Paid Ads: A basic breakdown

Everyone has heard that to build a business you have to put money in, but what does that look like in the digital landscape? As a marketer, I see a lot of clients who want to get leads but don't know where to start. They want to appear at the top of Google, but they don't know how to get there. Or, they want to utilize the ads to follow people around the internet, but don't even know what those are called.

The answer to these queries lies in paid ads. But what kind? Who do you want to target? How do you decide which ads to run, and which type fits your business? Lucky for you we've got a breakdown of some of the most popular and useful choices below.

Before we get there, let's talk about where we see most clients spend their ad dollars: Facebook ads and Google Ads. There are other players here too (Instagram, LinkedIn, other search engines, and TikTok to name a few), but what takes up the majority of our clients' budgets are these two. There are more than 2.5 billion Facebook users, and on average, advertisers make $8 for every $1 spent on Google Ads. We find these two reach the largest and the right audience for our clients more often than the others.

Facebook Ads

Over 2.5 billion Facebook users equates to over 30% of the world population. There is good chance that there is an audience for what you're advertising on this platform (and this is why so many advertise here). Facebook ads have really great options to hone in on the exact type of audience you want to show up for. They have advanced targeting settings to get your content in front of your core audience and other audiences you would potentially never reach with organic content alone.

Google Ads

Google Ads allow you to anticipate the wants and needs of consumers. These ads capture the attention of your audience in a different way than just organic search alone. Google Ads deliver your advertisement to specific consumers based on keywords you select and other specific inputs like location and other demographics. Keyword selection helps target specific people looking for exactly what you're offering, matching them up to be a great potential sale for you. In addition, this is what people think of when they want to appear at the top of a google search. See the example below for an ad that pops up at the top of a search.

In addition, within both of those platforms, there are different styles of ads. Curious about paying for qualified leads, but don't know which type of ad to use? Let's break it down.

Types of Social Ads

Everyone has been on Facebook and seen ads before. Those generally don't show up there on accident. A business likely paid to make sure you saw them. And, something about you triggered their targeting. It could be your age, where you are from or what you do for a living.

This is something every business can take advantage of. Within Paid Social Advertising there are three categories.

Standard ads

These are the ads like I talked about above (and pictured above in the Facebook ads section). Targeting is set up, budget is determined, copy is put in place, and you're up and running. The ultimate goal of these ads is to get people to go to your normal social media page and follow you there. So, it's important to keep organic posts frequent while running an ad...but that's a whole different blog.

Re-targeting

Ever shop for something and then the product followed you around the internet? That was a little re-targeting pixel that hit you when you visited that website. Now, those ads follow you around and try to remind you that you want to buy those shoes...even if you don't need to. Turns out its not actually witchcraft, but paid advertising.

These ads are a great resource because they always bring qualified leads. These ads require no targeting, they only hit people who have already been to your website. So most importantly, you know you have what they are looking for. This is a great option to bring costs down and qualified leads up.

Boosted posts

Boosted posts work a little bit differently than ads do in the social media world. A boosted post is when you simply take a social media post of yours that you like and put money behind it. Just like an ad, you can determine who you are targeting. Facebook uses your budget to push the post out to those people, even if they aren't following your page. The post can run up to two weeks on it's own. This strategy is best for attracting new visitors to your social media profiles.

Types of Google Ads

Google Ads can show up basically anywhere including when you search, watch a video, or just surf the web. There are infinite versions of a Google Ad, but I'm going to hit three major ones.

Search

This is one of the most standard and most crucial forms of paid advertising. These ads are simple but powerful. If you're a hair salon, clients can Google "hair salon near me" and you can ensure that you show up at the top with proper strategy and budget (and that your competition doesn't show up when people search for you). Paying for a search ad puts you above any other organic result on the page. It can be competitive out there, so be ready to pay to play. Google takes a lot of things into consideration when displaying ads, and your budget is one of the most crucial.

Display

Display ads are more involved than search because they require a creative aspect to go along with them. These are the ads that will show up when you are on any website. They are usually off to the side, but grab your attention. This can easily be your business to those you target by creating and managing a display campaign. Be prepared to put work in for this one though, good content won't be enough to make you stand out. Creative work is just as important.

Re-targeting...again.

If you liked the sound of retargeting above, then you're in luck! Google also has its own re-marketing strategy. It works exactly like the one listed above but can show up on any website that is Google affiliated. This goes far past just Facebook and Instagram.

Think you are ready to take your business to the next level on the internet? Let us know. We are happy to help you create copy, creative, and strategy to get you some extra leads.