When a company wants to advertise on the internet, Google Ads is the most likely candidate. For those who are just starting to use Google Ads, we will explain the basics of Google Ads, including its features, settings, and how to log in to the administration screen.
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is a general term for Internet advertisements provided by Google, and refers to advertisements that can be posted on the web such as Google’s search engine and YouTube. You can run advertisements for the purpose of acquiring conversions or guiding people to your website. It can be used for marketing purposes such as improving the visibility of your company’s products and services and promoting sales.
Google Ads was previously called “Google AdWords” but was renamed to “Google Ads” in July 2018.
Google Ads is currently used by a large number of businesses and is a representative form of Internet advertising. When it comes to advertising on the Internet, Google Ads comes first. Therefore, it is a very important target when conducting marketing activities on the Internet.
Relationship between Google Ads and SEO
The method of posting Google ads and achieving high ranking in search results is different from the method of achieving high ranking in search results by implementing
SEO
measures, but both are based on the point that “answering the user’s questions = returning search results” So it’s the same. Google Ads is all about advertising costs, and if you have plenty of advertising costs, you can achieve any number of high rankings in a short period of time.
On the other hand, with SEO, you cannot achieve high rankings just because you have plenty of funds. It is necessary to formulate a strategy from a solid medium- to long-term perspective, and carry out the PDCA cycle by steadily adding and updating content, performing access analysis, etc. on a daily basis. There are differences between Google Ads and SEO measures, such as differences in strategies, differences in the amount of work, and differences in the time it takes to achieve top rankings.
Features of Google Ads
Before learning about the types of Google ads and how to implement them, let’s first check the basic characteristics of Google ads.
You can appeal to users around the world in various situations.
Even if you think of Google ads as one, there are many different types, and the media and scenes in which they can be displayed are diverse.
For example, we can display advertisements in the search results of Google search engine users to appeal information to search users, or deliver video advertisements to users who are viewing YouTube videos. Its distinctive feature is that it can appeal to users in all aspects of using the Internet.
You can place ads from a low price
Google Ads is said to be relatively cheap. Analog advertising such as TV commercials and newspaper advertisements is generally said to be expensive, but compared to that, Google Ads, which allows you to place ads from a very low price, can be said to have a low barrier to entry as an advertisement. In addition, it is easy to set advertising costs according to your budget, so it can be used even if you want to start with a small amount of money.
Wide variety of advertisements
As mentioned above, Google Ads allows you to advertise in various scenes and locations. There are many types. In Google Ads, each type of ad is called a “campaign.” We will explain each campaign in detail later, but the main types of campaigns are as follows.
Easy to manage multiple accounts
When a company advertises, it may have multiple products or stores. In many cases, each product or store will be advertised individually. In that case, you will have multiple accounts, but Google Ads has a feature that allows you to manage multiple accounts at once.
It’s called the Google Ads Client Center (MCC). By using MMC, you can manage campaigns for multiple accounts at once, increasing your management efficiency.
Easy to measure advertising effectiveness
When operating advertisements, you can not only simply run advertisements, but also easily visualize how effective the advertisements are. Every time you use Google Ads, you can measure the effectiveness of your ads, and the effectiveness of your ads will be shown numerically.
For example, the number of ad impressions, number of clicks, conversion rate, etc. are displayed in a list. In addition, each data can be graphed and output to a spreadsheet, which is useful when you want to share information internally to report or verify advertising effectiveness.
Best of all, while measuring the effectiveness of your ads, you can make appropriate decisions such as, “This ad was effective, so let’s increase the budget,” or “This ad was a failure, so let’s put it on hold.” Helpful for advertising.
Targets can be set in detail
Google Ads allows you to set detailed targets for advertising. You can select “age”, “gender”, “household income”, “region”, etc. as user attributes.
For example, if you are running an advertisement for cosmetics aimed at working women in their 40s and 50s, you can target people such as “Age: 40s to 50s,” “Gender: Female,” and “Region: Tokyo.” However, things such as age, gender, and region are not accurate data, but are based on Google’s estimates.
Google obtains past search history, behavior history, etc., and uses comprehensively determined data. Just understand that.
Bidding/auction format
Google Ads do not always appear if you use them. There is an auction system, and the ads with the highest bids will survive and be displayed. However, in the case of Google Ads, bids are determined not only by a combination of various factors, such as the quality and competition of the ad and landing page, and the user’s background.
Types of Google ads
As mentioned earlier, there are various types of Google ads. Here we will introduce the main campaigns.
search campaign
A search campaign is a text advertisement that is displayed in search results when users of Google’s search engine perform a search. You can promote your products and services to users who are searching for products and services on Google’s search engine.
Since you can display ads to users who are actively searching for something similar to your products or services, you can expect to promote sales, acquire potential customers, and increase traffic to your website.
display campaign
Display campaigns are image ads. You can display image ads to highly relevant users on all websites and apps, Google services, YouTube, etc. Unlike search campaigns, the feature is that you can advertise in places other than Google.
video campaign
Video campaigns are video advertisements that can be placed on YouTube. When you watch a YouTube video, you may see an advertisement video play in the middle. That’s video advertising. There are various types of ads, including skippable ads, non-skippable ads, and ads that appear as search results or related videos on YouTube.
shopping campaign
A shopping campaign is a product listing advertisement on Google. Appears in Google search results and Google Shopping tabs. At the top of Google’s search engine, there are tab menus such as “Images,” “News,” and “Videos,” and one of them is “Shopping.”
When you click on that shopping tag, a list of products will be displayed, and at that time, this shopping campaign will be displayed in the ad space.
app campaign
App campaigns are campaigns that allow you to promote your app across multiple channels, including Google search results, Google Play (a service where you can download apps), YouTube, and Google Discover (a service that displays content related to your interests).
local campaign
A local campaign is a campaign that allows stores to advertise on multiple channels such as Google search results, Google display ads, Google Maps, and YouTube.
phone campaign
A phone campaign is a type of text advertisement that displays a phone number in the user’s search results and allows users to make a direct call. The phone number will be displayed in the search result heading instead of the ad text. In addition to a phone number, you can also set a link to a website.
hotel campaign
Hotel campaigns are advertisements that are displayed when users search for hotels on Google’s search engine. The search results will display hotel images, prices, and Google Maps. In addition to the location of the hotel, Google Maps also shows the price.
Smart assist campaign
Smart Assist Campaign is a campaign type that automatically displays the most suitable advertisement by selecting three media from Google.
Media provided by Google includes media such as Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, and Gmail. It will also be displayed on other websites that are affiliated with Google partner websites such as “OCN”, “Kakaku.com”, and “BIGLOBE”.
Demand generation campaign
In demand generation campaigns, image and video ads are displayed on media such as YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, including YouTube Shorts. It is currently being operated as the old Find Campaign, and will be automatically upgraded as a Demand Generation Campaign from October 2023.
P-MAX campaign
The P-MAX campaign is a campaign that allows you to display ads in all advertising spaces provided by Google, such as “Google Search”, “Google Shopping”, and “YouTube” with one campaign.
“P-MAX” is an abbreviation for “Performance-MAX” and means maximizing performance. You can expect access from all channels owned by Google.
Points to note about Google Ads
Here are some things to keep in mind when using Google Ads:
There is a lot of competition
Speaking of the characteristics of Google Ads, I have told you that there are low hurdles to use, such as “the typical type of Internet advertising” and “easy for anyone to place an ad.” That also means there are a lot of competitors. I mentioned that Google Ads is an auction format, and the auctions are often fiercely competitive.
LP etc. is required as a transition destination
Google Ads is a service that simply displays the URL and ad text in a space dedicated to displaying listing ads on the user’s search results screen. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare in advance the LP (landing page) or website that the user will transition to after clicking on the ad.
In addition, the content and purpose of LPs and websites must match the advertisement text, and if there is a discrepancy between the two media, it will be a factor in not being able to meet user needs, and there is a high possibility that the quality score will drop.
Ad operation knowledge required
Google ads are difficult to operate and require knowledge of ad operations. Google Ads is extremely accurate and allows you to make very detailed settings such as distribution area, distribution schedule, and adjustment of advertising costs.
As a result, a lot of technical terms are used, which can lead to confusion regarding operation and configuration methods. If you want to use it, you need to learn how to operate it in advance so that your advertising operation does not stop midway.
Depending on the type of advertisement, the quality of the material is required.
For example, when it comes to Google ads, such as display ads that use images and videos instead of text, unless the quality of the materials is improved to a certain extent, the ads may end up with extremely poor and poor content.
Especially for videos, it is necessary to start by creating a script, which tends to require a lot of man-hours such as shooting and editing. For this reason, it is important to make thorough preparations in advance depending on the type of advertisement you are planning to place.
Google Ads pricing
You can choose from the following billing formats for Google Ads fees.
Pay per click (CPC)
Pay-per-click (CPC) means “Cost per Click” in English, and it means the cost per click. You are charged for each click, and the cost per click varies greatly depending on factors such as quality score and keywords.
For example, even if multiple competitors are advertising for the same keyword, due to differences in quality scores, etc., you may be able to achieve high rankings with a cost per click of just a few yen, or you may not even be displayed unless you spend a few tens of yen. .
Pay per impression (CPM)
Cost per impression (CPM) is expressed in English as “Cost per Mille”, which means the cost per 1,000 impressions. Charges will be incurred when the number of ad impressions reaches 1,000 times. “Mille” is a Latin word that means “1,000.”
Unlike pay-per-click (CPC), prices do not fluctuate, making it easier to predict advertising costs and manage funds relatively easily. However, it has the disadvantage that it is difficult to understand the cost-effectiveness, so it is effective to prepare multiple indicators for analyzing advertising effectiveness.
Conversion charge (PFC)
Pay for Conversion (PFC) means “Pay for Conversion” in English. You will be charged each time a “result = conversion (CV)” occurs on your website.
It is a system that pays in the form of a so-called performance fee. Pay for Conversion (PFC) is not charged until the user takes an action, so there is no cost no matter how many ads are clicked, but the conditions under which it can be used are somewhat strict. It is shown below.
In other words, they can only be used in cases where there is an extremely high probability of conversion after an ad is clicked.
Video viewing charge (CPV)
Cost per View (CPV) means “Cost per View” in English. You will be charged for each video viewed once. However, users will only be charged if they continue to watch the video for 30 seconds or if they interact with the video in some way.
In other words, if the video is played by mistake and you immediately leave the video, you will not be charged. The system is such that you are only charged when the user views the video.
Google Ads cost guide
With Google Ads, you can freely set the settings based on your company’s budget, but we have listed the general cost range for reference.
| Type of advertisement | General cost price (1 month) |
| Google search ads | Approximately tens of thousands to 500,000 yen |
| google display ads | Approximately tens of thousands to 500,000 yen |
| Google video ads | Approximately tens of thousands to 200,000 yen |
| Google Shopping Ads | Approximately tens of thousands to 200,000 yen |
| Google app campaign | Approximately tens of thousands to 200,000 yen |
Understand the structure of Google Ads
Let’s get started with Google Ads. When you start using Google Ads, you will go through the settings step by step, but it is easier to understand the overall picture before proceeding.
First, understand that Google Ads is made up of three parts: accounts, campaigns, and ad groups.
Source:
Google Ads Help About the structure of Google Ads
An account is an account as a user who uses so-called advertisements. Register your email address, password, and payment information for login.
A campaign is a large collective unit of advertising. You will have multiple ad groups under your campaign. Set a budget for each campaign and set keywords for each ad group.
For online electronics stores
It will be easier to understand if you know how to specifically allocate this three-layer structure, so I will use an example of a home electronics store that operates an online shop.
Source:
Google Ads Help About the structure of Google Ads
Account: Home appliance store Online shop A Campaign: TV, camera, vacuum cleaner TV advertising group: LCD TV, 4K tuner built-in TV, organic EL TV Camera advertising group: Digital camera, digital single-lens camera, video camera Vacuum cleaner Advertising group: canister vacuum cleaner, stick vacuum cleaner, robot vacuum cleaner
Set up the distribution like this. In this case, advertising keywords are set for units such as LCD TVs and digital cameras. Of course, this categorization and ad grouping method is just an example. You can distribute advertisements in a way that is convenient for you.
How to set up Google ads
Specifically, we will explain how to set up Google Ads. With Google Ads, you can distribute ads by configuring settings in the order of “1. Account” → “2. Campaign” → “3. Ad Group.” Now, let’s take a step-by-step look at how to set it up. Here, we will introduce how to set up a “Search Campaign”.
Steps to open a Google Ads “account”
To start using Google Ads, first open an “account”. When you visit the Google Ads site, press the “Start Now” button at the top of the site. If you do not have a Google account, you will need to create one.
1. Switch to expert mode
2. Select “Create an account without a campaign”
3. “Confirm business information” screen
4. Press the “Account Confirmation” button
5. Set up payment information
1. Switch to expert mode
The “Create a new campaign” screen will be displayed. First, click “Switch to expert mode” at the bottom right to switch to expert mode. Before switching, it is in a simplified version called “Smart Mode”, so we recommend switching to Expert Mode, which allows you to make detailed keyword and bid decisions.
2. Select “Create an account without a campaign”
<br/> If you only want to create an account first, click “Create an account without a campaign” at the bottom left of the “Select the goal you want to achieve with this campaign” screen. to proceed.
3. “Confirm business information” screen
<br/> The business information confirmation screen will be displayed, so check that the country, time zone, and currency of the billing address are set to Japan, and then confirm the information from Google. Choose whether you want to receive it and click “Send.”
4.Click the “Account Confirmation” button
<br/> On the next screen, the “Account Confirmation” button will be displayed, so press it to complete the account setup.
5. Setting payment information
<br/> Now set your payment information. After pressing Account Confirmation, the Google Ads management screen will be displayed. From the menu at the top of the screen, select “Tools and Settings” and select “Charges” → “Billing Settings”. The “Payment Settings” screen will then be displayed.
After entering your name and address, enter your credit card information in Payment Method. Review the terms, click “I agree to the Google Ads Terms of Service,” then click “Submit.” Your account and payment information settings are now complete.
Google Ads “Campaign” setting procedure
Next, set up your campaign.
1. Click “+” on the campaign menu
2. Choose a campaign goal
3. Select campaign type
4. Choose how to achieve your goals
5. Enter the campaign name
6. Set your budget and bids
7. Configure campaign settings
1.Click “+” on the campaign menu
Click on “Campaign” at the top of the left menu, then click on the blue circle with a “+” mark on the screen that appears on the right. When the drop-down menu appears, select “Create a new campaign.”
2. Choose a campaign goal
Choose a goal for your campaign. Choose from the following seven options that best suit your company’s advertising objectives. If you don’t want to specify a goal, click “Create a campaign without a goal.”
3. Select campaign type
Next, select your campaign type. Select from Search, Display, Shopping, Video, Smart, and Find options. Here, select “Search” to proceed.
4. Choose how you want to achieve your goal
<br/> If you choose Search, choose how you want to achieve your goal. Select the appropriate option from “Website accesses,” “Number of calls,” “Visits to physical stores,” and “App downloads.”
5. Enter the campaign name
<br/> Enter the campaign name. Choose and set words that will be easy to understand for you and your team members later. Then press “Continue”.
6. Set your budget and bids
Next, set your budget and bids.
budget
Enter the average cost per day. If you look at the monthly budget, it will be automatically adjusted to stay within your budget.
Unit price setting Set the unit price. First, select the element you are focusing on in your campaign and set a unit price that is optimized for that element. Select from “Conversions,” “Conversion Value,” “Other Metrics,” “Number of Clicks,” and “Impression Share.”
To select conversions and conversion values, you need to set up an item called conversion tracking. For example, if you select “Number of clicks” here, the unit price will be set to maximize the number of clicks.
7. Make campaign settings
<br/>Next, we will make important settings for the campaign.
Network You can select Search Network or Display Network, so when setting up search ads, check only Search Network.
The default region is “All countries and regions”, but you can also set it to “Japan” or another region.
Language If you are distributing advertisements in Japan, you can leave the language as “Japanese”.
audience segment
Audience segments allow you to set the target audience. When you enter any word into the search form, audience categories that match that word will be displayed, so check the appropriate ones. You can also set up new audiences using a tool called Audience Manager.
Targeting Select “Targeting” and “Monitoring” for targeting settings for this campaign. If you want to narrow down your search to a specific segment, select targeting, or if you don’t want to narrow it down, select monitoring.
How to set up Google Ads “ad group”
Next, create an ad group for your campaign. One ad group has “keywords,” “ad headline,” “description,” “final page URL,” and “display URL.”
Keywords and advertisements
<br/> We will explain keywords and advertisements.
Keywords For keywords, enter the search words that are expected to be entered by the users you want to display your ad. For example, if the advertiser is a home appliance store, enter keywords such as “digital camera cheap” or “digital camera home electronics store.” Research search volume and competition and set appropriate keywords.
advertisement
Enter the headline, ad text, etc. that will be displayed in the text ad in search results. A preview screen is displayed, so you can make settings while looking at it. The setting items are as follows.
Final page URL
Enter the URL of the page to reach when the user clicks the text ad. If you do not set “Pass”, only the domain part is displayed in the actual advertisement.
The display URL path display URL is the URL displayed in the ad. It can be changed from the final page URL string. Ideally, what pages will be displayed when you click on the ad, a string that users can imagine before advertising clicks. You don’t have to set it here.
Advertising headings can be set up to 30 characters. You can set up to 15 pieces.
The description description can be set up to four 90 characters. You will need an attractive and easy -to -understand explanation that guides you to the destination of the advertisement by describing the details of the product and services.
Advertising display options
<br/> Set options as needed.
This option can be displayed additionally to advertisements for specific pages on site link display options, such as product information pages and business hours information pages.
Call out display option This is an option that allows you to add easy catchphrases. You can put more than one after the ad.
An option that can add a phone number to the phone number display optional advertisement. Users using smartphones can make a call immediately by tapping the phone number.
Should I write a phone number in the advertisement in the first place? As you might think, Google says, “If you try to write a telephone number somewhere in the advertising statement, the advertisement may be disapproved, so if you want to add a phone number, use the phone number display option. I recommend that. ”
Finally, the “Confirm Campaign” screen is displayed in the list, so if you check and correct it, the setting will be completed.
How to log in to Google advertising management screen
Once Google ads can be set, we will operate it. When operating every day, I log in to Google advertising services every time. Here, let’s look at the login method.
1. Access the Google advertising website (https://ads.google.com/home/).
2. Click the [Login] link at the top right of the page.
3. In the [Email] column, enter the Google account email address, the sub -account e -mail address, or the username acquired by Gmail.
5. Enter the password in the Password column.
6. Click Login.
You can now log in to the Google advertising management screen. You can manage the set campaign. While looking at the results, we will carry out the keywords, targets, headlines and explanations set appropriate, and examine the budget, and examine the budget.
The important thing in operating advertising is to measure the effects and continue to turn the PDCA cycle. It is the basics of Google ads for the maximum effect by making a review and corrections many times. Let’s work on it by all means.
summary
Google ads are a general term for Google’s Internet ads, which can be posted on all places on the web, such as Google search engines, other websites, and YouTube.
The features of Google ads are that you can appeal to users of the world in various scenes, advertise from low prices, have a wide variety of advertisements, easy to manage multiple accounts, measure advertising effects, and set the target in detail. There are bidding system and auction format, many competitions.
Google ads include search campaigns, display campaigns, video campaigns, shopping campaigns, app campaigns, and local campaigns.
Google ads are composed of three “accounts, campaigns, and advertising groups”. It is good to set up in order.