5 Ways Google Ads Can Grow Your Business (and How to Get Started)

A guide to using Google Ads to promote your business, increase sales, and more

Last Updated: March 27, 2023 References

Benefits of Using Google Ads for Business Growth

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Types of Google Ads

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Setting up a Google Ads Campaign

When it comes to promoting your business online, nothing beats Google Ads. Businesses around the world use Google Ads to drive traffic to their websites, build brand awareness, boost sales, and more. If you’ve never tried it, you’ll be amazed by how easy it can be. This guide will teach you the basics of promoting your business through Google Ads. Keep reading to learn how this service can advance your business goals, and how to set up a Google Ads campaign to help your business grow and thrive like never before.

Things You Should Know

You can use Use Google Ads to promote your business by driving visitors to your website, building brand awareness, increasing sales, and finding new clients.
Google ads let you advertise your business whenever someone types specific keywords into Google. You can choose which keywords will display your ads.
Use a Gmail account to create a Google Ads account. Then use the Google Ads dashboard to create ad campaigns targeting certain keywords, regions, etc.
You can set a daily budget for your Google Ads campaigns. Your ads can be calibrated to maximize clicks so that more people visit your website.

Section 1 of 3:

Benefits of Using Google Ads for Business Growth

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Promote your business, product, or app For example, let’s say you own an online pet supply store. You could run an ad campaign that shows ads to people in your city who type “pet supplies” into Google. A user would see your ad at the very top of their search results, increasing the chances that they’ll click on it and go directly to your website.^{[1]
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- For this example, you would provide Google with a list of keywords that would cause a user to see your ad. You’d also choose a region where your ads would appear (for instance, if you’re based in Los Angeles, you could specify that your ads only be shown to users in California).
- Then, you’d “bid” a certain amount of money for each click, and pay that amount every time someone clicked on your ad.^{[2]
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- The exact cost of a click depends on the keywords you choose, the regions where your ad appears, and other factors. The more you pay, the more users will see your ads.
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Build brand awareness If your brand is not as famous as your competitor’s, you can use Google ads to make people see your brand whenever they type certain keywords into Google. For instance, imagine you’ve developed a fitness brand with multiple exercise apps. If the keywords “Exercise App” display your competitor’s apps as the #1 result, you can run an ad campaign that makes your website appear above the search results for “Personal Finance App.”^{[3]
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- Seeing your brand over and over again will make users more familiar with it over time—even if they don’t always click your ads.
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Boost sales A clever Google ad campaign can bring more customers to your store or website where they can buy your products. A local coffee shop, for example, could offer 20% off fresh ground coffee to anyone who clicks their ads. The discount could be applied to online orders, or it could be a coupon that customers use in person when they visit the coffee shop.^{[4]
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- The more customers buy your products, the more likely they are to keep buying and recommending your products to others.
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Generate leads and bring in new clients If your business provides a service, an ad campaign could attract clients who search Google for those services. For example, a local law firm specializing in personal injury claims could run ads offering free consultations to anyone searching for “hurt on the job,” “car accident injury,” and other relevant keywords.^{[5]
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- Oftentimes, businesses will go through many leads before finding a new client. A Google ad campaign can increase the number of leads and help a business find clients more quickly.
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Drive traffic to your website Whether you’re running a personal blog, indie news site, or online store, getting enough web traffic is essential. An effective Google ads campaign can bring more users to your website and make your business more competitive. More traffic leads to more sales, more readers, more followers, and so on.^{[6]
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- If your website depends on ad revenue or sponsorships, getting more page views could make your site more attractive to companies looking to promote their products or services.

Section 2 of 3:

Types of Google Ads

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Search ads These ads appear at the top of Google’s search results page. You can choose which keywords will display your ads, plus specific regions where the ad should be shown to users. This is a great option if you have a local business and want to reach customers or find new clients in your area.^{[7]
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- Search ads are the most popular and well-known type of Google Ad.
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Display ads You’ll see these appear on the Google Display Network: a collection of millions of websites and apps—plus Gmail and YouTube—where ads regularly appear. Users see ads as images or blocks of text that they can tap or click on.^{[8]
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- If you’ve seen ads on a free app, it may have been from the Google Display Network.
- You’ve probably also seen banner ads from the Google Display Network displayed under YouTube videos, or at the top of popular websites.
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Shopping ads These display at the top of search results and link directly to products that users can buy. Shopping ads are great for online retailers looking to boost sales.^{[9]
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- Users will only see these if they search for products that are being promoted with ads—otherwise, they’ll only see regular search results that mention those products.
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Video ads These ads appear as clips at the beginning (or middle) of YouTube videos. Unlike other types of Google Ads, video ads require you to record and edit video clips. This takes a lot of time and effort, but the payoff can be worth it.^{[10]
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- Videos ads can be pretty expensive. Start with text-based search ads if you’re on a tight budget.^{[11]
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Section 3 of 3:

Setting up a Google Ads Campaign

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Pick the right campaign type for your business. Search ads, for example, will show your ads at the top of Google’s search results, which is great for reaching users googling topics related to your business. Shopping ads will show users specific products from your online store, while display ads will show your ads on specific websites, videos, and apps—perfect if you’re, say, advertising a competing app.^{[12]
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- Choose the campaign type that matches your business goals. From there, you can test different ads and keywords to see what works and what doesn’t.
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Target your audience with the right keywords. Google Ads lets you specify which keywords will display your ads. Users will see your ads when they search for those keywords or browse related content. To reach your customers or clients, choose keywords that match their search queries.^{[13]
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- For example, if you own a microbrewery in Florida, you can enter keywords like “Florida microbrew,” “Florida local beer,” and so on.
- You can also target customers in specific regions. For instance, if you own a local bakery, you specify that your ads should only be shown in your city or state.^{[14]
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Create interesting, eye-catching ads. For text ads, use simple language that attracts attention and compels readers to click. Images should be crisp and easy to see on small screens, while video ads should get to the point in a few seconds or less. Your goal is to create an ad that’s more attractive than the content around it.^{[15]
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Choose a budget for your ad campaign. Along with a daily spending limit, Google Ads lets you decide whether you want to maximize views or clicks. Choosing “views” shows your ads to as many people as possible, while “clicks” will maximize the number of people who actually click your ad.^{[16]
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- Maximizing clicks is great for getting traffic to your website or app. Maximizing views is best for exposure and brand awareness. It’s up to you to decide which option is right for your business.
- For example, you could set a budget of $50 per day and tell Google to maximize clicks. Google will strategically show your ad to the people most likely to click it, and charge you for each click until your $50 daily limit is spent.
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Track your ad campaigns to improve them over time. The Google Ads dashboard lets you track clicks, views, daily costs, and on metrics. You can see how individual ads are performing, which keywords generate the most clicks, and detailed information on who sees and clicks your ads. ^{[17]
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- You can use this information to create new ad campaigns with more views, better click rates, and so on.