Is Google Ads the right choice for your business? Here’s our take..

Imagine having the ability to reach potential customers the moment they search for your products or services. That's the power of Google Ads. However, like any marketing tool, it comes with its own set of challenges. Our seasoned digital marketing experts at Cosmopole who’ve been using the Ads platform for years lay down some of the Pro’s and Cons of the channel.

Pros:

• Targeted Reach: Google Ads allows you to precisely target your customers based on search keywords, demographics, interests, and behaviours like website views, specific landing page views, button clicks, etc.

• Fast Results: Google Ads allows you to quickly reach potential customers who are actively searching for your products or services. This targeted approach often leads to higher conversion rates compared to other advertising platforms, as users are typically further along in the buying journey. By leveraging the power of search intent, Google Ads can help you drive qualified traffic to your website and generate qualified conversions.

• Measurable ROI: With detailed analytics, you can track the performance of your campaigns and measure your return on investment.

• Flexibility: Google Ads offers various campaign types, such as search, display, shopping, performance max and video, to suit different business goals. You also have full control over your advertising budget and can set daily or monthly limits.

• Performance Max Campaigns: Special mention to this type of campaigns - Performance Max campaigns have shown great promise in automating ad targeting and optimisation, leading to increased conversions through targeting multiple placements like Search Results, Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube etc.

Cons:

• Time-Consuming: Creating, optimising, and monitoring Google Ads campaigns can be time-consuming, especially if you want to make sure that your budget is being used effectively, maintain costs and ensure that your ads show up for the right search results.

• Limited Character Count: Headlines on Google Ads are limited to 30 characters each, with the ad descriptions having a higher limit of 90 chars. While shorter headlines can be effective, longer ones might provide more context and improve click-through rates.

• Cost: Google Ads can be a little expensive,when it comes to bidding for highly competitive keywords. The cost per click (CPC) can vary significantly depending on the industry and search volume. Therefore, it's important to consider not only the search volume, but also the competitive score when bidding on keywords.

• Search-Based Targeting: Google Ads primarily targets users based on their search queries. If your target audience isn't actively searching for related terms, you might miss out on a significant portion of your market. In this instance, Social Media Ads platforms should be considered to generate awareness for your brand.

By understanding the pros and cons of this platform, you can make informed decisions about your advertising strategy.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using Google Ads as part of your strategy:

1. Supporting Advertising Platforms: Use Google Ads with other advertising platforms like Meta, TikTok & Snapchat as part of your overall advertising strategy. These channels can help you reach users who may not be actively searching but are interested in your products or services. This can then prompt them to search up your products and services.

2. Keyword Research: Conduct thorough keyword research using Google’s Keyword Planner built within the Ads platform to identify relevant terms that your target audience is searching for.

3. Landing Page Optimisation: Ensure your destination landing pages are up to date and relevant to your ads, to provide a seamless user experience.

4. Routine Optimisations: Monitor ad activity for irrelevant search terms and add these to the ’Exclusions List’.

5. Track and Analyse: Regularly monitor your campaign performance and make data-driven adjustments as necessary - be it budget changes, bid strategies or ad copy.