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“Back in my day, we just had 10 blue links!”

Feeling old when you think back to how simple things used to be when you’d Google something? With AI overviews, image packs, knowledge panels, video carousels, and more, the SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) are now a whole different playground.

But, different doesn’t always mean worse. In fact, users can find information easier and faster than ever! 

In many cases, the user doesn’t even have to click onto a website to find the information they need. That’s great for the user, but not so great for companies trying to drive traffic to their sites.

Google is no stranger to change. Since its launch in 1998, the SERPs have transformed entirely. If you want to keep up, you have to adapt, too.

Below, we’ll break down 9 types of SERP features you might encounter, along with tips on using these rich results to get noticed online. Here’s a quick list of SERP features covered in this blog:

  1. AI Overviews
  2. Featured snippets
  3. Local Pack
  4. Knowledge Panel
  5. Paid Ads
  6. Image Packs
  7. Video Carousels
  8. People Also Ask Boxes
  9. Shopping Results – Popular Products

AI Overviews

AI overviews are a new SERP feature that pulls information from many different websites to create a comprehensive and organized answer to your search query. Some of them include bulleted lists, links, and videos.

In the example below, you can see the query “what supplies do I need to paint a room” generated bulleted lists separated by category, links to the recommended supplies, and a how-to video.

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How to Optimize for AI Overviews

While users might get their answer through the AI overview and not actually click-through to your site, it’s still worthwhile to try to get your articles in SERP features. This can help raise your site to the top of the Search Engine Results Pages and take up more SERP real estate.

Here are some tips to help you optimize for AI overviews:

  • Use short, concise answers
  • Use bulleted or numbered lists
  • Ensure your content is recent and accurate
  • Use question-based headings such as “What is” “how to” or “why is” (especially with the increased popularity of voice searches)
  • Add in schema to help search engines understand the type of content

AI Overviews vs Featured Snippets

These optimizations can also help you rank in featured snippets, a similar feature to AI Overviews. Featured snippets are answer boxes at the top of the page that provide direct answers to questions. 

The main difference between AI overviews vs featured snippets is that featured snippets pull text directly from one website, whereas AI overviews combine information from multiple sites to generate a combined response.

Local Listing

While a local listing is not a new SERP feature, it is extremely important, especially with the rise of “near me” searches (such as “ice cream near me”). Local listings include local directories and features like the Local Pack. 

The Local Pack, also known as the Google Local 3-Pack or the Map Pack, are the three businesses near you that Google has deemed most relevant to your search. They show up next to Google Maps, as seen in the example below.

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One of the local listings you might be familiar with is Google Business Profile. Its information shows up in the Knowledge Graph, or Knowledge Panel, on the right side of the Search Engine Results Page. It includes business information such as hours, reviews, address, phone number, etc. This mostly shows up for branded searches, as in the example below.

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How to Optimize for Google Local 3-Pack and Knowledge Graph

1. Claim Your Google Business Profile Listing

To claim your Google Business Profile listing, search for your business on Google or Google Maps and click “Claim this Business,” or “Manage Now.” In the image example above, you could also click on “Own this business?” at the bottom of the Knowledge Panel. Follow the prompts to verify your business.

2. Add All Business Information Into Google Business Profile

Make sure your Google Business Profile listing is fully optimized and all information is added. Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number) are consistent for your Business Profile and your site. 

If your address uses “Hwy” in its Business Profile, make sure your site doesn’t say “Highway.” Keep everything consistent.

If you need help monitoring your Local Listings, we have Local SEO specialists who are ready to help you navigate it.

3. Monitor Reviews

We all look at reviews when considering whether or not to go somewhere. Encourage your customers to write reviews, and be sure to stay on top of replying to them. Replying to reviews in a timely manner will positively influence your online reputation. 

Google takes into consideration the number of reviews you reply to, but also the number of negative reviews you don’t reply to. Reply to the negative reviews to address the problem, show you’re actively involved, and be proactive.

4. Create Location-Based Content on Key Pages

Include location terminology on your homepage, about page, and other popular landing pages throughout your site to increase your chances for ranking locally.

Paid Ads

A quick way to get your ads to show at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages is to invest in Google Ads. This allows you to choose your budget, start and stop ads whenever you want, and customize your ad copy and which keywords to rank for.

Paid ads can be helpful in gaining web traffic for newly launched websites, peak seasons, big sales, or major events.

A helpful strategy for increasing your SERP real estate is to include assets like sitelinks, call out extensions, images, and more in your paid ads to take up more space.

Need someone to set up and manage your paid ads? Our PPC specialists can help with that.

Image Pack SERP Feature

Optimizing your images with keyword-driven alt text and file names will give you a better chance of appearing in Google Images, which are often highlighted on a search results page.

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Video Carousel

Videos also now show up as a SERP feature in a scrollable list, similar to images. You can optimize for video SERP features by adding relevant, keyword-driven metadata and schema, adding thumbnail images, and keeping the videos short.

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To entice users to click your video, Google will add a video thumbnail to the top YouTube results for a particular search.

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People Also Ask Boxes

If you’ve asked a question on Google, you probably recognize these “People Also Ask” Boxes. These can help you quickly get answers to other popular questions related to your search query. 

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How To Optimize For People Also Ask Boxes

To optimize for people also ask boxes, try using question-based headings, followed by short, concise responses. You can also add in FAQ schema, incorporate bulleted or numbered lists, and use Google Autocomplete to find additional questions to include on your page.

Popular Products

If you’re an eCommerce business, you can optimize your products using Google Merchant Center, and they will show up in the Popular Products section. These listings are free, but you can also run paid Shopping Ads on Google Ads to show up higher in the list.

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How To Track SERP Features

An easy way to track SERP features is to use a tool like Semrush. You can use the Organic Search tool, plug in your URL, and then filter by SERP features to see which pages and keywords your site is ranking for.

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Importance of Tracking SERPS

Tracking SERP features is an important part of your SEO strategy. It helps you understand what your customers are searching for and adapt to changes accordingly. It also helps you track how much SERP real estate you’re occupying, and give you ideas of what type of content to add (images, videos, etc.). The more space you can take up in the SERPs, the greater chance you have of drawing traffic to your website, outranking your competitors, and closing sales.

Need help making sense of all these SERP features? Our SEM specialists can guide you through optimization, tracking, and performance strategy so you’re not just showing up, but standing out.

If you’re not a marketer, here’s a fun example to help you understand Performance Max campaigns: Think of it like a buffet at your favorite restaurant!

If you’re bringing a group of people together and have only one entrée, it can be difficult to satisfy everyone’s preferences with a single choice. But with a buffet, everyone can be served something different. You can satisfy the preferences of multiple people with a single restaurant.

Similarly, Google Performance Max uses a single campaign across many channels/formats to satisfy a variety of people, no matter which one they’re on.

Keep reading to uncover 10 Performance Max best practices to enhance your Google Ads experience. Check out the Google Ads Help Center for step-by-step guidance on setting up your Performance Max Campaign.

What Is A Performance Max Campaign?

A Performance Max (Pmax) campaign is an automated campaign structure that uses machine learning to understand consumer trends and adjust your ads accordingly to be shown in various formats across Google channels (YouTube, Search, Gmail, Discovery, and more). 

With machine learning and AI becoming more prominent; marketers, business owners, and search engines are seeking ways to optimize their reach on the web. Google Performance Max does exactly what it sounds like – it maximizes your performance

Google will automatically optimize your performance for the channels your target audience visits the most, allowing your ad spend to be used responsibly to target the right audience that may eventually convert (a.k.a. buy your product).

Google processes over 8.5 billion searches per day, which would be impossible for humans to keep up with. Machine learning and advanced AI technologies allow users’ needs to be met in an efficient and time-sensitive manner.

10 Performance Max Best Practices

Now that we’ve identified what a Performance Max campaign is, let’s move on to some best practices that will allow you to get the most value out of your campaign.

1. Use Pmax Along With Search Campaigns 

If the query exactly matches a keyword you’re bidding on, the Search campaign you have running will show its ad. However, if it doesn’t match exactly, Google will show either the Search ad or the Performance Max ad (whichever has the highest Ad Rank score). If you don’t have the budget to run both search and Pmax at the same time, then at the very least, run your search campaigns for 6 weeks before implementing Performance Max.

2. Select The Correct Bidding Strategy (aligned with your business goals):

  • Maximize conversions: Use this strategy when you’d like to get the most conversions possible  (i.e. leads, signing up for an email list, phone calls, etc.)
  • Maximize conversion value: Use this strategy when you value certain conversions more than others (i.e. If you’d ultimately rather have more leads rather than phone calls, give them a higher value so Google will optimize for those)

3. Target The Right Audience Using Audience Signals 

If you already know your target audience, you can either use your own data like Customer Match/Audience lists or specify various groups using Audience Signals. These are suggestions that give Google an idea of which audiences to go after, speeding up the machine learning process of discovering new audiences. Google will still show your ads to other audiences aside from these, this is just simply a starting point.

For example, if you run an event venue for theater performances, you can select audience signals like “Frequently Attends Live Events,” “Performing Arts Tickets,” or “Theatre Shows and Plays,” among others.

Audience Signals in Performance Max

4. Avoid Spam Traffic

While Performance Max can bring in a lot more traffic, not all of it is relevant. It’s helpful to implement a spam filter like Recaptcha for your forms to avoid excess spam form submissions.

You can also add negative keywords to tell Google which terms you do not want to show for. This feature previously was only available by contacting a Google rep, but since January 2023, anyone is allowed to add these in. Google also increased the number of negative keywords you can add from 100 to 10,000 in March 2025.

Want to get your spam form submissions under control? Our team can help!

5. Include Visual Content


Visual content is so important to connect with your users and capture their attention. Be sure to keep your content fresh and upload new, highly relevant assets regularly. 

You might also be interested in image ads, which are a part of Pmax campaigns and are different from the ads that Google creates using your image assets. You can upload up to 15 images or gifs (30 seconds or less).

Need some help creating visual content? We have talented graphic designers available to capture your vision.

6. Create Your Own Videos

YouTube is the second most popular mobile video app worldwide, so your ads can reach 2.53 billion different people — that’s almost one-third of the entire global population!

It’s a best practice to create and upload your own videos to YouTube and then use them in your Pmax campaigns. If you don’t, Google will create its own videos using your images and text assets. You can’t approve these videos before they air, but you can see them afterwards in the Assets section.

If you want to create your own video without going through YouTube, you can use the free builder in the Google Ads account. Choose a template and add in images, text, and even voiceovers.

Upload a horizontal, vertical, and square video for variety, and be sure they are within the “safe zones” that will display on all devices. Try to keep them short (15-30 seconds each) so that you can be more granular with your topics. They will also need to be the correct size (an aspect ratio of 16:9 to 9:16, which includes 16:9, 1:1, 4:5, 2:3, 10:16, 9:16).

For more guidance on creating videos, follow Google’s ABCD’s of effective video ads.

7. Replace Non-Performing Assets

Pay attention to how well your assets are performing and replace the ones that aren’t performing well. Be sure to replace them, not remove them to avoid negatively affecting your campaigns. 

We recommend replacing non-performing assets 4 times per year (once every quarter).

8. Be Intentional With Asset Groups

If you’re targeting multiple products, try focusing on only one for each asset group so it can be as personalized as possible. You can have a maximum of 100 asset groups per campaign. However, you’re going to want to make sure you have enough budget (the more asset groups you have, the more budget you’ll want to have as well).

9. Set An Appropriate Budget

Some sources recommend a daily budget of at least $50-$100/day for Performance Max campaigns in order to receive enough data to analyze results adequately.

10. Upload All Possible Assets

Another Performance Max best practice is to make sure you’re supplying as many assets as it’s asking for. This gives Google plenty of options to choose from. Enter the maximum amount of headlines and descriptions, use as many audience signals and match lists as are relevant, use a high-quality video, and upload a variety of photos for Google to choose from. 

Having a variety of assets also contributes to a higher ad strength (ideally, you’ll want your ad to be in the “Excellent” category).

Note: Under the “Asset coverage” tab, you can see which assets you need to add in order to get it to “Excellent.”

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To expand on this, you’re probably wondering about the details of Performance Max asset requirements. We’ll cover this in the next section.

Performance Max Asset Requirements

When you go to create your Performance Max campaign, it will walk you through the asset requirements you’ll need. These include:

  • Business Name
  • Up to 20 images (in a variety of sizes – square, landscape, etc.)
  • Up to 5 logos (at least one must be a square)
  • Up to 5 videos that are 10 seconds or less 
  • Up to 5 headlines (30 characters each)
  • Up to 5 long headlines (90 characters each)
  • Descriptions (one 60-character description and up to four other 90-character descriptions)
  • Call to action button
  • Final URL

In addition to these, you may be familiar with ad extensions, now also called Assets, which take up additional space in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This allows for more clickable components in your ads and provides additional information to help your audience decide whether or not your ad answers their query. 

Here are some examples that you can add to your Performance Max campaigns:

  • At least 4 sitelinks (additional pages on your site that you wouldn’t mind leading traffic to)
  • Promotions (10% off, $25 off, etc.)
  • Prices and descriptions of your products
  • Phone number of your business
  • Structured snippets (additional information based on category – styles, types, etc.)
  • Lead form (includes basic contact information for your user to fill out)
  • Callouts (small pieces of information that aren’t clickable, but still provide relevant information. i.e. “Free Shipping”)
  • Locations (connected to your Google Business Profile)

How To Evaluate Campaign Performance

Now that you’ve set your campaigns up for success, how can you evaluate campaign performance to ensure these best practices are working?

  1. Google Ads provides an “Insights page” to combine your data with larger trends across Google. It will notify you of optimization opportunities and any problems to address. There are different types of insights: asset audience insights, search trends, demand forecasts, and more.
Trends from Insights page in Google Ads campaign
  1. Run an experiment! Test the performance of your campaigns with or without a Performance Max campaign. 
  2. Remember, be sure to give the campaign at least 6 weeks before you come to any conclusions about its performance.

What Are The Benefits Of Performance Max Campaigns?

Something that’s unique about Google Ads, and specifically Performance Max, is that it focuses heavily on your “why.” Why are you seeking to run Google Ads for your business? What is your ultimate goal? 

Google Ads optimizes entirely around whichever goal you select, giving you more store visits, sales, or whichever goal you’ve identified as most important to your business.

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Benefits For Users

  1. Receive information in a variety of formats to fit any preference – search, discover, video, and more.
  2. Show more visual assets such as photos and videos rather than only text ads for a more engaging experience.
  3. Obtain access to products and services that they have an interest in. Meet their needs for products that they’re already searching for, or help them identify something they didn’t realize they needed.
  4. Create a more unified experience rather than an orphaned ad on a single platform. Repetition and seeing ads in a variety of formats/platforms helps users identify with the brand.

Benefits For Marketers & Business Owners

  1.  Simplify the campaign set-up process (who doesn’t love that?). You’ll only need to set up one campaign, and yet it will be optimized for multiple channels. 

    Without using Performance Max, you would need to set up individual campaigns for YouTube, Search, and Display, along with individual budgets for each. This could limit the number of impressions, interactions, site visits, and conversions you receive. 
  1. Receive insight into your top audiences and target those categories specifically. You’ll also receive insight into which channels (YouTube, Search, Gmail, etc.) your audience is using the most. 

    If you already know your target audience, you can specify various groups using Audience Signals, as mentioned previously.
  1. Understand rising search trends and identify future opportunities to capitalize on. Google provides this information under the “Insights” tab in your Google Ads account.
Search Trends in Google Ads
  1. Draw more people to your physical store location if you decide to use Performance Max for Store Goals. This is especially helpful for retail businesses.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Performance Max Campaigns?

In mentioning the benefits of Performance Max, it’s also important that we mention some disadvantages. 

  1. Marketers will have less control. Although you provide the assets, Google ultimately chooses the combinations, which could be in any number of formats. There’s no way to predict the exact combinations that will show.
  2. It may take some time for Google’s machine learning algorithm to learn and adapt to your bid strategies, budget, audience, and highest-performing ad formats.
  3. Images might get cut off in certain formats if you upload one that isn’t the correct size.
  4. It can get expensive, especially if you are running search campaigns, too.

In summary, while Performance Max campaigns have both advantages and disadvantages, they ultimately can help you diversify your channel mix, giving you more unique opportunities to reach the right audiences. 

Automation is the direction the world is headed. It’s not a trend, but rather something marketers must adapt to quickly. With these best practices in mind, you’ll be able to optimize your performance to be the most effective.  

Additional Performance Max Resources

  1. Solutions 8 has a comprehensive guide to Google Performance Max.
  2. Having some problems with your campaign? Check out Google’s Troubleshooting Guide.

Looking for additional support as you dive into Performance Max?  Tower’s search engine marketers can help you optimize your campaigns.

In the world of digital marketing, two of the most influential marketing tactics you can use are search engine optimizations (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC). Though they work well together, they can also individually help you reach your goal!

In this article, we will discuss what SEO and PPC are, how they work, and how to know which to choose.

What Is SEO? 

Also known as Search Engine Optimization, SEO is the strategic execution of website updates to help climb the ranks on search engine result pages (SERPs). Overall, the main goal is to keep websites updated with what people are searching for. To do this, we plan updates (commonly known as optimizations) based on what we see trending on the internet — primarily from content amongst the site pages. 

There are multiple methods of approaching SEO optimization. If done strategically, they can work together to create a structured SEO plan. Let’s discuss some of the most impactful updates in SEO, and why we use them. 

SEO Analysis

SEO analysis happens before, during, and after your strategy launches. This involves reviewing how your pages are working, performing, and looking, both from a technical standpoint and a user (or customer) standpoint. 

Keyword Research

Keyword research is one of the main pillars of your SEO strategy. Keywords are the main phrases used in your content, which will help to bring the page up in search results. Essentially, you are researching what popular words and terms users are looking up (or likely to look up), and trying to gear your content to cover that information. 

On-Page Optimization

On-page optimizations are the continuous updates made on site pages — this includes keyword updates and focuses on tasks like internal linking, title and meta updates, and image optimization. 

Linking and image optimizations help to strengthen the authority of the page, which tells search engines that the site and page contain the information the user is searching for. With title and meta description updates, both users and search engines get a summary of the page. 

These updates not only aim to give more information to search engines, but they also can clarify the page content, sometimes even before users enter the site!

Off-Page Optimization

Off-page optimizations work closely with the on-page ones. Some of the most common off-page optimizations include external link building, local SEO updates, reviews, and events. These updates are a big part of building trust signals with your audience. 

When your reach includes receiving/replying to reviews, promoting and following up on events, and building relationships with reputable sites to link to — both search engines and users can further separate the reliable sites from those with fewer signals. 

What Is PPC? 

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has some similarities to SEO, but the two aren’t interchangeable. PPC is the method of driving traffic and conversions to the site, from paid ad placements online. To get these ad spaces, advertisers target keywords to bid on, and if they’re selected by search engines, their ad appears in search. 

Keyword Reviews

Continuously reviewing keywords and search terms can heavily influence your paid campaigns. PPC optimization needs change quickly depending on the market, but that’s why you should make continuous reviews and updates! 

Since ads use a bidding strategy, the goal is to use the right keywords on your site and in your ads. These then compete in ad auctions and win placements in front of relevant users, which are the ads users then receive. 

Bidding Strategy 

How you bid on keywords is a large factor in how the ads and keywords perform. With different bidding strategies available, it is possible to tailor ads to fit your budget and limit overspending on your clicks. 

There are a few different ways you can go about bidding for your campaigns, but the top three methods would be the cost per acquisition (CPA), cost per mile (CPM), and maximize clicks

CPA bidding allows advertisers to set a maximum CPA target, allowing a reasonable price to be paid, while still aiming to stay within budget. 

CPM aims to gain the most impressions, rather than the most conversions. This method is mainly used for businesses trying to gain awareness, rather than immediate conversions — think of it as a way to gain a large audience.

Maximize clicks is the method used to gain practical leads. This method tailors the ads to users more likely to click and add to the audience — think of this one as a way to get the most clicks possible from users to the content that is relevant to them. 

Audience Targeting

When tailoring your ads, audiences are a large part of how they perform, since the goal of most ads is to get conversions. Regularly reviewing who your ads are shown to, and catering them to users who are interested in your industry, will increase the likelihood that users click and convert. 

Landing Page Quality

A landing page is where users will go once they click your ad. Updating your landing page with fresh keywords, images, and descriptions will keep it relevant for users. Essentially, the goal is to have the landing page and ad content make sense as a combination. When users click on your ad, the landing page should deliver what they were promised.

Ad Tracking & Updates

A large part of keeping a campaign performing well is through continuous tracking and updates. If an ad, keyword, audience, or ad group isn’t working well at the moment — you can pause and/or edit them! Regularly reviewing parts of your campaign, and updating them accordingly will keep your ads relevant to users, making them more likely to perform well and earn conversions!

Tower SEM specialist giving a presentation about SEO and PPC to a class.

How Do They Work Independently? 

Both SEO and PPC can work well individually and the outcomes usually depend on your goals and budget!  There are multiple factors you can evaluate to determine if your business would benefit more from SEO or PPC. Let’s go over a few.

Long-Term

If your goal is to achieve long-term results (about 3 months) with a smaller budget, then SEO may be your better method. SEO takes longer to collect data but focuses on organic content through ongoing updates. 

The goal is to tailor your page content to connect and inform users. SEO gives the opportunity to stay relevant by changing keywords, topics, and questions throughout your website. Traffic through this channel can help to gain new or repeat users, and improves visibility.

Short-Term

If your goal is to achieve more immediate results (typically around  2-4 weeks), then PPC may be the better fit. Overall, PPC usually has a higher cost depending on the industry, audience pool, and other market factors. However, budgets can be controlled.   

Some settings (like a CPM bidding strategy) can help build up an audience quickly, and based on those results, you can better tailor ads to users at a quicker rate than typically seen with SEO. These campaigns are usually a one-time setup (plus the occasional verification), with updates typically planned based on the current results. 

Whether you choose PPC or SEO, the main factor in choosing will be your business goal. Do you need a more immediate response? Are users signing up for a way to contact the company, or are you sending them information about an upcoming promotion? 

When choosing one over the other, ensure you’re not only able to reach the goals you set, but maintain them as well. 

How Do They Work Together? 

Another way to use SEO and PPC would be together under a strategic campaign. This can be by running an SEO and PPC campaign at the same time, or even alternating between the two. There are often more benefits from running them together.

When used together, content can be updated alongside each other, an example of this could be seen on a landing page. If you have a contact page and want users to fill a form out, you can line up your ads and on-page call-to-action (CTA) buttons.

In addition to aligning information, using both methods can be beneficial when one area experiences a decline. In marketing, things are always shifting, sometimes that means results will waiver up or down a bit. When both PPC and SEO are set up, lost traffic can be picked back up on the opposite end. 

With the way users search for information always changing, it can be beneficial to cover your goals with a comprehensive strategy using both paid and organic results. All businesses have different needs, so be sure to look at it from both an industry and individual point-of-view. 

How Do I Get Started? 

There are many angles to approach the implementation of both SEO and PPC. Working with a digital marketing agency is a practical approach to efficiently run your business’ marketing, without having to deal with all of the planning and optimizations.

If your main business comes from word-of-mouth customers, adding on an SEO or PPC campaign can be extremely beneficial. These campaigns help to push the needle forward on marketing efforts by adding more touchpoints to convert potential customers when they go to research you.

Finding limitations with your businesses’ reach, trying to find ways to allocate your marketing budget better, or even just wanting to free up space for more in-house efforts? Consider using a digital marketing firm to handle that area of business for you

seo vs ppc 4 min SEO vs. PPC: Which Do I Need?

HubSpot offers a comprehensive platform that promises to streamline your workflows, enhance your marketing efforts, and boost overall engagement. But is it the perfect fit for your business?

Join me as we explore both the benefits and drawbacks of HubSpot, from its ease of use and powerful features to its escalating costs and limitations. We’ll delve into its pricing tiers, add-ons, and how it compares to other providers — helping you decide if HubSpot will be your marketing hero or a budget-straining villain.

The Pros Of HubSpot: Why It Could Be Your Marketing Hero

HubSpot has earned its reputation as a leader in the marketing industry. From its all-in-one capabilities to its user-friendly interface, the functionality it provides can significantly improve efficiency and drive growth. Let’s examine the key upsides of HubSpot and why it might just be the resource your organization needs.

It’s An All-In-One Platform

One of HubSpot’s most significant advantages is its versatility. It consolidates a wide range of products, allowing professionals to combine and monitor their:

  • Marketing tools
  • Sales tools
  • Service tools
  • Content tools
  • Operations tools
  • Commerce tools

The ability to manage all these pillars without needing to juggle multiple third-party solutions can be a strong incentive for those who prioritize efficiency.

It Boasts A User-Friendly Interface

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a brand new to marketing, HubSpot’s streamlined design minimizes the learning curve and allows teams and individuals to get up and running quickly.

This ease of use is especially important for small-to-medium businesses that may not have the time and money to invest in the training needed to maintain more complex systems.

It Provides A Wealth Of Educational Resources

HubSpot Academy, their educational library, offers a plethora of courses and certifications on topics ranging from inbound marketing to sales automation.

These resources are also routinely updated, empowering companies to maximize the product’s value without having to rely on external consultants. 

It’s Highly Scalable

Various tier levels are available through HubSpot, from free accounts to advanced Enterprise plans — allowing customers to expand their services as they grow. 

A free plan provides access to their CRM, email marketing, forms, live chat, ad management, integrations, and reporting. However, there are notable drawbacks, including:

  • Limited customization (their branding can’t be removed from emails, forms, or live chats)
  • No marketing automation
  • No A/B testing
  • No advanced analytics
  • No custom sales pipelines
  • No custom dashboards
  • No phone or email support
  • Integration limits

Moving to higher-tier plans unlocks more advanced tools, and when comparing the free vs paid HubSpot options, it becomes clear there are significant benefits to upgrading.

It Offers Automation And Personalization

Automating repetitive tasks and personalizing customer interactions can lead to higher levels of engagement, better user experiences, and increased conversions. These valuable features enable organizations to create precise and targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with individual customers.

Examples of these advanced offerings from HubSpot include: 

  • Workflows
  • Lead scoring and segmentation
  • Email personalization
  • Smart content
  • Behavioral triggers
  • Multi-Channel marketing

It Has Robust Integration Capabilities

With over 1,600 integrations as of 2024, companies that use other specialized applications can still benefit from HubSpot’s central CRM. Some of the most popular connections include Gmail, WordPress, Outlook, and Facebook.

Plus, new products and connections are continuously added, ensuring the list stays current.

The Cons Of HubSpot: Why It Might Be Your Marketing Villain

While HubSpot offers a host of complementary services, it also presents its fair share of obstacles, from stacking fees to platform limitations and difficulty exiting the system. 

It Can Be Prohibitively Expensive

How much does HubSpot cost per month? Unfortunately, for those attempting to plan a marketing budget, the answer can vary greatly based on your number of contacts and required functionality.

The price of higher-tier plans, particularly at the Professional and Enterprise levels, can be exorbitant for small businesses. For example, the Marketing Hub Professional plan starts at $890 per month, while the Enterprise plan starts at $3,600 per month. 

Additionally, there are supplemental costs associated with add-ons, which may make HubSpot more expensive than it initially appears. Some of their most common upgrades include:

  • API limit increase: $500/month
  • Ads limit increase: $100/month
  • Custom SSL: $100/month
  • Dedicated IP: $300/month
  • Transactional email: $600/month

It’s A Jack Of All Trades (But Master Of None)

While HubSpot is praised for its all-in-one approach, this versatility means it also doesn’t excel in any single area to the extent that other, more specialized products do.

Here are some HubSpot alternatives to consider, based on your marketing needs:

CRM Functionality: Salesforce

For companies with complex sales processes, a service like Salesforce offers deeper customization, robust reporting, and nuanced sales automation.

Email Marketing: ActiveCampaign

Dedicated email senders like ActiveCampaign provide advanced list segmentation, more automation triggers/actions, and a sophisticated campaign builder.

Content Management: WordPress

Those that require custom web design or multifaceted content strategies would benefit from a more flexible platform like WordPress.

SEO: SEMrush

Online visibility tools like SEMrush provide detailed analytics, competitive analysis, and keyword research capabilities. 

Reporting & Analytics: Google Analytics 

The depth of insights provided by Google Analytics 4, the industry-standard software for tracking conversions and engagement, can’t be replicated in HubSpot.

It Locks You Into The HubSpot Ecosystem

The integrated nature of HubSpot can become a double-edged sword if consumers decide to leave and transition to another solution. 

Migrating data, adjusting workflows, and retraining staff can be time-consuming and costly, as opposed to the effort required to adopt a new channel-specific technology.

Is HubSpot The Right Fit For You?

Ultimately, the decision to invest in HubSpot will come down to your individual needs, budget, and long-term objectives.

If you’re a small to medium-sized business looking for a comprehensive product with numerous integrations and extensive resources, HubSpot could be a viable choice. 

However, if your organization requires advanced customization, has a complex dataset to manage, or operates on a tight budget, you may need to explore more specialized options.

Need more help deciding what marketing platform(s) to pursue? 

Creating pay-per-click (PPC) ads for your business is often one of the most powerful tools you have in the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing. But deciding on which platform to use to reach your ideal audience is often the first question you should ask if you are just starting off doing PPC. 

Luckily in the United States, there are two primary PPC platforms to choose from that will help you reach your ideal users. These are Bing Ads and Google Ads. But deciding between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads is a tougher question. Choosing the wrong platform for your business could mean wasting your budget, showing your ads to the wrong users, or jeopardizing your overall digital marketing strategy.

In this guide, we’ll cover the key differences and similarities between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads. 

Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads:  10 Key Differences and Similarities

While both platforms appear similar for the end product, Microsoft and Google Ads exhibit key differences and similarities. Understanding their relevance to your business will aid in deciding whether to use one platform or advertise on both simultaneously.

Platform Reach

It is a no-brainer that if you are only concerned about advertising on search engines such as Google or Bing, that reach is an important factor in deciding which platform to use.

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Google’s market share vs Bing’s market share as of February 2024

It is well-known that Google is the primary search engine used across the United States with a staggering 88% market share as of November 2023. Bing comes in second with almost 7% market share which is up 2% in the past five years due to added features such as ChatGPT integrated within the platform. 

But the 7% that Microsoft Ads covers accounts for over 44 million searches that you aren’t reaching. 

Another big factor to consider when talking about Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads is who you are trying to reach on the platforms. 

Bing’s users are primarily older, are more likely to be married, more educated, and more affluent

Google’s users are typically younger, work in white-collar roles, are more comfortable with technology, and grew up with Google as a standard of reference. 

Additionally, Google has two ad networks on which your ads can show, the Google Search Network, which includes Google Play, Google Maps, Shopping, etc., and Google Display Network which consists of over 2 million sites. The Google networks are a large reason why advertisers often choose Google in the first place.

Microsoft Ads can be shown in a variety of different places on the Microsoft Advertising Network, These include search engines like Bing, AOL, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. Ads on Microsoft can also show up on MSN, Microsoft Edge, and Outlook apps. 

Costs

After deciding where your users are likely searching, next look at the cost. 

Since you will be paying per click on either platform, one of the most important differences is the average cost per click. 

Google Ads often have 33% higher cost-per-clicks (CPC) on average than Microsoft Ads. This is because the competition level and bidding systems in which Google operates are much higher than on Bing.

 One surprising fact is that retail advertisers often pay more for Microsoft Ads than Google Ads.

Person with iPad an Apple Pencil with graphic of PPC costs overlayed

Audience Targeting

Both platforms offer excellent audience targeting options for all advertisers. However, when deciding between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads for your business, it’s important to remember your audience targeting strategy. If you create a well-crafted ad but don’t show it to the right people at the right time, it will lead to wasted ad spend. 

With Google Ads, you have two options for reaching your ideal audience. These are content and audience targeting. 

With content targeting you can on the display networks where you want your ads to show or not show. This includes targeting topics, placements, or content keywords. 

With Google Ads audience targeting you can target segments or groups of people with specific interests, intents, and demographic information. 

Google Ads audience targeting is broken down into the following segment types:

  • Affinity Segments
  • Custom Segments
  • Detailed Demographics
  • Life Events
  • In-Market
  • Your Data Segments

Microsoft Ads offer a very similar targeting for your audiences with one distinct difference, LinkedIn Targeting. 

With Microsoft Ads you can target and reach customers via:

  • Custom Audiences
  • Customer Match
  • Device Targeting
  • Dynamic Remarketing
  • In-Market Audiences
  • LinkedIn Targeting
  • Location Targeting
  • Remarketing
  • Similar Audiences 

Strategizing within audience segments can make or break your PPC advertising no matter which platform you use. Ultimately we think Google Ads audiences beat out Microsoft Ads due to the vast information available collected with Google’s sophisticated audience gathering. 

Ad Formats

MacBook Air Bing Ads Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads: Analyzing 10 Aspects Of Each Platform
Example of MacBook Air search ad through Microsoft Ads on Bing
Macbook Air Google Ads Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads: Analyzing 10 Aspects Of Each Platform
Example of MacBook Air search ad through Google Ads on Google

Deciding between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads often depends on what you want to accomplish with the ads themselves. Both platforms offer a variety of different ad types to help you reach your customers where they are. 

Both platforms offer:

  • Responsive Search Ads
  • Display & Native Ads
  • Shopping Ads
  • App Install Ads
  • Video Ads
  • Call-Only Ads

Most notably is the responsive search ads in both platforms. These are most likely the first ads you will create. 

These operate in almost an identical fashion. In Google Ads or Microsoft Ads, you need to provide up to 15 headlines and four descriptions which the ad systems will mix and match the ideal combination of headlines and descriptions to match the user being targeted. 

Both platforms are constantly updating ad format types to entice users to use their platforms. 

Microsoft Ads has been expanding its platform with exclusive partnerships including Netflix Ads which makes them more competitive with Google Ads. 

Google Ads has been adding new campaign types to combine the various ad formats including Demand Gen and Performance Max. 

Keyword Match Types

No matter which platform you end up using, both offer keyword match types that are the same.

These Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads keyword match types are:

  • Broad Match
  • Phrase Match
  • Exact Match
  • Negative Keywords

Up until 2021, Google Ads utilized broad and phrase match modifiers but have been folded into the regular broad and phrase match types. 

Click-Through Rates

Click-through rates (CTR) are often one of the first metrics to look at when analyzing your PPC ads as they give you a good idea of what is resonating with your audience. 

While each of the ad formats mentioned above are in each platform, one in general has a much higher CTR than the other. 

The average CTR on Google is 34% higher than on Microsoft Ads. 

On average, Bing has a 2.83% CTR across all industries and Google Ads has a 3.17%.

In the Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads debate, if all factors are the same (meaning the headlines, and descriptions), the clear winner is Google Ads. 

Key Event Rates

While CTR is an important metric to analyze in your PPC efforts, one that you need to pay the most attention to is key event rate. 

The Microsoft Ads key event rate on average is 2.94% across all industries.

Google Ads key event rate on average is 3.75% across all industries. 

This means that if you have responsive search ads set up with key events being the same across both platforms, on average Google Ads has a higher key event rate by 81%. 

Google Ads’ system for optimizing for key events is unmatched by Microsoft Ads. When everything is set up properly in your account, the AI and machine learning capabilities of Google Ads is able to recognize which users are more likely to convert over the Microsoft Ads users. 

UX Designs

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One of the more obvious aspects when deciding between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads you will notice is the user experience behind each platform. 

Microsoft Ads is built to mimic Google Ads and that is not by mistake. 

Microsoft Advertising wants you to feel a very familiar sense when you enter the platform so you feel like you have a sense of congruency when using it. They believe that if users come to a new platform, and have to learn an entirely new system and account structure, they won’t use it. 

In fact, when you create a Microsoft Ads account, you can import your Google Ads campaigns into the platform and have them be almost identical. 

Free Tools & Resources

Having free tools and resources for your PPC campaign is game-changing if you do not pay for search engine marketing tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs. 

Both Microsoft Ads and Google Ads have tools to help you plan your keywords traffic and volume, shared libraries, bulk actions & apps, key event tracking, and basic setup assistance. 

Very similar to the UX design, Microsoft Ads is built to mimic the Google Ads tools and resources. 

However, one of the key differences between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads is the integration of Google platforms within the Google Ads system. Since Google Analytics is the primary and standard platform for marketers to use, they have made it very easy to connect Google Analytics to Google Ads. 

The Microsoft Ads system for connecting your Google accounts is different than Google Ads. 

Rather than simply importing your Google Analytics goals and key events into Microsoft Ads, Microsoft Ads uses Universal Event Tracking (UET) tags to measure user events that happened from the Microsoft Ads system. 

Luckily, if you are using Google Tag Manager for custom events, you can easily add in the UET tag and send over those custom events to Microsoft Ads. 

Customer Service

One final note about Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads that we want to mention is the customer service element of each platform. 

You never know when you will run into issues that you will need to contact the customer service from either platform. 

In recent years, it has been increasingly difficult to get in contact with Google Ads. There used to be a live chat feature where you could contact someone from Google and get assistance right away but now there are only options for emailing someone, asking the community, or booking an appointment which costs $50 per call. Occasionally, you will get a request from a Google Ads specialist who will walk through your account with you but that is not the case with every account on Google.

Microsoft Ads has similar customer service help options but offers live chats or you can request a call from support. We like having live chat in Microsoft Ads. 

Conclusion 

The choice between Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads is a pivotal decision for businesses venturing into the realm of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Both platforms have their distinct advantages and cater to different demographics, making it crucial for advertisers to align their strategies with the characteristics of their target audience. 

While Google Ads dominates the search engine market share, Microsoft Ads offers unique opportunities to tap into a substantial user base that may be overlooked. The differences in costs, audience targeting, ad formats, keyword match types, and user experience should all be carefully considered based on the specific goals and preferences of each business.

Ultimately, no matter which platform you choose to use, it should be worth noting that running ads on both Google Ads and Microsoft Ads is recommended. When you carefully create a PPC strategy using both, you will be able to compare which platform is best for you in the long run.

If you’re struggling on either of the platforms, Tower Marketing’s PPC management experts are equipped to help. Reach out to a team member to schedule a free PPC management consultation.

Going once…going twice…SOLD!

When you think of an auction, you likely picture large crowds, a charismatic auctioneer, and rapidly selling products. Competition is intense, and whoever bids the most ultimately wins, right?

Well, in the search engine arena, this isn’t always the case. 

Competitive ad rank scores are based on several components, including ad rank thresholds, landing page quality, anticipated asset performance, and more.

With these tips on how to improve ad rank, you’ll be increasing your search engine ranking position in no time!

What Is Ad Rank?

Ad rank is a ranking system used by Google Ads to determine the order in which paid ads show in the search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Just because an ad is eligible to appear, doesn’t mean it will show up at the top—or even at all. You’re a part of the Google auction with all other competitors, so your ad quality needs to be up to par.

The higher quality your ad is, the less you’ll pay per click. Follow these ad rank tips to get the most out of your money.

6 Ad Rank Factors

1. Bidding

In its simplest form, a bid is the maximum monetary amount you’re willing to pay per click. You might even pay less than that amount, depending on the competition and the quality of your ad. We’ll explain more about this below.

Google strives to stay as close to your daily budget as possible, while still maximizing the impact of your bidding strategy. You can adjust the amount at any time.

Need help with the calculations? You can use Keyword Planner to see a range of bids that advertisers in your industry are known for paying per click for related terms. 

A screenshot of 4 top of page low range bids and 4 top of page high range bids.

Using the example above, you would add up the left column of top of page bids (low range) and divide by 4 to get the average. You would do the same for the column on the right. Therefore, in this case, your bid range would be about $1.75-$5.59 for each click. 

Let’s say you’d like about 10 clicks per day. You would then multiply each by 10. 

$1.75×10 = $17.50

$5.59×10 = $55.90

Therefore, $17.50-$55.90  would be a good range for your Google Ads daily budget. 

*Tip: To calculate a monthly budget, just multiply by 30.4 (the number Google uses for the average number of days in a month).

2. Auction Time Ad Quality

Auction Time Ad Quality includes three main parts (though it can also include other user signals like device type, location, and time of day):

  1. Expected click-through rate
  2. Landing page quality
  3. Ad relevance

These three factors make up an ad’s Quality Score.

Ensure your landing page is well-structured with appropriate headings, visuals, and compelling call-to-actions. Humans crave consistency, so ensure your ads, keywords, and landing pages are all telling the same story. Include your keywords in your headlines and throughout your landing page (especially in the headings). 

*Tip: Fully optimize your landing pages by following these landing page best practices.

You can see in the example below that the query “kitchen drawer organizers” matches well with the headline in the ad “Kitchen Drawer Organizers” and it leads to a landing page with the same title. There’s promotional text in the ad copy, and there are engaging photos on the landing page. All of them are consistent and create a positive shopping experience for the user.

Google search results displaying the query "kitchen drawer organizers" with a matching meta title.
A landing page displaying images of kitchen drawer organizers.

3. Ad Rank Thresholds

Even when there are no other competitors, your ad still might not show or you might have to pay a high amount.

The reason lies in the ad rank thresholds. Certain quality standards must be met because Google doesn’t want to show irrelevant ads on its site. So, if you have a poor-quality ad or your landing pages aren’t as relevant, then Google will charge you more. And if your ad doesn’t meet those thresholds, it won’t show at all.

4. Level Of Competition

Just like in a regular auction, you’re competing with others.

If they also meet their ad rank thresholds, then the person with the highest ad rank score will win the highest search engine ranking position. That’s why having a competitive ad rank score is important.

You’ll only pay the minimum amount needed to outrank the competitor below you.

But, let’s throw a curveball here: Let’s say your ad is the only one that cleared the thresholds and there’s no other competition. In that case, you would pay the reserve price, which is the minimum amount decided by Google. 

5. Context

Context is key in how your search engine ranking position is determined. 

Is the user in the same location as the business being advertised? Local searches could be deemed more relevant.

Do the user’s current and past searches indicate that they are in the market for that item or service? If so, they might be placed into an “In-market” audience category and it could be deemed more likely that they will convert over someone who is not in that category.

What device are they using? If phone calls are one of your goals, your ads might be shown more to people on a mobile device, for example.

Google takes all of these and many other user signals into consideration to optimize for the best performance across the most relevant audience.

6. Anticipated Asset Performance

Ad assets (formerly known as “extensions”) are additional pieces of information that you can add to your Google Ads. These include phone numbers, addresses, sitelinks to other relevant pages on your site, and more. 

Many components are taken into account, such as click-through rates, relevance, and prominence of the assets in the SERPs. Essentially, these are all ways to capture your users’ attention and encourage them to take action on your ad.

Assets are ranked: “Best,” “Good,” or “Low.” You might also see “Learning,” which means the system is still gathering details on it. 

Notification in Google Ads that you have a high performing asset.

This information is listed in your ads under “View asset details” in your Google Ads account. To see that performance column, you will need at least 2,000 impressions at the top of Google Search within 30 days.

Ad Rank Monitoring

Now that you’ve learned how to earn competitive ad rank scores, it’s time to evaluate your ads. Be on the lookout for notifications in your account like this:

A notification in Google Ads that your keyword has a low Quality Score.

This is an indication that you could use more consistency across your landing pages, keywords, and ad copy.

Diagnose Your Keywords

To run a report, go into the keyword section of Google Ads, select the 3 dots, and under “Diagnose Keywords,” click “Run now.”

A screenshot of how to run a diagnostic report for keywords in Google Ads.
Running a diagnostic test for keywords in Google Ads.

When it’s done, you’ll be able to view it in the “Reports” section. This report can give you insights into why your ad isn’t showing, such as being blocked by a negative keyword, distribution preferences, or having a low ad rank score.

Pay Attention To Keyword Intent

When evaluating your keywords, pay attention to whether or not they have the right intent. Those with transactional intent will be from users who are further down the sales funnel and who are likely ready to buy the product. You can view the intent by using a tool like Semrush or by looking for keyword phrases that include words like “for sale.”

Semrush screenshot of keywords that have transactional intent.

Monitor Your Quality Score

Enable the Quality Score column in the keyword section of Google Ads to see which ads need to be improved. As we mentioned earlier in this blog, your Quality Score is a measure of three components: Expected click-through rate, landing page quality, and ad relevance. Try including more keywords in your ads and throughout your landing page to improve your quality score.

The column in Google Ads that displays quality score.

Why Is Having A Competitive Ad Rank Score Important?

Paying attention to ad rank is important because higher-quality ads often get charged less per click, which means a better use of your money.

Every time a search occurs, ad rank is calculated. Therefore, it’s important to ensure you have a competitive ad rank score in order to outrank your competitors in the Google auction. 

Need some help evaluating and improving your competitive ad rank score? Our PPC specialists can monitor your paid ads, choose the right bidding strategy, and improve your search engine ranking position.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a universal roadmap to achieve a successful marketing campaign. And it can be frustrating to put the work in, and the budget, and ultimately not see the results you deserve. 

We’ve seen this frustration happen time and time again. Which is why we’ve written this blog. We’ll outline the logistics behind Google Ads audiences, and our best practices when it comes to getting to know your audience better.

What is the Google Ads Platform?

We are going to be talking a lot about Google Ads Audiences, and to start the conversation, it’s important to have an understanding of the Google Ads Platform. Feel free to start exploring the platform and get some hands-on experience. 

Within the Google Ads platform, you can obtain resources and valuable insights into the different aspects, including your google ads audiences of choice. There are a multitude of tools to help you find keywords, reach new and existing audiences, and test different strategies.

Breaking Down Google Ads Audience Segments

There are multiple types of audience segments you can create in Google Ads. But we’re going to focus on Google Ads’ in-market audiences, affinity segment targeting, and custom segments.

By utilizing these three types of audience segments, you can capture users who are highly invested in your company or product and users who are in the beginning stages of the buying journey.

  • Affinity Segments. If you’re creating a brand new audience or starting from scratch, affinity segment targeting is a great way to capture users in the beginning stages of the consumer journey. 

    This type of Google Ads audience emphasizes a user’s interests, rather than their recent spending habits. We recommend using affinity segment targeting to raise brand awareness and reach new users.

  • In-Market Segments. Going a bit deeper into the funnel, Google Ads’ in-market segments capture users based on recent purchases or ones with transactional intent. This is a great Google Ads audience to take advantage of when you have a clear understanding of your users and what they want from you.

  • Custom Segments. Google Ads’ custom intent audiences allow you to get very specific with your audience and target users based on keywords and URLs. This type of Google Ads audience comes with time and is especially useful once you have success with the platform.

    So let’s say you’re a home improvement company but you want to focus a specific ad on kitchen repairs. You can include distinct keywords related to this topic. You can also include different URLS that are relevant and have information on kitchen repairs.

Building Your Google Ads Audience

As you begin building your Google Ads audience, you’ll first have to decide between “observation” and “targeting.”

In Google Ads, showing the two different options you can choose, targeting and observation.
  • Observation. Google will observe how certain criteria perform within your ads without limiting the reach of your ads. Essentially, it’s going to watch how the ad performs and better the audience/ad based on these observations.

    We recommend using the observation feature for building newer audiences and any Search or Display campaigns.
  • Targeting. On the other hand, targeting is going to put you in control of who sees your ad and where it’s shown. Just like Google custom intent audiences, this is for specific audiences and specific content.

    We’d recommend using targeting once you have a solidified understanding of who your audience is and are looking to capture users who are further into the consumer journey.

Once you’ve chosen observation or targeting, the next step to building your Google Ads audience is to include demographics. You can choose between a wide variety of segments, including age, location, and household income. 

You may also decide to set up exclusions in your audience. Just like in social media advertising, exclusions are important to incorporate so your ads aren’t shown to people who are unlikely to interact with your product or service. 

Pro Tip: We encourage you to connect your Google Ads and your Google Analytics 4 accounts so you can get a full picture of your customer’s journey. This connection allows you to better understand conversions and events happening from users interacting with your Google ads.

Who Are You Targeting?

Now that we’ve laid out how to logistically set up your audience, it’s time to outline how to decide who’s best to target and how you can access a more in-depth understanding of your audience.

The marketing funnel with the top starting at awareness and the last one being advocacy.

Look At the Stages in the User/Buyer Journey

There are five stages in the user/buyer journey, but we’re going to focus on the following three: awareness, consideration, and decision. If your marketing budget allows for it, you should be creating separate ads for users in each of these consumer stages.

  1. Awareness Stage. When a user is in this stage, they’re browsing for general ideas, products, and services to help them solve a problem. They aren’t at the stage where they want to make any purchases. They’re simply gathering information.

    Google search queries in this stage are going to be more general, like “best running sneakers” or “new garage door.”

  2. Consideration Stage. Moving down the funnel a little, users in the consideration stage are going to start getting a bit more specific and finding a solution to their problem. In the awareness stage, they were looking for a change, but in the consideration stage, they’re looking for a solution.

    Search queries could include “best shoe stores near me” or “should a professional install my new garage door.” 

  3. Decision Stage. The last stage of the user buying journey is where someone is going to be very intentional about their searches because they’re looking to make a purchase. They’ve done the research and know what product or service will solve their issue.

    Google search queries are going to be specific like “HOKA shoes for running marathons” or “real-wood overhead garage doors.”

Your goal should be to capture users at every stage of the buying journey. Which means finding relevant and valuable keywords and language that matches each step of the process. Not sure how to find the right keywords for your ads? Don’t worry, we’ll get into that now.

Consider the Intent of Your Audience

Within each stage of the user/buyer journey, there are different intents for the consumer. You should recognize each intent so you can create a specific ad targeting their needs or wants.

a graphic that highlights the four different types of keyword intent.

There are four different types of intent keywords. They are information, navigational, commercial, and transactional. By getting a grasp of each of these, you can create different audiences for each consumer stage. 

A general rule of thumb is as follows.

  • Information intent keywords are going to target users in the awareness stage.
  • Navigational and commercial intent keywords are geared toward users in the consideration stage.
  • Transactional intent keywords capture users in the decision stage.

Now, you can combine keyword groupings and reach multiple stages at once within your ad campaign. But, the language would have to be fairly general in order to attract all three stages. 

This is why we recommend focusing on one stage per campaign with your keywords, language, and targeting so you can make each ad more personable for the user.

Tips to Knowing Your Audience Better

It’s easier said than done to know who your audience is and to craft ads that target specific segments. But we’ll outline some of our best tips so you can feel confident that you’re getting to know your audience and giving them information they engage with.

Do Your Research

First and foremost, do as much research with the tools you already have. Within your Google Analytics 4 account look at engagement metrics and see what users are doing on your site. If you have a page that’s getting a lot of traffic and conversions, you can continue this momentum by creating a supporting Google Ad. 

You may be surprised to see how much insight you can also get by talking to your leadership, sales team, and marketing team.

  • Is the sales team noticing a product or service that’s selling really well?
  • What initiatives is your marketing team taking that you can support through Google ads? 
  • Are there blogs already written on topics you can advertise?
  • Are there specific goals your leadership would like to see achieved this year? 

By involving these departments in your marketing blueprint, you can ultimately create a comprehensive and well-rounded strategy

Also, look at what your competitors are doing! They could spark ideas for advertising topics or landing pages.  See what they’re doing and how you can put your unique value proposition into it to capture your audience’s attention.

Create a Target Persona

You benefit greatly from creating a target persona for every stage of the user funnel. What are the characteristics of someone in the awareness stage, or the consideration stage? How will the language of these ads differ from someone in the decision stage? 

By having a clear outline of each stage and a target persona, you can truly start to craft specific language for each consumer stage. These personas also help you narrow down what your targeted users are searching for.

A lot of times businesses focus on their brand voice and tone when really they should be focusing on what customers are searching for on Google.

Do Some A/B Testing

By testing different Google detailed demographics, intent keywords, and audiences you can get a full picture of what people are responding to and what’s working well (or not working well) with your advertisements. 

When you’re testing different characteristics, make sure you’re not changing everything at once. In fact, we recommend only changing one thing at a time so you have a concrete idea of whether the different feature benefited your ad or not.

Find the Right Keywords

We talk a lot about using intent keywords in your SEO and content marketing strategies, but you can also take full advantage of them within your Google ads. Especially when using Google’s custom intent audiences. 

As we mentioned above, there are four different types of intent keywords. By utilizing and grouping these together, you can create audiences that attract a user from any stage of the consumer journey. 

We recommend using the Keyword Magic Tool from SEMrush as a great start to finding relevant and valuable keywords for your campaigns!

Additional Tools

Here are a few additional resources our team uses to find the best insights for a great Google Ads audience.

  • Organic Insights in SEMrush. You can see keywords, landing pages, users, and conversion insights within this tool. See where your audience is going, what pages they are most interested in, and topics that are sparking their attention.

    You can also see where your competitors are ranking well and what topics they are advertising. Ultimately, this is a great tool to connect your SEO and content strategies with your Google Ads campaigns. 

  • Google Trends. This is a great starting point to find trending topics or see specific keywords and how they trend over time. Maybe you have a seasonality factor to strategize for and you notice there’s a trending topic in the spring that you should be targeting.

  • Microsoft Clarity. Our SEM team uses this tool to see where our audiences are going when they land on the site and what pages are gaining the most traffic. It can also help you see what CTAs and buttons are working really well on your page which can then be mirrored in your Google Ads.

Get in front of the right people and reach new users by utilizing Google Ads audiences. Have questions about how to get started? Our PPC specialists are here to help!

This blog was originally published on June 16, 2021, and was updated on August 1, 2023.

The big countdown to GA4 is finally coming to a close, and it brings a lot of changes, which include user engagement metrics. We’ve outlined the 8 key GA4 differences you can expect, but now we’ll explore how to use the engagement metrics in Google Analytics 4 to your advantage. 

Once you become familiar with user engagement in Google Analytics 4, you’ll be able to use these metrics to better define your marketing strategies and ultimately gain an extensive understanding of your audience.

What User Engagement Metrics Should You Track?

There are a lot of metrics for you in GA4, and trying to track all of them would be very overwhelming. On the other hand, if you’re not tracking the right ones, you might become more confused about what’s successful for your company and what needs work. 

As you consider what metrics to track, you should align this with the purpose of your website and your company’s marketing goals. For example, if you’re looking to sell your products or services online, your KPIs are going to look slightly different than a company looking to provide thought leadership to its audience. 

Below, we’ll outline some of the most influential user engagement metrics you can track to know the effect of your marketing strategies. 

In appropriate sections, we’ll highlight an industry average or target range. This may vary depending on what type of industry you’re in, so you can always use Google’s benchmarking tool to find specific averages on user engagement.

a screenshot of a reports column with sessions, engaged sessions, sessions per user, users, and new users.

Users

There are three different types of users that you should be aware of in Google Analytics 4. Each is similar but tells you a slightly different story about what your audience is doing on your website. 

  • New Users. In Universal Analytics, each device counted as a new user. However, GA4 will use cross-device tracking to recognize the same user on different devices.
  • Total Users. Similar to what you’ve seen before, total users let you know the number of users that had an event on your website during a specific period of time.
  • Active Users. Active users are a new metric you can track within Google Analytics 4. These are engaged users, or someone who stayed on the page for longer than 10 seconds, had a key event or visited more than 2 pages on your website. Ideally, a good benchmark for active users is 60% – 70% of your total users. 

*Note that in Google Analytics 4, active users will be labeled as just “users”.

Why is this metric important for understanding user engagement? Increasing new users is a really great indicator that your brand awareness is growing. If you want to take this a step further, you can also see how many of these users are engaging with your website, viewing multiple pages, and spending more time on your site.

If you’re noticing that you have a lot of new users but not as many active users, it may be because your site needs some UX improvements so visitors are given a great first impression of your website.

Engaged Sessions

The engaged session metric will also be something new with Google Analytics 4. Just like with an active user, an engaged session is when someone spends more than 10 seconds on your site, viewed more than 2 pages, or completed a key event. 

An additional, new metric in Google Analytics 4 is engaged sessions per user. This number can be found by dividing the number of engaged sessions by the number of total users. So, if you have 683 engaged sessions and 1,100 total users, your engaged sessions per user is 0.62, or 62%.

Just like your active users, a good benchmark for your engagement rate is anywhere between 60% – 70%

Why is this metric important? What we provided above highlights your entire website’s engagement. But you can also narrow this down to specific pages. By finding specific pages that have higher engaged sessions, you can continue to promote that product/service/insight on multiple platforms. 

On the other hand, you can find pages that aren’t performing as well and have lower engaged sessions. This could be a great indication to rework those pages, rewrite the blog, or to better promote the page across different mediums, like social media and email blasts.

Bounce Rate

Since engaged sessions are now an engagement metric in Google Analytics 4, you can use it to get a better idea of what your bounce rate percentage is. Simply inverse the percentage of engaged sessions to get your bounce rate. 

This bounce rate will tell you how many users stayed less than 10 seconds on your site. So, continuing with the example above, if the engagement rate is 62% that means that 38% of total users went to your site and then immediately left.

Average Engagement Time

This is an important metric to show you how long your active users are spending on your website. If you’re noticing that people aren’t spending a lot of time on your page, and aren’t converting, it’s likely that something needs to be adjusted. 

Again, use this metric to see where users are spending the most time on your site. If you’re noticing that your blog posts, case studies, landing pages, or other online materials are getting little engagement time, try creating evergreen, engaging, and authentic content.

Events

Now the main difference you’ll see in UA vs GA4 engagement metrics is it’s now tracking events rather than goals. Ultimately, this is going to help you see a more well-rounded view of your users and their engagement. 

An event now includes any activity on your website, from a form being filled out to a user viewing one of your pages. This is where it is essential to analyze what you want to know about user activity on your website. 

Make sure the events you are tracking are the most important for measuring your marketing strategies. So, if you’re an eCommerce website, you probably want to be tracking when users are browsing the inventory, adding products to their carts, and eventually checking out. 

If your website’s main objective is to disperse information and show yourself as an industry expert, you should be tracking events that occur on your blog posts or case study pages. Events like page scroll depth, video progress (if relevant), and clicks.

a screenshot of conversion examples in Google Analytics 4.

Key Events

In Universal Analytics, you had to set up goals that would then track your key events. It’s going to look a bit different in Google Analytics 4. All goals have turned into events, and you can mark your most important events as key events, previously known as conversions. 

Simply select the start to indicate which events you’d like to mark as key events. We recommend marking events like form submissions and phone calls as key events.

Screenshot 2025 07 18 at 2.12.00 PM How to Effectively Review User Engagement in Google Analytics 4

Why is this metric important? No matter the purpose of your website, you’re going to want users to take action. Key events are one of the best ways to track user engagement in Google Analytics 4. 

Not only can you see specific actions being taken, but you can see where these key events are coming from. You may see key events come from an email campaign you sent out, a social advertisement, or a pay-per-click campaign. 

Especially during a time when you need to reevaluate your strategies, being able to see where key events are happening can help you focus your attention on those specific channels. 

How to Improve Engagement Metrics in Google Analytics

With a little time, specific tools, and website testing, you can make changes that will benefit users navigating your site. 

Explore the Why

In marketing, there isn’t usually a one-size-fits-all answer as to why things are happening. Here are a few tips you can explore to gain a more accurate depiction of ways to improve your engagement metrics. 

Depending on your industry, there could be multiple reasons for a decrease in engagement. If you work in an economically dependent industry, this could play a huge factor in site engagement. 

There will be similar effects if your business has a seasonality factor. If that’s the case, try comparing year-over-year data rather than month-over-month, so you can get a better view of what’s happening through each season of the year. 

If you are seeing dips in engagement, don’t panic! What’s important is that you’re continuing your strategies and creating engaging, evergreen content that can be used across multiple platforms to engage more of your audience.

Encourage Engagement Across Multiple Channels

It’s important to reach your audience where they are. Cross-promotions allow for your message to spread to a wider audience, nudging them to visit your site and discover your content. 

You can use various internet marketing tactics like content writing, email newsletters, social media advertising, and pay-per-click advertising to capture your user’s attention and send them to your website.

Test Your Theories

As we said, there sometimes isn’t a definitive answer to why engagement is increasing or decreasing. So, it’s never a bad idea to test what you think may be the reason for the fluctuation or try implementing a new strategy. 

When you’re A/B testing, make sure you’re not changing everything at once. You should only change one element at a time, so you can accurately identify the most positive effects on your user engagement in Google Analytics 4.

Need help analyzing your current strategies and pinpointing areas of improvement on your website? Contact our specialists today!

This blog was originally published on September 25, 2019, and updated on June 28, 2023.

Many retail business owners focus on their brand voice and what they want to share about their business in their paid Google ads. Few business owners, however, optimize this wording to be what their customers are actually searching for on Google

Neglecting to understand this intent can be devastating to your marketing because you’ll waste your ad money by paying for clicks of people who aren’t looking to buy right now. So, how do you understand your customers’ intent to meet their needs effectively?

In this blog post, we’ll learn how to speak your customers’ language using Google Ads and identify practical market research tips to effectively meet your users’ intent.

Optimizing For User Intent Is Essential

What Is User Intent?

User intent is essentially the meaning, or purpose, of the user’s search – why are they searching for that? What do they expect to see in the Google search results? 

A big part of understanding your users’ intent is understanding where they’re at in the marketing funnel. Are they ready to buy the item right now, or are they just looking for more information? The top three stages of the marketing funnel are what we’ll focus on in this blog post: awareness, consideration, and conversion.

Marketing Funnel diagram with five sections varying in length

Here’s how the marketing funnel works:

  1. AwarenessThe customer is just getting to learn about your brand, products, and what you do. They aren’t ready to buy yet; they’re just learning.
  2. Consideration – In this stage, the customer may be asking questions or comparing products or brands
  3. Conversion – This is when a customer actually buys a product or service.

Each of these sections of the marketing funnel correlate to one of the main categories of search intent, which we’ll get into next.

Categories Of Search Intent

What was the last thing you Googled? Were you asking a question? Looking for an image or a funny video? Trying to buy something?

Chances are, your search query (a.k.a. the word or phrase you typed into the search bar) falls into one of the following categories of intent: 

  1. Informational: The user is looking for information to answer a question. 
  • i.e. “How to make chocolate cream pie;” “Is it supposed to rain today?”
  1. Commercial: The user may be looking to buy something soon, but isn’t quite ready yet.
  • i.e. “Best toys for children;” “Nike shoes vs. New Balance shoes”
  1. Transactional: The user is ready to buy and that’s a clear purpose of their search.
  • i.e. “Coffee makers for sale;” “Where can I buy Legos?” 

If your business goal is to sell a product, you’re going to want to optimize your product pages for more of the commercial/transactional intent searches, since those customers are specifically looking to buy something. 

However, if your business goal is to establish yourself as an authority in your field, you might optimize your blog posts for informational searches. By answering their questions, you can  position your brand as credible, knowledgeable, and helpful. 

Why Is User Intent Important To My Business?

Let’s look at a practical example of this: If you are a retail business that sells professional clothing (blazers, tailored suits, etc.), you could waste a lot of money trying to rank your product pages in Google search results for phrases like, “what is considered business professional attire?” or “how to tailor a suit.” While these are relevant to what your business offers, users who are searching for these aren’t ready to buy yet. Their intent is informational, and they just want an answer to their question.

Someone searching for “black blazers for sale” or “tailored suits near me,” however, is ready to buy and looking specifically for that item at this exact time. Their intent is transactional. Focus on optimizing your product page ads for transactional intent to ensure you’re not wasting your ad money on people who aren’t ready to buy yet.

Using Google’s Natural Language API

Understanding user intent is so important that even the search engines are trying to do it! One way that Google discovers user intent is by using its Natural Language API to uncover the true meaning of a word or phrase. Try using it with a few sentences that are related to your business!

Google's Natural Language API diagram

How To Understand Consumer Preferences In Google Searches: Be The Solution They’re Searching For

What Are Consumer Preferences?

Consumer preferences are the user’s choices and opinions that influence what they search for in Google (color, size, style, brand, etc.). Consumer preferences can be hard to understand because when users go to type an item into the Google search bar, they might refine their search several times before identifying what they’re looking for. That’s why just simply looking at the search queries can be misleading.

Example Of A Consumer Preference

A user types in the following search queries, each time refining their search to be more specific in order to find what they’re looking for: 

  1. Water Bottle
  2. Reusable Water Bottle
  3. Reusable Water Bottle For Women
  4. Reusable Sports Water Bottle For Women
  5. Light Blue Reusable Sports Water Bottle For Women

With the first search query of “water bottle,” we weren’t sure exactly what kind of water bottle they were looking for or what their preferences were, which is why it can be challenging at times to understand consumer preferences.

Why Are Consumer Preferences Important To Understand For My Business?

Consumer preferences are important to understand because they lay the foundation for the creation of your ads, helping you relate more to your users and meet their needs more accurately.

How To Identify Consumer Preferences Online

It will benefit you more to choose keywords that are very specific, such as the final search in the example above (“Light Blue Reusable Sports Water Bottle For Women”). 

This is because there will be a lot of competition for a generic term like “water bottle” and you may be spending money for clicks of people who are searching for cases of plastic water bottles or any other type of water bottle, rather than a specific, reusable one. By choosing specific keywords that have less competition (known as long-tail keywords), your business will benefit because you will have a greater chance of being exactly what your customer is looking for.

If users aren’t interacting with your Google ads, it doesn’t necessarily mean people aren’t interested; you might just not be using the correct language. 

For example, if you’re creating ads for the real estate field, are customers searching for the words “house,” “residence,” “apartment,” “home,” or something else? Do they use any abbreviations? Are you targeting an audience in another part of the world who may refer to an apartment as a “flat?” All of these are important factors to consider when optimizing your ads to be sure you’re using the terms they’re using.

Why Are My Customers Searching For This?

In addition to understanding the exact words your customers are using, you should also understand why they’re searching for it. Is it something they need, or just simply an item they want? Identifying their needs and wants can help you understand what other topics they might be interested in regarding that item.

Putting It Into Practice: Practical Tools For Easy Market Research

Market Research is an essential part of understanding your customers and speaking their language. Some of the benefits include: 

  • More specific targeting of the correct users who are ready to buy.
  • A higher click-through rate for your ads, because it’s relevant to what they’re searching for.
  • More relevant traffic to your site, which could lead to more people buying your products.

Failing to do accurate research can cause your business to waste money showing irrelevant ads to people who are searching for something completely different. 

Using Google Autocomplete for Market Research:

Start typing one of the products or services your business offers into the search bar of Google and see a list of the suggested searches that pop up (this feature is called “Google Autocomplete”). Then, use this language/wording in your ads. This is a quick and easy way to ensure you’re speaking your customers’ language.

Google search bar with Google Autocomplete suggestions

Using Google Trends For Market Research:

Another helpful tool to understand user preferences is called “Google Trends.” 

This tool will give you insights into what users search for. Simply enter a topic into the search bar and you’ll see specific data such as:

  • Location
  • Category
  • A graph of the keyword’s search volume over a specific time frame

You can narrow down your search even further by indicating:

  • Image search
  • News Search
  • Web Search
  • Google Shopping
  • Youtube Search

Explore related topics/search queries and compare the data to the past year (or several years) to identify searches that consistently do well, not just ones that perform well during certain times of the year.

Let’s put this tool into practice with an example: Engagement Rings (white, rose, and yellow gold). Are most people searching for a classic yellow gold engagement ring, or do they prefer a more trendy color like rose gold?

As you can see in the screenshot below, I’ve compared white, rose, and yellow gold engagement ring search queries from 2004-2021. You can see that the number of searches for “rose gold engagement ring” has massively increased within the past few years. This proves Google Trends can give you valuable insights into what your specific customers are searching for and how your business can adapt to those preferences.

Google Trends graph comparing engagement ring color trends

Examples Of Businesses Understanding Their Customers Well

  1. L.L.Bean – High School Backpacks: The first thing that Google Autocomplete recommends when you type “best school backpacks for” is “best school backpacks for high school.” Although L.L.Bean has only one high school backpack style on their website, their ad is the top choice on Google for this search. They even crafted their ad to match this search by saying, “High School Backpacks | School Backpacks at L.L.Bean.” This is a great example of recognizing what users are searching for and then adapting your ads to fit it.
  1. The Hershey Company – Reese’s Big Cup With Potato Chips: The recent development of this new product was a result of their market research with their customers, finding a trend in people desiring a mid-morning snack that was more substantial than a candy bar. To respond to this customer desire, Hershey developed a Snack Cake in 2020, and will soon release a Reese’s cup with potato chips. According to Food Business News, Hershey is “constantly researching and staying in touch with consumers.” This understanding of their customers’ needs and wants has allowed them to stay on top of trends and create products and ads that align with their customers’ desires.
  1. American Eagle Outfitters – Trends of jeans: As you can see in the screenshot from Google Trends, there has been a huge increase in searches within the past few years of “mom jeans.” American Eagle has seen this trend and has adapted to it by having a specific section on their website for “mom jeans” and by using this term in their ads.

Google Trends graph for mom jean trend

Examples Of Businesses NOT Understanding Their Customers Well

  1. Bolthouse Farms Baby Carrots: The other day, I was at the grocery store looking to buy sweet potatoes, and I picked up a bag of orange vegetables that I thought said “sweet potatoes.” After taking a second look, however, I saw that it was actually a bag of carrots that said, “sweet petites.” 

If this were to have happened in a Google Search, the customer wouldn’t know to type in “sweet petites” when looking for carrots, and therefore, the company would not be meeting the needs of their customers.

This is a great example of misunderstanding what customers are looking for. Be clear and straightforward in your ads and tell users exactly what they’re going to get. Imagine how disappointed customers will be if they go to make a recipe that calls for sweet potatoes and they realize they actually bought carrots instead!

  1. Lenovo: When doing a very generic search in Google for “mouse,” immediately I see a lot of Lenovo computer mice for sale. My intent in searching for that might just have been to see a picture of an animal, but it was hard for Google to understand my intent behind that. It would have been better for Lenovo to focus on a long-tail keyword, such as “Lenovo wireless computer mouse.”
Google search for the word "mouse"
  1. Amazon: When I type “what is a gardening spade” into Google, I am in the informational category of intent. I’m not looking to buy anything, I am just looking for a description of a gardening spade. However, the first result that comes up shows a 5-piece gardening set for sale on Amazon. Amazon would benefit more by showing that ad to someone searching for “gardening tools for sale” because they would be in the transactional category of intent.
Google search showing gardening spade ads

Conclusion: How Can I Implement User Intent, Consumer Preferences, And Market Research For My Business?

As a retail business owner, you have an obligation to stay on top of what your target audience is searching for in order to meet their needs effectively with Google Ads. Without this knowledge, your advertising dollars will be wasted because you’ll be targeting the wrong audience, at the wrong stage of the marketing funnel, with the wrong ads. 

Steps for Getting Started

To reiterate, here are some practical steps that will help you speak your customers’ language and understand them better:

  1. Evaluate your intent and make sure it aligns with your customers’ intent.
    • Where are your customers in terms of the marketing funnel (awareness, consideration, conversion)?
    • Which category of intent (informational, commercial, or transactional) are they indicating in their searches? 
    • Use Google’s Natural Language API to evaluate the semantics behind the words you’re using on your website and in your ads.
  2. Address your user’s preferences using long-tail keywords when possible.
  3. Perform market research to understand how to speak your customers’ language.
    • Type products into Google to see what Google Autocomplete suggests.
    • Use Google Trends to identify opportunities for your marketing.
  4. Create ads that meet your customers’ needs and help them find exactly what they’re looking for.

Additional Resources

Need some extra help? Here are some additional resources that can help you understand how to meet your customers’ needs better using Google Ads:

  1. Check out SEMrush for a complete guide to using Google Trends for keyword research.
  2. Tower Marketing has a great resource for identifying your target audience using Google Ads through market research, segmentation, and other data resources.
  3. HubSpot has a useful guide/template to do market research.

For additional help or questions, contact a Tower Marketing professional to elevate your marketing strategy and achieve your business goals.