The SEO's Guide to Google Ads: What You Need to Know to Get Started

Are you an SEO practitioner who's been tasked with dipping your toes into the world of Google Ads? Don't worry, I'm here to help!

As an experienced Google Ads Coach and former Googler, I'll walk you through the Google Ads interface, share some key insights, and explain how SEO and ads can work together to boost your online presence and sales.

Feel free to watch the detailed video walkthrough, read the walkthrough recap below that, or some combination of the two that best suits you.

Navigating the Google Ads Interface

When you first open Google Ads, you'll land on the Overview screen, which gives you a snapshot of your account's performance.

The main navigation menu is on the left, where you'll find the following sections:

Campaigns: This is where you'll create and manage your Google Ads campaigns.

Goals: Here, you can set up conversion tracking to measure the success of your campaigns.

Tools: This section houses various tools for audience creation and keyword research

For this guide, we'll focus on the "Campaigns" section, where the magic happens.

Understanding Google Ads Campaigns and Ad Groups

Think of a Google Ads campaign as a house, and ad groups as the different rooms within that house.

Each ad group should have a specific objective and target a set of related keywords.

For example, if you're promoting a Google Ads course, you might have keywords like "Google Ads course," "Google Ads training," and "Google Ads certification" in the same ad group, but you would want a different ad group (or even a different campaign) for keywords like “Google Ads coach” or “one on one AdWords coaching.”

Keywords, Queries, and Search Terms: Oh My!

As an SEO pro, you're already familiar with keywords. But in Google Ads, there are a few key terms you need to understand:

Query: What the user types into the Google the search bar.

Keyword: What you, the advertiser, enter into your Google Ads account.

Search Term: The actual query that triggered your ad to show.

Match Types: Controlling Which Searches Trigger Your Ads

Google Ads has three keyword match types, and they work very differently now than they did just a few years ago.

If you don’t “pick” a match type, your keywords will default to Broad Match.

Broad Match: Your ads can show for a wide range of searches related to your keyword, including synonyms, related searches, and other relevant variations.

Phrase Match: Your ads show when the search query contains the same meaning as your keyword, but can include additional words before or after.

Exact Match: Your ads show only when the search query exactly matches the meaning of your keyword, but doesn’t necessarily use the exact same wording.

Beyond Keywords: Targeting with Audiences

While keywords are essential, Google Ads also allows you to target your ads based on audiences.

This means you can reach people based on their interests, demographics, search behaviour, or even their past interactions with your website or app.

Bidding Strategies: How Much Will You Pay?

Google Ads operates on an auction system, where advertisers bid for the opportunity to show their ads.

Your bid strategy determines how much you're willing to pay for each click. Although you can bid using the Manual CPC strategy, which lets you pick a specific amount you’re willing to pay per click, you’ll probably want to use an AI-powered Smart Bidding strategy instead.

There are various bid strategies available, but for beginners, I recommend starting with "Maximize Conversions" or "Maximize Conversion Value."

SEO and Google Ads: A Powerful Partnership

While SEO and Google Ads are separate disciplines, they can work together to boost your online visibility and sales.

Here are a few ways they can complement each other:

Keyword Insights: Use Google Search Console data to identify high-performing keywords for your ads.

Landing Page Optimization: A well-optimized landing page benefits both your SEO and ad performance.

Competitor Conquesting: Use ads to target keywords that your competitors are ranking for organically, including (but not limited to) their brand name.

Next Steps for Your Google Ads Journey

If you're ready to dive deeper into Google Ads, here are some resources to get you started:

Google Merchant Center: If you work with e-commerce businesses, this tool is essential for showcasing products on Google.

Offline Conversion Tracking: For lead generation businesses, learn how to track offline conversions and connect your CRM to Google Ads.

Inside Google Ads Course: My comprehensive course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to become a Google Ads expert. Use code WTS to get 50% off your first month!

I hope this SEO-friendly guide to Google Ads has been helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to find me in the Women in Tech SEO Slack group.