How Google Ads Works: Top Questions

Top Paid-Ad Management Questions

#1: What is my optimization score?

The Google Ads 'optimization score' is simply a set of suggestions that Google provides, and whether or not you/we follow them determines the score.

To be frank, the optimization score is pretty irrelevant. They don't mean your campaign is doing well or not. They are automated suggestions. The only things that matter when it comes to a campaigns success are how many conversions (leads) you are getting, and the cost to generate a lead. We cannot stress this enough.

Vanity metrics such as optimization score simply do not equate to a successful campaign, or making money.

These aspects of lead volume and cost per lead really are the most important factors when running Google Ads campaigns. Period. Without an adequate number of leads, a business may not achieve its goals, and if the cost per lead is too high, the campaign may not be profitable.

By focusing on generating an acceptable volume of leads while keeping the cost per lead low enough to generate a profit, businesses can maximize the benefits of their Google Ads campaigns. This is what our team is focused on.

#3: How often do I get charged?

So, when you run a Google Ads campaign, you're essentially participating in an auction for ad placement. That's really what it is.

You choose keywords and create ads/landing pages, and then when someone searches for those keywords, Google holds an auction to determine which ads will show up and in what order.

You only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. You get to set your own budget, and decide how much you want to spend on Google Ads each day, and you'll never go over that amount. In the Google Ads dashboard, you will see the daily spend will fluctuate, but by the end of the month, it will total to your allotted budget.

Of course, there are some other factors that can affect the cost of your ads, like how competitive your keywords are and how high your bid is compared to others.

But overall, Google Ads can be a really effective and cost-efficient way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads for your business.

#5: The phone numbers on my landing page different than the phone number I gave you? Also, why is there a different number in the footer than the rest of the page?

This all comes down to tracking. When we manage Google Ads for your business, we want to keep track of which keywords are driving phone calls. So we use a tool called Call Rail for call tracking. It creates an account for your company and gives your landing page four different phone numbers that will switch automatically.

These numbers help us figure out which keywords in your Google Ads campaign are driving calls. We also attach one static number called a call extension to your ad, which has to be in the footer of your landing page for Google to accept it. That way, potential customers can easily call you right from the ad.

But why can't we just use your regular phone number? Well, if we did that, we wouldn't be able to track which leads came from the Google Ads campaign. That's why we use these different tracking numbers - so we can see how the campaign is doing and make any changes if needed.

All the tracking numbers ultimately forward to the Dev station number you give us when we first start working together.

#7: Why do I have slow days sometimes?

The reason for slow days in running Google Ads is that not every day is equal, and there will be ups and downs in the flow of leads. Even if you get a lot of leads on one day, it's unrealistic to expect the same number of leads every day.

Why? Because there are only so many people searching for your specific offering in your target location. There are real people searching on Google, and real people can be unpredictable at times.

It's essential to look at Google Ads over a more extended period, such as 30 days or more, to judge if a campaign is successful or not because you need a larger data set. Looking at it daily can also do a disservice to yourself because it can cause unnecessary stress.

Our team optimizes weekly, and it's crucial to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of campaign success over a biweekly or monthly period.

#9: Why is my cost per click so high? I need that lowered, right?

Cost per click is not the most important metric to obsess over. You don't even have control over it.

Again, the only two metrics that truly matter are conversions and cost per conversion, aka, how many leads are you actually getting and how much does it cost you to acquire them.

Therefore, we recommend focusing on conversion volume and cost per conversion as the only metrics that are truly important in judging the success of an ad campaign. Obsessing over CPC can be a distraction from the actual goal of generating leads and revenue.

#2: I haven't gotten any clicks or any leads yet, is my campaign on?

It's important to understand that Google Ads is not a switch that you just turn on, and leads just come rolling in. As much as we wish that to be true, there is a ramp-up period during which the campaign builds momentum, and it may take some time before you start seeing clicks and leads. This is normal.

The success of a Google Ads campaign depends on many factors such as your location, your market, your competition, and your budget. These factors impact the speed at which your campaign ramps up and the amount of success it will achieve. As they say, it's just the nature of the beast.

For some, you may see clicks slowly ramp up after two, three, or four days, while for others, it may take longer. It's essential to remember that Google Ads is not a magic solution. It's an additional lead source that you should be using to supplement your overall marketing strategy.While Google Ads can be a powerful tool in your marketing toolkit, it's important not to rely solely on it for the success of your business.

While some people do take this path, we've found that using multiple tactics such as SEO, customer services, and strong sales strategies also makes a huge impact. It takes time to fine-tune your campaigns, and the first 30 days are usually focused on gathering data to help make informed decisions moving forward.

Please remember the speed and success of your Google Ads campaign will depend on many different factors, so it's essential to manage your expectations and be patient. Google Ads work, but they take time. The more data we get to optimize, the better things will be in the long run.

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#4: I searched Google and I saw my ad. Then I searched again, and I didn't see my ad. What's going on?

In Google Ads, it's not guaranteed that you'll see your ad every time you search for it. Several factors affect when and how your ad is displayed, including the device you're using. For example, if you're using a tablet, and the campaign is not targeting tablets, you won't see the ad.

The same applies to desktop or mobile devices.Another factor is the time of day and whether you have an ad schedule set up. If you search for your ad after your ad schedule ends, you won't see it. Also, if you've exhausted your daily budget, your ad won't run, and you won't see it.

It's essential to understand that the frequency of seeing your ad is not a metric to go off. Again, the only metrics that matter in Google Ads are the volume of conversions and the cost per conversion. These are the metrics that determine the success of your campaign.

#6: Can I use my own website for the campaign?

The reason we don't use a company's website when running Google Ads is because most websites, especially those of local businesses, are not designed for conversions.

Our entire system is based on templates that are designed for your niche, and we know that these templates work across different markets and locations. Our templates are very specific and deliberate, and we have successful campaigns, landing pages, ads, and everything else in place.

If we used a company's own website, we wouldn't be able to make the necessary changes to improve the conversion rate on the fly. So we don't mess with what works and instead use our own system to get the best results for our clients.

This is why our team are Google Premier ad specialists, recognized by Google as being in the top 1% of all advertisers. We know what works.

#8: A lead didn't want my service or was of poor quality. Can you give me a refund for this lead or a credit for this lead from Google?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. You see, Google charges you for each click on your ad, not for the quality of the leads you get. So even if a lead turns out to be bad or not interested in your service, you still have to pay for the click that brought them to your website.

However, there is one exception to this rule. If the click was fraudulent, meaning it wasn't made by a real person, then you might be eligible for a refund or credit. But this is something that rarely happens to small businesses who are spending less than $1,000 a day on ads.

That won't happen because every client we have has call click fraud software installed on their landing pages anyways, so that catches all that and bans those IP addresses.

But if you're worried about the quality of the leads you're getting, the best thing to do is to optimize your ads and landing pages to attract the right kind of audience.

And remember, getting a bad lead once in a while is normal and doesn't necessarily mean your entire campaign is a failure. You need to look at the bigger picture and judge your campaign's success over a longer period of time.

#10: What should I expect in my first 30 days of my Google Ads campaign?

In the first 30 days of your Google Ads campaign, you should expect to receive leads, but not an overwhelming volume of them. This is because our team needs to gather data during this time, which primarily involves getting clicks so we can analyze the search terms and keywords.

We need to see which keywords are driving leads and which ones are not, so we can turn off the ones that are not performing and increase spending on the ones that are driving leads. This can only be achieved with time.

During this time, we also need to evaluate the quality of the leads, including phone calls if you are recording them. If we find any issues with the quality, we will go through and listen to the calls to identify the bottleneck and fix it in the campaign.

All of this takes time, so the first 30 days are all about gathering data. After that, we can start optimizing the campaign to make it more efficient by reducing lead costs and increasing lead volume.

This is how Google Ads works, regardless of which agency you choose to work with. So, be patient and trust the process. We are working to deliver the best possible results for you.

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