How to Set Up a Google Ads Account for Beginners Google Ads, previously known as Google AdWords, is a powerful advertising platform that allows businesses of all sizes to reach their target audience and drive more sales. One of the most popular types of campaigns on the platform is search ads, which allow businesses to increase their visibility on Google search results. In this article, we will go through the process of setting up and running a search ads campaign on Google Ads, including the types of keywords and how to launch a campaign.
Step 1: Setting up a Google Ads account
Setting up a Google Ads account is the first step in creating and launching a successful advertising campaign. Here are the detailed steps to setting up a Google Ads account:
Go to the Google Ads website (https://ads.google.com/) and click on the “Start now” button.
You will be prompted to sign in with your Google account or create a new one if you don’t have one.
After signing in, you will be asked to provide some basic information about your business such as your business name, website, and time zone.
Next, you will be asked to accept the terms and conditions of Google Ads and set up your billing information. You will need to provide a valid form of payment, such as a credit card, for your ad campaigns.
Once you have provided all the necessary information and accepted the terms, you will be taken to the campaign setup page.
It’s important to note that before you start creating your campaign, you will be asked to verify your account. This can be done by phone or mail and It’s a security measure to ensure that you are the authorized person to use the account.
Additionally, having a Google Ads account also gives you access to other advertising platforms offered by Google such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Google Search Console, which can help you optimize your campaigns and track their performance.
Now that you have set up your Google Ads account, you can start creating and launching your advertising campaigns to reach your target audience and drive more sales.
Step 2: Choosing your campaign type
Choosing the right campaign type is an important step in creating a successful advertising campaign on Google Ads. Search ads are a popular and effective campaign type that allows businesses to increase their visibility on Google search results. Here are some additional details on the benefits and use cases of search ads:
Search ads are text-based ads that are shown at the top and bottom of the search results page when a user enters a search query that matches the keywords in your ad.
They allow you to target users who are actively searching for products or services like yours, increasing the chances of them clicking on your ad and converting into a customer.
Search ads are great for businesses of all sizes, they can be used by small business to promote their products and services, and by large businesses to promote their brand, products or special offers.
To launch a search ads campaign, you will need to create ad groups and ads that contain relevant keywords and ad copy. The ads will be triggered to show when a user enters a search query that matches the keywords in your ad.
Additionally, you will be able to set a budget for your campaign, you can choose to pay per click (CPC) or pay per impression (CPM) and also you will be able to set targeting options such as location, language, and devices.
By choosing search ads as your campaign type and targeting the right audience with relevant keywords and ad copy, you can increase your visibility on Google search results and drive more traffic and sales to your website.
Step 3: Setting up your campaign
When setting up your search ads campaign, it’s important to use relevant keywords that will attract your target audience. There are several types of keywords that can be used in a search ads campaign:
Broad match keywords: These keywords will match to a wide range of search queries that include the keyword in any order. This is the most flexible keyword match type and it allows your ad to show for a broader range of search queries. However, it also increases the chances of your ad showing for irrelevant search queries.
Phrase match keywords: These keywords will match to search queries that include the keyword in the exact order. This match type is more restrictive than broad match, it allows your ad to show for search queries that include the exact keyword phrase, but also other words before or after the phrase.
Exact match keywords: These keywords will match only to search queries that include the keyword in the exact order and without any additional words. This match type is the most restrictive and it allows your ad to show only for search queries that include the exact keyword phrase.
Negative keywords: These keywords will prevent your ad from showing for search queries that include the keyword. This is useful for eliminating irrelevant search queries and avoiding wasted ad spend.
It’s important to note that Google Ads also offers Broad match modified keyword type, which is similar to broad match keywords but it allows you to include a “+” sign before one or more words in the keyword to indicate that those words must be included in the search query for your ad to show.
By using a combination of these keyword match types, you can reach the most relevant audience and increase the chances of your ads being shown to the right people. Additionally, it’s important to continuously monitor and optimize your keywords based on their performance, to make sure that your ad is showing to the most relevant audience.
Step 4: Launching your campaign
Launching your campaign is the final step in creating a successful advertising campaign on Google Ads. Once you have set up your campaign, defined your target audience, set a budget, and created your ad groups and ads with relevant keywords, you can launch your campaign by clicking on the “Launch” button in the campaign setup page.
Before launching your campaign, it’s important to review all the settings and ensure that everything is set up correctly and that your ad groups and ads are ready to go live. This includes double checking the targeting options, budget, bids, and ad schedules.
Once you are satisfied with the setup, you can go ahead and click on the “Launch” button. Your campaign will be reviewed by Google Ads and if it meets the policies, it will be live and start showing to the targeted audience.
It’s also important to note that you can always make changes and adjust your campaign even after it’s launched. You can adjust the budget, targeting, ad groups, ads, and keywords at any time to optimize your campaign and improve its performance.
After launching your campaign, you can monitor its performance by checking the metrics and reports provided by Google Ads such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion. This will help you to identify areas for improvement and optimize your campaign over time.
Step 5: Monitoring and Optimizing your campaign
Monitoring and optimizing your campaign is an important step in ensuring the success of your advertising campaign on Google Ads. After your campaign is live, it’s important to keep track of its performance and make adjustments as needed to improve its effectiveness.
Google Ads provides a wide range of metrics and reports that can help you track the success of your campaign and identify areas for improvement. Some of the key metrics to monitor include:
Click-through rate (CTR): This metric measures the number of clicks your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown. A high CTR indicates that your ad is relevant and appealing to your target audience.
Conversion rate: This metric measures the number of conversions (such as a sale, lead or phone call) divided by the number of clicks on your ad. A high conversion rate indicates that your ad is effectively driving conversions.
Cost per conversion: This metric measures the cost of each conversion your campaign generates. A low cost per conversion indicates that your campaign is generating conversions at a low cost.
Impression Share: This metric measures the percentage of impressions your ad received compared to the total number of impressions it was eligible for. A high impression share indicates that your ad was shown to a large percentage of your target audience.
Quality Score: This is a score from 1 to 10 that indicates the relevance and performance of your ad and keywords, a higher score means that your ad is more relevant to the audience and more likely to show up on the top of the search results.
It’s also important to continuously monitor and optimize your keywords, ad copy, and targeting to make sure you are reaching the most relevant audience. This can include adding new keywords, adjusting bids, pausing underperforming keywords, testing different ad copy and experimenting with different targeting options.
Running a search ads campaign on Google Ads is a great way to increase visibility on Google search results and reach your target audience. By following these steps and monitoring your campaign’s performance, you can optimize your campaign and achieve your advertising goals. However, it’s important to remember that advertising is a dynamic and ever-evolving field, and you should be prepared to adapt and change your strategies over time to stay ahead of the competition.
