Google Ads Tutorial: How to Create Search Campaigns

Learn step by step how to create text ads for search engines without any previous knowledge with Arantxa Beltrán

When we search for anything on Google, the first results that appear are usually ads that belong to a type of campaign called "search campaigns". Their use is vital in any marketing campaign, and they are very useful to make our brand known and to achieve our conversion goals.

That’s why marketing consultant Arantxa Beltrán (@arantxaguille) has shared these keys to understanding, creating, and maximizing the success of this kind of campaign. You can see the tutorial here:

1. Search campaign structure

Understanding how the structure of this type of campaign works is the first step to mastering its use. This marketing tool always implies the use of a Google Ads account, in which we will create our campaign. Within it, we will create different groups of ads and, within each group, several ads with their corresponding audience and segmentation.

For example, if our client is an electronics store, a campaign could be dedicated to advertising televisions. That campaign, in turn, could have different groups of ads according to the type of television we sell.

Once we have established these points, we will choose the necessary keywords in each group. It will also be necessary to create ads related to these searches, that is, the ads must include in their title the same keywords with which the audience will find them.

2. Keyword matching

The success of the campaign will depend on the coordination between the keywords we choose and those that users search for. To refine the searches of our potential customers, we have to differentiate between the different types of keywords that exist to find the ones that best suit our needs. The different types of matches we can choose from are: broad match, modified broad match, phrase match, or exact match.

- The broad match is the most general. If we use it, our ad may appear in user searches with misspellings, synonyms or concepts related to our original keywords. For example, if we choose "women's hats", we would also appear in searches for "women's clothing". This type of match does not use any special symbol, you just have to write the keywords you want where Google Ads tells you to.

- The modified broad match is more restrictive. This means the keywords must appear in users' searches, but many more can also appear and in any order. If our keyword is "women's hats", we could appear in searches for "women's scarves and hats". To use this match, we will write the "+" sign in front of the words.

- The phrase match is even more restrictive. To use it, we will place our keyword in quotes and our ad will appear in any search containing that phrase and in that order. It will accept slight variations with words before or after our phrase.

- Finally, the exact match, as its name indicates, implies a total match. The ad will only appear if the user's search is exactly the same as the keyword or phrase we are using, or with slight variations with the same meaning.

3. Choose the type of ad

For our campaigns, we must also consider the type of advertising we are using.

The most common are standard ads, also called text ads, which include three titles and two descriptions.

There are also adaptable ads, which allow more titles and descriptions because Google Ads will automatically combine them to choose the set that obtains the best results.

Finally, we can also use call ads. These will only appear on mobile devices and by clicking on them, instead of being redirected to a website, they will lead the user directly to a phone number. This model is widely used among take-out companies, for example.

4. Extensions

Outreach is also an important aspect to consider when designing a campaign. It can be separated into different groups depending on our objective.

One objective can be to get users to shop at our physical store. Therefore, we will use the geographical location extension, to place a Google Maps link in the ad indicating where our establishment is. If, on the other hand, we want them to contact us, we will use call or SMS extensions.

In the case that our objective is conversions on our website, for example a purchase, the extension could be a link that redirects users to specific sections of our website. Another type of extension with a conversion objective is the price extension, which will allow us to show our products with their price directly.

If our objective is that people download our application, the extension will be the app download, which will redirect the user to the relevant store.

There are many more extensions, so it is vital to get informed to choose the one that best suits our campaign.

5. Create a campaign step by step

Now that we understand the theory, it is time to put it into practice. In our Google Ads account, go to the Campaigns tab and click the blue "+" button to select New Campaign.

The first thing we will have to choose is the objective, for example, sales or web traffic. Then, we will choose the Search Campaigns option and enter the website we want our campaign to be redirected to, to which we will assign a name.

In the next section, we will select Search Network and, if we need it, we will display the option View more settings, where we will be able to choose URL options, start and end dates, etc.

The next step will be to choose the location in which we are interested in having our ad seen. The potential audience can be people who live in a place or who are looking for information about it. Next, we will select the languages, which can be as many as we want.

Later, we will be able to indicate the budget, which we will always indicate at a daily level and at a campaign level, not at a specific ad group level. In this step, it should be taken into account that if we choose the standard form of publication, the money we invest is rationed throughout the day. If we choose the accelerated form, the budget will be consumed as long as there are searches that match the criteria we have chosen, which means that we can run out of budget sooner.

Finally, the only thing left to do is to choose the bidding (our per click budget limit) and further personalize our campaigns if we think it is necessary (choose the hours of the day when we want to show our ads, establish a specific rotation of ads, etc.).

Using search ads, although complex, is a very useful approach for your digital marketing campaigns to have a greater impact and it is worth not leaving it aside.

If you liked this tutorial, remember that you can learn how to create campaigns on Google and Facebook to promote your brand or business with Arantxa & Guille on their online course Google Ads and Facebook Ads from Scratch.

English version by @harry_davies.

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