Google Ads uses a pay per click model, meaning that you only pay when a user clicks on one of your Text Ads. Furthermore, you do not pay for any impressions on Google’s Search Network, that being, Text Ads that are displayed on Google’s Search Engine Results Page, Google Maps and Search Partner websites.
Text Ads can be targeted to specific:
Keywords: Only display Text Ads to users who display search intent, interest and are searching for your product or service – meaning that you only display Text Ads and only pay for clicks on relevant searches on Google’s Search Engine Results Page.
Locations: Only display Text Ads to users in a specific Country, Province/State and City. You can include or exclude specific Countries, Provinces/States and Cities to target. Or, you can target users in a specific radius around your business – meaning that you only display Text Ads and only pay for clicks when a user is in a specific targeted location of interest for your business.
Demographics: Only display Text Ads to users of a specific age range, gender type and household income – meaning that you only display Text Ads and only pay for clicks when a user is of a specific demographic.
Your Ad Rank determines your Text Ad’s position and your actual Cost Per Click (CPC) is usually lower than your Max. CPC bid for the following reason:
You only pay enough for a click to hold your position in the Ad Auction above your competitor that has a lower Ad Rank than you. For example, if you have a Max. CPC bid of R10.00 and an Ad Rank of 90 and your competitor has a Max.CPC bid of R4.00 and an Ad Rank of 80, your Text Ad will display above your competitor’s Text Ad on the Search Engine Results Page and you would only pay R4.01 if a user clicks on your Text Ad.
Your Text Ads can appear above your competitors Text Ads on the Search Engine Results Page with a Max. CPC bid lower than that of your competitors Max. CPC Bid because your Text Ad has a higher Ad Rank, the reason being:
Text Ads with a high Quality Score and therefore a high Ad Rank will appear higher on the Search Engine Results Page even when a competitor’s Max. CPC is higher than your Max. CPC. For example, if you have a Max. CPC bid of R10.00 and an Ad Rank of 90 and your competitor has a Max.CPC bid of R20.00 and an Ad Rank of 80, your Text Ad will display above your competitor’s Text Ad on the Search Engine Results Page and you would only pay R10.00 if a user clicks on your Text Ad.
By having a professional Digital Marketing company manage your Google Ads account to continually test and optimize keywords and Text Ads that perform well and remove things that don’t perform well – meaning that you save money by not spending it on untested campaigns that may not perform at all.