Welcome and thanks for joining me for the first part of this course about Google Ads.
The course is split into three major sections, each of which is divided into several parts, where we’ll be looking at Google Ads basics, how to create your first campaign, and how to manage and optimize your advertising campaign.
Without further ado, let’s get down to business!
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is a tool for creating online adverts that appear in digital spaces that belong to Google or its partners.
Advertising space can take a number of different forms:
A website banner
A sponsored link in a search engine
A sponsored post in your social media news feed
An ad that appears before a YouTube video
An ad on your local bus shelter
... and so much more!
Whether you’re using Google’s own spaces or those that belong to its partners, we refer to Google as a marketing intermediary. Google acts as an intermediary in a transaction and adds value by facilitating the relationship between an internet user, who could be a potential buyer of a product or service, and an advertiser who has a product or service to sell.
The Google Ads advertising network is split into two networks:
Search Network
Display Network
Publish an Ad on the Search Network
As the name suggests, you can use the Search Network to publish your ads directly on search engines.
These are the sponsored links that you see when you run a search on a search engine.
The Search Network enables you to publish ads in a number of places:
Google search results
Search results from other partner search engines
Other Google products, such as Google Shopping, Google Play, or Google Maps.
Your aim as an advertiser is to attract the attention of internet users as soon as they enter their search. Or, in other words, at the exact time that they’re searching for something.
So, by publishing an ad that matches the intent of the searcher's request, you’ll be able to attract their attention and redirect them to your product or service.
When publishing an ad on a search engine, there are three parties involved:
The internet user actively searching for something
Google, which creates space for the ad in its own (or its partners’) search results
The advertiser, who wants to market their product or service
Publish an Ad on the Display Network
The Display Network works a little differently from the Search Network.
In this case, you’re not publishing ads in search engine results, but directly on sites or in mobile apps that have partnered with Google.
When you use the Display Network, you can also publish your ads on YouTube or Gmail.
Unlike Search Network ads, Display Network ads won’t reach internet users who are actively searching for something, but those who are browsing the internet.
So, for Display Network ads, you need to create a well-targeted message to attract the user’s attention and invite them to find out more about what you’re offering. Display advertising is often used before or after a purchase decision.
When publishing an ad on the Display Network, there are four parties involved:
The internet user, who is a potential buyer
Google, using a solution like AdSense or Ad Manager
A website or app publisher, who has made advertising space available
The advertiser, who is marketing their product or service
So, we have a four-way relationship including two intermediaries, Google, and the website publisher.
It’s worth knowing that when an internet user clicks on a Display Network banner, the revenue from the ad is shared between Google and the website publisher.
Google Ads is a tool that enables you to leverage two key marketing concepts: SEA (Search Engine Advertising), using ads within search engines; and display ads, which are shown across the web and mobile apps using Google’s advertising networks.
But what happens if there isn’t enough advertising space for all of the advertisers hoping to reach internet users who are actively searching or browsing?
At this point, Google Ads has to make a decision.
To do this, Google Ads uses an auction bidding system, which we will be covering in the next chapter.
Let’s Recap!
Google Ads is an advertising network. It’s also a tool you can use to create advertising campaigns.
You can use the advertising network to publish ads on the Search Network and the Display Network.
You can use the Search Network to publish ads directly within Google (and partner) search results, reaching internet users who are actively searching.
You can use the Display Network to publish ads on websites and apps, reaching internet users who are browsing.
In the next chapter, we'll see how Google Ads' bidding system works.
