According to a report by Statista, Google dominates the Malaysian search engine market with a whooping 97 percent, where Bing and Yahoo! came in second and third, respectively, with 1.83 and 0.66 percent of the market.
What this essentially means is that among the 29.55 million internet users in Malaysia, you can tap into 28.66 million Malaysians who use Google everyday. With every search, it holds opportunities for your brand or business to be discovered, indirectly converting to more conversions, leads, and sales!
This is where Google Ads comes into play.
As customers search for relevant terms, you may advertise and promote your goods and services using Google Ads Malaysia. It has the potential to accelerate leads and sales when done correctly.
In this article, we’ll take you through a journey of discovering how Google Ads can do wonders for your business!
What is Google Ads
Google Ads, previously known as Google Adwords, is an online advertising platform that allows businesses to create and display ads to potential customers who are searching for products or services on Google or browsing websites that are part of Google’s ad network. It works on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which means that advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ad.
The Google Ads network is made up of two primary types of advertising networks: the Google Search Network and the Google Display Network.
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Google Search Network
This network includes Google Search and other Google search-related properties, such as Google Maps and Google Shopping. When an advertiser runs ads on the Google Search Network, their Google Search ads appear above or below the search results when someone searches for a specific keyword that the advertiser has targeted. These ads can be in the form of text, shopping, or call-only ads.
Google Display Network
This network includes millions of websites, mobile apps, and videos that have partnered with Google to display ads. Advertisers can use a variety of Google display ads formats, such as image ads, rich media ads, video ads, and responsive ads, to reach potential customers across different websites and mobile apps.
The Google Ads network also includes several other types of networks and features, such as:
Image source: Engaio Digital
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YouTube ads:
This allows advertisers to run ads on YouTube, the world’s largest video-sharing platform.
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Google Shopping ads:
This allows advertisers to display their product ads in Google’s Shopping tab, Google Images, and Google Search results. This is also a good way to drive sales.
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Gmail ads:
This allows advertisers to display ads in Gmail users’ inboxes, targeted to the user’s interests.
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Google AdSense:
This allows website owners to display ads on their website and earn money based on clicks or impressions
Why use Google Ads?
Google’s PPC is considered one of the best digital marketing strategies out there for these reasons:
Targeted advertising
With Google Ads, you can target specific demographics, locations, and interests to ensure that your ads reach the right people.
Cost-effective
Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This allows for greater control over your advertising budget and can be more cost-effective than traditional advertising methods.
Measurable results
Google Ads provides detailed metrics on your ad campaigns, including click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI), allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your ads and make adjustments accordingly.
Increased visibility
Google is the most widely used search engine in the world, so advertising on Google Ads can significantly increase your business’s online visibility and attract more potential customers.
Customizable ad formats
Image source: PPCexpo
Google Ads offers a variety of ad formats, including text ads, display ads, video ads, and shopping ads, giving you the flexibility to choose the format that best suits your business’s needs.
How Google Ads Work
As mentioned above, Google Ads runs on a PPC model where marketers make a bid on a specific keyword all while competing with others for that keyword. The bids are also known as “maximum bids” – which simply means the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for an ad. However, having a high maximum bid alone does not guarantee a top ad position.
For instance, if your maximum bid is set at RM4, you will secure an ad placement from Google if they determine that your cost-per-click (CPC) is RM2 or lower. However, if your CPC is determined to be higher than RM4, you will not be able to secure the ad placement.
Now comes the question, how does Google search engine determines your ad’s CPC?
Image source: Wordstream
Step 1: Quality Score
Basically, Google’s Quality Score is an evaluation of the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. Google determines the quality score of an ad based on several factors, including:
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Click-through rate (CTR):
Google looks at the percentage of people who click on an ad after seeing it. Ads with a higher CTR are generally considered more relevant and receive a higher quality score.
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Ad relevance:
Google evaluates how closely an ad matches the intent of the user’s search query. Ads that are highly relevant to the search query receive a higher quality score.
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Landing page experience:
Google looks at the relevance and usability of the landing page that the ad leads to. Landing pages that provide a good user experience and are relevant to the ad receive a higher quality score.
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Ad format:
Google considers the format of the ad, including the headline, description, and display URL. Ads that are well-written and informative receive a higher quality score.
This metric is essentially a measure of how well an ad meets the needs and expectations of users. Ads with a higher quality score tend to perform better and may receive a higher position on the search results page, hence, lower CPC.
Step 2: Ad Rank
Google determines the ad rank based on a combination of the ad’s maximum bid and its Quality Score.
Image source: Wordstream
To calculate the ad rank, Google multiplies the ad’s maximum bid by its Quality Score. The ad with the highest ad rank will get the top position on the search results page.
Step 3: Cost-per-Click (CPC)
Image source: Wordstream
The actual CPC paid by the advertiser is determined by the ad rank of the advertiser immediately below them divided by their Quality Score, plus $0.01. This means that advertisers with higher Quality Scores can achieve higher ad positions while paying less per click than competitors with lower Quality Scores.
The $0.01 is a small amount to ensure that the actual CPC is at least $0.01 higher than the ad rank of the advertiser below them. The actual Google Ads cost or CPC paid by the advertiser is often lower than their maximum bid.
For instance, Sam, Mary and Pat are bidding for the same keyword, but Sam has the highest Quality Score and ad rank and Mary has a Quality Score of 4 and an ad rank of 16. Hence, the actual CPC paid by Sam is (16/10) + $0.01 = RM1.61, though the maximum bid is RM2.
How to Advertise on Google (Step-by-Step)
If you’re new to advertising on Google, don’t worry! The process is going to be very easy and we’ll guide you through it step-by-step. Just remember, in order to start advertising on Google, you’ll need to have a Google account set up for your brand or business.
Step 1: Define Your Advertising Goals
First, you need to define your advertising goals by heading to the Google Ads homepage.
Image source: fitsmallbusiness
What do you want to achieve with your ads? Do you want to drive website traffic, generate leads, increase sales, or boost brand awareness? Your advertising goals will determine your campaign strategy and budget.
Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Type
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After electing your goal, you can then choose your Google ads campaign types including search, display, video, and shopping. Choose the campaign type that best aligns with your advertising goals.
Step 3: Define Your Target Audience
Image source: Hootsuite
Define your target audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. This will ensure that your ads are shown to the right people at the right time.
It’s common to assume that casting a wider net by targeting a larger radius will bring in more business. However, targeting a specific and well-defined audience can actually lead to more conversions and leads. In other words, the smaller your target audience, the more successful your marketing efforts may be.
This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s true: the smaller the net you cast, the more fish you’ll catch! This approach is especially useful if your business operates primarily in one state or location. For example, if you have a physical store in Kuala Lumpur, it wouldn’t make sense to target customers in Sarawak.
By honing in on a specific audience, you’ll be able to create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns that resonate with your ideal customers.
You’ll also need to set your budget and bidding strategy.
Step 4: Create Your Ad Campaign
Image source: Hootsuite
Now comes the exciting part – creating your ad! In this section, you’ll have the opportunity to craft the headline and description of your ad. The process is made even easier with the ad preview box located on the right-hand side of the screen. This allows you to view previews of your ad on different devices such as mobile, desktop, and display.
Once you’ve created your ad, simply click on “Done” to complete the process. If you want to add another ad to your ad group, you can click on “Done and Create Next Ad” instead.
With these simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating an effective and engaging ad that captures the attention of your target audience. Good luck!
Step 5: Launch Your Ad Campaign
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Once you’ve created your ad campaign, it’s time to launch it. Your ads will start running as soon as Google approves them!
Track and monitor your Google Ads
Just like any marketing strategy, Google Ads requires ongoing attention to ensure it’s performing at its best. Regularly checking in on your campaigns is crucial so you can identify what’s working well and what’s not.
There are several key metrics to pay attention to when it comes to PPC advertising, including the cost per click, click-through rate, conversion rate, and cost per action (also known as cost per acquisition or cost per conversion). These metrics will give you valuable insight into the effectiveness of your campaigns and help you make informed decisions about what to adjust or improve.
Of course, depending on your specific campaign types and objectives, there may be other metrics that are important to track as well. But by keeping an eye on these core metrics, you’ll be well on your way to creating successful and effective Google Ads campaigns.
Google Analytics
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Tracking and monitoring your Google Ads campaigns with Google Analytics is a great way to gain valuable insights into how your ads are performing and identify areas for improvement.
Here’s how to get started:
1. Link your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts
Image source: MeasureSchool
Go to your Google Analytics account, navigate to the Admin section, and under “Property,” click on “Google Ads Linking.” From there, you can link your Google Ads account to your Google Analytics account.
2. Enable auto-tagging
Image source: MarketLytics
Auto-tagging is a feature that automatically adds a unique parameter to your ad’s URL, allowing Google Analytics to track clicks and conversions from your Google Ads. To enable auto-tagging, go to your Google Ads account, click on “Settings,” and then “Account Settings.” Under “Tracking,” make sure that “Auto-tagging” is turned on.
3. Set up goals in Google Analytics
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Goals are specific actions that you want users to take on your website, such as filling out a form or making a purchase. By setting up goals in Google Analytics, you can track how many users are completing these actions after clicking on your Google Ads.
4. Analyze your data
Once your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked and you have goals set up, you can start analyzing your data. Look at metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate to see how your ads are performing and where you might need to make adjustments.
By tracking and monitoring your Google Ads campaigns with Google Analytics, you’ll be able to gain a better understanding of how your ads are impacting your website’s performance and make data-driven decisions to improve your results.
Google Ads Services Malaysia
This guide is for beginners and as a novice, Google ads might seem all too overwhelming for you! Now if you have some marketing budget, you are in luck because Clarini Online Marketing is an expert in Google Ads Management services.
With years of experience in the digital marketing industry, Clarini Online Marketing has a proven track record of delivering successful Malaysia Google ads service for businesses of all sizes. Our team of experts specializes in creating and managing Google Ads campaigns that drive traffic, leads, and sales to your website.
