How Does Paid Search Work and How Can You Get Started?

Have you ever surfed Google and noticed several results with a small «Ad» label in the top corner? Your answer is «yes». Well, these are paid search ads or so-called pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

So, how exactly does it work and how can you get started? Let’s try to answer these questions.

Where to begin?

To start a PPC campaign, you need to set up a Google Ads account first. After that, you can start crafting PPC for your business.

1. Choose your keywords

Think about a product or service your company sells. After you have a clear sense of what that is, it is  time to select keywords to target.

Keywords are terms people look for on Google. The main thing is that they should be highly relevant to whatever it is you’re selling. Also, it is a good idea to target keywords that include your brand name.

2. Bid on your keywords

Google chooses ads to display depending on two factors:

1. Bid amount – the sum of money you can spend on displaying an ad.
2. Quality score – Google’s assessment of your campaign overall quality: the website design, the relevance to the user, etc.

Google Ads allow you to set maximum bids – so that you can put limits on how much you pay and stick to your budget.

3. Create your own ads and landing pages

The search result ad should be designed to attract the user’s attention quickly. Along with keywords, try to use phrases such as “affordable” or ”20% off” to attract people’s interest. At the same time, ad should be simple and centered around a call to action.

4. Choose your targeting preferences

You can target specific groups of Google users based on various characteristics, including:

• Age
• Ethnicity
• Occupation
• Gender
• Location

One of the ways to identify your audience – to create a set of buyer personas. Consider your target audience’s typical demographic, occupation, and location. In that case, only a specific group of people will be interested in your product or service.

5. Monitor your results

View metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate – you’ll be able to see which ads are effective and which aren’t worth bidding on anymore.