Most brands’ first advertising step is to try their luck with Google search ads.

And this is with good reason, Google processes more than 40,000 search queries every second, enticing advertisers and brands with increased visibility, high-intent traffic, and targeted reach.

Though Google ads campaigns are effective and popular, you must also ask yourself how much Google ads truly cost.

Let’s take a look at the real cost of online advertising with Google and how to get the most out of your advertising dollars.

What is the cost of Google search ads?

Advertisers who are accustomed to running Google ads (previously called Google Adwords) have noticed a change year over year: paid search advertising conversion rates have decreased while the cost of generating leads through search ads continues to increase.

This means the value of your ad campaign has gone down. You’re paying more for every lead that clicks on your Google ads, but conversion rates are decreasing.

Not really what you want to hear, right?

Google, which remains the largest paid search platform attributes this YoY increase in lead price to more competition and intensified monetization of Google SERPs.

Google ads pricing can cost upwards of $10,000 per month, with most advertisers paying $0.11-$0.50 per click on average for display ads or even more than $2.00 for search ads.

Advertisers must consider not only the actual cost of the ad but also what else can affect their ad budget.

Numerous factors can influence the cost of Google ads, including competitors, services, products, and industry. Understanding these and discovering ways to optimize your ad budget is important.

What factors determine your Google search ad cost?

A Google search ad does not come with one fixed cost anytime you want to begin an ad campaign. Numerous factors related to your Google ads determine what advertisers will pay at any given time, such as:

• Industry: The industry you’re in plays a major role in Google ads pricing. Highly competitive industries like legal, insurance, and finance tend to have much higher average costs per click (CPC) of $6-20 or more. Less competitive industries, like retail and travel, have lower average CPCs, around $1-2. The reason for this variance is that advertisers in competitive industries are competing for the same audience and have to spend more to get their attention and secure a conversion.
• Customer lifetime value: A higher CPC may be justified if acquiring a customer is worth a lot to your business. High customer lifetime values likely indicate that your ad budget will be able to cover a high CPC (like $50 or more). If you’re an advertiser who provides a high-value service, then you may fall into this scenario.
• Targeting and optimization: Carefully targeting your Google ads to the right audience and optimizing your campaigns is crucial to getting a high return on ad spend (ROAS). Poorly targeted or managed campaigns will drain your advertising budget pretty quickly.
• Average CPC: Google determines your average CPC even though you have set maximum bid limits. You will not always pay the maximum bid you set. High-quality ads that receive a high-quality score (based on ad content, relevant landing page, and overall landing page experience) typically have a lower average CPC than Google ads with a lower-quality score.
• Budget: Small businesses may spend $1,000-10,000/month on Google paid search campaigns, while large brands can spend millions running Google ads. It’s important to set an advertising budget that makes sense with your company’s goals but still allows you to bid on highly competitive keywords that you know your users search for. Your PPC campaigns should produce desirable search results while keeping your daily average budget in check, which you can track by maintaining a consistent budget report.

How to optimize your Google search ads to ensure your advertising dollars aren’t wasted

To maximize the cost of Google ads, you will want to take steps to properly set up your ad campaigns for success. We recommend taking the following steps every time you begin a campaign:

Add negative keywords

Negative keywords are an important aspect of your keyword strategy. Adding negative keywords prevents your Google ads from showing up in irrelevant searches. In other words, negative keywords are search terms for which you don’t want your ads to appear in search results.

Including negative keywords can save you money because it makes your campaign more targeted and attracts the highest-value users who are likely to convert since they are finding exactly what they are looking for.

If you own a flower shop, you may use phrases like “local flower store” in your campaign. However, if you do not offer arrangements for weddings and special occasions, you probably do not want to show up when people search for “wedding flower arrangements”, so you would add “-wedding flower arrangements” as a negative keyword in your keyword strategy.

Focus on long-tail keywords

To ensure you’re attracting the most qualified leads and reducing competition, target specific, longer search terms. Pinpointing what your leads need when they need it with multi-word phrases will increase your conversion rate and will keep your spending on Google ads on track.

Our flower shop in the example above would probably want to include long-tail keywords like “local flower shop near me”, “floral delivery near me”, “same day flower arrangements”, “Mother’s Day flowers near me”, “pink roses near me” and so on.

Don’t track vanity metrics

Avoid focusing on metrics that don’t directly impact your business goals. Be extra considerate of this if you provide regular reporting to executive-level stakeholders. If it does not matter to your bottom line, it probably is not worth tracking.

You’ll be much more efficient and successful if the metrics you track help you make informed, data-driven decisions that optimize your campaigns.

Vanity metrics can be measured and may be of interest to you, but ultimately have no significant effect on ROI or ROAS. Examples of vanity metrics include:

Focusing on actionable metrics like conversion rate, engagement rate, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and churn rate is more helpful.

Optimize campaigns regularly

With online advertising, it’s important to continuously monitor and adjust your campaigns by analyzing data, refining keywords, and improving ad copy to maintain optimal performance. Enlist the help of a Google keyword planner, a PPC agency, a Google display network, or other resources that will help you reach your goals.

You’ll also want to consider that a Google ads auction will regularly occur and will influence your chances of a favorable ad placement. When a Google ad is eligible to appear for a search, it will go through an ad auction that will determine if it will receive the highest ad rank. The ad auction process is repeated for every Google search, so it’s normal that ad placement will fluctuate over the course of your campaign.

Automated bidding can help you win a higher position, especially if you’re using highly relevant keywords and ad content.

Utilize Google Analytics

Online advertising platforms typically give access to analytics tools that help you track your campaigns. Use a tool like Google Analytics to gain insights into user behavior, track your actionable metrics, and refine your targeting strategies for better results.

With Google Analytics, you can track your Google ads costs, and your ad spend, know what your ad rank is, and so much more.

Target specific audiences

Audiences are a powerful way to get the most out of Google ads campaigns. Using your audience as your primary focus, you’ll go after a type of person versus a type of search query.

Google separates audience targeting into four categories:

• Google’s segments: includes demographics, affinity segments, in-market segments, and life events
• Your data segments: includes website remarketing, app remarketing, social media remarketing, and similar audiences
• Custom segments: includes search term-based insights, types of websites people browse, types of apps people use
• Other options include combined segments and optimized targeting

With deeper audience targeting, you’re more likely to hit your conversion goals.

Improve Quality Score

Google’s Quality Score is a tool meant to give advertisers a sense of how well their ad quality compares to competitors’ Google ads. It uses a scale of 1 to 10 and tells you how relevant your ad and landing page are to someone searching for your keyword compared with advertisers.

For flower shops competing for the search term “Mother’s Day flowers near me”, a Quality Score would indicate what your user’s experience is like when searching for that term.
A Quality Score is calculated by weighing the expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience.

Quality Score can be used as a general indicator of ads, keywords, or landing page elements that need to be improved.

Improve landing page experience

Advertisers may think that getting their ad right is the priority. However, it is crucial to create personalized, dedicated landing pages for each of your search ads so that you can increase your chances of conversion.

Google ads that have dedicated, message-matched landing pages increase the likelihood of turning ad clicks into conversions because they’re focused on specifically what your ad offers. On the other hand, ads that direct users to a product page or a homepage can confuse users and discourage them from taking a desired action.

A user who clicks on an ad from Forrester about a new research report that is available is taken to a landing page where they can preview the report and download it on the spot.
Had they been taken to Forrester’s homepage, they would have had to search for that specific report and risk downloading the wrong one or abandoning the site altogether before finding what they wanted.

Use the AdMap™ feature to keep your Google Ads costs down

We’ve learned that there are many factors that influence how much enterprises and small businesses spend on Google ads, and can agree that optimizing ad campaigns is a smart way to keep Google ads pricing down.

Instapage is a powerful landing page builder designed to drive conversions. It helps advertisers create dedicated landing pages for each of their Google ads. Beyond its ease and intuitiveness, Instapage offers a wide range of features to help advertisers visualize and optimize their campaigns.

AdMap™ provides a visual layout of the pre- and post-click stages of ad campaigns. With AdMap™, it’s easy to identify which ads and audiences are missing relevant landing pages and quickly solve the problem with personalized pages that are optimized for conversions.

You can see your campaigns, ad groups, and ads, create new pages, edit and update connected pages, and serve the best experience to the right audience at the right time.

Plus, Instapage’s AI content generator helps you scale your landing pages with AI-made headlines, paragraphs, and CTAs. You can automatically create variations for your pages so you can A/B test various elements to understand what resonates most with your audience.

And, you can create personalized experiences for different segments of your audience, offering highly-tailored content that speaks to the needs of your leads.

Get the most out of your Google ads budget by integrating with Instapage. Try before you buy with a 14-day free trial.

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One of the primary goals of all marketers is to get their brand noticed. Brand recognition increases traffic and converts customers.

And one of the most effective ways to do that is with PPC ads.

PPC ads, or pay-per-click ads, are a marketing strategy in which advertisers pay every single time a user clicks on one of their ads. Common forms of PPC ads include Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Bing Ads. The goal of the ads is to appear higher up on a search engine results page when a user types in a keyword.

PPC advertising is popular and effective because results tend to be quick, and marketers tend to see a high return on ad spend (ROAS). Its popularity can be seen in numbers – global ad spend was projected to be north of 600 billion dollars in 2023.

However, running successful campaigns requires proper PPC management, including optimizing keyword research, adjusting budgets, and performing competitive analysis.

Here, we will explore optimal PPC management techniques and specific aspects you should oversee throughout the life of your PPC campaigns.

What is PPC management?

Pay-Per-Click or PPC management refers to the strategies you use to oversee and optimize your PPC ad campaigns and includes supervising and managing the following aspects:

• Keyword analysis
• Audience research
• Ad targeting
• Ad creation
• Budget optimization and monitoring
• Landing page optimization
• Performance reporting
• Ongoing campaign optimization and testing

PPC management can be done by an expert dedicated to that role, via PPC management software, or even by hiring a digital marketing agency (or PPC management company) to manage your campaigns and other aspects of your marketing strategies. We’ll discuss this further later on in the article.

Why PPC management is important

Effective PPC management uses keyword analysis and channel strategy development and helps you gain the following advantages:

Improved ROAS and efficiency of PPC campaigns

Careful scrutiny of PPC campaigns allows you to make adjustments to optimize your campaign, effectively allowing you to improve your return on ad spend (ROAS) and to run more efficient campaigns.

The ability to gain complete control over PPC budgets and timing

PPC ads function by requiring advertisers to pay every time a user clicks their ad, right? Knowing that, it makes sense that advertisers would want to be especially conscious of their budgets and their keyword bidding strategies. The most effective way to do that is through PPC management.

Reaching highly targeted audiences and building remarketing audiences throughout the sales funnel

PPC campaigns typically help you reach the ideal audience; by properly managing campaigns, you can gain the insights needed to not only reach your target wherever they are browsing but also use remarketing strategies to meet your audience anywhere they are along their customer journey.

Faster results compared to traditional advertising tactics

Traditional advertising works, but it can take time to see favorable results, and it is challenging to get granular insights. With PPC ads, marketers can begin seeing results as quickly as the next day, with deep insights available after just a few months. Best results rely on PPC campaign management, including overseeing campaigns to see what’s working and what isn’t and adjusting budgets to favor the best ads.

Complementing SEO efforts with PPC campaign data helps you with keyword strategies and drives traffic to your SEO-optimized pages

Most marketers know that there isn’t one silver bullet that gets you all the incredible results you seek in one shot; usually it takes a combination of strategies to bring winning results to your campaigns. Using PPC campaigns in tandem with SEO efforts helps boost relevant keywords, optimize search engine results, and drive targeted traffic to SEO-optimized landing pages.

Extensive tracking and attribution capabilities allow you to accurately measure the impact of PPC campaigns

A PPC management strategy is incomplete without PPC reporting tools which give advertisers deep insights into the results of their campaigns; often, using a tool like Google Analytics helps you analyze the impact of your ad spend and make iterations where necessary, which leads to optimal results.

Opportunities for experimentation and optimization through A/B testing of ad variations

Fine-tuning any marketing strategy is a must, as advertisers learn plenty after publishing a campaign. You can test messaging, copy, ad placement, the efficacy of Bing ads versus Google ads, budget, and ad timing.

A/B testing various elements of your campaign can help you figure out which version works best so you can focus on that ad. Working with a PPC tool that allows for A/B testing and experimentation will drive far better results than just relying on intuition.

How to effectively manage your PPC account

PPC management takes expert skills and the ability to interpret and analyze many pieces of data.

As part of your PPC strategy, here are specific steps you should take to monitor and manage your own PPC campaigns to fully enjoy the advantages listed above.

Keyword analysis

Before you launch your PPC campaign, it’s important to conduct keyword research to ensure you’re bidding on the most relevant keywords (and you must continue to do so after you’ve launched your campaign). Pay-per-click ads can get pricey if you spend too much on unnecessary keywords, so you must examine your data and know which keywords and search terms are most applicable to your target audience.

Part of your keyword analysis will include assessing which negative keywords to include in your ad spend. Negative keywords are search terms and phrases for which you don’t want your ads to show up, and including them in your campaign can save money.

For example, if you are a bakery, you probably use a phrase like “cupcake shop” in your campaign. However, if you do not offer gluten-free items, you likely do not want to show up when people search “gluten-free cupcake shop”, so in your campaign, you would add “-gluten-free cupcake shop” as a negative keyword.

Keyword optimization tools and PPC management software like Google Ads, Semrush, and PPC Entourage can help you.

Audience research

Before spending money on ad campaigns, you want to know who you’re going after. Conducting audience research will help you understand the key demographics of your potential customers and will help you maximize your marketing efforts.

Audience research involves knowing information like age range, gender, and location, as well as behavior across sites. What websites are your target users visiting, and what are they interacting with on social media? By observing these behaviors, you will learn what your potential customers find valuable, what their preferences and interests are, and what they are most likely to engage with.

Google Analytics, Google Adwords Audience Insights, and social media tools like Meta’s Audience Insights can help you gather this information.

Ad targeting

Ad targeting is what happens as a result of conducting audience research. This is how advertisers focus on reaching their desired audience, which is based on demographics, psychographics, consumer behavior, and browsing insights.

When ad targeting, careful considerations should be made, such as:

• Delivering content consumers will care about
• Making your ads creative and appealing
• Avoiding bombarding your target audience with the same ad everywhere they go
• Using the right ad on the right platform (i.e., Meta versus Microsoft ads)
• Creating custom ads based on personalized customer data
• A/B testing different ad variations to see what is most captivating
• Tracking metrics to ensure you’re targeting correctly

We like this targeted ad from Slack because it is totally relatable for anyone who has ever had a job. At some point, most workers have felt that meetings are a time suck, a feeling that was exacerbated by the pandemic.

Slack is going after people who have felt that way by offering up a seemingly appealing and fun way to communicate that will result in less meetings. It is eye-catching, audience-appropriate , and delivers a value proposition in its message.

Ad creation

Once proper keyword analysis has been done, audience research has been conducted, and ad targeting is in place, the creative work begins. Putting the actual PPC ads together requires testing out various iterations of copy, design, CTAs, and ad placement.

By paying specific attention to the CTA versions used, advertisers can figure out which call-to-action gets the most clicks and use that data to optimize and get the most out of their monthly ad spend.

Sometimes, the difference between “Learn More ” and “Shop Now” is a higher ROAS.

Quip’s Meta ad uses the “Shop Now” CTA while the ad copy urges them to upgrade their brushing game.

Budget optimization and monitoring

When a PPC campaign has been turned on, constant monitoring is required to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Advertisers want to make sure each keyword they are bidding on falls within their company’s PPC ad spend budget. Their budget optimization strategy may also involve competitive analysis to understand other companies’ terms and phrases and bid on those critical keywords before someone else can get to them.

A tool like Adpulse can help marketers managing multiple campaigns see how much of their budget is allocated toward each campaign and can deliver insights and recommendations to optimize those campaigns.

Landing page optimization

Ideally, PPC ads will lead users to dedicated landing pages that match the messaging and the aesthetic of the ad they just clicked. Driving to a landing page versus a website page provides more value to audiences and helps increase conversions.

In addition to helping deliver more conversions, landing pages help marketing managers understand their customers better and track their journey after clicking on an ad.

That being said, landing page optimization is a must. If ads are adjusted due to A/B testing, budget optimization, or keyword analysis, then changes to a landing page must be made accordingly.

Quip’s landing page clearly demonstrates the product’s benefits and credibility (via reviews on Time, GQ, etc.), and it includes a CTA to purchase the product. The minimalistic approach is direct, not overwhelming, and easy to navigate.

Performance reporting

You’ll want to decide on a reporting cadence with stakeholders interested in your ad campaigns’ results. This may be weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Performance reporting is an important part of PPC management because it gives insight into what is working, helps align short-term and long-term goals with the company’s overall mission, and helps you attribute revenue and sales to specific ads and tactics.

Popular metrics to analyze in performance reporting include impressions, cost-per-click, click-through rate, conversion rate, and quality score. There are many PPC performance measurement tools on the market, including Google Analytics, Google Adwords, Spyfu, Adalysis, and Adespresso.

Ongoing campaign optimization and testing

A PPC campaign can have a long shelf life if it performs well and delivers the desired results. As long as you’re keeping your campaign running, you must continue to optimize and test to keep your ad relevant and to maximize efforts.

As part of your optimization efforts, you’ll want to set long-term goals, continue to monitor ad spend, plan long-term campaigns based on high-quality ads, create more landing pages, and continue keyword optimization strategies.

A/B tests can be valuable at any point in your ad campaign’s lifecycle, especially as consumer needs change.

PPC management – in house or with an agency?

PPC management requires focus, expertise, time, and dedication. Marketers may use an in-house advertising team to handle PPC management or they’ll hire a PPC management agency to get the job done.

A PPC management company is usually a digital marketing agency that specializes in PPC campaign management. They can offer guidance on SEO and search engine tactics, relevant keywords, budget allocation, long-term strategy, and so on. Based on data analysis, especially regarding metrics like cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition, a PPC management agency can make financially sound recommendations that can save money in the long run.

It is wholly possible to manage PPC campaigns on your own or with an in-house advertising team as long as you’re prepared for plenty of trial and error and potential financial mistakes along the way. PPC management tools will help you be more effective, so invest in the right tech stack before you launch any digital ad campaign.

Budget can be a factor when deciding whether to use a PPC management company or handle it on your own, so be sure to clearly understand your budget allocation before getting started.

Using PPC Management Software like Instapage AdMap™

Instapage is a powerful landing page builder that helps marketers secure more conversions. But it doesn’t just stop at landing pages. Instapage AdMap™ helps PPC marketers to contextually visualize their advertising funnel and create personalized, optimized post-click landing pages that resonate with audiences.

With AdMap, advertisers can align their page experiences and ads with an easy-to-use point-and-click interface. Advertisers use AdMap to:

• Import account details from your ad platform and generate a Postclick Score to evaluate ad-to-page relevancy
• Visualize campaigns, ad groups, and ads within Instapage to figure out where personalized pages may be useful
• Create new pages using the AdMap flow and seamlessly connect each ad in a campaign to a relevant post-click landing page
• Make quick edits and updates to post-click pages that match changes made to ads
• Automatically sync ad mapping updates between the ad network and Instapage
• Deliver a custom experience in real-time to the right audience for each ad in a campaign

No other platform offers this technology, which makes Instapage a popular choice for marketers who want to create a seamless user experience between landing pages and ad campaigns. Plus, advertisers who use AdMap tend to see a higher advertising ROAS than those who don’t. Try it for yourself for free for 14 days.

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Many marketers may not know this, but Google judges every landing page you create and connect to a PPC ad—search and display. The search engine giant assesses the quality of your landing pages based on visitors’ on-page experience.

It works like this: when a user clicks through to your landing page from a PPC ad Google ranks and rewards you based on what the user sees and experiences once they’re on the page.

The rank your page is awarded is pre-determined by a handful of page attributes based on how the user interacts with the page If the search engine concludes that your landing page experience wasn’t satisfactory, it’ll be less likely to show your ads, leading to fewer ad clicks and ultimately lower conversions.

In other words, landing page experience is one of the key factors impacting your Google Ads Quality Score, which, in turn, affects your required bid for an ad and your overall business growth.

So, how do you ensure your landing page gives users a positive experience and results in conversions? It’s all about understanding and improving your Quality Score and becoming more resourceful with your ad budget.

Let’s find out more, starting with PPC ads and landing pages.

Why should you connect PPC ads to landing pages?

Although you can connect your PPC ads to your homepage, this move, however, won’t help you with conversions or delivering a good landing page experience, because unlike landing pages, homepages are created for browsing experience.

When your ads lead visitors to relevant landing pages you increase the likelihood of getting conversions and here’s why:

• A focused experience increases the chance of conversions. When potential customers click on your PPC ad, they show interest in the product or service you promote. Directing them to a dedicated landing page instead of your busy homepage makes more sense simply because you will provide your prospects with a focused experience that matches the promise made in the ad.

  Whether it’s to gather contact details, sell a product, or sign up for a webinar, high-converting landing pages are designed specifically to guide visitors toward the call to action without any unnecessary distractions.

• Gather in-depth analytics from best-performing ads and pages. With landing pages, you can be more efficient with tracking and data collection. Using analytics, you can identify which ads bring in the most traffic, which landing pages are top performers, and where your conversions happen. Based on this data, you can optimize both halves of your conversion funnel for better performance.
• Ad and landing page message match improves ad spend and results in better ad positions. Google assesses the relevance of your landing page based on the keywords you bid on and the ad copy you use. Matching the content of an ad to the content of a landing page reinforces your message in the minds of your prospects so that they know it’s relevant. This leads to a higher Quality Score, which, in turn, results in a lower cost per click and better ad placement.

The example below demonstrates a message match between an ad and a homepage, both promoting Bright Data, a service for retail data collection:

What’s a good landing page experience (according to Google)?

A good landing page experience is a critical factor not just for your visitors but also for your Google rankings. According to Google, a good landing page experience comprises a number of factors, such as usefulness and relevance of the landing page content, great UI,easy-to-use navigation, number of links, and matching user expectations once they land on the page after clicking an ad.

Let’s take a look at each of these factors individually:

• Usefulness and relevance of the landing page content. When visitors arrive at your page after they’ve clicked the ad, they should find exactly what was promised—whether that’s a product, service, or a discount offer. The relevancy of the ad and the landing page ensures that your page meets the specific needs of your users and directly answers their search query, leading to a satisfactory experience.
• Navigational simplicity. A good landing page should be easy to navigate, meaning the user doesn’t have to click multiple links to find what they need. Google favors pages with intuitive navigation and a user-friendly layout, allowing users to complete intended actions with minimal friction. Google guidelines recommend refraining from using layouts that hide key elements of the page. For instance, if you’re using pop-ups or download banners, make sure they don’t cover important information for your customers.
• Number of links. The optimal number of links on the landing page is often up for debate. Links can be valuable when it comes to providing additional information. However, too many links on your landing page can potentially distract prospects from the desired action you need them to take while on the page. The best way to approach this is to limit the number of departure points (external links) from your landing page—a good practice is to remove header and footer links to avoid unnecessary distractions. Including just strategic links like your privacy policy contributes to a positive landing page experience.
• Matching user expectations. The expectations users have based on your ad creative should match the content of a landing page. For instance, if your ad copy promises to provide you with gut-friendly, healthy, and tasty coffee, your landing page should match this promise by offering a choice of high-quality coffee and a brand story to spotlight why it’s different from other coffee brands. Meeting or exceeding users’ expectations confirms that they’ve made the right choice, reduces bounce rates, and improves your Google Ads Quality Score.

Why does landing page experience matter?

A good landing page experience is critical to a high Google Ads Quality Score because it reflects the page’s ability to deliver what the ad promises, thereby showing relevance to the user’s search intent.

When users click an ad and arrive at a landing page that is easy to navigate, provides the expected information, and facilitates a smooth path to conversion, Google interprets this as a strong user experience.

This positive experience can lead to longer visit durations, lower bounce rates, and higher conversion rates, signaling to Google that your landing page provides value to visitors.

To put it simply, Quality Score is Google’s way of rating the quality and relevance of both your keywords and PPC ads. Think of it as Google’s confidence check to ensure that you’re providing valuable content to users. This score influences not just how your ad ranks but also how much you pay per click.

Let’s break down the factors that determine Quality Scores and why they matter:

• Ad relevance. Google wants to ensure that your ads and keywords match what users are actually searching for. Relevance is crucial because it guarantees that your ad is serving up the answers to the queries users are asking.
• User experience.This factor focuses on the design and usability of your landing page. Ideally, your landing page should be a welcoming place for users, easy to navigate, and provide relevant and original content, matching exactly what was promised in the ad. It should be straightforward because a happy user is more likely to convert, and Google takes note of that.
• Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR). This predicts how likely it is that your ad will be clicked when shown. Google uses your past CTR performance as an indicator of how enticing your ad is to search users. If they’re clicking often, it’s a good sign your ad is appealing and relevant to what they want to find.

By refining each of these factors—you make sure your ads and keywords are relevant, offer a satisfying user experience on your landing page, and are optimized for a high CTR—you’re increasing your chances of creating successful campaigns that appeal to both Google and your intended audience.

Plus, a better Quality Score can also lead to lower costs and better ad positions, enabling you to reach more people without stretching your budget. It’s about being smart with your ads and creating the best possible journey for those who click them.

The attributes that make a good landing page experience

One-on-one message match

The match-up between your ad’s message and your landing page content signals to your website visitors that they’re in the right place and that you’re sticking to your word
Wall Street Journal ads and landing page have a matching message advertising an advantageous weekly subscription price for this news outlet.

Clear and compelling headline

Using clear and compelling headlines can intrigue first-time website visitors to look into the products and services you’re offering.

Mini Cooper, a luxury car brand, uses a catchy headline in the hero section to advertise its first all-electric MINI Aceman. The wordplay in the sentence reflects the flamboyant vibe of the new car model and makes you want to click to learn more.

A visually appealing and relevant hero image

The latest Adidas campaign dedicated to Mothers Day shows a diverse female group dressed in Adidas, helping the user visualize what it would look like to treat their mother to a gift she’ll love.

Persuasive copy

Your landing page copy can be the decisive factor between a user bouncing or them converting on the page. For instance, Dropbox Backup appeals to human emotions with its prominent tagline, implying the work-life balance as its unique selling point. The copy supports this emotional statement with an explanation highlighting the practical side of the offer.

Product features and benefits

Showcasing the features and benefits increases the odds of your potential customers visualizing their lives being improved by your product and clicking the CTA button. .

The airSlate page groups the platform’s product features into easy to navigate tabs so visitors get to know the tool’s capabilities and what they’ll get once they sign up.

Strong call-to-action

Craft an engaging call-to-action (CTA) that guides visitors precisely on what you want them to do next. Choose words that inspire action and instill urgency to encourage visitors to take the next step.

FluffCo’s CTA button copy reiterates the 20% discount and urges people to shop now and save money.

Mobile responsiveness

Since the lion’s share of traffic comes from mobile devices, a landing page must be mobile-friendly and have fast loading times.

Using AMP and Google PageSpeed Insights, you can optimize your pages to load faster and deliver a better landing page experience, allowing them to get higher Google rankings.

For instance, the Good American page is fully mobile-responsive, which allows the hero section video to render perfectly on any screen or device.

Social proof and trust signals

You might be a stellar marketer, but people tend to trust real people more when it comes to what your product can do. That’s why user-generated content is getting so much traction these days.

Trust signals, such as customer testimonials, reviews, and quotes that come from individuals or businesses who love your product or service can become a game-changer.

ClickUp, a business productivity tool, uses customer stories and quotes to prove its value.

A/B testing and optimization

A/B testing and optimization can help you significantly improve your landing page experience. By experimenting with two versions of a page, you get to see which elements—headlines, images, or CTAs—resonate best with your audience.

As you optimize through testing, you’re fine-tuning your landing page based on real feedback from visitor interactions. Crafting a tailor-made experience will make people more likely to stick around, engage, and eventually convert.

Monday.com ran an A/B test on their homepage to learn if changing the shape of specific elements on the page from circle to square will drive more people to click on the tags. Eventually, version 1 one won, proving that users preferred more square forms.

How to find your Google landing page experience score

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.

2. From the page menu on the left, click Campaigns -> Audiences, keywords, and content -> Search keywords.

3. Click the Columns icon above the table.

4. Click Quality Score to expand the section. To see the current Quality Score and its component statuses, select the checkboxes next to the metrics you want.

5. Quality scores for previous reporting periods are labeled “(hist)”. You can see the change in daily scores by segmenting your table by day.

6. Click Apply. You’ll now see these columns in the statistics table.

Create stellar landing page experiences with Instapage

Landing page experience is a critical factor influencing your Google Ads Quality Score, affecting your ad performance and cost. If Google concludes that your landing page experience is poor, it’ll be less likely to show your ads, leading to fewer conversions.

Using Instapage helps enhance your landing page experience, resulting in more effective ad campaigns and better ROAS. Instapage facilitates more targeted ad campaigns by helping you optimize landing pages based on data-backed insights, conduct in-app A/B testing, and gain insights from on-page behavior analytics.

Instapage AdMap® allows you to connect your Google Ads search campaigns with their dedicated landing pages. Using AdMap®, you can not only visualize your campaign structure and landing page connections, but also manage those connections directly in Instapage.

AdMap® ensures that you deliver one specific experience for each ad that you have active, in order to take each target audience of your campaign through a fully personalized funnel. Click to learn more about how to use Instapage AdMap®.

1. Access AdMap® from your Instapage dashboard on the left-hand side menu.

2. Click Connect Ad Account or from the Integrations page to connect your Google Ads account to your Instapage workspace.

3. Once finished, your Google Ads campaigns will be automatically imported into AdMap and you’ll be able to access each individual ad by clicking on them to open Ad Groups. You’ll be able to see the number of clicks and the cost on all three levels (ad, ad group, and ad campaign) for the last 30 days as a default.

4. To connect an experience to a specific ad, select it and then click the Add Experience button on the right.

After that, choose a group, page, and the experience matching your ad.

You can also choose to create a new page or a new experience for an existing page.

5. When confirmed, you will create a draft connection which is not pushed to Google yet. After making the changes you want in terms of connecting ads to experiences, you can push the changes to Google Ads by clicking the Review & Push button in the top right corner. This will open a confirmation modal showing you which experiences can be pushed and which experiences need to be published first. You cannot push unpublished experiences as they do not have a URL yet.

Elevate your landing page experience and sign up for an Instapage 14-day free trial today.

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Google Discovery Ads use a combination of captivating visuals and personalized targeting to generate top-of-funnel demand and drive engagement to your brand.

Google Discovery Ads defined

With Google Discovery Ads, you can reach potential customers casually browsing on popular Google-owned platforms such as YouTube, Gmail, and the Discover feed.

• Google Discovery Ads’ image-based format provides a rich and immersive experience, making them stand out in the crowded online landscape. The targeted approach of the ads ensures that they are shown to individuals likely interested in a product or service they promote.
• Google Discovery Ads have a broad reach. This extensive visibility allows businesses to connect with potential customers at various stages of their online journey.

Google Discovery ad types

1. Responsive display ads

Responsive display advertising, or simply display ads, uses text, images, animation, videos, and other creative elements to promote products or services. The ads automatically adjust their size, appearance, and format to fit available ad spaces.

Google utilizes machine learning to optimize and enhance ad performance by selecting the most efficient combination of assets. Display ads are featured on the Google Display Network, a vast repository of over two million websites, videos, and apps. The network has a reach extending to over 90% of global internet users, ensuring that your ads can be strategically placed where your target audience spends time online.

2. Discovery ads

The visually rich, mobile-first ads appear in multiple Google feed environments. The intent is to catch users when they’re open to discovering new products or services.

These ads appear across three of Google’s most popular feeds – on the Discover section of the Google app, YouTube home feed, and Gmail’s Promotions and Social tabs. The reach of these platforms is vast, with the Discover feed alone reaching up to 800 million users globally.

3. Uploaded display ads

Advertisers can create and upload these ads themselves. Offering advertisers more control over the design and feel of the ad allows for greater brand consistency.

These ads also appear within the Google Display Network, meaning they can appear on many websites, in apps, and in videos. Advertisers can choose specific sites or pages within the GDN for their ads to appear, targeting their audience more directly.

Display Ads vs. Google Discovery Ads—what’s the difference?

1. Ad placement

Display Ads have a broad reach, while Discovery Ads have a more focused placement. They are limited to showing on three primary platforms: YouTube, Gmail, and the Google app. Although this may seem restrictive, these platforms have an extensive user base—YouTube alone had around 2.5 billion active users by October 2023.

2. Audience targeting

Display Ads allow for content targeting (based on keywords, topics, or placements) and audience targeting (based on demographics, interests, or remarketing lists).

Discovery Ads only allow for audience targeting and offer limited campaign settings. This means you can reach users based on their online behavior and preferences, but you cannot target specific keywords or content.

3. Intent

Discovery Ads aim to reach people in a discovery state of their consumer journey—ready to discover and engage with new products or services. They are effective for driving consideration and conversions.

Display Ads are excellent for general awareness campaigns. They allow for reaching a broad audience and increase visibility for your brand, product, or service.

4. Ad appearance

Discovery Ads are designed to be rich and immersive. They can be displayed as a single image or a carousel of images, providing a captivating, mobile-first ad experience.

Display Ads mostly follow a more traditional format of image or text ads.

The difference between YouTube ads and Google Video Discovery Ads

1. Placement

YouTube Ads can appear before, during, or after a video (known as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads) or as sponsored cards on the YouTube homepage. This allows advertisers to reach viewers at different stages of their viewing experience.

On the other hand, Video Discovery Ads are strategically placed alongside YouTube content that aligns with the audience’s interests. These ads appear in places where users discover new videos, such as the YouTube Home, Watch, and Search feeds.

2. Appearance

YouTube Ads come in several formats, including skippable in-stream ads, which viewers can skip after 5 seconds; non-skippable in-stream ads, which viewers must watch before they can continue to watch their video; and short bumper ads, non-skippable ads up to 6 seconds long.

Video Discovery Ads, however, look almost identical to ordinary video placements. They consist of a thumbnail image from your video with some text. When viewers click on the ad, they’re taken to the watch or channel page to view the video rather than being redirected to an external website.

3. Intent

YouTube Ads can be used for brand awareness, driving consideration, or prompting action (such as website visits, calls, or purchases).

In contrast, Video Discovery Ads are specifically designed to help advertisers acquire new customers. They target users actively searching or browsing videos on YouTube, making them ideal for reaching potential customers in the discovery phase.

Google Discovery Ad Examples

1. Ted Baker

During the summer of 2020, the UK fashion brand Ted Baker leveraged its social ads creative assets to run Discovery ad campaigns, engaging with individuals who had previously visited their website and those interested in clothing.

This strategic approach led to remarkable outcomes, with Ted Baker experiencing a substantial 70% increase in revenue and a notable 62% rise in ROAS in less than a year.

2. Adidas

Adidas ran a multi-step campaign that included a sequence of several YouTube TrueView ads and hero films. Following the campaign, Adidas saw a 33% lift in awareness, 20% in ad recall, and 317% in product interest.

In one of the most recent ads, there’s no mention of shoes, trainers, or clothes. It’s clear what the product is and who it’s aimed at from the stylized square image and snappy ad copy. Placing this ad on the YouTube Home feed also helps Adidas reach its target audience and put its imagery to good use.

Where to run Google Discovery Ad campaigns

1. The Google Discover Feed

The Google Discover feed is a feature on the Google app and Google.com mobile website that offers users personalized content based on their interests.

Discovery Ads placed on the Discover Feed blend seamlessly with the curated content, making them more likely to catch users’ interest.

2. YouTube

YouTube is another major platform where Discovery Ads can show up. These ads appear in several locations within the YouTube app, including the home feed and ‘Watch Next’ streams.

When users are browsing through videos or watching content, Discovery Ads can pop up, attracting users who are already engaged and open to discovering new content.

3. Gmail

Discovery Ads can appear in the Gmail app, specifically within the Promotions and Social tabs. Users can see Discovery Ads alongside other promotional content when they check their emails.

This can be particularly effective for reaching users in a more professional context or promoting deals, offers, and sales.

Google Ads Specs

People come to the Discover feed, YouTube home feed, and Gmail feed to browse and discover new content that aligns with their interests. To ensure ads feel authentic and relevant, Google recommends selecting high-quality imagery that tells your brand’s story. In addition, all ad content must adhere to Google Ads Policy and Personalized Advertising Guidelines.

Google Ads that include any of the following will be disapproved:

• A CTA button in the image (or any visuals that mimic hyperlinks or look like clickable elements)
• Clickbait (intended to entice a user to click through by suggesting they’ll find out something incredible, outrageous, or sensational)
• Blurry, low-quality images
• Poorly cropped images
• Images oriented incorrectly

Here are the specifications for different types of Discovery ads:

Things to consider:

• All images should be in .jpg or .png format
• Use high-quality images relevant to your ad content for better results
• Text cannot take up more than 20% of the image

Remember that these are basic requirements, and optimizing your ads for the best performance is always important. This could involve testing different headlines, descriptions, and images to see what resonates most with your audience.

What are the Google Discovery Ads best practices?

Define the right budget for your goals

Google suggests setting a daily budget at least 10 times that of your target CPA goal. This allows ample campaign ramp-up time and data gathering, providing your campaign with the necessary resources to learn and adjust for optimal performance.

Use high-quality, relevant images

The quality and relevance of your images can make or break your ad’s success. High-quality images that effectively showcase your products capture the audience’s attention and clearly communicate your brand’s value proposition. Remember, your visuals are the first thing potential customers see, so make them count.

Don’t jump in with optimizations too soon

Patience is vital when it comes to optimizing your campaigns. It’s tempting to jump in with tweaks and changes as soon as the campaign goes live, but it’s best to allow the campaign to gather sufficient data before making significant changes.

This data-driven approach ensures that any optimizations you make are informed and effective.

Use Smart Bidding to optimize performance

Smart Bidding can significantly enhance the results of your Discovery ads. Strategies such as Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions, and Maximize conversion value can help you meet your campaign goals more efficiently.

Smart Bidding uses advanced machine learning to optimize bids for every auction, helping you get the most out of your budget.

3 Things to keep in mind when running a Google Discovery Ads campaign

When evaluating if Google Discovery Ads apply to your campaigns, consider the following points:

1. Google Discovery Ads are a separate campaign type

First, you’ll need to run a separate Google Discovery campaign, which indicates just how important Google thinks these ads are. They are similar to Universal App campaigns in that advertisers upload their creative assets and some copy ideas, and Google automatically handles optimization and delivery through machine learning.

Since Discovery ads live primarily in feeds and not on search (more on this later), search intent doesn’t play a role. However, your targeting strategy will be different because you’re losing some commercial intent. Custom intent audiences and in-market audiences are great options for this type of campaign because they’re highly focused on people in the discovery and research phase of the buying cycle.

In addition to a different targeting strategy, Discovery Ads also require you to take a different creative approach. Although these ads should show up in response to a user’s interests and behavior, there’s still no actual search intent—so be mindful of where your audience is on their buyer journey when creating content.

2. Google Discovery Ads have no real search intent

Leaning into the discovery mindset is critical to capitalizing on Google Discovery campaigns, meaning advertisers are more pressured to create persuasive headlines, descriptions, and visuals.

Similar to Facebook Carousel Ads, Discovery Ads allow advertisers to display one or more images that showcase their product or service in a slideshow format on the Discover feed, among other locations discussed above.

While this might seem like Google’s attempt to partake in the news feed advertising game, Discovery Ads go much more profound. Users on the Discover feed are in learning and discovery mode, so it makes sense for advertisers to show ads that appeal to that mentality.

But you need more than just creating a carousel ad to guarantee you’re fully leaning into the discovery mindset, so you’ll also want to produce compelling and exciting content.

Rather than taking a direct selling approach, start by addressing common pain points and selling points. As you determine certain concepts that produce most of your campaign results, you can refine your copy and visuals around those specific points to appeal to new and relevant audiences.

Remember, these are Discovery Ads, so the purpose isn’t to sell a product but to get people excited about discovering your business.

3. The success of Discovery Ad campaigns depends on machine learning

The whole point of Google Discover is that algorithms identify what users want and deliver it to them. Discovery Ads follow the same approach.

When setting up Google Discover ads, you’ll enter a landing page URL, at least one image, a logo, and up to five headlines and five descriptions. From there, Google’s machine learning serves the best combinations across the most relevant and appropriate placements—or where your audience spends most of their time.

Depending on users’ account settings, Google may use web/app activity, device targeting, language targeting, and location to personalize content (largely AMP enabled). For example, this ad was likely on my YouTube feed because of my recent interest in OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology:

This one is in the Social tab of Gmail feed because I recently visited Hootsuite’s website:

Just like Google’s Responsive Search Ads, this is yet another way Google is automating the ad optimization process to reach more relevant users with highly relevant creative and messaging.

Since Google’s algorithms have already been learning about what content individual users respond to most, this should mean higher ad click-through and conversion rates.

Reach more audiences with Google Discovery Ads

Google Discovery Ads empower marketers to reach their target audience across Google’s vast ecosystem in a visually engaging and relevant way. Whether increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, or boosting conversions, Discovery Ads can help you achieve your marketing goals effectively.

Establishing personalization and ad-to-page relevance helps increase Discovery ads’ ROAS even further. Instapage’s AdMap® feature allows you to sync your ad account with Instapage to see your campaigns, ad groups, ads, and corresponding landing page experiences.

You can then connect page experiences to ads you’ve already created or build new personalized pages from within the feature and use AI-generated content for different audiences and ad groups.

Want to see all this in action? Sign up today for a 14-day free trial and experience the difference yourself. Your journey towards more efficient and effective digital marketing starts here.

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By understanding and improving your Google Ads Quality Score, you can optimize your ads for better performance, get higher click-through rates, and increase ROAS.

While mastering the nuances of the metric can be challenging, the rewards are worth it. Today’s post will explain everything you need to know about the Google Ads Quality Score, what it is, how to calculate it, and how to ensure your score is high.

What is a Google Ads Quality Score?

Google Ads Quality Score is a critical metric in your Google Ads campaign that significantly impacts your ad performance and cost. The score estimates the effectiveness of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. The higher the Quality Score, the more relevant your ad and landing page are to the user, leading to lower prices and better ad placements. Caring about your ad campaigns’ Quality Score is essential as it directly influences your ads’ effectiveness and your return on investment ROAS.

Google calculates Quality Score as a sum of the following factors:

• Expected CTR
• Ad Relevance
• Landing Page Experience

You may come across a formula for calculating Quality Score:

Quality Score = (CTR * Relevance * Landing Page Experience) / Expected Impact

This formula emphasizes the importance of creating relevant, high-grade ads and landing pages with a good user experience.

It’s important to remember that the Quality Score calculation is a proprietary algorithm used by Google. The formula considers multiple factors and their respective weights.

When evaluating your campaigns, Google weighs CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience score differently. Expected click-through rate and landing page experience contribute more to Quality Score than ad relevance:

The benefits of improving your Google Ads Quality Score

A high Google Ads Quality Score gives your ad campaigns a competitive edge so you can deliver more compelling ad experiences to potential customers and enjoy a host of other benefits.

1. Reduce advertising costs through lower cost-per-click (CPC) rates

A high Quality Score signals to Google that your ads are relevant and valuable to users, which can result in reduced CPC and more efficient use of your ad spend.

2. High ad rankings and increased visibility in search results

A higher Quality Score also translates to better ad rankings and increased visibility in search results. This means potential customers are more likely to see and click your ads, driving more traffic to your landing page.

3. Improve ad performance and increase click-through rates (CTR)

Improving your Google Ads Quality Score can also enhance the performance of your ads, leading to higher click-through rates (CTR). The more relevant and engaging your ads are, the more likely use.

4. Enhance overall ad relevance and user experience for potential customers

One of the ways to improve Quality Score is to optimize ad relevance and enhance the landing page experience. This boosts your score and improves user experience, increasing engagement and desired actions.

Landing page relevance is crucial as it impacts how your audience perceives your brand. When users click on your ad, they expect content aligned with what was promised. By meeting this expectation, visitors are more likely to engage and convert.

When your Quality Score is calculated, Google evaluates the coherence between ads and landing pages. Therefore, a highly relevant landing page enhances user experience and contributes to a higher score, improving ad performance.

5. Better return on ad spend (ROAS) for ad campaigns and marketing efforts

Finally, a higher Quality Score can lead to a better return on ad spend (ROAS). Ensuring your ads are relevant, engaging, and targeted at the right audience can boost conversions and sales, resulting in a more profitable advertising campaign.

Factors affecting Google Ads Quality Score

The Google Ads Quality Score is a pivotal metric for advertisers, providing insights into the effectiveness of their ad campaigns. A combination of factors influences it, each contributing to your digital advertising efforts’ overall performance and success.

Relevance of ad text to the keyword

The relevance of your ad text to the keyword is a critical factor in determining your Quality Score. For instance, if your ad text aligns closely with the keyword, it signals to Google that your ad will likely be relevant to users searching for that keyword. This, in turn, can boost your Quality Score.

It’s essential to ensure that your ad copy communicates the value proposition of your product or service clearly while incorporating the target keyword naturally and effectively.

Quality and relevance of the landing page

A user-friendly and informative landing page directly related to your ad can significantly enhance your Google Ads Quality Score.
Ad-to-page relevance ensures a direct correlation between your ad’s content and the landing page it leads to. This personalization improves user experience, click-through, and conversion rates, contributing positively to your Google Ads Quality Score.

For example, if your ad promises to teach you how to craft a backlink strategy for your business needs. In that case, your landing page should deliver on that promise by providing a clear and straightforward way for users to access a course teaching them how to do that.

Historical click-through rate (CTR) of the keyword and the matched ad

Historical click-through rate (CTR) is another crucial factor that affects your Quality Score on Google Ads. If your keyword and matched ad have historically garnered a high CTR, Google interprets this as an indication that your ad will likely be clicked in the future, positively impacting your score.

To improve your CTR, consider employing tactics such as using compelling call-to-action phrases, optimizing your ad copy, and targeting your ads more precisely.

Relevance of the keyword to the ad group

Finally, the keyword’s relevance to the ad group also impacts your Quality Score. When your keyword is highly relevant to the other keywords in your ad group, it signals to Google that your ad will likely be beneficial and relevant to users, thereby boosting your Quality Score.

Consider grouping related keywords and creating separate ad groups for different product categories or services to enhance keyword relevance. Find more about keywords, ad groups, and campaigns for impression sharing in Ad here.

By comprehending and optimizing these variables, you can greatly enhance your score, resulting in more impactful ad campaigns and improved return on ad spend. Now that we’ve examined the factors influencing Google Ads Quality Score, let’s shift our focus to another crucial aspect: the various types of Quality Score. In the upcoming discussion, we will delve deeper into this subject to gain a more profound understanding.

Types of Quality Score

Understanding the different types of Google Ads Quality Score can provide valuable insights into your ad performance and guide you in optimizing your Google Ads campaigns. Each type offers a unique perspective on how various elements of your campaign are performing.

Account-Level Quality Score

This is an aggregate measure of the overall health of your Google Ads account. It considers the historical performance of all ads, keywords, and landing pages associated with your account. A high Account-Level Quality Score indicates that your account, as a whole, is providing value to users and meeting Google’s high standards.

Ad Group Quality Score

An Ad Group Quality Score is an average indicator based on all the keywords within a specific ad group. It provides insights into how well your keywords and ads perform within a particular ad group. A low quality score might indicate that your keywords and ads are irrelevant to each other or your target audience.

Keyword-Level Quality Score

The Keyword-Level Quality Score is the most familiar type. It is a rating between 1 and 10 assigned to each keyword in your account based on its relevance to your ads and landing pages and expected CTR. A high Keyword Quality Score signifies that your keyword will likely trigger ads relevant to users’ search queries.

Ad-Level Quality Score

An Ad-Level Quality Score measures the significance and efficiency of your individual ads. It is determined by factors such as the relevance of your ad text to the keyword, the expected CTR of the ad, and the user experience on your landing page. Improving your Ad-Level Quality Score can improve ad rankings and lower costs.

Landing Page Quality Score

The Landing Page Quality Score assesses the relevance and efficiency of your landing page. It considers factors such as the originality of content, transparency about your business, and ease of navigation. A high Landing Page Quality Score indicates that your page provides a good user experience and is relevant to your ads and keywords.

Display Network Quality Score

The Display Network Quality Score is specific to Google’s Display Network ads. It evaluates the relevance and effectiveness of your ads and landing pages in relation to the themes of websites on the Display Network where your ads might appear. A high Display Network Quality Score can improve your ad placement and visibility on the Display Network.

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the various Quality Scores can greatly assist in pinpointing areas for enhancement, optimizing campaigns, and ultimately elevating your overall score. Now that we have a firm grasp on the diverse types of Quality Scores and their impact on Google Ads performance, let’s redirect our attention toward exploring effective strategies and best practices to enhance these scores.

Tips to improve Google Ads Quality Score

Enhancing your Google Ads Quality Score can significantly improve your ad performance, increase your return on ad spend, and ensure you are reaching your target audience effectively. Here are some strategies you can employ to boost your Quality Score:

1. Optimizing landing pages for relevant user experience

One of the key factors influencing your Quality Score on Google Ads is the effectiveness and relevance of your landing page. Users should find what they are looking for quickly and easily after clicking on your ad. To optimize your landing pages, ensure they are user-friendly, fast-loading, and directly related to your ad content.

With the Instapage platform, you can create highly relevant landing pages that match your ad content. The platform’s AdMap® feature lets you connect your ads to relevant landing pages, ensuring your message aligns seamlessly from ad click to post-click. Instapage enables you to create fast-loading landing pages that instantly capture visitor attention and serve targeted messaging to every audience, enhancing user satisfaction and engagement.



2. Conducting regular keyword research and refining ad groups

Regular keyword research is crucial in maintaining and improving your Quality Score. By identifying and targeting the most relevant keywords for your business, you can ensure that your ads reach the right audience. Additionally, refining your ad groups by grouping related keywords can improve the relevance of your ads, leading to a higher Quality Score.

Instapage offers powerful capabilities for businesses to conduct keyword research and refine ad groups. Its advanced features significantly contribute to these activities. With Instapage, you can analyze landing page performance to gain valuable insights on high-converting keywords. Additionally, Instapage supports dynamic keyword insertion, enhancing landing page relevance. You can optimize your PPC advertising efforts by refining ad groups based on performance data.

3. A/B testing ad variations to improve click-through rates

A/B testing involves creating multiple versions of your ads and testing them to see which performs better. By experimenting with different ad texts, headlines, and call-to-actions, you can identify what resonates most with your audience and drives more clicks. Improving click-through rates (CTR) can significantly boost your Quality Score Google Ads.

Enhancing Google Ads Quality Score

Mastering and optimizing your Google Ads Quality Score is crucial for successful advertising campaigns. The Quality Score depends on factors like ad text relevance, landing page quality, and historical click-through rate. Each type of Quality Score offers unique insights into ad performance and optimization opportunities.

To elevate your Quality Score, refine landing pages, conduct regular keyword research, fine-tune ad groups, and test ad variations. Consider using Instapage to streamline these efforts and facilitate more effective, targeted ad campaigns. With Instapage, optimize landing pages based on data-backed insights, conduct in-app A/B testing, and gain insights from on-page behavior analytics.

Focusing on these areas can enhance your Google Ads Quality Score, resulting in more effective ad campaigns and better utilization of your advertising budget. Improve your landing page experience and sign up for an Instapage 14-day free trial today.

FAQs

We understand that the Google Ads Quality Score can be a complex topic. Here are answers to some common questions to help you navigate this critical metric.

1. What is a good Quality Score on Google Ads?

A good Quality Score on Google Ads typically falls between 7 and 10. This range indicates that your keywords, ads, and landing pages are relevant and valuable to the people who see your ads. However, it’s important to remember that this metric is relative to each campaign and market competition.

2. Where do I check my Quality Score on Google Ads?

You can check your Quality Score on Google Ads by logging into your Google Ads account and navigating to the Keywords tab. From there, hover over any keyword’s “Status” column to view details.

3. How do I get the best Quality Score on Google Ads?

To achieve the best Quality Score on Google Ads, focus on improving the relevance and effectiveness of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. Regularly conduct keyword research, optimize your landing pages for a better user experience, and A/B test ad variations.

4. How long does it take to build your Quality Score Google Ads?

The time it takes to develop your Quality Score on Google Ads varies depending on several factors, including the changes you’ve made to improve it and how often users can see your ads. It can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks for Google to gather enough data to update your Quality Score.

5. CTRs are high, but the Quality Score is low on Google Ads. Why is this happening?

While a high click-through rate (CTR) is a positive signal, it’s just one component of your Quality Score. If your CTRs are high, but your Quality Score is low, it could be due to issues with the relevance of your ad text, keywords, or landing page. It’s essential to ensure all these elements align with each other and with what your audience is searching for.

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Marketers choose Google Ads as their primary advertising platform because the platform has the ability to create targeted ads tailored specifically to reach their potential customers. To get the most out of your advertising spend, it’s important you create a dedicated landing page for every ad campaign you launch.

Let’s take a deeper look into the personalization capabilities of the ad platform.

Google Ads Personalization Capabilities

With its advanced audience targeting, dynamic ad customization, personalized ad extensions, and data-driven optimization features, Google Ads sets itself apart from other ad platforms in terms of personalization capabilities. By leveraging the power of personalization, advertisers can create more relevant and impactful campaigns that resonate with their target audience and micro-audiences, driving better engagement, conversions, and business growth.

Google Ads takes audience targeting to new heights by leveraging its vast user data and sophisticated algorithms. Through their suite of tools, advertisers can tap into diverse targeting options, such as demographics, interests, behaviors, and even specific intent signals. These capabilities allow advertisers to create highly tailored campaigns that resonate with their target audience. While other ad platforms may offer audience targeting features, Google Ads’ extensive reach and data-driven approach give it a clear advantage in personalization.

Google Ads target the right audience

Because of the personalization tools that Google offers, the only people who see a Google Ads Campaign ad are people who search Google for a specific keyword or keyword phrase. That means, unlike a billboard, an ad is only shown to people to whom it’s relevant. For example, if you search Google for “Instagram Scheduler,” any result that comes up with the bolded “Sponsored” box next to it is a Google Ads ad attached to a specific campaign

Through a bidding system and “Quality Score,” businesses can show ads to people who search for terms relevant to their line of work. And these sponsored results have a lot of power. Why? Well, 65% of people click on Google Ads when they want to make a purchase. They’re a great method of driving targeted traffic to your landing pages (if you create them the right way). If you create them the wrong way, Google will penalize you by lowering your ad Quality Score.

What is Quality Score?

When you run a Google Ads campaign for a specific search term, you’re essentially promising web searchers you have what they’re looking for on your landing page. Whether or not you deliver on that promise affects your ad Quality Score. Quality Score is a diagnostic tool that tells you how well your ad quality compares to other advertisers. The score is measured on a scale from 1-10 and is available at the keyword level.

A higher Quality Score means that your ad and landing page are more relevant to someone searching for your keyword, compared to other advertisers.

How do you calculate Quality Score?

Quality Score takes into account:

• Expected click-through rate: Expected CTR is a keyword-related factor that measures how likely it is someone will click your ad when searching for the keyword associated with it.
• Ad relevance: Ad relevance, like estimated CTR, is related to your keyword. In this case, though, it’s more focused on ensuring your ad copy relevant to the keywords in your ad group.
• Landing page user experience: When Google measures your landing page experience, it’s measuring “how relevant and useful your website’s landing page will be to people who click your ad.” According to Google, your page should be “clear and useful” and “related to your keyword and what customers are searching for

Let’s experiment with a search of our own, and we’ll walk through three different examples of Google Ads that populate after searching: “Instagram Scheduler” and walk through what may be raising (or lowering) their Google Quality Score.

Example 1: Later:
Let’s start off with an example from Later, when you search for an “Instagram Scheduler,” the platform claims they have the best Instagram Scheduler:

The first thing that you notice is that there’s no mention of Instagram above the page fold. You’ll have to scroll below the fold to find your first mention of Instagram. In fact, they seem to focus more on themselves as a complete social media scheduler instead of any particular dedication to Instagram.

If a visitor is searching for an Instagram scheduler, clicks on Later’s ad, and arrives at the page, their first observation may be that Later might not include an Instagram support option. Can you schedule stories? Are there any analytics? Does it support stories and grid posts? These questions aren’t answered in the hero section.

Instead of digging deeper to find out the answers to these questions, visitors may instead hit the back button, not bothering to keep scrolling on a landing page that doesn’t contain the information they’re searching for. A landing page like the one above may contribute to a lower quality score from Google because it’s not as relevant to the keywords “Instagram Scheduler”

Example 2: Loomly:

Let’s move on to the next search result from Loomly. They take a slightly different approach when it comes to creating their Google Ads. They do not mention Instagram directly in their ad (although it is one of the top results on the keyword), and this may help their Google Quality score. How? Let’s find out.

Similar to Later’s landing page, the visitor can see that Loomly is a holistic solution that offers support for several different social media platforms. However, because the ad didn’t focus only on Instagram, the visitor may be prepared for this. And, as a bonus point, they include a mock-up of the Instagram platform and the Instagram logo in the hero section to highlight that, yes, Instagram is supported.

This may make a visitor feel more confident about scrolling through and learning more about Loomly’s Instagram integration. But, it still isn’t wholly focused on Instagram, so they may return to their search page. While the Google Quality Score may not be as negatively affected as Later’s, it may still suffer as it doesn’t focus enough on Instagram.

Example 3: Hootsuite:

Finally, we reach Hootsuite whose ad-to-page relevancy is spot-on.

Hootsuite’s landing page repeats the main draw from not only the visitor’s search but Hootsuite’s ad and specifically mentions “Schedule Instagram Posts” in the headline and hero section. While Hootsuite highlights in the sub-header text and with icons on the page, the other social media channels they support the focus is on Instagram.

Message matching like this is hugely important to providing a great landing page experience for potential customers and also helps significantly in trying to improve or maintain a high Google Quality Score.

But only message matching is not enough

It’s not enough to just message match. To deliver a great user experience, your landing page needs to be easily usable and organized. A great way to do that is by using relevant Ads Assets for each of your campaigns.

For example, searching on mobile for “Instagram Scheduler” highlights Later’s proactive use of multiple assets, such as viewing pricing or getting a free trial. The landing page for that ad would be optimized for mobile, with several click-to-call CTAs.

In short, Google values personalized results, and they reward advertisers who don’t just send all of their ad traffic to the homepage. The more specific you make your ads, the higher your Google Quality Score, and the higher your Google Quality Score, the higher your ROAS is going to be. And that’s exactly why every campaign (and every audience) needs its own personalized landing page.

To avoid losing out on any future search traffic, make sure you optimize your PPC landing pages and create an individual one for each one of your Ads campaigns.
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For business owners, it’s a common question: Is budget better spent on Facebook ads or Google ads?
The answer, however, isn’t as simple or straightforward as the question.

On one side, Google has made a name for itself as the internet’s go-to search engine. On the other, Facebook is where more than a fourth of the world stays in touch with friends. Both are valuable places to advertise — but for different reasons. For your next campaign, which you choose depends on several factors. First, let’s define both types of advertising.

What is Facebook advertising?

Facebook advertising is a paid system that allows businesses to serve branded messages to users of the world’s largest social network. Placements on Facebook include the newsfeed, the sidebar, and the audience network on mobile.

What is Google advertising?

Google advertising is a paid system that allows brands to amplify their messaging throughout the Google network. That includes over 2 million websites and the results pages of 3.5 billion daily searches.

Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads

Both Google and Facebook have a reach that extends to all corners of the internet. Google’s display network reaches 90% of people online, and searches in its proprietary engine have topped a trillion per year. Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 2.2 billion users.

Advertisers are no strangers to either network — Google and Facebook own 60% of digital advertising dollars worldwide. With Google dominating, there’s something for everyone on the network — but at what cost? Here are a few things you’ll want to consider before you choose one over the other.

How granular your targeting needs to be

Facebook keeps a mountain of data on its users. Even though it’s cut ties with third-party data collectors, the social network still allows advertisers access to a trove of audience information, which is primarily offered by users.

Google, on the other hand, serves ads contextually based on keywords and behavior. It has no storage of user information that can compare to Facebook’s. That makes Facebook the choice of advertisers whose product may center around a specific detail in someone’s life, like the birth of a child, for instance.

What you’re advertising

Google has reach and seniority on its side, but when it comes to ad creative, Facebook takes the cake. Formats like the immersive Canvas (now known as “Instant Experience”) can make a product showcase out of a user’s screen, 360 video can turn a mobile device into a window to the world, and lead ads can generate leads straight from the platform.

Facebook’s interactive ad types make the social network an ideal choice for businesses advertising sleek products, or fun offerings that lend themselves to visual demonstration.

In contrast, Google’s ad types are myriad, but they’re far less engaging. If you’re looking instead for flexibility in the way you advertise your product, you’ll want to go for Google. For engagement, opt for Facebook.

If your ad campaign has viral potential, the ability to like, comment, and share will only add to its reach. If it doesn’t, Google ads may provide a better audience.

Your industry

Ultimately, where you choose to allocate your budget may depend on the industry you’re in. Google Ads is known to draw high-value traffic in select business areas. And as more businesses in those spheres flock to the network, bidding highly on keywords relevant to you, they drive cost per click up.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t use Google ads; you simply may find less competition on Facebook. And less competition translates to lower CPC. In your industry, it may make sense to start on Facebook.

The goal of your campaign

The goal of advertising, ultimately, is to attract buyers and keep them. But, not every ad goes for the sale. Like members of a team or business, each campaign plays a unique role in accomplishing that ultimate goal. Here are a few smaller goals you may be considering for your next ad group:

Top-funnel goals:

At the largest part of your funnel, the top, is where visitors begin to learn about your brand and its solution. They might follow and engage with your social media accounts, or maybe search for information on a particular problem. So, common ways of measuring awareness of your brand are:

• Website visits
• Social media interaction
• Social media reach
• Blog reads
• Social shares
• Newsletter subscriptions

Middle-funnel goals:

Where the funnel starts to shrink in size is where prospects begin to eliminate options within the same category of product or service. For example, if prospects have determined to outsource PPC management to an advertising agency instead of purchasing software to do it themselves, this stage is about finding the right agency. A business trying to measure success at the middle of the funnel could do so with:

• • Session length
  • Bounce rate
  • Case study downloads
  • Email opens
  • Email click-throughs
  • Landing page visits
  • Webinar signups
  • Demo signups

  Bottom-funnel goals:

  The bottom of your funnel is where prospects make a decision to purchase your product or go with another. Some common ways to measure bottom-funnel success:

  • Sales
  • Revenue
  • Gross profit
  • Sales page conversion rate

  So why do these stages matter? They correlate to the users of each network.

  Facebook stands out as a top-funnel titan, with the ability to spread viral awareness that Google can’t match. Social is where people go to browse and share the things that matter to them. Those things are rarely middle- and bottom-funnel campaign material.

  Google beats Facebook when it comes to drawing bottom-funnel traffic. The reason is the intent of searchers.

  By “intent” we’re referring to a searcher’s need for a solution to their query. After all, that’s why you navigate to a search engine in the first place. If you’re searching, you’re looking for an answer.

  When that query contains keyword phrases relevant to a Google advertiser’s business, an ad on the corresponding search engine results page appears. These ads drive searchers to landing pages where they can claim an offer relevant to their solution. If they’re searching for email marketing software, a Google ad might direct them to a page where they can try the software for free.

  Here’s an example from Sendinblue:

  

  

  Are you B2B or B2C?

  Facebook traffic is much less qualified than Google Ads traffic, which is full of intent. Still, this is no problem because the CPC is so much lower on Facebook. For example, say you have an 8% conversion rate on Google AdWords and a 3% conversion rate on Facebook:

  • • • • If you’re paying $8 per click on Google Ads, each conversion costs you $100.
        • If you’re paying $0.70 per click on Facebook, each Facebook conversion costs you $23.33.

        This comes down to more than how big your budget is. It’s about spending as efficiently as possible. With a higher conversion rate on one network, it may seem ROI is higher there. However, the truth may be you’re paying more per conversion.

        Breaking down the numbers

        In the example above, 1,000 clicks on Google at $8 apiece will cost you $8,000, while 1,000 clicks on Facebook at $0.70 apiece will cost $700. With a conversion rate of 8% on Google, you’ll have earned 80 conversions from those thousand clicks. On Facebook, with a 3% conversion rate, you’ll have earned 30. So, $8,000 for 80 conversions on Google averages to $100 per conversion. On Facebook, $700 for 30 conversions averages to $23.33 per conversion.

        That means you could spend ten times more on Facebook — generating 300 conversions for $7,000 — and spend a thousand less than it costs to convert 80 people on Google. Too often, marketers get caught up in conversion rate, but a higher conversion rate doesn’t guarantee efficiency.

        Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads: A final look

        As is the case in many comparisons of tools and networks, the answer’s rarely black and white, and it rarely has to be one or the other. Facebook and Google can work powerfully together, especially when it comes to remarketing.

        With the Meta Pixel and Google retargeting, advertisers can draw visitors back to their landing pages when they don’t convert by serving remarketing ads throughout both networks. Many marketers actually recommend starting with remarketing on both networks.

        When it comes to where you should spend most of your budget, there’s no right or wrong answer. It depends on which works best for you. Let these considerations guide you if you’re just getting started, but continue to collect data on which works best and adjust accordingly.

        Measure KPIs throughout the funnel and boost campaign conversion rates with landing pages from the industry’s most robust landing page platform. Sign up for an Instapage 14-day free trial today.

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Paid search advertising is one of the most popular forms of pay per click (PPC) advertising. It involves brands paying search engines to place their ads higher on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs), with the end goal of driving traffic to their landing pages.

So, how do paid search ads work, and what are paid search advertising costs? Let’s start with defining what paid search advertising is.

What is paid search advertising?

Paid advertising uses an auction-based PPC model to show digital ads on search engine results pages such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. How often your ads appear, the rankings, and how much you pay per click—all depend on your bid and Quality Score.

To start, you bid for ad placement on SERPs by setting the maximum amount you want to spend per click (your bid) and the maximum amount you’re willing to spend on the entire campaign (your budget). Once you create an ad and connect it to a landing page, each respective search engine ad platform will calculate a Quality Score to determine its positioning. This metric is a good indicator of the relevance of your specified keywords, ads, and the destination page/landing page:

What is a paid search ad?

On major search platforms like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, paid ads are typically shown above and below organic search results. They include three main components — a headline, display URL, and description text — convincing users to click. Apple Search Ads show above the App Store search results on both the iPhone and iPad. Text ads can also include extensions to expand your ad with additional information.

Increase your PPC conversion rates. Send Google/Bing Ads to message-matched pages for better results.

Drive conversions

Headline

The ad headline is the first copy viewers will notice because it has the largest text. Here, it’s important to incorporate relevant keywords to draw more attention from high-intent searchers. The three major search engines allow
two headlines, each up to 30 characters (however, on Yahoo, if you choose only one headline, the character limit is 50).

This Google search for “easy social media management” presented this Simplified ad:

Notice how the second ad’s headline is more optimized than the first? This version is more relevant to the search query (with the entire search phrase in the title), and it contains two calls to action (“learn” and “get started”).

Display URL

The display URL shows your website address in green directly underneath the headline. It comprises the domain from your final URL, plus optional subdomain and path fields to provide searchers more clarity on where they’ll arrive once they click.

Display URLs each contain up to 35 characters. One primary difference, though, is that Bing display URLs are bold:

Description text

Description text helps highlight the most important details about your product or service and why search users should click through. Google Ads and Bing Ads allow up to 80 characters of description text, while Yahoo allows up to 150 characters.

Grin’s Yahoo ad takes full advantage of the 150 character limit, with the ad copy highlighting their product features:

Ad extensions

Ad extensions effectively allow your message to take up more space in the results list. Capitalizing on this can make a big impact, considering space is extremely limited.

These add-ons enable digital advertisers to provide more information about their product or service — such as location, phone number, or additional deep links. Formats include location information and maps, click-to-call buttons, reviews, sitelink extensions, and more. Not only do they increase your ad’s visibility, but Google reports ads’ click-through-rate increases several percentage points, too.

Here we see Gleap’s Google ad with two sitelink extensions–one to their pricing page and one to their 14-day free trial:

Benefits of paid search marketing

1. More visibility

Optimizing your site organically could eventually get your brand to the top of search results, but paid search advertising can get you there immediately. Whether you’re a small startup business trying to build your online presence, or a large organization with an already existing reputation, paid ads are key to quickly getting in front of high-intent search prospects.

2. More traffic

Your page traffic may eventually increase from organic optimizations. Yet, there is hardly any waiting involved to see a bump in traffic when paid ads are in effect. This is especially true for newer companies attempting to get their name out in the market, and companies targeting specific organic terms that they aren’t currently ranking for.

3. Highly interested prospects

Since paid search ads target specific search queries, people who see your ads were already searching for a solution like yours. They’re not just arbitrarily surfing the web; rather, they’re likely interested in evaluating your product or service, either now or in the near future.

4. Detailed analytics

Search engines like the big three provide marketers with free real-time data and analytics, enabling you to learn about your campaigns and prospects, and see exactly what you’re getting from paid search dollars. Some of the most useful analytics include:

• Where a prospect is geographically located
• What type of device they’re using to search
• What pages they visited on your site
• How much time they spent on your site

These details can help you optimize your campaigns regularly to ensure your ad dollars are being put to their best use.

Increase your conversion rates with paid search ads

There is no denying that paid search advertising can be a valuable strategy to generate brand awareness, leads, and sales. Not only do well-crafted, targeted ads increase the effectiveness of your advertising efforts, but when paired with an optimized landing page, they reach their full potential.

Instapage empowers digital advertisers to create the most effective landing pages with a designer-friendly builder, team collaboration, Instablocks™, advanced analytics, and more. Sign up for a 14-day trial.

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