Small business owners all know they need to be found when a searcher is looking for their products and services. I have been in paid media for over 13 years and I often get asked “what is the best way to advertise my business when I have little to no knowledge and/or budget?”. Agencies typically handle medium to large companies with larger budgets to spend on paid advertising but this is not the case for small businesses.
Smaller local businesses typically do not have an agency or paid media expert on staff, this is where Google Ads Smart Campaigns come in handy.
Google Smart Campaigns were created with small business’s needs in mind. Let’s dive into what they are and we’ll later go into more detail on how to set up your first campaign to make the best out of your available resources and budget.
What Are Smart Campaigns?
Google Smart Campaigns are not new to Google advertising.They are relatively new to the Google Ads platform (formerly Google Adwords). They are built on Google Adwords Express technology and replace the Google Adwords Express platform. They’re fairly easy to set up and maintain.
Smart Campaigns are designed for small local businesses that want to run paid ads but have little to no knowledge of Google ads. These campaigns are for businesses who can’t afford to hire agencies, don’t have the time to learn the intricacies of running a successful Google Ads campaign, or can’t afford an in-house marketing team.
Smart Campaigns are a great way for small, local businesses to launch into the paid search world. They’re easy to set up, but it’s critical that you set them up properly from the beginning. Here’s how:
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Get Started with Smart Campaigns and Create your Account
First, you must have a Google My Business account to create these campaigns. When you create your Google Ads account, make sure you use the same email address that’s associated with your Google My Business account. These two platforms will work hand in hand to address ad creation, business location, and images, so using the same email address will simplify your experience.
It’s also critical that you have high-quality, relevant images associated with your Google My Business account because they will be used for your ads and, thus, be shown to your potential customers. We all like to see before we buy, right? Quality, appealing images are often the deciding factor in a potential customer’s choice to give you their business.
2. Create Your Smart Campaign
Once you’ve created your Google Ads Account, there are two options of goals for your Smart Campaign: sales and leads. As you can see below, I have chosen leads as my goal. At the bottom of the screenshot, there is another option that opens up and asks about what action you want: calls or visits. If you choose sales as a goal, there aren’t any other options. I have chosen calls as my action. – Read more
