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So, you have created a Google Ads account and set up your business on the platform. You’ve had a quick play with the tools and are itching to create your first ad and get it published…
What now? For first-time users, Google Ads can seem a little overwhelming initially with the sheer amount of tools, options, and features available. This is where a Google Ads agency can help by sharing their experience and knowledge with you.
Until then, you need a starting point and you need to know how to optimize Google Ads. To point you in the right direction, we have listed ten simple tips below to help optimize adwords campaign strategies for your business – enjoy!
While a global strategy is perfectly fine for adwords optimization, you shouldn’t neglect localized targeting too.
Google Ads has many geolocation features that allows you to choose who sees your ads and where they are located. Features like these are perfect if your business sells to a specific locale or part of the country.
Similar to the above, you can dictate when you want your ads displayed in terms of the days and time. This can be incredibly effective if you have detailed insight into your customer’s habits and when they are more likely to search for your products or services.
For example, you may feel that people would be more active in their searches and web activity at weekends during their free time. Consider using features like this to ensure better conversion rates from your Ads.
Your ads must stand out from the competition and a simple way to do this is to convey the USP of your business.
A unique selling point immediately creates a level of elevation that makes you stick out like a sore thumb which is preferable when creating ads.
Without a clear Call To Action (CTA) how does your user know what to do when reading or viewing your ad?
Every ad you create must include a CTA. This could be telling the user to click on a link, buy a product, or head to your website to do something. Whatever it is, make it clear and explicit so there is no uncertainty.
Active language is proven to be more effective than passive language. It promotes action and creates a sense of urgency and presence that passive language simply can’t.
Make sure that you proofread your Ad copy and always use active language where possible. You should notice an increase in effectiveness simply from a change in word usage.
Oftentimes a business may utilize PPC adverts on multiple platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads. To understand the bigger picture and monitor the overall performance of your ads, you should look at these as a whole and not separate entities.
You could also tailor certain ads to retarget customers from other platforms. For example, you could create specialized Facebook ads that capitalize on people clicking on links from your Google Ads. The main point is to look at the relationships between the different PPC platforms and try to make them work together.
The best approach to Google Ads is to create multiple variations of the same advert using the Ad Variants feature. You do this first on a smaller scale and set a small budget for each variation.
If you find that one is particularly successful you can then increase spending and concentrate your efforts on that advert. You can make subtle changes to the ads including the headings, keyword usage, and copy for example.
Shoppers typically respond better when an advert is displayed in their native language. However, many people are also bilingual and can speak multiple languages fluently. For example, a large percentage of the US population speaks Spanish.
You can use Google Ads language targeting to target bilingual speakers. For example, you could target people whose native language is Spanish, but they are fluent in English too. In this instance, they may use native Spanish browser settings, but would still understand an English advert.
An underlying key to the success of your Google Ads is keyword usage. These are the associated phrases and words that users will search for, and that will determine the relevance of your ads during the bidding process.
This is a continual process and you should always use tools like Google Keyword Planner to find suitable short term and long tail keywords you can compete for. You can also simply use Google’s search suggest on the search engine to find related keywords and negative keywords too.
Google Ads has some excellent features that help productivity and are brilliant for beginners. One of these is the automated bidding feature (When an Ad space becomes available you have to bid for it to get placement).
This automated system takes away the guesswork and allows you to easily bid based on your marketing strategy and goals for your ad campaigns.
There are some automatic bid strategies to choose including maximize clicks, target CPA, and maximize conversions which give you great control over your adverts.
It’s one thing to start using Google Ads but without careful planning, research, and effort, you may find that your adverts don’t gain much traction.
This is why it’s important to create a Google Ads optimization checklist and utilize the above tips to improve their effectiveness.
Remember that the PPC model gives you greater flexibility compared to a monthly subscription and you can test ad variations and have multiple ads running without spending more. If the ads are successful – fantastic, there isn’t really any downside!
Did you know that every Google Ad published has an associated quality score? Probably not! How about the fact that Google Ads Quality Score can directly impact the visibility of your ads and how much they cost per click? No?
Don’t worry – many businesses unless they hire Google Ads agency to work with are unaware of nuances like the Google Ads Quality Score. This is where we come in and use our expert knowledge to explain what it is and how to improve the quality score on Google Ads below.
User Experience + Keyword Relevance + Expected CTR = Quality Score
That is essentially the basic formula that Google uses. This formula is used to calculate your CPC (cost per click) and your ad ranking based on multiplying this by your maximum bid amount.
It is the way that Google determines which ads they should display so as you can see it is incredibly important. Factors that affect Google Ads Quality Score include:
We do not know the exact contributing percentages or the weight Google gives to each of these factors – they keep it a closely guarded secret. However, it is generally known that CTR is the most important factor.
So why should you care about quality scores? The underlying fact is that there is a direct relationship between quality score and Google Ad success so you can’t ignore it. Specific benefits resulting from this include:
The main benefit is the return on investment. If your ads have a higher quality score, they are more likely to be displayed and thus have a greater chance of making conversions.
It’s simple business – you are making a higher quality ad that has more relevance and desirability so Google helps out by pushing your ad, and you get more customers as a result, amazing!
Not only do you make an improved ROI from the visibility, but a higher quality score results in Google giving you financial benefits in the form of a lower cost per click and a lower cost per conversion rate. The better your ads are, the less you pay, fantastic!
You can now see that quality score is big news and it’s something you should strive to improve, but how do you do this? Although the exact calculation and weightings are unknown, techniques and practices have been devised to improve quality scores including:
Google takes into account the relevance of your keywords to the ad subject. It makes sense, therefore, that keyword research is incredibly important and you must try to select the best keywords for your ads.
You should strive to find a mix of high-ranking short-term keywords together with a range of less competitive long-tail keywords that contribute to your ads and drive the right type of customers to your landing pages.
Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to delve into the wealth of available keywords relating to your ads and to find out which ones are more successful or easier to rank for. The more research and analysis you can do to find the right keywords, the higher your Google Quality Score should be.
Ad copy is the written content in your adverts and Google gives high importance to it when determining your Google Ads Quality Score.
You should test multiple iterations of ad copy and see which yields the best results. Ideally, the copy must be relevant to the ad subject, engaging, include a call to action, and appeal to your target audience.
If you can create interesting, relevant ad copy that targets your ideal customers this should contribute to a high quality score. Of course, make sure that your grammar and spelling are perfect too!
The landing page is the web page that users are directed to from the Google Ad when they click a link. Google analyses landing pages and their suitability and relevance to your ad content and takes this into consideration when calculating your quality score.
Landing pages should be SEO optimized for the keywords used in your ads. You should also follow common landing page practices in terms of layout, loading speeds, and content. The aim is to provide a streamlined and engaging experience for your customers that has a direct relationship to the content of your ad.
For example, you wouldn’t create a Google Ad pushing a new product that then directs the customer to a landing page for your email newsletter signup. The two are not related and this would result in a poor quality score – your ad probably wouldn’t even get approved initially!
Negative keywords are proven to be incredibly effective at controlling your budget and making your ads more efficient.
These are keywords that you DON’T want your ads to rank for. There is an entire section on Google Ads dedicated to negative keywords.
By creating negative keyword lists you can stop your budget from being spent on useless keyword strings that will never generate conversions. This ultimately helps your Google Ads quality score too.
It’s essential that you understand how Quality Score works and the impact it has on your PPC ads. It not only shows how your ads are performing but also has a direct impact on their visibility and how much they cost to run.
Ideally, you should always try and make improvements to boost your quality score and think about aspects like copy relevance, keyword usage, negative keywords, and optimized landing pages that the ads are pointing too.
As a small business you probably have a website and you might even have a basic SEO strategy. These things are important and can help boost your online presence and generate more sales. But what can you do to take the next step and progress your online marketing further?
A potential strategy is to use Google Ads but people often wonder do Google Ads work for small business? There is a lot of uncertainty and misconception surrounding PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising so we want to clear that up and show you just what Google Ads for small business can do.
First, a brief introduction to Google Ads is in order. This is a PPC service that allows your business to create customized adverts that are displayed on Google’s vast online network. This includes Google search results when people type in a keyword relating to your business or products, for example.
Millions of businesses worldwide use Google Ads and it has been proven to be effective so read on to find out seven specific benefits it can provide for your company.
If your small business is just starting then you may want to concentrate on local and niche markets until you have a larger national or global presence.
Google Ads allows for targeted local and niche marketing so you can ensure that your adverts are reaching the right people – people who actually want your product or service in the geographical regions you sell to.
Did you know that over 72% of people who use localized search terms on Google will typically choose a store within 5 minutes of their location? You can use Google Ads to tap into that localization and cover niche markets that your competitors may ignore.
With many online tools you pay a lump sum service cost or even a monthly subscription. The cost soon racks up and your marketing expenditure can spiral out of control – often with questionable results.
In contrast, Google Ads allows you to control your spending because you pay based on a per-click structure. This means that unless someone clicks on your ad, you don’t spend a dime.
Not only that, but you can set spending limits via the Google Ads dashboard. For example, you might want to specify that you spend a max of $500 per week on Google Ads.
As soon as that threshold is hit, your ad campaign stops and you don’t spend anymore. It gives you brilliant control and means you can allocate a dedicated Google Ads marketing budget and never worry about exceeding it.
When looking at how to use Google ads for small businesses you quickly learn that everything you do has an immediate impact.
Some marketing strategies like email newsletters can take forever to yield results or even be sent to your customers.
In contrast, as soon as you have created a PPC ad campaign it goes live instantly and can immediately be seen by millions of people. That type of instant reaction and immediacy is difficult to ignore.
Some marketing strategies are difficult to monitor and it can be tricky to understand the impact they have and the value they provide to your business.
Google Ads is the exact opposite of this. Everything is measurable and you can see tangible results. For example, you can look at analytical data and metrics relating to your Ads through the platform and via Google Analytics.
These let you see exactly how many people viewed your ads, the conversions they generated, and the actions that resulted from people clicking on them.
This means you can monitor the effectiveness of your marketing, make adjustments, and strive for continual improvement which isn’t always possible with other marketing tools.
Ultimately to be successful you want your marketing strategies to create a positive ROI. You spend $1000 on a campaign, you want it to at least make that $1000 back.
Working with a Google Ads marketing agency and spending on a PPC campaign is one of the few strategies that can reliably give you a positive ROI.
This is due to the pricing model Google uses, and the sheer volume of people who use their platforms and the potential reach your adverts can have.
While you primarily want conversions and sales, Google Ads is also great for your brand awareness. Just think of this – every time someone sees one of your ads, your business becomes imprinted in their mind.
This repetition and constant association can be incredibly powerful. It gets people talking about your business, helps keep awareness boosted, and makes sure that your company is memorable.
We hope you now have an answer to the question, are Google Ads worth it for small businesses? The answer is a resounding yes. As you can see from the above benefits your company stands to gain so much from PPC advertising and it can be an important part of your overall SEO strategy.
Keywords, keywords, keywords. If you have dabbled in SEO for your business website and used Google Ads you are most likely sick of this term! Alas, keywords are highly important and there is no escaping them!
Below, we will discuss a particular type of keyword that is often overlooked when creating Google Ads – negative keywords. We explore what these are, how they can be beneficial, and a basic introduction to using them in your adverts.
Ok so we have the basics and can identify a negative keyword, but why should you bother using them in your Google Ads campaigns? The following are the main benefits adwords negative keywords provide:
– Improving Ad relevance:
– Boosting conversion rates:
– Increasing CTR:
– Control your Google Ads spending better:
Firstly, they can make sure that your ads have more relevance to the people searching for them instead of gaining impressions from people who simply have no intention of ever buying your product or service.
This, in turn, should boost conversion rates and CTR (click through rates) and these are ultimately the results we want from our Google Ads. If you can eliminate the potential for customers finding your ads via irrelevant keywords then the people who do see your ads are targeted and far more likely to take action.
An example we have used before is luxury holiday apartment rentals. Let’s say you use the negative keyword “cheap holiday apartment rentals”. This means that people who just want an affordable holiday won’t see your adverts and you should get a higher percentage of people viewing them who actually want that luxury holiday experience.
Lastly, negative keywords help control your Google Ads spending. You can make sure that money isn’t wasted on impressions for search terms that simply won’t bring in any conversions or clicks and that your budget only goes towards positive keywords and SEO interactions.
A Google Ads marketing agency can help identify negative keywords and teach you how to use negative keywords but let’s start with some basics including the different types, and how to add one to your Google Ads account.
It’s vital that you know the three different types of negative keywords as they work differently and have a different outcome. These are:
1. Broad Match – These are negative keywords that enable you to stop ads appearing for searches containing every word but in ANY order. For example, the negative broad match keyword “winter outfit” would show ads for “warm winter clothing”, but not for “outfit for winter”.
2. Phrase Match – These are negative keywords that enable you to stop ads appearing for searches containing the exact phrase in the same order, but potentially with words before and after the keyword too. In the “winter outfit” example, “comfortable winter outfit” would not show ads, but “skiing outfits” would.
3. Exact Match – These are negative keywords that enable you to stop ads appearing for searches containing ONLY the exact matching phrase with no extra words before or after the keyword. In this instance, any other variation of “winter outfit” could still display your ad.
As you can see, the different negative keywords types can be incredibly useful and you can get pretty detailed with how you want them to work.
With the three main types described we can now look at how to add negative keywords in Google Ads. Before you do anything you must have a Google Ads account created (also remember that you can link Google Ads and Google Analytics for additional benefits and keyword insight).
1. Logon to your Google Ads account
2. Using the left-hand panel, expand the “keywords” tab
3. Underneath “keywords” click on “Negative Keywords”
4. Click on the blue circle with a white plus below the “Negative Keywords” heading
5. Enter the relevant keyword details
Once you have done this, the keyword could appear in the list below including where it was added too and its level. You can repeat this process as many times as you want to add more negative keywords to Google Ads.
Negative keyword lists can also be beneficial for your Google Ads as you can then assign them to multiple ad campaigns without re-entering the information each time.
Google Ads allows you to create these negative keyword list and give them a name such as “competitor negative keywords”, or “generic negative keywords”. It allows you to structure your negative keywords, keep things organized, and just make your Google Ads workflow more efficient.
The primary focus should always be on normal short term and long tail keywords but you should also strive to create a diverse keyword strategy that utilizes negative keywords too.
Adwords negative keywords can improve the effectiveness of your ads and help control expenditure by eliminating funds wasted on impressions for the wrong key phrases.
They are also great for improving CTR and attracting the right type of customers to your website – customers who are more likely to make a purchase and have an interest in what you are offering.
When dealing with PPC advertisements we tend to get obsessed with keywords, copy, and the metrics surrounding the effectiveness of our campaigns. While these are incredibly important and determine the success of your ads, something we can’t lose sight of is the SIZE of the PPC ads.
Platforms like Google Ads allow you to use a myriad of pre-defined sizes and layouts and which ones you choose can have an impact on your ad’s performance. Below, we take a look at the best sizes for Google display ads, why size matters, and five simple tips to keep in mind when choosing Google Ad layouts.
To get the most out of your Google Ads, it’s important to know what to do and how to approach size selection and we have listed five simple tips below to help.
Some ad sizes simply look better and may be more convenient to design your ad campaign around. We get this, and it’s especially tempting to simply go with the easiest option.
Sadly, this isn’t always the right option! Don’t go with what’s easy, go with what’s right for your business and your PPC ad goals.
There is no denying that some Google Ads display sizes perform better than others and there is a wealth of statistical data relating to this. The following are considered some of the top-performing ad sizes and could make great choices for your campaigns:
– 250×250 Square
– 200×200 Square
– 468×60 Banner
– 728×90 Leaderboard Banner
– 300×250 Inline Rectangle
– 336×280 Large Rectangle
– 120×600 Skyscraper
– 160×600 Wide Skyscraper
– 300×600 Large Skyscraper
– 970×90 Large Leaderboard
– 970×50 Billboard
– 930×180 Top Banner
– 980×120 Panorama
If we want specific data, Google states that the best sizes for Google display ads are:
1. 300×250 Medium Rectangle
2. 336×280 Large Rectangle
3. 728×90 Leaderboard
4. 300×600 Large Skyscraper
5. 320×100 Large Mobile Banner
Don’t ignore statistics like these! For whatever reason, these ad sizes are proven to yield the best results. This could be due to their positioning, how they integrate with other screen elements or the platforms they are most commonly displayed on.
Remember that you can also create responsive display ads which automatically adapt their size depending on the publisher’s web content and the elements displayed. The downside is that responsive Google ads are often text-only which can look a little dated and naff compared to image-based ads.
This may seem like a really obvious point but we have to mention it. In general, larger Google ads get more attention than medium and smaller sizes ads.
This is common sense when you think about it logically. If you have an advert that takes up 15% of the user’s available screen compared to 5% from a small ad, the larger ad at 15% is much more likely to get noticed and grab the user’s attention.
You have to understand that Google has an inventory for its Ads. At any one time, it has a finite amount of screen space to delegate to ads. This means that you should not concentrate only on one size of Ad.
For example, we have established that larger Google Ads gain better results and more attention so the logical next step is to concentrate only on larger ad sizes. However, this would ultimately not be beneficial as Google can only physically display so many large ads at once – it has limited inventory for large ads.
In contrast, it has far more inventory and physical space for medium and small ads so by using them too, you have a great chance of your ad campaigns being visible.
The best approach is to have a diverse set of Google Ads that cover large, medium, and small sizes. This makes sure that you have the right mix of availability and visibility to get the best results.
You can have a range of large ads that can yield more conversions but have a lesser chance of being visible due to limited inventory. This is offset and complemented by a range of small and medium ads that might not get as much traction, but have a greater chance of being visible.
Next time you start creating a Google Ad campaign, don’t forget the age-old saying that size matters! Just remember that here we are using it in a slightly different context! It’s vital to pay attention to your Google Ads display sizes and that you use a range of popular layouts that are known to gain more attention.
Keep things diverse and don’t get tunnel vision on one particular size. While larger ads typically have higher conversion rates, remember that Google can only display a limited number of these so it’s a great idea to have a range of small and medium options too.
As a business owner you may have heard of Google Ads but you might not know what they are, how they can be used, or why they can be incredibly beneficial for your online marketing efforts.
Well wonder no longer – to give your SEO and ecommerce store a boost we delve into Google Ads including a short introduction, and some best practices to observe when creating your marketing.
You should now have a basic idea of what Google Ads is – it’s a powerful tool to create adverts that appeal to your customers and are displayed in various ways such as on websites, videos, and ecommerce sites.
So how do you get the most out of your Google Ads and boost your ecommerce traffic and sales? This is something that will take time, and creating a successful ecommerce campaign isn’t something that you will achieve overnight. But the five practices below will help start you on the right path.
The first ad you create will take a long time to produce and publish. Over time, you will get better at creating ads and managing them so don’t worry about the initial slowness.
To try and reduce the time taken and ensure you are successful immediately though, it is a great idea to spend time learning the platform and planning your first advert. Consider what you want to achieve, and who your target customers are.
Take time to do keyword research too and consider using keywords that you already prioritize on your eCommerce site SEO. The more planning you do, and the more information you gather before creating your first ad, the better the results should be.
It is important to realize that you might not create the perfect Google Ad the first time. The great thing about the platform is the PPC method which means that if your first advert is unsuccessful, you will hardly pay anything for it!
You can also use this to your advantage to experiment and try different ad copy and types. With all the different ad types available like video, display, and shopping, you can see which ones work best for your business and which copy gets the most exposure and conversions.
Virtually every part of each Google Ad is flexible so you really do have great control and can fine-tune things to your advantage.
Context is hugely important in the world of Google Ads and it is known that contextual ads are 1.6x more interesting and 10x likely to generate engagement. Contextual means the adverts relate to some type of current society trend or event. There is a tool called Google Trends that you can use to find current highly searched phrases to potentially include in your contextual ads.
As mentioned above, a single ad may have limited success or reach. The PPC model gives you the flexibility to produce multiple variations of the same ad to get better results.
For example, you could target different keywords in the ad copy. Alternatively, you could use different images or variations of headings. Subtle changes like this and publishing multiple versions of the same ad really can help.
If you find that one variation is more successful you could drop the other ones and repeat the process with different types of ads.
It is also possible to keep tabs on your competitors and even create ads based on keywords they are using. This is known as competitor keyword bidding.
For example, perhaps you know that customers commonly search for a specific phrase to find your competitors’ products. You could create adverts targeting these keywords to, to try and redirect traffic and provide them with a viable alternative.
It’s always important to be cautious when using competitor bidding, however – you don’t want to potentially upset a huge competitor who has vastly more resources as they could simply outbid you.
Google Ads can be an incredibly powerful marketing and SEO tool and creating ecommerce Google ads can really help drive traffic to your store and get those all important conversions and sales.
It does require work, research, and a careful approach, however, and enlisting the help of an ecommerce PPC agency could be beneficial. They can help you research keywords, understand your target customer, and create adverts that will bring the maximum results.
A common mistake we see in relation to Google Ads and PPC campaigns is a lack of performance monitoring. Businesses simply expect their ad campaigns to work and yield results immediately but this isn’t always the case.
You need to make continual changes, look at what is and isn’t working, and review your ads. By doing this, you can continually improve, make sure that your marketing budget is well spent, and make a positive ROI.
To give you a head start, we look at PPC reporting below and how you can set goals, monitor your performance, and get better PPC results.
Let’s first take a brief look at why you need PPC reporting. In a nutshell, if you want PPC results then you MUST set goals, monitor your performance, and make adjustments. Specific PPC report benefits include:
You can’t expect an ad to just work and never need any changes – if it does then you should work for a pay-per-click agency and share your knowledge with others! Reporting helps push your business forward, keep track of spending, and make sure the time and effort your are investing in PPC is worthwhile.
If you want to use PPC marketing then you must be prepared to allocate time and money for PPC reporting too. With that in mind, we have listed some basic processes and tips for easy PPC campaign reporting below.
Before you use any PPC reporting tool you need to establish goals. Without goals you can’t effectively measure the success of your ads or see where you need to make improvements. Examples of goals include:
Look at what you want your ads to achieve from a business perspective and you should then be able to define clear goals. Try and be as specific as possible and use actual figures as this allows the reporting data to be used more effectively and accurately.
Google Ads has a great reporting feature where you can produce custom reports with different columns and inclusions. You have flexibility to include different parameters and it’s important to use the right ones that can actually yield results in your reporting. Some of the most important data to include is listed below:
Metrics that show how your ads are performing are vital so data like conversions, CPA, CPC, and CTR should always be included. Using metrics like these you can directly see if your ads are making a positive ROI and how much each new customer acquisition is costing.
There is a range of other general analytical data too that can be beneficial like bounce rates, ad traffic, and time spent on page. Make sure you take the time to look through the available report columns and assess which ones are most useful for your business and the type of PPC ads you run.
You can’t expect to review the performance of your PPC ads once per year and expect great results. Or maybe you have a few months where you review performance weekly, but then for the next half a year do nothing.
Consistency is key.
For easy PPC campaign reporting you need to set a performance monitoring schedule. Ideally this should be weekly, monthly, and quarterly but the frequency depends on the size of your company and the scale of your ad campaigns.
A small business with just a few employees and a handful of Google Ad campaigns may not benefit from weekly monitoring whereas an enterprise level business would. Look at your business and scope of your PPC campaigns and set a realistic performance monitoring schedule to suit.
Did you know that there is a range of industry benchmarks relating to the success of PPC ads? It’s one thing to monitor the progress and success of your ads in-house, but it could also prove useful to compare your ads to industry standards.
You can easily find reports and statistics from different sources relating to PPC success for Google Ads and Facebook Ads. This allows you to see how your company is performing compared to your industry/sector average.
Google Ads does have a great range of analytical tools and reporting features but you can get outside help too. The following are three potential PPC reporting tools you can use:
Google Ads Data Studio and Google Ads Analytics are two primary options as they link directly with Google Ads and offer integration. They are much easier to tie together as opposed to using a third-party platform.
Google Ads Data Studio is incredibly popular and it can build on the reporting tools already available in Google Ads. You can also download the reports and share them quickly with your colleagues.
Creating a consistent PPC report and regularly monitoring performance will help your ROI immensely. You can eliminate ads that aren’t working, build on the success of those that are, and work towards continual improvement.
There are many PPC reporting templates and tools available that can help too and make the process more streamlined. Just make sure that you define your goals first, and set something like a weekly or monthly schedule for performance reviewing.
You’ve finished creating your first ad – it looks fantastic and you are pleased with the copy and keyword usage. It has been published and you check back in a few days time only to find out that the ad has been rejected by Google? What???
This can happen and the most common reason is because your ad has failed to meet the criteria stated in Google Ad guidelines. If you were unaware of these guidelines and policies, we discuss them below and what Google expects from your ads.
Let’s discuss a little background info first so you know why there are policies and how the system works.
Firstly, Google Ads doesn’t discriminate and every online business, PPC company, or individual has the ability to create an account and produce Google Ads providing they have a website.
However, Google wants to maintain a level of quality and make sure that its users are only shown relevant ads with accurate information that won’t cause any distress or annoyance. This is why there is a Google Ads policy so that a minimum quality level is achieved.
To make sure that guidelines are followed and this quality standard is met, every ad created is put through an approval process. There are five key approval statuses that you must be aware of and what they mean:
There is typically nothing you can do to change an “approved limited” ad to a fully approved ad, but you can usually make changes to make a disapproved ad approved.
While it is a fantastic idea to read the Google Ads policy and guidelines fully, we can give an overview of some of the main pointers and important dos and don’ts below.
Some things simply can’t be advertised on Google Ads with no compromise, these include:
Google Ads is not a black market so obviously your products and/or services must be legal as should your business practices be.
Things classed as dangerous products are also prohibited like weapons, tobacco products, psychoactive substances, and recreational drugs. Nor can you use Google ads to promote things like hacking tools and academic shortcuts.
Never try to game Google Ads! The system is incredibly intelligent and you will be caught out and banned or potentially have legal consequences. The following are prohibited practices:
You cannot trick the Google Ads approval process so don’t try to do that. Nor should you collect any data that isn’t already provided via Google Ads and supporting platforms like Google Analytics.
You must also strive to represent your business accurately and never try to deceive customers regarding your intentions and what your products or services do.
There is a range of restricted content that can be used in ads, but has to go through some additional approval processes or you have to do something beforehand, these include:
Sexual content can be used for example, but certain things such as body parts must be omitted. For alcohol, the ads must comply with relevant local laws and regulations and never advertise to minors.
For gambling and online casinos you can only get ads approved if you have additional Google Ads certification. Like alcohol, any ads for medicine and healthcare must comply with local laws and standards.
There can be limitations on political ads too but this varies widely depending on country, state, and region so it’s always a great idea to check the relevant local laws. Lastly, some countries and local regions may have restrictions on financial service ads so this is another thing that needs researching beforehand.
Google also expects your ads to meet various editorial standards which include:
Essentially, they don’t want any old rubbish! Your ads must be accurate and represent your business and products/services appropriately.
Images must be the right size and orientation while any video must be watchable and have acceptable sound quality. As we are sure you do anyway, your ad copy must be grammatically correct too with no errors.
You have to be vigilant when it comes to Google advertising policies as you could put in a heap of hard work to create your ads, only to find out that they have been rejected. This means time, effort, and money wasted with nothing positive to show.
Make sure that you have read the Google Ad guidelines fully so you know what is expected and what you can and can’t do relating to the style and content of your ad campaigns. Please bear in mind that Google often makes policy updates or additions so it’s a sound practice to check them regularly, or follow sites that create articles relating to policy changes.
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