Google Ads

Google Ads (Google AdWords until 2018) is Google's online advertising platform and by far the largest paid-search channel worldwide. Advertisers book ads that appear above organic listings in search results, in the Google Display Network (millions of partner websites), on YouTube, in Gmail, and via Google Shopping — depending on the chosen campaign type. The main campaign types: Search (text ads matched to keywords), Display (banners on the content network), YouTube (video ads), Shopping (product-feed listings for e-commerce), Performance Max (AI-driven all-in-one campaign across all channels), and Demand Gen (discovery ads in Gmail + YouTube home). Each type has its own signals, creatives, and optimization logic — Performance Max has been the new default for many advertisers since 2022, but is not always the best choice. Costs accrue primarily per cost-per-click (CPC) for Search and Shopping, per cost-per-mille (CPM) for Display and YouTube — the actual price is set by an auction that combines bid, quality score, and expected CTR. The quality score (1–10) is Google's rating of ad relevance, landing-page quality, and expected click-through rate. A high quality score measurably lowers CPC — quality score 8 often costs half as much as quality score 3 for the same keyword. Conversion tracking is not optional: without properly configured conversions (via Google Tag, enhanced conversions, offline conversion import) Google's AI optimizes into the void. The biggest mistakes in Google Ads accounts: too broad keywords without negative lists, wrong match types (too much broad match), no conversion tracking or tracking micro-conversions that carry no business value, and budget allocation by gut feel instead of ROAS. A well-run account reaches 400–800% ROAS in competitive B2B niches, 200–500% in e-commerce.