When Should You Launch Google Ads
![Tanel Vetik - Onte Digital](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Onte-social-media-logod-150x150.png)
Tanel Vetik
Head of Strategy
Google ads is hard. Those campaigns can be very profitable, but they aren’t for everyone. While one business may find great success, another may find the cost to acquire a single customer significantly higher than average, and the campaign not worth the investment. Why is this, and is it set in stone who should advertise on Google, and who should stay away?
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
Definitely not. As Google partners, we’ve run numerous campaigns for companies of various sizes. Over time, we’ve noticed certain attitudes towards Google ads. Entrepreneurs are under the impression that search engine ads are expensive and social media marketing is cheaper. In reality, this largely depends on marketing goals, average media budget, SEO score, competition, brand awareness, and quality score.
A good marketing strategy incorporates at least 3-4 different channels. Picking the right ones for your business relies on how well you understand your target audience, the quality of your buyer personas, and how much time you invest in creating good quality adverts.
When Should You Launch Google Ads
![Tanel Vetik - Onte Digital](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Onte-social-media-logod-150x150.png)
![Tanel Vetik - Onte Digital](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Onte-social-media-logod-150x150.png)
![Tanel Vetik - Onte Digital](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Onte-social-media-logod-150x150.png)
Tanel Vetik
Head of Strategy
Google ads is hard. Those campaigns can be very profitable, but they aren’t for everyone. While one business may find great success, another may find the cost to acquire a single customer significantly higher than average, and the campaign not worth the investment. Why is this, and is it set in stone who should advertise on Google, and who should stay away?
Definitely not. As Google partners, we’ve run numerous campaigns for companies of various sizes. Over time, we’ve noticed certain attitudes towards Google ads. Entrepreneurs are under the impression that search engine ads are expensive and social media marketing is cheaper. In reality, this largely depends on marketing goals, average media budget, SEO score, competition, brand awareness, and quality score.
A good marketing strategy incorporates at least 3-4 different channels. Picking the right ones for your business relies on how well you understand your target audience, the quality of your buyer personas, and how much time you invest in creating good quality adverts.
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
Google ads is hard. Those campaigns can be very profitable, but they aren’t for everyone. While one business may find great success, another may find the cost to acquire a single customer significantly higher than average, and the campaign not worth the investment. Why is this, and is it set in stone who should advertise on Google, and who should stay away?
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
![Google reklaamid](https://ontedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-reklaamid.jpg)
Definitely not. As Google partners, we’ve run numerous campaigns for companies of various sizes. Over time, we’ve noticed certain attitudes towards Google ads. Entrepreneurs are under the impression that search engine ads are expensive and social media marketing is cheaper. In reality, this largely depends on marketing goals, average media budget, SEO score, competition, brand awareness, and quality score.
A good marketing strategy incorporates at least 3-4 different channels. Picking the right ones for your business relies on how well you understand your target audience, the quality of your buyer personas, and how much time you invest in creating good quality adverts.
All the different Google ads advertisement types
On one end you’ve got Google Display Network (banners and video ads), then you have YouTube ads, and then there’s Google Search Network (conventional keyword ads). There’s also Google Search Partners (essentially an extension of Google’s own targeting) – not to be confused with Google’s official partners in the UK. That’s us and other verified partner agencies.
All these platforms serve different types of ads:
- Search ads
- Display or banner ads (also includes HTML5 animated banners)
- Video ads
- Shopping ads
- Dynamic ads
- Smart ads
- Remarketing
If all these are given the same budget and targeting strategy, the results will be significantly different. This is because each of these adverts uses different creative solutions, some use AI to generate copy and visuals, some are text-only.
For example, those who see search ads are generally at the end of the conversion funnel and are quite certain in terms of what they are looking for (hence the use of keywords). In contrast, banners or videos are outbound marketing mediums, capturing your potential customer profile. The latter are people who may not even be aware of your brand, products, and services.
In the first case, a company might get a website visitor at an average CPC (cost per click) 7x higher, but the probability of conversion would be tens of times greater. Meanwhile, display and video ads can reach 100K targeted impressions and 600-1200 website visitors for an average of €100 – great for brand awareness but usually delivering significantly lower conversion rates. Sometimes as low as 0.01%.
A strong strategy targets the conversion funnel as a whole. A healthy percentage of the budget goes towards demand generation and brand awareness, another healthy amount of your budget goes to lower funnel visibility – to be the top result for high relevance keywords. The third segment is remarketing and retention.
Adverts also contain extras called Ad Extensions. These can be anything from a few lines of additional text to hyperlinked phone numbers and lead forms. You can also add your business logo to your adverts and include one picture to go with a search ad, for example. The most common Google Ads ad extensions are called:
- Sitelink Extensions – these provide additional links to specific, relevant pages on your website. It could be a link to your contact page, a promotional landing page, or a specific product/service-related webpage.
- Call Extensions – these extensions allow you to add a phone number to your ads, making it easy for prospects to call your business directly from the search results. But call extensions currently only work on smartphones.
- Location Extensions – they feature your business address, phone number, and a map marker with your ad text. Great for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to generate visitors but needs you to have set up your Google My Business profile.
- Callout Extensions – these offer the opportunity to include additional descriptive text in your ads. You can use this to highlight unique value propositions or seasonal offers.
- Structured Snippet Extensions – they allow you to highlight specific aspects of your products or services by selecting a predefined header like “Destinations” or “Service catalogue”.
- Price Extensions – these are great for fixed price products and services. You can show prices directly under your advert. This helps users get a sense of your pricing before they click through to your site. When clicking on a price extension box, they are immediately directed to the landing page of that product or service.
- App Extensions – good if you have a mobile app. Use the app extension to link directly to your app on the Apple App Store or on Google Play Store. Sneaky, isn’t it!
- Promotion Extensions – these are useful for highlighting temporary sales and promotions. They allow you to show an offer or discount directly in your ad. No need for visitors to run around your website to find what they were looking for.
- Image Extensions – these enhance your ad with images, making them more visually appealing and informative. Keep in mind that this image cannot include text. It should be an image that illustrates that product or service. Or perhaps a value proposition.
- Message Extensions – these fun little extensions let users send a text message directly from your ad. It’s ideal for customers who might prefer texting over calling or browsing a website.
- Lead Form Extensions – these allow you to add a lead form directly in your ad, enabling users to submit their contact information without leaving the search results page. You can even link these with your CRM’s and link it up with your emailing platform to have a fully automated lead generation machine that communicates with prospects for you.
- Affiliate Location Extensions – these are useful for manufacturers who sell products through retail chains, they help users find nearby stores that carry your products. Quick and easy!
How much should be invested in Google ads?
There is no one-size-fits-all budget, but it should be a realistic amount of money. To find the right media cost, calculate the average lifetime value of a customer and derive the maximum price you’re willing to pay for acquiring that customer. Don’t be alarmed, the goal isn’t to pay as much as possible, but to identify the upper price limit. Campaign effectiveness should be targeted below this threshold. It’s important to have a benchmark to aim for, and then optimise for better results month-on-month.
The next step is to calculate how many new customers the company can serve. Then, how much can the company invest in Google ads, assuming the customer comes with a 2–3-month delay (Google ads sometimes take a while to get on track, especially if it’s not a saturated industry).
Calculating the cost of acquiring one customer is the cornerstone of Google ads’ success because if you don’t know the cost per customer, you can’t budget and analyse the success of ads in the future. Keep in mind that the average cost per inquiry on Google is usually in the £15-30 range, and if your profit margin is below £50 per sale, Google might not be the best channel – unless it’s a strong brand and widely consumed product or service.
It’s not unusual for ecommerce businesses to run highly successful Google Ads campaigns that get new clients at a cost of around £3-10. This is because their marketing and sales funnel work hand in hand, delivering strong performance across all channels.
Calculate your initial media budget based on industry average costs and adjust as you go. This way you will not spend too much only to find out your targeting, keywords, or creative was not ideal. Find a good balance of spend and return, then start scaling this system.
Does SEO and organic ranking play a role in the success of Google Ads?
Certainly. The goal of Google Ads is to get the right person to your website at the right time and show them the content they’re currently searching for. Google PPC traffic (visitors from paid ads) into account when calculating your website SEO score and other organic rankings. If website SEO optimisation is working and organic position is good, it signals to Google that the website is authoritative, and your ads will be assigned a higher quality score.
QS (Quality Score) is Google’s indicator of each ad’s relevance, and a higher QS score will increase ad impression share, while reducing average cost per click (CPC).
To achieve an overall higher impression share (the rate at which your ad appears for certain keywords), consider maximum CPC (cost per click), targeting strategy, ad quality score (QS), competition, website quality and SEO score, and seasonality. Also, don’t be alarmed if you don’t see your own Google Ads adverts when searching for them online.
When not to use Google ads
Search engine ads are actually suitable for all types of companies. But not for fulfilling every advertising goal. That’s why it’s important that before launching ads, a company should think about what it wants to achieve with these ads and what the objectives are (those may not always be sales or inquiries, it could also be building a contact list or protecting brand position). In addition, decide on the time period for running Google ads – there’s no point in doing just one month and then expecting record results. Expect to run Google Ads for at least 6 months.
Every day, over five billion searches are made on Google, and matching your ad campaign with a potential customer takes time. The best campaigns are built on very strong brand awareness or very detailed data, allowing for ultra-precise targeting. A company without either shouldn’t expect big results in their first months.
Professional setup and campaign management accelerate the journey and shorten the learning phase – saving significant tuition money for the company. Good brand awareness and a strong customer database won’t be given overnight. It must be built over time, and Google ads is perfect for this thanks to their analytics systems and integration with other Google platforms.
You can advertise very successfully on Google, but you can also advertise very poorly. We help our clients map out all goals and their customer journey, working together to achieve growth goals and reach those targets.
Pop us a message and tell us what you want to achieve. We’ll make a very good offer to get you there.