You’ve probably heard a lot about Google Ads and the ways they can help you promote your company. It’s all true — and the good news is, you can use Google Ads to knock your next marketing campaign out of the park.
If you’ve never used Google Ads before, you may be wondering: What are Google search ads? This guide will explain everything you need to know about how the ads work, how to set them up, and when to use them. Keep reading to learn how you can get started.
What Are Google Ads, and How Do They Relate to Digital Advertising?
Google is the most popular search engine on earth. Experts estimate that around 5.6 billion Google searches are performed every day, for an annual total of 2 trillion searches. When you use Google Ads, you capitalize on the incredible reach of the Google search engine to get your brand and your products in front of customers.
Different types of Google ads
There are five different types of Google ads. Here’s how they all work.
SEARCH ADS
Google search ads are the simple, text-based ads that appear on search engine results pages (SERPs). These ads are typically short and to the point. They just include the name of your business and a short description of what you’re selling.
Dynamic search ads
Google can tailor ads so that when consumers search for a particular item, an ad pops up for closely-related content on your website.
Suppose a consumer is searching for black ankle boots, and you are a women’s footwear boutique. If your website lists black ankle boots, then Google can instantly create an ad for the boots on your website. When the consumer clicks on the ad, they get taken directly to the item on your website.
RESPONSIVE SEARCH ADS
Google’s responsive search ads are similar to Google’s dynamic search ads. They pop up to advertise specific products that are listed on your website.
However, there’s a key difference. Google pulls the content for dynamic ads directly from your website. With responsive ads, you need to create a list of possible ads for your products that Google can then match with consumer searches.
STANDARD TEXT ADS
As the name suggests, standard text ads are simple, text-based ads for your business. Unlike dynamic and responsive ads, they don’t advertise specific products, but they promote your company as a whole.
Standard ads give you 25 characters for your headline, and then another 35 characters for your description. You can also opt for an expanded text ad, which allows you two headlines, for a total of 30 characters.
DISPLAY ADS
Display ads don’t appear on a SERP. Instead, they pop up on screen while consumers are browsing online. Display ads appear along the side of a website, in Gmail, or even in a video. All the places where ads might appear are called the Google Display Network.
Display ads use a mixture of text and images to get consumers’ attention. Since they behave like an organic element of the browsing experience, they can be very effective at promoting your business.
VIDEO ADS
Google video ads appear on YouTube, which is owned by Google. You’re probably aware that YouTube has a huge audience. About 122 million active users visit the site every day, making YouTube a great way to get your brand message out to as many people as possible.
Just like other search ads, Google video ads are tied to specific keywords. When someone searches YouTube for a video, an ad with the relevant keywords will pop up at the start of their video.
Bear in mind that most YouTube users get impatient with long ads — so try to keep your ad short, engaging, and to the point.
PRODUCT SHOPPING ADS
Google shopping ads target consumers who are ready to make a purchase and are actively seeking out a specific product. They appear as a mixture of image and text. They can either focus on one product at a time, or they can group a few products from one of your lines. Google will create the ads for you by using the product data found in your Google Merchant Center account.
APP PROMOTION ADS
If you’re an app designer, you can use Google’s app promotion to run ads across search, Google Play, Youtube, Discover on Google Search, and the Google Display Network.
You’ll just need to create a few lines of text along with a bid for what you’re willing to pay for the ad, and Google will create the ad for you.