As an entrepreneur ready to dive into pay-per-click advertising on Google Ads, you need to do your due diligence to set yourself up for success. Before hastily creating an account and launching your first campaign, take the time to thoughtfully consider these 6 crucial questions.
While it may seem tedious to plan the details upfront, establishing this strong framework will allow your Google Ads campaigns to thrive, driving high-quality traffic to your site and maximizing your return on investment.
So, let's dive in!
1. Have You Set Clear Business Goals for Google Ads?
Define your primary company goals, such as brand recognition, website traffic, or online sales, before you start a Google Ads campaign. Establish measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the success of your campaigns. Set goals for clicks, impressions, and click-through rates to increase traffic; for sales, track conversions, cost per conversion, and return on ad spend. This makes it possible to optimise campaigns for the best outcomes. 80% of global businesses use Google ads for their PPC campaigns, why shouldn't yours be one of them too?
2. Do You Have a Defined Target Audience?
To successfully create a Google Ads account, you must have a clearly defined target audience in mind. Ask yourself:
Who are your ideal customers? Determine specific demographics like age, location, and gender.
What are their interests and behaviors? The more specific you can be, the better.
Where do they spend time online? On social media platforms? Reading industry publications?
What types of devices do they use? Mobile, desktop, tablet?
What is their buying cycle? Are they impulse purchasers or do they conduct extensive research before buying?
3. What Is Your Ad Budget?
When determining your ad budget, consider both your short-term costs to get started as well as your ongoing monthly ad spending. Google Ads operates on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, charging you only when someone clicks your ad.
Set a maximum cost-per-click bid for your ads to control how much you're willing to spend for a click from a potential customer. Start with a modest budget that fits your current cash flow and adjust over time based on performance. It's best to start small and scale up as you gain experience.
You can always optimize for better results and increase your budget to improve your ads' visibility.
4. Have You Chosen Your Preferred Campaign Type?
Pick the campaign type that best fits your company's objectives and target market if you want your Google Ads campaign to be optimized.
There are two primary choices: search network campaigns, which display advertisements on Google's search engine results page, and display network campaigns, which display ads on Google's partner websites for its display network. Moreover, The display network reaches 90% of online consumers. The targeting of devices and ad formats are also options.
Low click-through rates and lost ad spending might result from selecting the incorrect campaign type. For the best campaign plan, research Google's advertising offerings. Businesses earn around $8 for every $1 spent on Google Ads. You may increase your return on investment by staying current with new features.
5. What Bidding Strategy Will You Use?
When creating your Google Ads account, determine an optimal bidding strategy. The options are:
Manual cost-per-click (CPC) bidding - Set a max CPC for each keyword. Google will bid up to your max on each eligible auction to get your ad shown. The average CTR for Google Ads falls between 3% and 5%, and the average CPC is recorded between $1 and $2.
Automated bidding strategies (Maximize Clicks, Target CPA, Maximize Conversion Value) - Google's machine learning algorithms automatically optimize your bids to get the most clicks, conversions, or conversion value within your budget. These automated strategies may achieve better results but less control.
Consider your goals, budget, and how hands-on you want to be. For most advertisers, starting with manual CPC to learn the basics and then transitioning to automated bidding is a good approach.
6. How Will You Organize Your Ad Groups?
To effectively organize your Google Ads account, determine how to group ads by product, service, or keyword. For example, you may want to create separate ad groups for:
Best selling products
Seasonal promotions
Generic keywords (e.g. "custom t-shirts")
Branded keywords (e.g. "your company name t-shirts")
Grouping ads this way allows you to tailor bids and ad copy to different segments. Be sure not to have too many ad groups, or you'll spread your budget too thin. Most accounts have between 5 to 30 ad groups. Start with a small number and add more over time based on performance.
Final Thoughts
Creating a Google Ads account is crucial for reaching your target audience and business growth. To succeed, consider these questions: clear strategy, understanding goals, budget, targeting optimization, bid selection, metrics tracking, and performance optimization. This thorough planning will enable you to maximize your Google Ads campaigns and drive business growth.
Call-To-Action
For anyone who wants to successfully create a Google Ads account, Clickacademy Asia is exactly what you need. Join our class in Singapore and enjoy up to 70% government funding. Our courses are also Skills Future Credit Claimable and UTAP, PSEA, and SFEC approved. Find out more information and sign up here https://www.clickacademyasia.com/google-ads-search-advertising.