Introduction
Google Ads, PPC, Google AdWords, Bing Ads…different names for more or less the same thing, a vital side of the Search engine marketing coin. The other side of the coin is Search Engine Optimization. The coin itself is one of the hydra-heads of the complex discipline known as Digital Marketing, a way to grow your business online.
In this post, we will be discussing Search Engine Marketing with Google Ads as our focal point by responding to the following queries:
- What is Search Engine Marketing?
- What is Google Ads?
- What are the types of Google ads?
- How can one start Google Ads?
What is Search Engine Marketing?
Simply put, search engine marketing refers to all activities tailored towards a higher ranking on search engines for niche keywords. Whatever your firm, company, or brand does to rank first on Google, Bing, and Ask.com all fall under Search Engine Marketing.
As mentioned above, efforts towards Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are all paid for. These are the two main forms of search engine marketing: Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click advertising.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimisation refers to improving the website of web traffic coming to a site from a Search Engine. Search Engine Optimization is basically tweaking (and as the experts call it) optimizing your website content to fit into the algorithm of your preferred search engine to rank high.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
This is a paid form of marketing which involves ranking on search engines based on your ability to pay. In PPC advertising, one bids for keywords in their niche and immediately rank for queries around that.
There are key differences between SEO and PPC. However, we will be looking at that in a later post.
In this post, we will be particularly looking at Google Ads. This is naturally the most popular PPC destination as Google controls over 83% of the PPC market according to available figures.
Google Ads
Google Ads refers to a PPC platform that facilitates the visibility of brands through its platforms, or what we will consider as its types in this post. Google Ads is for traffic on Google, the same way Bing (Microsoft) is for the Bing search Engine and Baidu advertising is for the Baidu search Engine.
Types of Google Ads
The following are the campaign types one can access on Google Ads;
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Search campaign
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Display campaigns
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Local campaigns
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App campaigns
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Shopping campaigns
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Video (YouTube) campaigns
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Performance Max campaigns
Google Search Campaigns
A campaign on the Google search engine in which your web URL appears when queries related to your keyword are made. Ranking is based on certain factors, including keyword relevance to the query, quality score, bidding, among others. Posts coming from this end usually come with a “Sponsored” tag on them.
Display Campaigns
You can also run campaigns across Google Display Network, a collection of more than 2 million websites, apps, and videos housing over 90% of the internet, according to the Google help center. A display campaign typically shows your ad assets to a demography related to your Niche in the form of rich text, pictures, and videos.
Local Service Ads
This campaign type allows you to run ads across Gmail, Google Maps, search engines, and so on to a limited geographical area. This campaign form is not open to every brand, however, it is limited to certain local businesses.
Google App Campaigns
If you own a startup or run a company where you want people to install your app, sign up for your platform, or take in-app actions, then Google app campaigns are the best fit for you. These campaign forms run across IOS and Android, ensuring to appear only in front of your preferred demography.
Shopping Campaigns
Businesses registered on the Google My Business platform can run shopping campaigns. This way, when keywords are queried around their niche, their shopping catalogue appears above the search queries for one to make his/her choice by clicking.
Youtube Campaigns
As the name suggests, Google runs video adverts on its sister platform YouTube. Being one of the internet’s biggest platforms, YouTube allows every brand to place its ads in front of YouTubers as well as followers of the Google Display Network.
Performance Max Campaigns
This is a combination of Google’s advertising channels. Performance (P-Max) campaigns allow users to reach users on Google search Engine, the Display network, Google mail, YouTube, Google Maps, and Google shopping platforms. This campaign type is powered by AI and uses Large language models to predict queries where your campaigns are certain to draw more return on investment.
How can one start Google Ads?
It is simple; one just needs to visit the Google Ads home page and activate the “start now button, then follow the instructions on the signup page. This appears so…not all the time!
To successfully run a Google ad campaign to the point of reaping the fruits of your efforts on the platform, ensure to satisfy the following conditions before activating the signup button;
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Own a brand legally registered under the laws of the Corporate Affairs Commission or its equivalent in your country.
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Have up-to-date registration documents for the brand.
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Ensure you are promoting permissible products and services under local laws.
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Own either an international passport, a driver’s license, a national identification number (NIN), or a Voter’s card with verifiable identities.
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Have an accessible line
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Run services permissible on the platforms (Not everyone can run a local campaign; shopping ads do not permit the promotion of services).
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Uploaded required documentation within the prescribed window.
When all these conditions are met, one can run their campaign without the fear of suspension or disruptions.
Conclusion
In this post, we introduced you to search engine marketing, taking time to define it as activities aimed at improving search engine visibility for brands. We also explained there were two approaches to it: SEO and PPC. We went further to explain Google Ads and its various types and advertising platforms, concluding by guiding you on how to start a Google Ad campaign.
These should put you well on the way to creating your campaign. If you are confused or lost at any point, you can get a free consultation from us.
