Google, the world’s number 1 search engine has proven time and again to provide quality answers for all our questions on a daily basis. It goes without saying Google is providing us with incredible value by not only giving us a modern library to search within at our fingertips, but this incredible resource is also 100% FREE to use, and is accessible Worldwide, jam-packed with other features such as Google Maps, Google Translate and Google Chrome.
We’ve personally been using google search on a daily basis, and I’m sure you can agree to some extent that you also are a frequent user of Google search too.
It’s so common in the modern era, that when people intend to search for something, they often actually say “Let’s Google the answer”. This indicates the significance of Google in our day to day lives, that the brand is even integrated into our language and culture, which further proves the impact that Google has in our daily lives, and the amount of value Google Provides for each of us.
A simple Google search would yield us with answers we couldn't find in the majority of places.
If Google is providing all this value, it’s a no brainier, Google has to be spending a ton of capital and resources to keep the search engine up and running, and most importantly, up to date and relevant. If Google is free to use, how is Google paying for all there resources?
Let’s use a Google search to find out the answer:
At the time of writing this article, Google states “The main way Google generates its revenue is through a pair of advertising services called Ads and AdSense”
Therefore, it goes to show that the majority of Google’s Revenue, is through paid media adverts.
Before we look into what exactly is Google Ads, there's another way Google is making money, and that’s through Adsense, so what’s the difference?
Let’s do another Google Search:
At the time of writing this article, Google states “Adsense is for Website Publishers, Adwords is for Businesses. The fundamental difference between Adwords and Adsense is who they're designed for.”
It can be argued that Google Adsense is still a sub-part of Google Ads, in a sense that Google Adsense’s main function is to enable a site owner to monetise showing Google Adverts on their individual websites.
Google Ads (Adwords) is designed to create and advertise those said adverts.
Therefore, it can be pointed out that Google Ads is a key component of Google Adsense. This indicates that the overall revenue stream for Google online is Google Ads.
So… What is Google Ads?
Google Ads, what is it? How does it make Google money?
I could do another Google search to provide the answer, but I feel it’s best explained in our own words and our opinion on what it is and how it works.
So, Google Ads, it’s essentially Google’s method of monetising the results which people receive when doing a search. For example, if someone searches to buy “Men’s Shampoo” the first position result that the user would see, would likely be an ad, placed by Google, directing you to a website selling shampoo.
Google Ads works on an auction system, which takes place every time a user performs a keyword search.
To “win” the Ads auction and see your Google advert appear for relevant keywords, you’ll need to optimise your bid amount and Quality Score.
The greater your Quality Score (out of 10), in conjunction with your bid amount, the better your ad positioning.
Each keyword hosts their own auction, so you can only imagine how much money Google is making through Google Ads.
Because Google Ads is Google’s primary source of revenue, ideally they try to earn as much as they can through each of there auctions and keywords, and unfortunately, one way of doing this is through subtly taking advantage of those Google Ads users who are fairly new to the process.
Let's look at a hypothetical scenario, but one that is all too common and we help struggling clients in.
A start-up company does a Google search on how to improve their online presence, and discover that they can use Google Ads to do so.
Naturally, they would then briefly research how it is done, often through Google’s very own tutorials, and once they get the idea on how it's done, they decide to give Google Ads a go.
They start by creating an account and then starting their own campaign. They will then look to configure the settings accordingly to what they’ve learned.
However, depending on their daily budget, weeks pass, and they soon find out that they've ended up paying £,000s in Ad clicks, yet yielded very limited results and are confused why this is happening.
One would assume that by following Google’s guide on how to run ads, it would lead to a pot of gold of cheap conversions?
However, the reality is, as mentioned before, Google’s primary source of revenue is Google Ads itself, hence it's in their best interest for Ads users to spend as much on Ad clicks as possible.
Evidence of this would be Google’s feature of being able to use ‘Automatic Bidding’ which can, if not adjusted and managed properly, result in paying more for your clicks in comparison to competitors.
Further evidence on how Google maximises its revenue, is the ability to use ‘broad search’ where Google serves your ads to a multitude of keywords that slightly resembles your keywords.
As a result, the more your ads are out there, the more clicks you are likely to get, and the more you have to pay. But more clicks? that’s good, right?
The answer: It depends, are those clicks getting you conversions, are those users buying from your website, was it worth paying for those clicks?
With these questions to consider, you have to understand that broad search would serve your ads to people that may have no intention in buying your product or service, therefore leading to a potential loss in Ad spend.
So the more precise you could get to ensuring those who click on your ads are your ideal target market, then the greater chance that person would convert on your website or take your desired call to action, therefore making the cost for that click worth it.
How Could I Take Advantage Of Google Ads And Not The Other Way Around?
As mentioned at the start, Google Search is an intricate part of our modern culture, and being able to appear as one of the first results on Google can really give your business the exposure it needs to scale and become successful.
However, as also mentioned, there can be some pitfalls regarding Google Ads, but once avoided, it’s fully possible to take advantage of the power of Google Ads to scale your business, as it leads to more potential customers and leads.
There are 2 ways of beating Google Ads
1) Hire a specialised individual in Google Ads PPC, to regularly manage your Ads account.
A Google Ads specialist is just that, a person who has dedicated themselves to learning how to use the google platform efficiently and therefore specialise in advertising a service or product.
2) Dedicate yourself to fully studying the inner working and intricacies of Google Ads
Unless you plan on having a career in Paid Search, it’s advisable that you outsource the skill, otherwise it could be costly before you actually learn the proper Do’s and Don’ts.
In addition, wouldn’t you rather focus your time in enhancing and mastering your skills required for your business to thrive and grow, rather than going through the tedious and costly journey in learning Google Ads effectively?
It’s more efficient to outsource since the money you spend on outsourcing would most likely be less than the money you spent on unnecessary clicks on trying to learn Google Ads.
Why Choose Dantes Ink To Enhance Your PPC Campaigns?
Now that you’ve decided to outsource your Google Ads account Management, who do you outsource to?
Since you’ve made it this far in the article, it’s safe to say you understand the journey of most people who start making their own way through an online presence via Google Ads, and ideally you don’t want to make the same mistakes.
Now, there are tones of places you could go to outsource this skill, such as different online agencies, even freelancers could suffice.
However, at the same time, there’s a risk that the individual you hire may do a poor job, and because your inexperienced in the field of Paid Search, unfortunately, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
As a result, not only is it important that you outsource skill, but you outsource to someone that would give you the best value for your money – successfully converting clicks.
We at Dantes Ink take pride in generating trust with our clients, which is why whenever we take on a new client project, we offer them firs free marketing advice and a competitive market audit.
The audit proposal essentially lays out the playing field of competitors and what they are doing, with reference to the strategic approach we would take.
What can you expect with Dantes Ink project plan:
The primary goal for the Dantes Ink project plan is to ensure you have Google Ads Campaigns that are effective, and converting your clicks into sales or your desired call to action!
However, for that to occur, there are specific steps which we make sure are followed, to ensure that the foundation of your campaigns are set up for success which we lay out in our free Media Pack and Market Audit Proposal.