Writing Sample: The Ten Critical Things PR Students Must Know About Google Ads

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Note: This is a beginner guide I wrote for PR students for them to get familar with the Google Ads software, which now becomes essential to integrated marketing and communication strategies.

The Ten Critical Things PR Students Must Know About Google Ads

Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is an online advertising platform launched and developed by Google. It offers business of all kinds of search ads by generating paid content for companies to reach specific audiences on a flexible budget. While the variety of features might seem complicated, it is actually easy-to-use and powerful! Here are 10 critical things PR students must know about Google Ads:

  1. Google Ads is an online advertising platform that appears on the top or bottom of the Google search results page with an ad label rather than an organic result.
  2. Google Ads doesn’t require a fixed budget, but typically it recommends advertisers have an average budget of $5 to $50 per day so that ads have more opportunities to show to potential customers.
  3. Google Ads depend on cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, you’re charged only when someone is interested enough to click your ad and go to your website. You tell Google Ads the most you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad (called the maximum cost-per-click bid). Of course, you could be charged less.
  4. Create a campaign is easy: you need a Google Ads account with an active campaign.
  • Step 1: go to the tab and click search network as your campaign type.
  • Step 2: give your search ad campaign a goal, such as “website traffic.”
  • Step 3: give your campaign a name since you might have multiple campaigns.
  • Step 4: you can show your ads to people interested in your products and services as they browse sites on the search or display network.
  • Step 5: you can select locations to target, and even narrow in regions.
  • Step 6: you can pick a language.
  • Step 7: you can select your bid strategy from maximizing clicks to enhancing CPC. When you set your bid, you’re telling Google Ads the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad.
  • Step 8: you can enter an average daily budget.
  • Step 9: save your campaign!
  1. A campaign is a collection of ad groups, which are a set of keywords and ads, and you need to pick the right keywords that match searches relevant to your business.
  2. It’s best to write more than 3 ads per ad group. Different ads work with different target audiences. The more ad groups you write (by the premise of high quality, the more likely you can reach to the right audience.
  3. When writing headlines and description, it’s best to show value to someone by thinking about their needs and benefits. What catches their eyes? What makes them want to click your website or buy your product? However, don’t overwhelm your audiences and try to convey one simple message at one time!
  4. Track your goals through conversion tracking, which helps you find your valuable clicks to make the most out of your ad budget.
    • Step 1: create a conversion action in Google Ads.
    • Step 2: add the global site gad and event snippet on your Ads, which tell Google Ads when someone lands on your page (such as a thank-you page when confirming with a purchase.)
  5. Review your performance while adjusting different metrics according to your needs, such as clicks. You can also see your metrics in a chart to track the change visually.
  6. Stay engaged. Invest not just money but time on your campaign(s). Check your campaign(s) at least once a week and adjust your campaign(s) based on performance and recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

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