Are Google Ads Free?

In a nutshell, no, Google Ads is not a free service. However, it is important to understand how Google Ads makes money and what kind of return you can expect on your investment. There may also be some deals you can take advantage of in order to get discounts on your account. 

Essentially, when you open a Google Ads account, create ad campaigns and begin bidding on keywords to help increase your online visibility and earn first page search rankings, you pay Google every time a user clicks on your ad. While it is free to setup an account, once searchers type in keywords that are relevant to your business, they will be served your ad and if they click, you owe Google for helping connect you with that targeted user. 

For example:

• Mary sells dog food.
• She sets up her Google Ads account to show her ad whenever someone searches for the keyword phrase “buy dog food.”
• She also let’s Google know that she is willing to pay up to $2 for each time a relevant searcher clicks on her ad.
• Google uses all this information to create an auction where Mary is competing against other businesses looking to target the same keyword phrase. If Mary wins the auction, her ad will appear in search results. From there, when a searcher clicks on her ad, she will pay Google $2.  

So, as you can see, Google Ads is not free once you activate your ad campaigns and you will end up paying per click. 

How to Lower Your CPC

If you find that you aren’t winning bids and connecting with searchers, you may want to adjust your strategies. It may not be within your budget to increase your bids and this approach isn’t all that effective anyway. You will end up draining your marketing budget without attracting valuable new leads. Here are three ways to lower your CPC and pay less for Google Ads:

1. Use manual bidding to lower bids. While this may seem counterintuitive, there are situations where you can lower your bid and still enjoy top search results. If you have automatic bidding enabled, you could be overpaying for keywords that should only cost a few cents. By paying attention to your bids, you can meet your goals without paying too much for keywords and driving up prices.
2. Improve your quality score. Writing better ads and landing pages can increase your quality score and lower your CPC. It is possible for you to rank higher than competitors who are paying more per click but have a poor quality score. 
3. Adjust your bids based on time, location and device. Crunch the data and figure out which days and times receive the most traffic, what locations are providing traffic and what devices most searchers are using. You can use this information to streamline your account and get the most out of every click.

How to Get Free Google Ads Credit

There are certain services that offer free Google Ads credit when you sign up. For example, Bluehost and Wix.com both provide new users with Ads credit. If you are starting from scratch, using these services can help jumpstart your PPC advertising. Google also periodically runs promotions for new Ads users. Be sure to contact them directly and ask about any ongoing specials before you start spending. 

While Google Ads isn’t free, it can provide you with a valuable return on your investment. With the right knowledge and strategies, you can connect with valuable leads and start converting visitors into revenue. For help with your Google Ads account, contact the experts at Yael Consulting.