This is my SUPER simple guide to help you get your Google Ads campaigns going.
I think of it in a 3-phase framework.
There will also be one business scenario I will be showing you here today. Any screenshots, research, and setup will be from the perspective of a Pest Control Company.
I think it's worth showing this scenario at a high-level so you can see the importance of different nuances of keywords.
However, I realize that every business is different whether you're a Professional Services company, Home Services company, Medical company, etc these principles can still be applied.
To make sure your Google Ads campaign is effective I typically start with keyword research. There are several ways that I do this.
I like to start broader first "macro" search to make sure I'm going in the right direction then I granularly get smaller "micro" search..
Step 1: Keyword Research
First, I use Google Trends Explore.
As you can see from this screenshot the term "pest control" these terms are pretty stable over the last 12 months. This is a good sign that people are searching for this term.
To find other related keywords and phrases I scroll down and change the drop-down to "Top" instead of "Rising". This tells me related keywords and topics that people are searching for which will give me more information to use for either the Google Ads campaign or even for organic Social Media or blog content.
What's interesting now is I see "pest control near me" as a high volume "Related query" which leads me to believe that Local SEO is even more critical for this business.
Then I check Google Searches.
The "Related Searches" and "More To Ask" sections are really helpful to come up with more ideas.
Now I searched for "pest control near me" to show me other ideas for content and keywords I can use in a Google Ads campaign.
🔥 Bonus Tip: If you click, open, then close one of these topics Google shows you more topics related to these keywords.
Now that I have a pretty high level understanding of what customers might be searching for "pest control" companies, let's get more specific with Google Keyword Planner.
Then I use Google Keyword Planner.
First thing I do in Google Keyword Planner is search for the keywords I just came up with, in this case:
pest control
pest control near me
pest control treatment
pest control service
best pest control
termite control
termite pest control
Google Keyword Planner will also give you suggested keywords from the list.
From this list I tend to look for high volume and low cost keywords.
In this case, these keywords are high volume:
pest control
pest control near me
pest control service
termite control
However, if I scroll down Google Keyword Planner will give me more ideas for keywords to use in a Google Ads campaign (*hint* *hint* also for organic content because this is what people are searching for every month).
Furthermore, the competitive cost of each keyword is indicated by "low", "medium", or "high"... meaning will you be paying on the "low range" or the "high range" of the keyword cost.
Negative Keywords
Now that you have your keywords and phrases ask yourself "What keywords should I exclude from a campaign?".
Here are some "negative keywords" to weed out people that are not necessarily looking for a company:
how can I
how do I
how to
DIY
do it yourself
article
blog
cheap
free
... AND SO MANY MORE
This list will prevent people who want to do their own pest control from your campaign thus wasting clicks and ad spend.
🔥 Bonus Tip: Use RatGPT to come up with ideas for content you can create for your audience too or find more Keyword ideas related to your industry.
Step 2: Setup & Launch
What are my goals?
What's your budget?
How long do you want it to run?
Who do you want to see it? Local? Broader?
Do you already have an audience you want to import?
I won't get TOO in depth with this because Google changes their UI often and I don't want to have old screenshots in here but in general it's pretty straight forward to follow the wizard setup based on your objectives.
⚠️ Word of caution: If you don't set this up correctly you could waste your ad spend drastically. Please be careful when setting up this campaign. If your ad spend is more than $1k/month then I recommend hiring an agency or professional to help you.
Now that you've chosen the keywords then you need to "Add keywords to create plan". This will add them to a temporary list that you can use when creating your Campaign.
On the left hand side click the + sign then "Campaign" to create a new campaign.
Next, choose your objective. Depending on your goal it could be: sales (dtc or ecom), leads to be generated directly, website traffic, etc.
These are the most common we use because it actually provides results compared to "brand awareness" campaigns.
Side note: In general, if you're an Ecommerce website or you're selling products/services online then typically the "Sales" objective makes the most sense.
Then choose your campaign type. The common ones we use for Sales, Lead gen, and Traffic are "Search" (if you want to show up as a "Sponsored ad") , however, for YouTube ads it's typically "Video" campaign type. Currently, it's rare that we use the other campaign types unless a client specifically requests it or it aligns with their business model.
From this point you'll need to add your saved keywords, add your copy, headlines, logo, etc then...
Once you've answered these questions you're off to the races!
Step 3: Analyze & Measure
After you've launched it's important to be patient. From my experience it takes several days for Google's "bidding strategy" to learn who to serve the ad campaign to. Do not, under any circumstances, make changes to it.
Not all of Google's "Recommendations" are created equal. When it comes to their "Recommendations" only make them if you think it will benefit your campaign.
For example, keywords that they recommend. But before you do this make sure they're in your budget. If the low is $5 and the high is $50 then your cost per click will go up and you'll have less options when bidding.
I use Google Analytics to track and see , "Is this campaign actually reaching my <objective>?" The answer is generally yes if you set it up correctly.
However, I found I need to be patient. It generally takes 60-90 days minimum to start to see any real traction. I always tell clients "don't expect to see anything on day 1 because it takes a week for Google to learn".
Now that I have traffic coming in, is my landing page converting the visitors? If not, then I need to clarify my offer and call-to-action.
Some call-to-actions I like to use that are easy for visitors to opt-in:
Sign up for our Free Newsletter
Book a Strategy Session or Call
Download this free "checklist" or "cheatsheet"
It needs to be something of value for the person to opt-in. We also use software like RatGPT and RatSEO to help with this lead capture as well.
The key here I found is to regularly check-in on the following metrics:
Conversion Rate
Cost per conversion
Cost per click
Cost per lead
Clicks
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