What’s the Difference Between Google Ads and Adwords?

A question still commonly asked today in the digital marketing industry!

But we’re here to reassure you that actually, there is no practical difference between Google Ads and Adwords! That’s right. They’re the same product, just re-branded!

By removing “Adwords” from the platform naming convention, Google intended to shift focus from keyword tunnel vision advertising, and more audience focused advertising strategies.

The re-brand was part of a decision that Google made back in 2018 to consolidate their plethora of advertising and marketing experience under three new umbrellas:

– Google Ads (formerly known as Adwords)
– Google Ads Manager
– Google Marketing Platform

 

The Google Ads Platform

Google Ads is an advertising platform where businesses and advertisers can bid on certain keywords that they want to show up for in user searches, through Google auctions that run billions of times each month. These then show up in Google searches on top of the list of organic results, and advertisers then pay each time someone clicks.

Google determines what you pay for each click by:

– Your maximum bid for the keywords
– Quality score: This is determined by your landing page relevance and usefulness to the user
– Competitiveness of your keyword: Overall competitiveness against other advertisers who bid for those same keywords

With user Google searches amassing 63,000 searches a second, and 46% of clicks going to the top three paid ads in the search results, Google Ads more than proves its worth. It is also important to take into consideration the rise in variety of electronic devices used whilst prompting these searches.

Official Google statements reveal that over 50% of search queries (globally) now happen through mobile devices. This gives further indication to the behaviour of consumers needing to search on the go, which requires us to consider a decrease in their time and attention span, and an increase in their trust that Google will “put their best foot forward” by rising the best search results to the top.

Here’s a list of our top five benefits that engaging in the use of Google Ads brings to your business:

 

Wide audience reach

Since 1998, Google has continued to grow its audience at a rapid pace, leaving its elders like Safari in the dust. As we remember the above mentioned the stats of Google Searches and numbers of top 3 ad clicks in the previous paragraph, we all know that Google is the number 1 source of public online information in the world. Who knew back in 1998 that nowadays “Google It” would be one of our most common phrases in every day life.

The ability to harness intent

Google Ads gives you the opportunity to directly capture the attention of those users who are searching for what you’ve got! The users are already looking to be advertised to. So when they head to Google in search of something, you can use Google Ads to help give you a boost and help you meet them half way.

Fast results

Unlike SEO, Google Ads can provide near instant results. This is because of factors like being able to focus on multiple keywords at a time, ads that appear at the top of the search results page get immediate visibility, and you have complete control of turning the campaign on or off whenever you need to.

Remarketing Abilities

Remarketing capabilities do a fantastic job at reconnecting with those curious window shoppers who clicked on your ad, and had a look around your website, but left without purchasing anything or without any goal completions. This gives you the opportunity to remind them that you’re still there, so they don’t forget about you so easily!

Consistent and specific results tracking

With some advertising opportunities it can be difficult to calculate ROI or consistently monitor the results of your ads. Google Ads allows you to monitor results such as:

– How many clicks on your ad
– Which keywords are getting the most traffic
– Cost per lead

And with a Google Analytics integration, you can go even deeper than that and monitor how visitors to your website are behaving

The reviews are in! Google Ads is still the same reliable and helpful advertising tool is always has been…just with a few minor improvements, and a change of outfit.