6 essential things to know about Google Ads

6 essential things to know about Google Ads

This article is for those who don’t know much about Google Ads but want to quickly find out what the platform involves. Here you will find an easy-to-understand introduction to Google Ads.

You will easily understand how Google Ads works, even if you have never worked with or read about it before.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is the platform behind the ads you see every time you search for something on Google. These ads usually appear at the top/bottom of the results or to the right, after you perform a search.

Google Ads works with advertisers to display the most relevant ads for your search.

The keyword for Google Ads: relevance

The keyword in Google Ads is “relevance“. Google uses several factors in an algorithm to make sure ads match exactly what you are searching for. That way, the ad is relevant for you and you are more likely to click on it.

If Google’s search engine doesn’t provide relevant results for users, they will stop using it.

Below you can see where Google Ads typically appear after a search.

The results/ads inside the red rectangle are Google Ads. Outside the red box are “organic” results. There is an important difference, explained below:

Google organic results

Your website’s position in organic results depends on how good your site is and how well it’s performed in SEO over time (Search Engine Optimization).

SEO means both your website’s code and its content. Many factors can make a website go higher or lower in search. It’s vital to follow Google’s rules—if not, you can be penalized and “buried” down the list.

Theoretically, Google organic results are free, but not entirely; you need serious SEO expertise. The top positions are usually held by big brands—but it also depends on the search term.

Another important factor: how many links point to your website, how relevant they are, and whether they come from other “good” sites.

Paid Google Ads

A fast and efficient way to drive relevant traffic is with paid Google Ads. They usually show up for certain keywords.

You can optimize your ads so they reach exactly the audience who is actively searching for what you offer. For example, if Mrs. Popescu searches for “cheap ceramics,” you can display your ad directly to her. Of course, you need to sell what she’s looking for and know how to target your ads correctly.

This type of paid ad is called PPC – Pay-Per-Click. You pay only when someone from your target audience clicks your ad and ends up on your website.

That’s the next section of the blog.

How much does Google Ads cost?

Google Ads can cost nothing or everything. Sounds odd? A little…

The idea is, you choose the exact budget you want to spend. If you have a small business and can only pay 200 RON per month, you set the budget at 200 RON and won’t spend more. Google will show your ads until the budget runs out, then stop showing them until next month.

Usually, Google Ads are worth it, depending on your market. The most important: everything is measurable. You can see if your ads and chosen keywords deliver results.

You can constantly optimize your ads, keywords, and campaigns by focusing on the most successful. You only have to look at statistics—directly in Google Ads or with other tools such as Google Analytics. I won’t go into analysis details now; it can quickly get technical.

Who can use Google Ads?

Anyone can use Google Ads, no restrictions. It depends very much on the business. If you sell fresh strawberries at the farm and have a small profit margin, it’s probably not worth investing time and money in Google Ads.

But, if you have an online clothing store, Google Ads is extremely relevant. I checked several standard keywords on Google and want to show the difference and a tool to help choose your targeting.

I analyzed the traffic for “online clothes” and “fresh strawberries”.

Statistics for both come from the same source, so they can be compared. You can see how often these keywords are searched, the existing competition, what traffic they generate, and the price to bid for them. “Fresh strawberries” has a low bid cost. That’s what you pay per click (see suggested bid).

Below I will add an explanatory video on how Google calculates the click price—very useful, direct from Google.

Point is? If you have time, you can manage Google Ads by yourself. Or, turn to a web agency if you lack resources. You set your budget and bid for the keywords you want.

But can’t big companies pay more to always be at the top?

Simple answer: No.

As I said earlier: relevance is key at Google. This still holds and you’ll see in the video at the end of the article.

Google uses a complex algorithm. Many factors matter: how good is the landing page, how relevant are the keywords for your target market, and more. All factors form a “quality score” and this is combined with your bid. So you can easily compete with big players if you write good ads and have efficient pages on your site.

What does managing a Google Ads account involve?

A Google Ads account is free and quick to set up, depending on its complexity. You can create an account here free of charge.

You pay only when you start running ads. Setting up takes minutes, mastering the platform—a lifetime.

Google Ads changes constantly, so you need to keep up. Spend time learning to use the platform, or you might lose money. That’s why it’s often suggested to get help from an agency.

Here’s official Google support to start: Google Ads Help

Where else can you use Google Ads?

Besides Google Search, there are “Search Partners” – sites using Google search. You can select Google partners as a network extension. Below I cover two more options.

On the “Display Network,” you can place ads on various partner sites that accept Google Ads.

On the right you see a snippet from mx.dk, a Display Network partner that accepts Google ads. Here you can promote visual and engaging content, not just short texts.
This type of promotion requires extra effort—graphic materials are needed.

On the Display Network, you can opt to pay “per 1000 impressions”—meaning you pay every 1000 ad views, not just per click. That’s helpful for awareness.

You can also invest time in creating a video ad to run on YouTube. On the right is a CallMe ad on YouTube or at the start of a tutorial.

The user can skip the video ads after 5 seconds. You might wonder: “Why pay if the user skips the video?” Good question. Google only charges if the viewing exceeds 30 seconds or all of the video (if it’s shorter). Basically, you can get “free” exposure by making a YouTube video.

Google also launched “bumper ads”—6-second videos that can’t be skipped, watched before the desired content. They are ideal for general branding.

What are the benefits of Google Ads?

Here’s what Google Ads offers, in short:

• Relevance. Everything you do in Google Ads must be relevant to your product and target audience.
• Targeting. You can aim your products directly at those who are actively searching. In that moment, all that matters is your online visibility.
• Budget. No matter your budget, you can use Google Ads. Done right, you’re almost sure to profit. Someone else can also boost your site traffic for you.
• Measurability. One of the most important aspects. Wouldn’t it be great if, every time you placed a newspaper ad, you knew exactly how many saw it, how many walked into your store, and how many bought? And if they didn’t buy, how do you get them to?

As promised, at the end of the article there’s an explanation of how your quality score and bid decide if and where your ad is shown.

I hope this article gives you the knowledge and tools to get started with Google Ads or better understand the platform and its benefits. Below is a video summary, where Thomas presents the most important Google Ads ideas in 1 minute: