In today’s digital global economy, it’s more necessary than ever before for business owners to have an effective digital marketing strategy. Ads online, be it Google Ads or ads through other channels, are the best way to sell your products and/or services.
As you probably know already, there are countless approaches to digital marketing. There are also seemingly infinite factors to consider when launching an ad campaign. Without a marketing background, it might feel impossible to create, post, and manage successful ads. With that in mind, let’s take out some of the confusion and help you set up your new Google Ads account.
1. Create Your Google Ads Account
For the purpose of today’s article, we will assume that you’ve already determined Google Ads as the platform, or one of the platforms, in your digital strategy.
So where should you start? That’s easy. You need to set up your Google Ads Account.
In this step-by-step guide, you will learn how to set up a new Google Ads account and find out how your business can implement effective digital marketing campaigns with little to no prior experience.
2. Create Your Google Ads Campaign
- Here’s what you’ll need before you can create your first campaign:
- Your Campaign Goal — Take stock of what you hope to gain with your campaign. You need to know what your business goals are and how much you are willing to spend to attain them. Consider what goods or services you provide, who you’re providing them to, and how well those people know your brand.
- Keywords to Target — Research keywords that will drive traffic to your business with Keyword Planner. Consider the position your competitors take in relation to your brand to find gaps that you can take advantage of with your campaign.
- Your Ad — There are different ad types and there are many ways to create an ad. It’s important to remember a few best practices here.
- Know your target audience and buyer personas
- Include a clear Call To Action (CTA)
- Know what your competitors are doing
- Create a few different iterations to test out which ad copy resonates best with your potential customers
- Location Settings — Avoid spending your budget on irrelevant clicks by customizing your ads to show only in the locations you’re targeting.
- Budget — Pick a monthly budget and then set a daily budget to hit that number. Understand that once your daily budget is spent for the day your ads will no longer appear until the next business day.
3. Set Up Your Billing Information
● Determine billing options and currency from the “Billing Country” dropdown
● Select the correct time zone. Time zones impact your reports, statistics, and billing, so be sure to select the right one.
● Enter your payment information.
4. Submit Your Campaign
Click Submit to create your campaign.
Getting Started with Google Ads
Google Ads provides two modes. Smart Mode is designed to drive results while offering a simplified advertising experience for users with little to no marketing experience. You’ll automatically be signed into Smart Mode when you create your new account. This is the experience most users will want to opt for.
Expert Mode is recommended for advanced marketers and advertisers. You’ll get every campaign type and feature, but the campaigns require complex management.
Smart mode is more helpful to beginners, but expert mode comes with more control for the advertiser. Determine which is correct for you before you make the decision.
Next Steps
Now that you know how to set up a new Google Ads account, take some time to think about the service you provide, and who’s most likely to meaningfully engage with your business because of that. What type of interactions are you hoping to drive? Do you want web traffic, or would you prefer foot traffic in your storefront? Consider what goals you have for your business and how Google Ads can align with them to create real results.
When it comes to any type of marketing, it’s important to remember to let the data be your guide. You will have campaigns succeed, and you will have ones that fail. Remember to stay agile and continue to make improvements and learn along the way.
Optimize Your Google Ads
Now that your account is built, you may need the help of experts to get the most return on your ad spend. If you are in the market for help, reach out to us and let us help you get the most out of your ads.
