Google Ads Introduction
Google Ads – previously known as Google Adwords – is the way to get your website to the top of Google by paying to promote your advert higher than the other results.
As the most profitable arm of the Google machine, Adwords equates to around 70% of Google’s turnover. According to Statista, this was around 210 billion dollars in 2021. Or, to put that into perspective, 22 tubs of Lurpak.
The platform works on an auction basis. Crudely, the more you are willing to pay, the more likely you are to appear above your nearest competitors. I say ‘crudely’ as there is a little more to it than just who will pay the most. One of the Google updates a few years ago introduced a ‘quality score‘ that affects cost-per-click prices. This score is based on how well your keyword matches the search intent of the visitor as well as a few more considerations.
PPC Platforms
Originally, Google Ads was a text based advertising platform only. Its sole purpose was to cater for people using Google to search for specific items or services. Since then, Google has purchased and created many other platforms that will host ads.
YouTube, Gmail, millions of websites and search partners all now allow Google to advertise on their platforms, too. The reach is still growing, with more websites ‘selling’ advertising space on their website to Google easily through Adsense.
Google Adsense lets you sign up to these partner programmes. You install a bit of code onto your website and determine which parts of your site you will sell to Google for advertising space. You will then get paid each time someone clicks on one of these adverts. It isn’t much, but it can soon add up, depending on the popularity and visitor numbers to your site.
How To Determine Cost Per Click?
The most frequently asked question about Adwords, is ‘How much will it cost?’ And the answer will swing wildly depending on the industry.
Industries dealing with finance or solicitors can expect to pay a lot of money for high competition keywords. On the other hand, more niche businesses in a local area – such as an auto locksmith in Wigan – could expect a much cheaper cost per click.
It will almost always depend on the competition and how much your competitors are willing to pay to get in that top spot.
Let’s say your competitors are willing to pay £1 per click and you are willing to pay 50p per click. Google will then place your competitors above you, as they will get more money for the click. However, your competitors would only pay 51p for that click, as that is the minimum amount they need to spend to be above you as the nearest competitor.
Hopefully, if you’re familiar with the auction system featured on platforms such as eBay, the way the Google pay-per-click system works should be understandable.
Cost Forecast
When starting with Google Ads, it’s best to firstly get a forecast of the costs you could expect to pay and what you could get in return for that cost.
You can create this forecast using Googles Keyword Planner tool.
You can find this in Tools and Settings > Planning > Keyword Planner. Type or paste in your keywords, then click ‘Get Started’. Below, you will see the expected cost per click, how many clicks you could reasonably expect to get, and the amount it will cost.
Keyword Selection
The amount it will cost will depend on the keywords you have selected. Obviously, your keyword research will largely inform your choices of keyword. Hopefully, you have uncovered some low competition, highly searched keyword nuggets to take advantage of.
If you don’t have a Google Ads account, but would like an estimate of costs, just let me know and I will provide an estimate for you. Please use the contact form on my page to get in touch.
