What is Search Advertising? Everything You Need to Know

When someone searches for a product or service, your ad can appear right alongside their search results. This isn’t just about random placements; it’s about strategic targeting. Search engines like Google and Bing use a complex auction system to determine which ads to show, and your bid, ad quality, and relevance all play a role.

By carefully selecting keywords that match what your potential customers are searching for, you can ensure your ads reach the right audience at the perfect time – when they’re actively searching. This focused approach means your advertising budget is spent more effectively, targeting individuals who have a specific need or interest in what you provide. 

Key Takeaways

• Search ads are a form of online advertising that appear on search engine results pages when users search for specific keywords or phrases. 
• Businesses pay search engines when a user clicks through to their website after their ad is displayed (hence “pay-per-click”).
• When a user enters a search query on platforms like Google or Bing, an auction occurs to determine which ads appear, taking into account bid amounts, ad quality, and relevance. 
• Search ads can benefit your business in a number of ways including increased traffic, measurable results and improved conversion rates.
• One of the key things to learn when managing a PPC campaign is managing ad spend.

What Are Search Ads? 

Search ads are a form of online advertising that appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for specific keywords or phrases. Businesses pay search engines, like Google and Bing, when a user clicks through to their website after their ad is displayed (hence “pay-per-click”). These ads are often marked with a label, like “Ad” or “Sponsored,” to distinguish them from the organic search listings.

Search ads can take various formats, including text ads and shopping ads that showcase products with images and pricing. The goal of search ads is to connect businesses with potential customers who are actively searching for products or services related to their offerings, leading to increased website traffic, leads, and sales.

How Search Advertising Can Benefit Your Business

Search advertising offers several key advantages that can boost your business’s online presence and drive growth:

• Increased Traffic: Reach customers actively searching for what you offer, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
• Measurable Results: Track your campaign performance and optimise in real-time for maximum ROI.
• Flexibility: Easily adjust your strategy based on performance and changing market conditions.
• Improved Conversion Rates: As search advertising targets users who are actively searching for specific products or services, these users are often further along in the buying process. This higher level of intent can lead to improved conversion rates.

Who Can Benefit From Search Engine Advertising?

PPC services work for all kinds of businesses, from startups to huge corporations. There is no minimum budget – you can set the daily budget which suits your business’ goals and choose audience options which fit your target demographic. 

How Do Search Ads Work?

Search ads involve bidding on keywords related to your business and displaying relevant ads within search engine results pages. This strategy specifically targets users actively searching for information, products, or services related to your offerings. 

When a user enters a search query on platforms like Google or Bing, an auction occurs to determine which ads appear, taking into account bid amounts, ad quality, and relevance. For this to take place, each ad campaign must be linked to specific keywords and ad copy. When a user’s search query matches an advertiser’s targeted keywords, their ad may be triggered and displayed. 

What is Ad Rank?

Ad Rank is a set of values that are used to determine whether your ads are eligible to show and if eligible, where on the page your ads are shown relative to other advertisers. In each auction, your Ad Rank is calculated first to determine whether your ad is eligible to show, and a second time to determine where your ad is ranked. 

Ad ranks are based on a number of factors:

• Your Bid – The maximum amount you’re willing to pay per click.
• Ad and landing page quality – Relevance and usefulness of your ad and landing page.
• Auction Competitiveness – The higher the gap in Ad Rank, the greater the advantage for the top ad.
• Search Context – Factors like search terms, location, device, and time of search.
• Expected Impact of Ad Assets – Additional elements like phone numbers or sitelinks that enhance performance.

Can You Use Search Ads Alongside Other PPC Strategies?

Search ads can work alongside other PPC strategies to create a well-rounded advertising approach. Combining search ads with display, social media, and shopping ads can help you reach users at different stages of their buying journey and improve brand visibility, increase conversions, and maximise your return on investment.

Search Ads Platforms Explained

There are a variety of search engines out there with their own ad platforms. Google is by far the largest, but which platform is best for your business?

Google 

 Google Ads is the leading platform for search advertising, enabling businesses to connect with potential customers at the moment they’re actively searching for relevant products or services. Google Ads provides a suite of powerful features to maximize your reach and effectiveness. On google you can run different types of campaigns depending on your goal:

• Search Campaigns: Standard text ads that appear on Google Search Results Pages, triggered by keyword searches.
• Shopping Campaigns: Campaigns designed for e-commerce, displaying product images, prices, and merchant names directly in search results.
• Video Campaigns: Campaigns primarily running on YouTube and the Google Display Network, optimized for brand awareness and user engagement through video content.
• Demand Gen Campaigns: Campaigns aimed at reaching new audiences across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, and Google video partners before active searches occur.
• Performance Max Campaigns (PMax): An automated campaign type leveraging Google’s AI to optimize bidding and targeting across all Google channels (YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps) based on specified conversion goals.

Bing 

Bing allows businesses to reach audiences who use the Bing search engine and its partner network. While Google has a larger market share, Bing Ads provides unique opportunities to connect with specific demographics and expand your online presence. Like Google Ads, Bing Ads offers a range of campaign types:

• Search Campaigns – Traditional text ads on Bing SERPs, triggered by keyword searches, similar to Google Search campaigns.
• Shopping Campaigns – Essential for e-commerce, displaying product images, prices, and merchant info directly in search results.
• Microsoft Performance Max (PMax) is available globally and can be used by all advertisers. PMax is a campaign type that uses AI to create and optimize ads across Microsoft’s advertising network.
• Multimedia Ads – Visually engaging ads with images and videos that stand out in search results, improving click-through rates.

How to Manage Ad Spend With Search Ads

One of the key things to learn when managing a PPC campaign is managing ad spend. Here are some great tips from our PPC experts on how to effectively manage ad spend.

Set a Clear Budget

• Define a daily or monthly budget based on your overall marketing goals.
  • These budgets should be in line with your KPIs, and how much you are willing to spend per lead or sale. 
  • You should also do some research prior to ensure that the average cost per click of your keywords is not higher than your daily budget.

• Allocate more budget to high-performing campaigns and scale down underperforming ones.

Optimise Bidding Strategy

• Optimise your ad spend based on performance by using automated bidding strategies such as Maximize Conversions or Target CPA. 
• You can further manage your budget by adjusting these bid strategies, increasing bids when your budget allows and decreasing targets to lower costs.

Keywords

• We recommend using negative keywords to prevent wasted spend on irrelevant searches.
• Regularly review the search terms report to refine targeting.
• Pause or refine underperforming keywords and ads.

Use Budget Scheduling & Bid Adjustments

• Increase bids during peak hours and reduce spend when conversions are low.
• Use ad scheduling to prevent unnecessary spending outside business hours.
• Allocate budget seasonally based on demand trends.

How to Get Started With Search Ads – Our Top 5 Tips

Now you know all about search ads, it’s time to put it into action. Our PPC experts have provided their top five tips for getting started with search ads to help you get off to a great start.

1. Define Your Key Performance Indicators

Before setting up your campaign, it’s important to define clear objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These will inform your campaign choices, bidding strategies, and ultimately, how you measure success. 

Setting measurable KPI targets allows you to measure the effectiveness of your ads, identify areas for improvement, and capitalize on strengths.

Learn more about this in our detailed blog, What are the Main KPIs of PPC?

2. Start Small With Smaller Budgets

When we first launch a new campaign, our ads enter a ‘learning phase.’ During this phase, a smaller budget is beneficial for two reasons. First, it allows you to experiment with different Google Ads formats and a variety of keywords without the risk of overspending. 

Second, it allows the campaigns to essentially “learn” how to get the conversions and/or revenue that you need with your budget. Going straight in with a huge budget will result in a lot of wasted spend.

3.Keywords Research

Conduct keyword research to identify words and phrases relevant to your target market’s needs. Tools like Google’s Keyword Planner can assist with this process. We’d also recommend using SEMrush which also provides insight on the intent behind the keyword. 

When launching campaigns, start with keywords on phrase match, as this provides greater control than broad match while still maintaining a wide reach.

4. Use a Strong Landing Page.

To provide users with a seamless experience and increase conversions, ensure that your Google Ads and landing page deliver a consistent message. Additionally, incorporate a clear call to action on the landing page to encourage visitor interaction and potential conversion into customers. 

Using tools like HotJar, or investing in Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) will give more insights as to how your customers or potential clients navigate round your page, if there are any roadblocks and if you can make any improvements.

5. Negative Keyword List

Negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns and help you focus on only the keywords that matter to your customers. This improved targeting puts your ad in front of interested users, increasing your return on investment. Continuously refine your negative keyword list by checking the search query report and adding any irrelevant terms.

Get Started With Search Ads With Wildcat Digital

Search ads are a powerful tool for businesses looking to increase visibility, boost conversions, and maximise ROI. At Wildcat Digital, we specialise in crafting highly effective search campaigns in line with your other marketing strategies, that attract customers to your website and drive results.
Learn more about our PPC services online today or get in touch for a free consultation.