The Only Google Ads Terminology You Need to Know

Google Ads is one of the most effective platforms for driving traffic, generating leads and increasing sales. Also known as pay-per-click (PPC) or paid search and formerly known as AdWords, it puts your business front and centre of your potential customers on their buying journey.

However, the platform is quite complex and can be overwhelming with the various settings, tools and features available. This guide from our Google Ads experts is here to help.

Below, you’ll find 10 Google Ads terms you need to know to manage successful campaigns:

1. Campaign
2. Ad Group
3. Keywords
4. Match Types
5. Bid Strategy
6. Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
7. Impressions
8. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
9. Search Impression Share
10. Quality Score

This is some of the most important terminology you will come across, so you can become more familiar when navigating your ads account and both creating and optimising campaigns.

1. Campaign

The foundation of your Google Ads account and the first step of setting up your ads is creating a campaign. There is the ability to group adverts for your business based on products, services and themes.

There are also various campaign types depending on what kind of ads you want to run. This includes Search, Display, Shopping, Video, App, Demand, Gen, and Performance Max.

2. Ad Group

This function allows you to further segment and categorise your campaign messages or themes. Think of ad groups as your sub-folder to your campaigns; under one campaign, there may be multiple ad groups for closely related topics that target different keywords.

For example, a plumbing company may want to advertise both their boiler installations and boiler repairs, so require different messaging. In this instance, their campaign would be for “boiler services” and they would have separate ad groups within this for “boiler installations” and “boiler repairs”.

3. Keywords

Keywords are the backbone to your Google Ads campaigns; without keywords, your campaign doesn’t have anything to target. Effective keyword research helps identify terms that your audience uses and analyse search volume, competitiveness and cost-per-click (CPC).

Keyword Planner can be a great tool for this as it allows you to input a range of keywords and conducts the analysis for you. Short keywords (1-2 words) offer great reach as they cover a broad topic and have a higher search volume. Long-tail keywords (3+ words) target more specific searches, often at a higher CPC.

Make sure to select your keywords carefully and make sure they resonate with your target audience.

4. Match Types

Match types are an extension of keyword targeting and control how closely a user’s search query must align with your keyword to trigger your ad to show in results. The 3 kinds of match types are:

• Exact Match: Ads show for searches with the same meaning as your keyword
• Phrase Match: Ads show for queries that include your keyword in the same context
• Broad Match: Ads show for searches related to your keyword

Different match types work better with complementary bid strategies e.g., Broad Match keywords typically work best with Smart Bidding as the bidding takes more control over how your keyword is served to users.

5. Bid Strategy

Bid strategies, like Manual CPC and Enhanced CPC, are used to give your campaign more direction and focus on specific outcomes. Manual CPC gives you the most control, whereas Enhanced CPC focuses more on conversions.

There are also Smart Bidding strategies which all have particular outcomes in mind:

• Maximise Clicks
• Maximise Conversions
• Target CPA
• Target ROAS

6. Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

CPC is the amount you pay each time a user clicks your ad. It’s a very important metric when first setting up your Google Ads as it determines how much budget you’re willing to assign based on how expensive each potential click can be.

For example, if your keyword “flower shop near me” has a historical CPC of £2, then a daily budget of £10 per day will get you up to 5 clicks per day if you were to do Manual CPC bidding and Exact Match type.

7. Impressions

Impressions are the number of times your ads were seen in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) by users but not necessarily clicked on. It helps you measure ad visibility and, paired with other performance metrics like clicks and conversions, it can help you understand areas for improvement to get more of those views converting.

8. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR is another performance metric that helps you understand whether your ads are appearing high enough in search results and are compelling and relevant to users. It also provides insight into which ad assets perform best; for example,  certain sitelinks like “Book Now” may have higher CTR than more generic links to service pages on your website.

9. Search Impression Share

Search Impression Share is how often your ads appear on Google’s Search Network vs. the total number of times they were “eligible” to appear. As a more competitive metric, it is written as a percentage share and Google Ads Auction Insights tool can be used to compare this against competitors. This helps guide any adjustments to bidding, targeting or campaign strategy.

10. Quality Score

Finally, one of the most important metrics to consider when assessing the performance of your campaigns is your Quality Score. Using a scale of 1-10, it determines how relevant your ads and landing pages are to the specific keywords you’re bidding on.

The higher your Quality Score is, the more likely Google is to place your ad higher in the search results. This is because Google considers your landing page as presenting information and content that aligns with the keyword users are searching for.

Knowing these common Google Ads terms gives you the power to make data-driven decisions and align your campaigns with business objectives. Expert guidance is also invaluable in turning this knowledge into success.

At Logic, we provide full transparency in campaign performance, not just explaining what is happening by why it matters to your goals. From keyword strategies to bidding optimisation and conversion tracking, we help businesses maximise their ROI.

If you’re ready to see how Google Ads can grow your business, contact us today by calling 01473 934050, emailing [email protected], or leaving a message through our website.

Written by Ross Lewis Marketing Executive

Ross Lewis is one of our Marketing Executives with years of agency experience in digital marketing. Specialising in Google Ads and with skills in copywriting, graphic design and social media, he collaborates in all areas of marketing. When he’s not working on campaigns, you’ll see Ross running in his local area, taking trips to the coast and socialising with his friends.

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