(Getty)
Anyone who has ever typed something into Google's search engine knows: the results at the top get the most clicks. That's because, if done correctly, those results are ads designed to catch the eyes of the user. For small business owners, these can have a huge impact on sales, marketing and brand awareness.
Google Ads can be great for:
- Easily helping potential customers find your company
- Owning the search engine real estate when people search your company name and even the products/services you offer
- Testing different call-to-actions (CTAs) and messaging to see what resonates best with driving sales
Here are a few key strategies you can implement into your digital marketing strategy to help ensure you're yielding positive results with your Google Ads campaigns.
Target the right keywords
You'll notice it can be difficult to compete with broader keywords within your industry, so instead, focus on geo-targeted keyword searches such as "auto repair service in Seattle WA."
More specifically, here are Google's different matching options for targeting your keywords:
- Broad match. This is the default match type that all your keywords are assigned. Ads may show on searches that include misspellings, synonyms, related searches and other relevant variations. So, if your keyword is "women's hats," someone searching for "buy ladies' hats" might see your ad.
- Negative match. This excludes your ads from showing on searches that include that keyword. So, if you're a hat company that doesn't sell baseball hats, you could add a negative keyword, designated with a minus sign (-baseball hats).
- Broad match modifier. This is similar to broad match, except that the broad match modifier option only shows ads in searches including the words designated with a plus sign (+women's hats) or close variations of them.
- Phrase match. These ads may show on searches that match a phrase or are close variations of that phrase, with additional words before or after. Ads won't show, however, if a word is added to the middle of the phrase, or if words in the phrase are reordered in any way. These are designated with quotation marks ("women's hats").
- Exact match. These ads may appear on searches that match the exact keyword or are close variations of that exact term. Close variations here may also include a reordering of words if it doesn't change the meaning, and the addition or removal of function words (prepositions, conjunctions, articles, and other words that don't impact the intent of a search). Designated with brackets, the keyword "women's hats" could show when someone searches on Google for "hats for women."
After designating your keyword match settings, make sure you group similar keywords under their own ad group. Grouping will help you narrow in on specific keyword targets as well as understand which ad groups or specific types of keywords perform best. Target niche, less competitive keywords to reach a specific audience looking for what you offer. Long-tail keywords are more specific and typically have less competition. For example, instead of targeting “marketing services,” use “digital marketing services for small businesses.” These keywords tend to attract users with clear intent, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
Leverage display ads
Utilize Google’s display network to create visually appealing ads that reach a wider audience on websites, apps, and YouTube. This is great for brand awareness campaigns.
The Google Display Network (GDN) allows you to place banner ads on millions of websites, apps, and YouTube channels. This approach helps you reach audiences beyond just Google search users. For awareness campaigns, focus on visually compelling ads that highlight your brand’s unique selling points. Use eye-catching imagery, concise messaging, and consistent branding to leave a lasting impression.
Set up location-based targeting
For businesses focused on specific regions, use geotargeting to show ads only to users in your desired location.
Geotargeting ensures your ads are shown only to people in specific regions, cities, or even within a certain radius of your business. This is ideal for local businesses or events. You can further refine by combining geotargeting with demographic filters to ensure you’re reaching the right audience in your desired area.
Build out targeted landing pages
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when running your campaign is to only drive traffic to your homepage. Make sure your ad copy matches the copy on your landing page. Doing so will create a stronger connection the moment someone clicks on your ad and goes to a web page to learn more about what you're offering.
Know that optimizing the customer journey is just as important as getting the sale. In fact, it's what's going to help you drive the best results and, over time, help with getting the most sales for the lowest cost.
Experiment with video ads
Incorporate short, engaging video ads on YouTube to build brand awareness, especially among visually-oriented audiences.
Video ads, particularly on YouTube, are a powerful tool for storytelling and creating emotional connections with your audience. Short, impactful videos (15-30 seconds) are ideal for capturing attention. Use them to showcase your brand, share testimonials, or highlight your mission. Google’s TrueView ads allow you to pay only when users watch the ad for a set duration, making it cost-effective.
Do competitive research
Knowing which keywords your competitors are bidding on and the ad copy they are running are great ways to give you additional ideas on how to position your own campaign.
Running a competitive analysis can also help you better understand how much people are paying for the keywords you want to target as well as the search volume. Once you launch, leverage this information by monitoring these measurables in your campaign settings.
Accredited Businesses have access to SEO Tools that can help with keyword planning and reporting, competitor analysis and onsite analysis.
Don't be afraid to hire an expert
Running a business takes a lot of work and on top of that, having to learn the ins and outs of running a successful Google Ads campaign can feel daunting. For this reason, you shouldn't be shy about hiring an expert to help you set everything up. There are several BBB Accredited SEO Services (U.S. | Canada | Mexico) you might consider.
An SEO pro can help you accomplish the following:
- Set up conversion tracking to monitor your online and offline conversions
- Perform keyword research and optimization
- Connect your Google Ads account with your Google Analytics account, so you have a central place to track your ad performance.
- Generate reports to help you understand what's working, what's not, and where improvements are needed
Final thoughts
Google Ads are the easiest way for any small business owner to test messaging and CTAs and drive immediate website traffic. But the true impact comes into play when you can drive actual results that go beyond just awareness, i.e., sales. Know that running a successful campaign will take time to collect enough data to foster additional decisions on where changes need to occur.
As with any new strategy, be patient, keep testing, and learn from your results.
For more information
For more information to help your small business, check out the BBB business news feed and the BizHQ.
BBB Great West + Pacific contributed to this article.