Google Ads shows your business to people as they search. This guide explains the parts of an account, the campaign types, what to prepare and how to judge the results.
Google Ads lets you show an ad when someone searches for words related to your business. You choose a goal, pick keywords or let Google target for you, write the ad, and set a budget and a bid. Each search triggers an auction, and on Search campaigns you are generally charged when someone clicks. Tracking enquiries tells you whether it works.
How Google Ads works
Google Ads for small business usually starts with a Search campaign: an ad that can appear with Google's search results when someone types a phrase related to what you offer. With the usual cost-per-click bidding on Search, you are charged when someone clicks the ad, not when it is shown.
Each time someone searches, Google runs an auction to decide which ads can appear and in what order. Your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, and the context of the search all feed into it. What makes clicks cost more or less is covered in the guide to how Google Ads pricing works, so this page stays with the overall picture.
The parts of a Google Ads account
- The account holds your billing details and your campaigns. Create it with your business's own email address and details, not a freelancer's.
- A campaign has a goal, a type, a budget, locations and languages, and a bidding approach.
- In Search campaigns, ad groups collect closely related keywords with the ads that match them. One group for each service or product keeps ads relevant.
- Keywords are the words and phrases that make your ad eligible to show. Match types control how closely a search must relate to the keyword.
- Ads carry headlines and descriptions. Google calls extras such as links to other pages or a phone number assets.
- Conversions are the actions you count as a result, such as a call, a form submission or a purchase.
Google renames features and rearranges screens from time to time, so check the current documentation if a label here differs from what you see.
The main Google Ads campaign types
Google's own page on choosing a campaign type lists the options below. Pick the type that matches your goal and the material you have.
| Campaign type | What it does | Often suits |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Text ads in Google search results for people searching related phrases | Services and products people look for by name; the usual first campaign |
| Performance Max | A goal-based campaign that uses Google's automation to place ads across Google's channels from one campaign | Businesses with reliable conversion tracking and good images and text to supply; you control less of where ads appear |
| Shopping | Product listings drawn from product data you upload through Google Merchant Center | Online stores with a clean product feed |
| Display | Image ads on websites, apps and Google properties | Reminding people who visited your site, and wider awareness |
| Video | Video ads on YouTube and other sites | Businesses that already have video to show |
| App | Promotion of a mobile app across Google's channels | Businesses with an app to promote |
For a local service business starting out, Search is usually the one to learn first. The words someone typed tell you what they want, and Google describes Search as the type where you write text ads and pick keywords, with no special files to supply. If you sell products online, read the documentation on Shopping and on Performance Max with a product feed before deciding.
What to prepare before you start
- A landing page for each thing you advertise. It should match the ad, state the offer and make contact easy on a phone. Sending every click to the home page is one of the commonest ways to waste money.
- A definition of a result, such as a call, a form submission or an order, and a way to count it. Set this up before you spend. Conversion tracking can use Google Ads' own tag, or events marked as key events in Google Analytics and imported once the two accounts are linked. The guide to Google Analytics for beginners explains key events.
- A test budget you can afford to lose while you learn, and a date to review it.
- A person who will open the account every week.
- A log, even a spreadsheet, where every enquiry is recorded with how the person found you.
Keywords, match types and negative keywords
A keyword tells Google which searches your ad may show for. Broad match lets the ad show on searches related to the keyword, including some that do not contain its direct meaning. Phrase match shows it on searches that include the meaning of the keyword. Exact match reaches the fewest searches and gives you the most control. A broad match keyword therefore needs close watching, and Google's documentation advises using automated bidding with it.
Negative keywords stop the ad showing on searches you do not want. A tailor who does not teach might add "tailoring course". Negative keyword matching works differently from positive matching, because it does not extend to close variants, so add singular and plural forms yourself.
The search terms report lists the actual searches that triggered your ads. Read it every week at the start. It shows both wasted spend and ideas for new keywords.
Bidding in plain terms
The bid is how you tell Google what a click is worth to you. You can set a maximum cost per click yourself, which is called manual bidding. Or you can use an automated strategy that adjusts bids for each auction to get you clicks or conversions within your budget. Strategies based on conversions need conversion data to work from, and Google's help pages describe a learning phase of around a week or two in which frequent changes to budgets or targets can delay results. Start simple and make changes less often than you want to.
How to tell if your ads are working
Clicks show interest. Enquiries and customers show results. The main numbers in the account are these.
| Number | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Impressions | How often the ad was shown |
| Clicks and click-through rate | Whether the ad appeals to the people who see it |
| Conversions and conversion rate | Whether visitors do what you counted as a result |
| Cost per conversion | What each enquiry or order cost in ad spend |
| Search terms | What people actually typed |
Then check Google's count against your own log. If the account reports many conversions and your log shows few real enquiries, the tracking is counting the wrong action, such as a page view. Ask every caller and form sender how they found you. Give the campaign a few weeks before you judge it, and compare the cost of winning a customer with what a customer is worth to you.
Mistakes that waste the most budget
- Sending clicks to a page that does not match the search.
- Running without conversion tracking, or with tracking that counts the wrong action.
- Applying every suggestion in the Recommendations section without reading it. Some suggestions widen targeting or raise spend.
- Using broad keywords without negative keywords and without reading the search terms report.
- Choosing a location wider than the area you serve. Read the location options carefully, because they affect who can see the ad.
- Starting several campaigns on a small budget, so that none gets enough clicks to learn from.
- Changing budgets, bids and ads every few days, so that nothing can be compared.
- Letting a third party hold the account, so that your history and access leave with them.
- Stopping too early, or carrying on for months without checking.
Can a small business run Google Ads without an agency?
It is possible, and many small businesses start by running their own account. A realistic scope is one service, one area and one Search campaign, checked every week. Outside help makes sense when mistakes would cost too much, when tracking has to cover calls and an online store, when you advertise products from a feed, when you cover several locations, or when a fair test has produced poor results.
If you do hire help, ask for plain reports, ask what the person will change and why, and keep the account in your business's name. The Liftup digital marketing page describes the team's work in this area.
Questions and answers
How does Google Ads work?
You create campaigns with a goal, a budget, keywords or targeting, and ads. Each time someone searches, Google runs an auction that weighs your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, and the context of the search. On Search campaigns you are generally charged when someone clicks.
What are the main types of Google Ads campaigns?
Search shows text ads in results, Performance Max uses automation across Google's channels, Shopping lists products from a feed, Display shows image ads, Video runs on YouTube and App promotes an app. Search is the usual first campaign for a local service business. Check the current documentation, because names and features change.
What do I need before I start Google Ads?
You need a landing page that matches each ad, a clear definition of a result such as a call or form submission, tracking to count it, a test budget you can afford and a person who will check the account weekly. Create the account under your own business details.
How do I know if my Google Ads are working?
Look at conversions and cost per conversion, not clicks alone, and compare them with your own log of enquiries. Read the search terms report to see what people typed. Give a campaign a few weeks, then compare the cost of a customer with what a customer is worth.
Can a small business run Google Ads without an agency?
Yes, with a narrow scope: one service, one area and one Search campaign, checked weekly. Consider help when budgets are large, tracking is complicated, you sell through a product feed or a fair test has produced poor results. Keep the account in your own business's name either way.
What mistakes waste the most Google Ads budget?
Common ones are sending clicks to the home page, having no conversion tracking, using broad keywords without negative keywords, targeting a wider area than you serve, accepting every automatic suggestion and changing settings every few days. Review the search terms report weekly to catch waste early.