So, you're considering launching your first Google Ads campaign? That's exciting—and a tad overwhelming, I'd imagine.
Don’t worry. I’m going to take you step by step through the fundamentals in plain English before you even start setting anything up. This tutorial is created to make total beginners like you comprehend how Google Ads works so you don’t invest time or money unnecessarily.
Let's just be simple about it.
Why This Guide Matters
Google Ads has gotten simpler to use, and that's fantastic news for beginners. The catch, however, is that with all that automation, many individuals bypass learning the fundamentals—and that can result in errors and wasted funds.
If you have just begun a business or have limited marketing funds, you need to make every dollar count. This is why it's critical to know and apply the fundamental principles of Google Ads.
How Google Ads Actually Works: The Fundamentals
First of all—Google Ads is an auction-based system. But it's not like an ordinary auction where you pay to win by making the highest offer. Rather, Google works off of something that's known as Ad Rank to determine which ads appear at the top.
The following factors impact your Ad Rank:
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Your bid: How much you’re willing to pay per click.
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The relevance of your advert to what you searched for.
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The landing page experience: Is your site as good as your advertisement?
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Things such as place, time, device, and search history.
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Expected performance refers to how effectively your past ads have performed.
👉 Tip: Google prefers to provide users with the best possible experience. So, if your landing pages and ads are useful and engaging, you will perform well—even when you're not bidding highest.
Where can your advertisements appear?
You may assume that you only see Google Ads on Google Search, but there's more to it
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Web results (the results you get when you search something in google)
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Shopping adverts (with images of goods and prices—ideal for web stores)
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YouTube advertisements (prior to or alongside videos)
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Gmail advertisements
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Mobile apps
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Display advertisements (the image-based ads that trail you around the web)
You should begin with Search ads first—they're simpler to grasp and provide you with greater control of how and when individuals see them.
Who sees your advertisements?
This is really awesome. You can control exactly whom you reach with your ads. Here's how you can target:
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By keywords: Select the search terms you'd like your ads to appear for.
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By geotargeting: Display ads in specific countries, cities, or even postal codes.
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Target just mobile users? You can do that too.
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By demographics and audiences: You can display advertisements to just parents who have recently given birth.
This level of control enables you to target the appropriate people—the ones most likely to be interested in whatever it is you're selling.
How is Google Ads structured?
There are 3 main levels in Google Ads:
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Account – This is your overall configuration. Every company needs to have its own account.
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Campaigns – Consider these as varied “projects.” One campaign can be aimed at men, and there can be another campaign aimed at women.
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Ad Groups – These are folders that you can use to categorize related ads and keywords by theme.
💡 Imagine a tree:
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The campaign is like a tree.
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The branches are the ad groups.
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The advertisements are the leaves.
So simple.
Common Terms You Should Understand
When you begin to use Google Ads, you will notice some peculiar abbreviations. Let's demystify the crucial ones:
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CTR (Click-Through Rate)
This indicates how many individuals clicked your advertisement when they viewed it.
Example: 100 individuals viewed your advertisement, 10 clicked → CTR is 10%. -
CPC (Cost Per Click)
This is what you're spending, on average, per click. -
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
This indicates how much you made for each dollar spent in advertisements.
Spend $100 and receive $500 → ROAS is 5.0 or 500%. -
Search Impression Share
This indicates how frequently your ads showed up relative to how frequently they could have shown.
Last-Minute Advice Before You Begin
Let's briefly recap:
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Google Ads is an auction but highest price doesn't always guarantee winning.
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Relevance is where it's at: Align your ads and landing pages with what individuals are looking for.
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Start with search campaigns—they’re beginner-friendly.
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Make effective use of targeting capabilities: location, device, audience, and others.
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Understand structure at a basic level: account → campaign → ad group → ad
And don’t worry if you feel a little confused about setup. I have a free campaign setup guide (see the video’s description). It guides you step by step with screenshots, so you won’t be stuck.
Ready to Launch?
Google Ads may seem daunting at first, but with the proper strategy, it's an invaluable tool to expand your business.
Interested in going even further? Watch the complete tutorial video here and see the setup in action.
Thank you for reading, and best of luck with your inaugural campaign!
