DIGITAL ADVERTISING
GOOGLE ADS
WHY GOOGLE ADS?
The second form of online advertising that I would recommend for highly targeted, low cost promotion, is Google Ads (formerly Adwords). You would need to have a basic level of digital familiarity, however it is straight forward if you follow the instructions. It is low risk in that you can test the waters as you would with social media, testing from a few euro per day for a few days to see if it works for your practice. As with all advertising, results do vary so testing and monitoring is key.
HOW IT WORKS
Where social media ads locate your audience by their profiles and interests, google ads target people by what they are searching for on Google (see sample to the right, ads in red box). Around the year 2000, Google quickly became the worlds largest search engine and paid search was born. With billions of searches per day, it is the primary search engine globally and in Ireland.
This activity has traditionally been the domain of professional marketers however there is nothing stopping you from carrying out this activity if you feel comfortable in the digital world. There is a ‘light’ version that provides an easier to use interface and instructions. Marketing professionals will still use the expert account route as it provides more options.
You pay for every click on your ad, so it is essential to create the right ad and focus on the right search terms.
Before you start, think about what you want to get out of your Google Ads. Use the services and clients tool results to identify the services you want to promote / people you want to reach. With Google Ads, generic search terms tend to be more expensive (depression, anxiety etc) whereas niche terms are more accessible and successful (therapy for teenage anxiety). Cross reference your services and clients and use this to create your ads and search terms.
WHAT DO YOU NEED
There is no cost to sign up for a Google Ads account, you simply pay for the ads themselves. You need to have a Google account - Gmail address - and a website address to start. You also need a credit card for billing purposes.
HOW TO START
Go to https://ads.google.com/home/ and click the Start Now button.
Please note that platforms tweak their setup processes regularly but will follow a similar process.
Enter your username and password for your gmail account. Google might ask you to add a home address or recovery email/phone, it is advisable to add recovery details but it is not necessary. You can click ‘Not Now’ to move on.
Your next screen will ask what you want to promote - click Your Website (default option) and then click the next button. You can then enter your business name and the exact website address of the page on your site that features the service you wish to promote.
Google then scans this website page to work out suggestions for your ads. Once the scan is complete you will see a confirmation of your landing page (the page people see when they click on your ad) - see image right.
Click Next to move on.
The next stage is the ad development stage. Google will have picked up terms from your landing page and provided you with recommended text for your ads. If you feel that it is appropriate you can move on.
However if it does not match your chosen priority service and speak to your key clients, then change it here. For example, your priority service 1 is ‘pandemic related anxiety’ and your key client (where your expertise and experience meet) is ‘parents of teenagers’. We have overwritten the ad text below to focus on this treatment and client type. As you type, you can see how the ad will appear to the right of the input fields.
Remember to keep your ad text client focussed - offering them a solution to their issue and referencing that you can help them.
Once you are happy with the ad, click Next.
CHOOSING SEARCH TERMS TO TARGET
The next stage is all about selecting the search terms you want to focus on - the words people might use to search for your services. Google first offers suggested keyword themes which represent groups of search terms, for example:
Keyword Theme = Psychotherapy
Search Words within the theme = Psychotherapy Services, Psychotherapy Treatment, Psychotherapy for Anxiety etc.
The next stage relates to setting a budget for the campaign. You will be offered a suggested amount but ALWAYS review this and change it to suit your personal budget. This will ensure that you do not spend more than you want. The spend will cut off every day once your maximum amount has been reached.
The total budget spend will cut off on the day you nominate to end the campaign.
Once your ad has been approved, it will run continually for the duration that you have nominated, cutting off every day when you have reached your budget limit. This means that you will never go over your spend.
ANALYTICS - MEASURING IS KEY
To monitor the performance of your ads, while in your account, click on the ‘Campaigns’ overview - it is the dashboard of your ad account and you will find insights & performance info on your ad campaigns, including the following:
how many users clicked on your ads
the amount of reported calls from your campaign (if you have added a phone number)
track the number of times people saw your ad and then clicked on your practice’s location pin on Google Maps
got directions to your business
You will also see notifications about your campaign, billing issues etc.
By seeing which keywords and ads (if you run more than one) are performing best, you can focus in on that audience and gain better value for money.
If you have a Google Analytics account attached to your website, you should connect it to your Google Ads account for even more detailed performance insights.
While Google Ads can tell you how many people click on your ads, integrating Google Ads and Analytics lets you keep an eye on what those people do once they reach your website. For example, if people arrive at your site but then immediately click away, your ad might not be reaching the right people after all — or you might be taking them to to wrong area of your site.
Some website platforms have their own analytics functions built into their website (Wix etc) so its a good idea to check what you have and ensure that you can analyse all free and paid marketing activities.
To set up a Google analytics account, you simply need an email address and website address. Go to https://analytics.google.com/ and click ‘Start Measuring’ or 'Create Account'. Once you have completed the process go back to your website and add the code provided by Google Analytics in the way your site instructs. If you need help with this, your website will likely have customer support or you can outsource it to a web or marketing professional.
