more for that word than one that isn’t as popular. One helpful tool when you are setting up your ads and determining your keywords is by using Google keyword planner.
Your ads can show up on search engines, social media, or websites, but you’ll only get charged a fee when someone actually clicks on your ad. Google AdWords will assess your max bid + Quality Scores + ad rank and compare those against your competitors — all in fractions of a second — to determine what you’re going to pay.
When you set up your ad, you will also set a budget and a bid.
Budget: This is how much you want to spend per day or month. You set a cap so that you will never spend more than your monthly limit.
Bid: The bid sets how much you are willing to pay for each click. If your maximum bid is $2, Google will only show your ad if other advertisers aren’t bidding more (on average).
The bidding process works behind the scenes. You can choose between manual bidding (you choose your bid amounts) or automatic bidding (let Google set bids to try to get the most clicks within your budget). And you can pause your ads whenever you need. You are not on a contract.
Some final thoughts.
When you start, don’t make it complicated or do too much. A simple search ad is a good way to start. And remember, it takes a few weeks before Google will start compiling data that you can base future research on. Once you get going, you can also increase your budget. (And Google will remind you of this fact!). Happy searching!
PPC Advertising • Starting Google AdWords
