If you build it, they will come… right? In today’s market, if you build a good Google Ads campaign, they will. Digital advertising used to be a luxury. Now it’s a necessity—especially if you’re a new company trying to break through.
But what types of Google ads should you use? What should your goals be (besides “sell more stuff”)? How do you know if your campaign is working, and how much is it all going to cost?
Pour a hot bevvy and let’s get into everything you need to know to master Google Ads in 2024.
Bonus!!!
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Download now ↗What is Google Ads?
Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is a bid-based online advertising platform that includes text format search engine ads, video ads, banner ads, YouTube ads, and other display options. Google Ads appear across Google search results and millions of Google partner websites.
Google Ads is the largest digital ad publisher in the United States, accounting for 28.4% of all ad revenue.
How do Google ads work?
You write an ad, place a bid, wait, and sales roll in. That’s basically it… with a few small caveats.
I’ll cover how to create a Google Ads campaign in step-by-step detail later, but essentially, Google Ads works on a pay-per-action pricing model, usually calculated as cost-per-click (CPC). That means you pay a certain price every time a user clicks on your ad, or whatever your goal action is.
That price changes often and depends on multiple factors, including how many other brands are currently targeting that keyword, search volume, expected reach, time of day or year, and more.
When you place your ad, you specify your “maximum bid” — the most you’re willing to pay for a click (or view, or other action you’ve defined).
The three main bidding options:
- Cost-per-click (CPC): Pay when a user clicks your ad.
- Cost-per-mille (CPM): Pay per 1,000 ad impressions.
- Cost-per-engagement (CPE): Pay when a user completes a defined action (like a signup).
For example, if your max bid is $2 but Google says the value of that click is $2.55, your ad won’t show. However, if your max bid was $2.56, your ad would be more likely to get the placement.
Importantly, this number is different from your overall campaign budget. You have the option to set a daily average budget and let Google handle your individual ad bids, or to set both your overall budget and fine-tune the maximum bid for each ad.
For beginners, I recommend setting your daily budget and letting Google optimize your individual ad bidding. It’s easier and often yields more effective and economical results.
For example, if you want to spend a total of $1,000, you could run a campaign for 30 days with a maximum daily budget of $33. Or, for 14 days at $66 per day. You get it.
That’s budgeting in a nutshell, though there are a few exceptions for specific industries.
Although, there’s one more sneaky factor to bidding: Quality Score.
Quality Score is how Google Ads determines who has the “best” ad to show for a keyword. It’s a numerical ranking from 1-10. For example, a lunch restaurant could score a 10 (high) for the keyword “avocado sandwiches” but would likely score a 1 (low) for the keyword “local plumber,” right?
Your Quality Score doesn’t directly affect your ad placement or budget, but it can have indirect effects.
For example, a high Quality Score means your ads match your potential customers’ search intent. And, creating ads that match what people are searching for means they’ll be shown more often, which means you’ll get more clicks. Quality Score isn’t a metric you should track in depth, but more of a guide to tell if your ad targeting is on track and how you compare to others competing for the same keywords.
Types of Google ads
Google Ads has changed a lot over the years, with new features and ad types. Right now, Google Ads consists of:
- Responsive search ads
- Performance Max ads
- Discovery ads
- Display ads
- Shopping ads
- App ads
- Smart campaigns
Let’s dive into each of these and when you should use them.
Responsive search ads
The OG, bread-n’-butta ad format. These text-based ads show on search engine result pages (SERPs) and use AI to mix and match your headlines and descriptions to match the user’s intent.
Back in the day, what you wrote for each ad is what Google displayed. Now, responsive search ads allow you to write multiple small variations and Google’s AI technology chooses the best mix of ad components to match the search query and intent.
Search ads are indicated by the bold “Sponsored” above them. Ads will also be in the first four spots on the page.
When to use:
- All the time. Search ads are the most basic Google Ads format and every brand can benefit from using them.
Specs:
- Headlines: Minimum three and maximum 15 headlines, 30 characters each.
- Display URL: Must use your domain, but doesn’t have to be the final URL. Can include a simplified “Path” of up to 15 characters.
- Descriptions: The body text of the ad. You need at least two descriptions but are allowed up to four, maximum 90 characters each.
Performance Max ads
Performance Max ads are less of an ad type and more of an overall strategy. Google describes Performance Max as a kind of combo of all their best machine learning algorithms and AI-assisted ad bidding strategies, combined with data points you provide, like custom audiences. The idea is to get you the best results possible for your goal.
Google claims Performance Max campaigns earn 18% more conversions than traditional search advertising campaigns.
To make a Performance Max campaign, you need to have a specific goal, such as making sales, getting leads, or another defined action. And you’ll need either some existing campaigns to pull from, or to upload as many creative assets as possible.
Source: Google Ads
When to use:
- Google suggests using a Performance Max campaign to complement your basic search ad campaign(s).
- When you have a clear goal.
- When you have additional data to help Google target your ads, e.g. custom audiences from Facebook, previous campaigns, e-commerce, etc.
Specs:
- Google suggests using a Performance Max campaign to complement your basic search ad campaign(s).
Supports every ad format. Upload as many headlines, descriptions, images, and videos as possible for best results.
Discovery ads
Discovery ads appear in places where people are most likely researching products or watching product reviews. Typically, this includes YouTube homepage and Watch Next page ads, Gmail inbox ads, and in Google searches matching the intent to shop. Plus, on the Google homepage. It’s like a display ad mixed with a Shopping ad.
Google users can opt out of the data that’s tracked to put together targeted Discovery ads, but most don’t: Google claims Discovery ads can reach up to three billion people.
- Web and app activity
- App info from their device (e.g. phone, tablet, computer)
- Contacts
- Location history
- Location settings (e.g. saved “home” and “work” locations, and others)
Specs:
Use multiple text, image, and video assets; require the Google tag.
YouTube ads
Video ads can show before, during, or after a video—plus on the YouTube homepage, “Watch Later,” subscriptions, and more. Targeting depends on interests, history, and your campaign goal.
When to use:
Product launches, new offers, brand awareness—basically anytime you have high-quality video.
Specs:
- Skippable in-stream: no max length (keep under ~3 minutes)
- Non-skippable in-stream: 15–30 seconds
- Bumper ads: max 6 seconds
- In-feed/outstream: no max; can reuse YouTube videos
Display ads
Display ads are image or video units that run across Google’s Display Network plus owned properties like YouTube. You can design each ad manually or let Smart Display/Performance Max mix and match assets.
When to use:
- As soon as you have graphics or short videos
- To retarget people who visited your site or purchased previously
Specs:
Provide creatives in all standard banner sizes. HTML5 ads require at least $9K spend and 90-day-old accounts.
Shopping ads
Shopping ads tap into your product catalog to showcase rich e-commerce listings across Search, YouTube, Gmail, and the Display Network. Google automatically matches the most relevant products to a user’s query.
When to use:
A must-have for every online retailer.
Specs:
Feed must include unique IDs, descriptions, URLs, images, and refreshed every 30 days. Works seamlessly with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and GoDaddy.
App ads
Promote iOS or Android apps for installs or re-engagement. Android developers can also run pre-registration campaigns. Google automatically pulls creatives from your store listing, or you can upload your own.
When to use:
Any time you have an app (minimum 50K installs for most campaigns; Android preregistration is exempt).
Specs:
- Images: PNG/JPG up to 5 MB in 1200×1200, 1200×628, or 1200×1500
- Video: Hosted on YouTube
- Text: Up to five 30-character headlines and five 90-character descriptions
- HTML5 assets available for select advertisers
Smart campaigns
Smart campaigns use Google’s AI to automate targeting, bidding, and placements. It’s the fastest way for beginners to get live in under 15 minutes and often rivals “expert mode” performance.
When to use:
- If you’re new to Google Ads
- If you want to optimize for calls, store visits, or website conversions quickly
Specs:
Provide a business name, landing page, headlines, descriptions, and optional details (phone, address, map pins).
How much do Google ads cost?
Short answer: whatever you want them to cost. Long answer: CPC averages vary wildly by industry, location, and competition.
For example, the online education industry pays an average of $9.35 USD per click in the United States but only $1.89 USD in Germany. Real estate averages $1.87 USD in the U.S., $0.78 USD in the U.K., and $0.63 USD in Canada.
Overall, the U.S. has the highest average Google Ads CPC at $1.99 USD. Canada and Mexico are significantly cheaper, as are most European countries outside the U.K. and Switzerland.
That’s why chasing a “true” average cost isn’t helpful. The only benchmark that matters is your own previous best. Focus on improving relevance, click-through rate, and Quality Score to reduce costs over time.
How to create Google ads in 5 steps
- Open a Google Ads account. Fill out your business name, website URL, billing information, and link any YouTube or Business Profile accounts.
- Create your first campaign. Click “New campaign,” choose a goal (sales, leads, traffic), then select the campaign type (Search, Performance Max, Video, etc.).
- Set a bidding strategy. Decide whether to focus on clicks, conversions, or impressions. Optional: add a target cost per action. Beginners should let Google optimize automatically.
- Target your audience. Choose locations, languages, and optional audience segments. Advanced users can upload custom lists and layer on demographics or interests.
- Create ads. Provide your landing page URL, brainstorm up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, upload images/videos, add sitelinks, callouts, phone numbers, and any other assets Google prompts you for. Don’t stress about perfection—launch, measure, refine, repeat.
4 tips for creating winning Google ads
1. Focus on headlines
You can include up to 15 headlines per ad—max them out. Google will mix and match them to find the highest-converting combo, but it can only optimize what you provide.
2. Test and experiment
Even your top-performing ads can improve. A/B test new variations regularly—swap in fresh headlines, tweak CTAs, or test different visuals to keep performance climbing.
3. Have a clear call to action
For conversion-focused campaigns, be explicit about the next step. “Get a free quote,” “Book a demo,” and “Start my trial” all outperform vague CTAs like “Learn more.”
4. Use every available ad attribute
Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, prices, phone numbers—they’re technically optional but help your ad dominate the SERP. Fill out everything Google offers for a higher click-through rate.
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