3 Ways Google Ads Agencies Help Businesses
We recognise that Google Ads stands as one of the most adaptable digital marketing tools available, offering significant potential for business growth. However, as an agency with Google Ads specialists that have been working in the industry since 2014, we've gained insights into certain problems that businesses face when running their Google Ads.
With this in mind, here are ways in which Google Ads Agencies can help you navigate these problems.
Experienced and Trained Google Ads Specialists Avoid Common Pitfalls
While Google Ads is accessible to anyone, an analogy can be drawn to representing oneself in court – it's advisable to undergo some training before venturing into it.
Though not as complex, or in need of the same level of study, it is vital to acknowledge that Google Ads is a technical tool that requires the application of solid search engine marketing prinsipales achieve a positive return on investment.
The Recommendation
If you can’t afford to employ a Google Ads specialist, enrol in a Google Ads training course, to gain valuable insights from experts on strategies that align with your business objectives. Over time, with practice and persistence, you can harness the power of this exceptional tool to drive business growth.
Improved control over your budget (Part 1)
As an advertiser, you can control your daily and monthly budget. You have the flexibility to establish a daily budget of R100, but Google's search algorithm may determine that allocating up to two-times your daily budget on a particular day could yield more favourable outcomes for your campaign. Google refers to this as Overdelivery:
“We allow up to 2 times the clicks in a day than your average daily budget allows for campaigns that aren't paying for conversions. This is called overdeliver. And it's a good thing: if we end up showing your ad too much — to the point where you accrue more costs than your average daily budget allows for over a billing cycle — then we'll give you accredit for those extra costs.”
However, if you've configured your campaign to run for just two weeks, there's a substantial likelihood of depleting your budget within the initial week.
Improved control over your budget
Google Ads Experts don’t use Google AdsExpress, and they create campaigns with a start and an end date with a “Campaign Budget” instead of a Daily Budget. This will tell Google that you only have X budgeted for a 2-week period.
Improved control over your budget (Part 2)
In conjunction with Google's Overdelivery policy, it's worth noting that the Google Ads billing system no longer offers the option for manual payments.
"Manual payments" is a payment configuration where you prepay your advertising expenses before your ads go live. Subsequently, as your ads are in circulation, the costs are deducted from the prepaid amount. This means that if you loaded R5000, you'd be assured that your expenditure will not exceed R5000.
On the other hand, with "Automatic payments," you accumulate advertising costs first, and these costs are subsequently automatically billed to your credit card. If you opt for this method, charges occur either 30 days after the last automatic charge or when your account reaches the designated payment threshold.
Here’s How This Can Be Problematic
Imagine you've allocated a monthly budget of R5000 and configured your daily budget at R165 per day (calculated as5000/30.4).
During the initial two weeks of the month, your advertising expenses consistently hover around the R165 per day benchmark, leading to a total spend of R2310. However, in the third week, there's a sudden surge in search volumes for your selected keywords.
Google decides that it would be beneficial to amplify your daily budget by 2 times to enhance your campaign's overall performance. In this third week, Google has the capacity to expend the equivalent of 2 weeks' worth of budget while keeping your ads active until they reach the R5000 threshold. Upon reaching this threshold, Google can initiate automatic deductions from your credit card.
How Google Ads agencies help
Whenever feasible, consider collaborating with a Google Ads agency that offers invoicing services for your Google Ads budget. Prominent agencies maintain a credit line with Google, enabling them to allocate a predetermined budget for your campaigns.
If such an arrangement isn't attainable, establish a daily routine to consistently monitor your campaign expenses and oversee them manually.
What to do if you can’t afford a Google Ads Agency?
Google Ads Express / Performance Max Campaigns Work Well for Small Businesses
If the primary concern for small businesses is timesaving, then, indeed, Google Ads Express and Performance Max Campaigns can be effective options.
However, for businesses focused on achieving leads and sales within their marketing budgets, these campaign types may not align with their objectives.
Performance Max and Google Ads Express are campaign solutions driven by Google's Artificial Intelligence (A.I). In theory, this approach appears convenient, as you can swiftly set up a campaign, leaving the heavy lifting to Google's A.I.
Nevertheless, selecting this option means relinquishing control to Google's A.I. Here's how this would affect you:
- Negative keywords: you won't have the capability to exclude specific keywords, such as "jobs,""free," or "tutorial," when configuring your campaigns. This can result in an influx of job seekers contacting your business rather than potential sales leads.
- Ad scheduling: your ads will run continuously, 24/7, which may not be ideal for businesses with limited budgets. Without setting up ad scheduling, your budget might be exhausted early in the day due to clicks from idle users during the early hours.
- Network placements: your ads will not only appear on Google Search but also on the Display Network. While both networks have their merits individually, combining them can lead to a scatter gun approach rather than a strategically focused marketing campaign.
Should You Avoid Google Ads Completely?
Absolutely not. Google Ads stands as a powerful marketing platform and a great lead generation tool.
However, just like any tool, you must grasp the principles behind, which can be acquired through training, practice, and patience. Alternatively, you can engage the services of a professional who is well-versed in its operation.
If you seek training, you can schedule a session, or if you'd rather have an expert guide you, feel free to reach out to us for a customised quote.