Google Ads - How can they Benefit your Association

Anthony Segavac
March 6, 2020

Google Ads - How can they Benefit your Association 

Google is the most used search engine in the world, receiving 3.5 billion searches a day. Through this search engine, Google provides paid advertising called Google Ads. Google ads have become one of the most cost-effective and far-reaching methods of promoting businesses online. The same can be true for your association. 

Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that works through pay-per-click (PPC) and click per impressions (CPM) where the advertiser pays when someone clicks on their ad or someone sees their ad being displayed on the Google network. Even though Google is so large the Advertising is very manageable and cost-effective for associations.

Advertisements can be displayed in two streams; Search and Display Ads. Although both are utilised heavily on Google, it's thought that search ads are easier to use and setup. They can also be more beneficial to your association as people are directly searching terms which relate to your association. To make the most of these features, you can also setup retargeting campaigns on Display Ads for people who have visited your site. This will allow you to retarget audiences with targeted content, however they must adhere to Google’s specifications. 

Targeting your Market

When setting up your campaigns, be sure to follow these basic rules: 

• Using keywords or phrases which are relevant to your products and services that will return the most relevant ads when someone searches Google.
• Try to use demographics such as the age of the person, their location (country, city, region, postcode) and even the language they speak within your campaigns.
• Try scheduling! This includes choosing when to display your ads during the day, at what specific times and even the frequency that they can display.
• Be specific on the devices. This gives you the ability to increase or decrease your click price for each device type. If you know your users consume content more on their mobiles, then target these devices more.

Controlling your Costs 

Google Ads can cost as much or as little as you would like to spend. There is no minimum amount, but if you do want your ads to perform well, you’ll need to find a nice medium that will give you the top spot against competitors. Google also allows you to choose how much you want to spend, per month, per day and per ad. Using the pay-per-click (PPC) method means that you only pay when a user clicks on your ad. So, if a thousand (1,000) users see it but only one (1) clicks-through, you will only pay for that one (1) click.

To get the most out of your campaign, you’ll need to also have a favourable budget. However, another aspect to consider is that if your landing pages are well worded and have good use to meta-elements, your specific keywords and ads can overcome costly budget overrun through good search relevancy. This way, you won’t necessarily blow out your budget. 

Run Multiple Campaigns  

Google allows you to run more than one advertising campaign. This is great if you are targeting multiple target groups or even if you are targeting different scenarios for your association. Having multiple campaigns allows you to run different keywords and ads, rather than having them all bunched together. In addition, Google gives you the ability to set different budgets, different bid amounts and different device adjustments, which give you greater control than ever. With separate campaigns you will also receive separate statistics which makes monitoring performance of each campaign easier while being more beneficial. 

Relevance Means Increased Site Traffic

A structured Google Ads campaign along with a focused implementation strategy can render increased web traffic to your site. However the key factor is understanding what your audience is searching for in Google. Having relevant keywords which relate to your association will allow Google’s search engines to display the most relevant ads. This increases the chances of your ad being displayed as a top result, which in turn translates to more traffic on your site. In this day and age, we want results quickly and don’t want to go hunting for it. Most searches never go past the second page so you need to make sure your ad is there in the top. 

Increase Brand Awareness

Google Ads don’t just help you gain visitors to your site, but it can also increase your brand awareness. Repeat searches carried out by a wide audience using keywords which relate to your association provides a marketing medium that promotes your brand organically. This exposure is a must, particularly if you want to stick out amongst your competitors. As your ads improve in their performance and start to creep towards the top, the more likely it is to get a click-through.