5 Things I Learned After Becoming Certified in Google Search Ads

As an aspiring digital marketing professional, I have taken several courses in Google Skillshop. The first one I have been able to get certified in was Google’s search ads certification. This required me to watch and read hours worth of content on how to effectively use Google’s paid search ad campaigns. In this article, I wanted to share the five most important things I have learned after becoming certified in Google search ads. Hopefully this will educate some of you on some important aspects of search ads and possibly help you prepare for your own certification test.

1. The Different Types of Keywords (Broad, Phrase, Exact)

A key concept you need to understand in search ads are the three main types of keywords. The first type is broad match, which serves as a keyword that reaches all related searches with similar intent. The second type is phrase match, which will reach searches that include or expand on the same meaning as the keyword. Lastly, exact match, which is used for searches that have the same meaning. All of these keywords should be utilized in an effective ad campaign.

2. The Importance Negative Keywords

While the previous section I talked about the three main types of keywords, there is a fourth type that is also very important in an effective search campaign. Negative keywords, which act as a filter for irrelevant searches for your campaign. For example, let’s say I sell merchandise for football teams. On my website, I might have keywords along the lines of “football gear for sale”. I might have some users that search the phrase “football tickets for sale”, which might lead to my website popping up on their search results. Obviously this search is not meant for my website, so by using the negative keyword “football tickets” it will filter out irrelevant searches like this example.

3. The Different Paid Search Strategies

There are several different ways to optimize your search campaign, and different strategies are better for certain types of businesses. 

1. Maximize conversions: prioritizes getting as many conversions as possible.
2. Target CPA: focuses on conversions at a certain average CPC (cost per conversion)
3. Maximize Conversion Value: prioritizes getting the highest total revenue through conversions
4. Target ROAS: Set by a specific return on ad spend

My personal favorite out of these four strategies is Maximize Conversion Value because Google’s AI will actually adjust your bids on its own.

4. Factors That Affect Ad Quality Score

Your ad quality score determines how well your ad will rank on Google search results. There are many different variables that you have control over that can improve your ad quality. Your expected click through rate, the ad relevance, and the landing page experience are all factors that play a role in ad quality score. In order to improve these variables, it is important to have engaging headlines and keywords, as well as having an effective landing page that gets the customer what they want quickly.

5. The Three Levels of a Google Ads Search Account

There are three levels to a Google ads search account, and each level allows you to do something different. The top level is the account level, which has to do with settings like timezone, billing, and a user’s permissions. Below that is the campaign level, which is where you set different bidding strategies and budgets based on the campaign you’re pursuing. Lastly, is the ad group level, which is where you can make changes based on keywords, headlines, and ad assets. Big companies tend to use several different types of campaigns and ad groups to promote different types of offerings.

So these were five takeaways I had after becoming certified for Google search ads. Let me know if any of the insights I provided helped you in your preparation for your search exam. Are there any other things you learned in your experience I missed? Let me know in the comments below!