Guide
Google Ads guide: winning customers profitably
With Google Ads, you appear on Google exactly when customers are searching for your products or services, and from day one. Whether your ads pay off, however, depends on setting them up correctly. In this Google Ads guide, we show you step by step how to set up your campaigns and avoid wasting budget.
Key points at a glance
- With Google Ads, you pay per click. What matters is how many enquiries or how much revenue a click brings in.
- Without conversion tracking, optimisation is impossible: set it up before you launch.
- Start with Search campaigns targeting terms with clear purchase intent.
- Negative keywords and suitable landing pages often save a large share of your budget.
- The ad account should always belong to you, not to your agency.
Contents
- How does Google Ads work?
- What types of campaign are there?
- What do you need to prepare before launching?
- How do you choose the right keywords?
- How do you write good ads?
- How much budget do you need?
- Which bidding strategy is right?
- How do you optimise running campaigns?
- Which mistakes cost the most money?
- How is a Google Ads account structured?
- How do you measure whether Google Ads pays off?
- Checklist: is your campaign ready to launch?
1. How does Google Ads work?
Google Ads is Google’s advertising system, in which you bid on search terms and usually only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Every search triggers an auction in which Google decides on the ad position and the cost per click.
The auction takes into account your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, and the expected benefit for the searcher. A well-built campaign can therefore rank higher and still pay less per click than a competitor with a higher bid.
2. What types of campaign are there?
Google Ads offers 6 main campaign types: Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Demand Gen, Video and Display. A Search campaign is almost always the best place to start.
| Campaign | Where the ads appear | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Text ads in Google search results | Service providers and shops with clear demand |
| Shopping | Product ads with image and price | Online shops |
| Performance Max | All Google channels, managed automatically | Shops and businesses with good conversion tracking |
| Demand Gen | YouTube, Discover, Gmail | Creating demand, reaching new audiences |
| Video | YouTube | Brand awareness and product presentation |
| Display | Partner websites in the Google network | Reach and remarketing |
For more on product ads, read our post Google Shopping.
3. What do you need to prepare before launching?
Before your first ad goes live, you need a clear goal, a suitable landing page and working conversion tracking. If you launch without tracking, you will not know later which clicks generated enquiries.
- Define your goal: enquiries, calls, sales or appointment bookings
- Do the maths: what is the maximum an enquiry or a sale may cost?
- Check the landing page: does it match the ad exactly and make it easy to get in touch?
- Create the Google Ads account in your company’s name, with payment details and billing address
- Set up conversion tracking via Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics 4
- Implement cookie consent with Google Consent Mode v2, a requirement in the EU for measurement and remarketing
We explain how to set up tracking properly in our guide Tracking with GA4.
4. How do you choose the right keywords?
Choose keywords that show a clear intent to buy or enquire, and consistently exclude irrelevant search queries. “Tax advisor Larnaka” is more valuable than “taxes Cyprus”, because the intent is unambiguous.
| Keyword match type | Notation | When the ad appears |
|---|---|---|
| Broad match | tax advisor larnaca | For all searches with a similar meaning, very broad |
| Phrase match | “tax advisor larnaca” | When the search includes the meaning of the phrase |
| Exact match | [tax advisor larnaca] | For searches with the same meaning, the narrowest option |
Negative keywords are just as important. Typical candidates include “free”, “job”, “training”, “used” or “DIY”, depending on what you offer. Check the “Search terms” report several times a week during the first few weeks and add any irrelevant terms.
5. How do you write good ads?
Good ads pick up on the search term, state a clear benefit and call for action. With responsive search ads, you provide up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, and Google combines them into the most suitable ad.
- Use the main keyword in at least two headlines
- Name concrete benefits: experience, region, fast response, free initial consultation
- Include a clear call to action such as “Book an appointment now”
- Add assets: sitelinks, callouts, call assets, location
- Only make promises that the landing page actually delivers
6. How much budget do you need?
Your budget should be enough to get sufficient clicks per day for meaningful results, at least for a test phase of two to three months. Costs per click vary considerably by industry and region.
Here is a rough way to calculate it: use the Keyword Planner to find the estimated cost per click for your most important terms. Estimate how many clicks you need for one enquiry. Depending on the landing page, 20 to 50 clicks is typical. This tells you roughly what an enquiry is likely to cost and whether that makes financial sense for you.
With a small budget, it is better to focus on a few highly relevant keywords than to spread it across many generic terms.
7. Which bidding strategy is right?
For the launch, “Maximise clicks” with a bid limit or “Maximise conversions” is usually the best choice. As soon as you have enough conversions, switch to target CPA or target ROAS. Automated bidding strategies are only as good as the data they receive.
| Strategy | Goal | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Maximise clicks | As many visitors as possible | For the launch and for tests |
| Maximise conversions | As many enquiries or sales as possible | Working conversion tracking |
| Target CPA | Conversions at a fixed target cost | Regular conversions over the last few weeks |
| Target ROAS | A specific amount of revenue per euro spent on advertising | Basket values passed to Google Ads, mainly for shops |
8. How do you optimise running campaigns?
Optimise regularly based on conversions and cost per conversion, not on clicks or impressions.
- Review search terms weekly and exclude irrelevant ones
- Pause keywords and ads without conversions once they have run long enough
- Adjust bids by device, region and time of day when the data shows differences
- Test and improve landing pages, often the biggest lever for lower costs
- Set up remarketing for visitors who have not yet enquired or bought
We explain how remarketing works in our post What is remarketing?. To learn how ads and SEO complement each other, read Combining SEO and SEA.
9. Which mistakes cost the most money?
Google Ads mistakes cost the most money when tracking is missing, keywords are booked too broadly without exclusions, or ads lead to the homepage instead of a suitable landing page.
- Accepting default settings, such as the Display Network in Search campaigns
- Using the location setting “Presence or interest” instead of “Presence” for regional offers
- Making too many changes at once, so results can no longer be attributed
- Judging campaigns after just a few days, before enough data is available
- The ad account is registered to the agency, and you lose all your data if you switch
10. How is a Google Ads account structured?
A Google Ads account is organised into campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads. A clean structure is the prerequisite for ads that match the search precisely.
| Level | What you define there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Payment details, time zone, currency, access | Your company |
| Campaign | Budget, bidding strategy, location, language, networks | “Search – Tax advice Larnaka” |
| Ad group | A narrowly defined topic with matching keywords | “Tax advice for the self-employed” |
| Keywords | The search terms you want to appear for | “tax advisor self-employed larnaca” |
| Ads | Headlines, descriptions and landing page | Ad linking to the service page |
A typical mistake is a single campaign covering all services. A prospect looking for “payroll services” then lands on a generic page, and the ad feels arbitrary. It is better to have a separate ad group with its own landing page for each service.
For your landing pages, pay attention to loading speed, a clear headline and a short form. You will find tips on this in our guide Creating a website. Our guide Digital marketing strategy shows how to integrate ads into your overall planning.
11. How do you measure whether Google Ads pays off?
Google Ads pays off when the cost per enquiry or sale is lower than the value a customer has for your business. The click-through rate or the ad position alone say little about this.
To find out, calculate three figures: the cost per conversion from Google Ads, the closing rate from enquiry to order, and the average contribution margin per customer. If the contribution margin is well above the cost per customer won, you can increase the budget step by step. If it is below, improve your keywords, ads and landing page first.
Checklist: is your campaign ready to launch?
Check before launching
- Conversion tracking is set up and tested
- Consent Mode v2 is connected to your cookie banner
- Every ad group has a clear topic and suitable landing pages
- Negative keywords are in place
- Location, language and ad schedule are set correctly
- Daily budget and bidding strategy match your goal
- The account belongs to your company
Frequently asked questions about Google Ads
How much does a click cost on Google Ads?
That depends on the industry, region and competition, and ranges from a few cents to double-digit amounts. The cost per click is determined by your bid, the quality of your ad and your competitors’ bids. You can use Google’s Keyword Planner free of charge to get estimates for your search terms.
How quickly does Google Ads deliver results?
Ads usually appear within a few hours of approval. First enquiries are often possible within the first few days. For reliable conclusions and solid optimisation, you will generally need a run time of four to eight weeks. During this period, your campaigns collect enough data to adjust bids and keywords in a targeted way.
Is Google Ads worthwhile for small businesses?
Yes, if there is demand and you advertise within a tight regional or thematic focus. With well-chosen keywords and a convincing landing page, even small budgets go a long way. It is important to measure what an enquiry costs right from the start. That way, you can see early on whether the campaign pays off and shift budget where it works best.
What is Performance Max?
Performance Max is an automated campaign type that serves ads across all Google channels, from Search and YouTube to Gmail. It delivers good results when conversion tracking is reliable and enough data is available. For getting started, a Search campaign is usually easier to control.
Do I also need Microsoft Advertising?
It is often worthwhile. With Microsoft Advertising, your ads appear on Bing, Yahoo and other Microsoft services. The reach is smaller, but costs per click are often lower. Existing Google campaigns are easy to import. In B2B in particular, you reach many users who search at work using Windows and Edge.
Should I also bid on my own brand name?
Often yes, especially if competitors are bidding on your name. Brand terms are usually inexpensive and have high click-through rates. However, test how many clicks you would get without an ad via the organic result. To do this, pause the brand campaign for a few weeks and compare total clicks and enquiries.
Want to use Google Ads profitably?
We set up your campaigns and tracking, optimise them continuously and report clearly on what each enquiry costs.