Google Advertising Cost: What You Need to Know
Have you considered Google advertising, but aren't sure that it's within your budget? Take a look at what you need to know about the Google advertising cost.
It used to be simple.
If you wanted to advertise your business, you’d call up your local paper or an industry magazine and ask them for a price – and that would be that. Whether you selected a small classified ad or a half-page spread in a glossy magazine, you knew what you were going to pay.
Today, most businesses make use of the Google ads platform.
However, trying to get a handle on your Google advertising cost can feel like shooting blindfolded at a moving target. Almost impossible, and generally pretty expensive!
If you’re dipping your toe in digital ads and would like to know more about the cost of Google advertising, then you’re in the right place. Here’s what you need to know.
What Factors Affect Your Google Advertising Cost?
Google is far more than an ad platform that spits out random responses to search queries. And it will be a lot easier to get the results you want once you understand why they structure their advertising costs the way they do.
These are the main factors that will affect your Google ad cost which we will break down further below:
- Your industry
- Current trends
- Your quality score and ad ranking
It may be frustrating to realise that you don’t have much control over some of these factors that will influence your ad spend. However, there are definitely things that you can do which will reduce your ad costs and allow you to stand out from your competition.
How Your Industry Affects Your Google Ad Cost
If you’ve chosen a search campaign targeting specific keywords to draw in the right audience, then you’ll be paying for each click on your ad. This cost-per-click (CPC) metric is both a fair and clever way to ensure that Google is sending the right traffic to your website.
If you’re in arts or entertainment, or perhaps electronics or fashion, then you’re in luck. The average cost per click is significantly lower than in more competitive industries such as insurance, legal, or digital advertising. How much lower? The difference in CPC can be an eye-watering 20x less (or more) depending on the words or phrases that you’re targeting.
For exact, current numbers on how much you can expect to pay per click for your product or service, log into your Google Ads account and explore the keyword planner tool. This will give you an indication of how popular the word is, what the average CPC is, and what level of competition you can expect to face.
The Impact of Current Trends on Google Ad Campaigns
Finding and talking to your target audience is a constantly changing process. Global political or economic factors will impact both the cost and the volume of certain search terms, such as we’ve seen in the recent pandemic. During this time, searches for PPE products spiked while entertainment topics floundered.
Even smaller businesses would do well to keep a close eye on local trends. For example, have you noticed a shift in the demographic in your area? Is the average age changing in response to housing needs or commercial growth? Is there a move toward more sustainable products in your area that would prompt you to rethink your suppliers?
These aspects will play a role in how effective your Google ads are and how much you will need to spend.
The Effect of Your Quality Score and Ad Rank on Google Ads Cost
This is possibly one of the most important elements of how much you will be spending on your digital marketing campaigns. Thankfully, it’s also fully within your control!
Every time a user runs a search, Google runs a virtual auction to determine which are the best results to show. These results are based on a selection of factors which include:
- The average CPC
- Your bid on that particular keyword
- The relevance of your ad
- The intent of the user as determined by Google
- Your landing page content and the user experience
- The quality of your previous ads
- Your business location
This holistic, high-level view allows Google to determine the best result that matched the intent and the context that the user is looking for.
How Can I Maximise My Ad Quality to Pay Less?
There are simple checks and balances that you can put in place to ensure that you’re paying a fair price for your Google ads and getting the most out of them. After all, if you can pay a lower CPC for a valuable keyword simply by creating the best environment for your users, why wouldn’t you?
Here are a few pointers:
- Make sure that your bids are within the range that Google suggests
- Target long-tail keywords that offer a more targeted result
- Regularly remove costly or irrelevant keywords from your campaign
- Make sure that your Google ads are set up correctly
- Ensure that your landing pages are user-friendly and relevant to your audience
- Improve bids on keywords that give the best results
- Try various ads to see which work best for your audience
- Set your ads to run during the days and times that your audience is most active online
As you can see, it pays to stay on top of your ad campaigns and monitor them closely. It’s too easy to blow your budget on costly keywords or non-performing ads!
Understanding Google Ads and Costs
Trying to put a pin in your Google advertising cost can be tricky, as there are so many moving parts. The great thing to remember though is that the Google ads environment allows smaller businesses to compete effectively with larger corporations within the same industry.
Yes, it can certainly seem daunting to jump into the murky waters of digital advertising, but – when done right – it’s more than worth the time and effort. And definitely worth the money.
If you need a helping hand then please feel free to reach out to our team. We have experienced specialists who are ready and willing to assist you in getting the most out of your online ads.
