In this article–or rather, this Google Ads FAQ, you’ll find answers to the 10 most frequently asked questions we receive about Google Ads, typically in the weeks before or after a campaign launch.
You too can uncover the key questions commonly raised when starting Google Ads.
1. Is there a minimum budget required for Google Ads?
If you want to run Google Ads campaigns, there is no required minimum budget, either in terms of amount or duration. You can start advertising with just a few francs as your daily budget.
In practice, it’s highly recommended to align your budget with your goals. Even if your objectives aren’t clearly defined, you should still plan a budget to conduct tests and assess the potential of this ad channel. As a guideline, consider setting aside at least CHF10.- per day for 2-3 months to gather sufficient data.
2. How does Google Ads spend my budget?
In Google Ads, you set a daily budget for your ads at the campaign level. If you have multiple campaigns, each will require its own daily budget.
Your actual daily spending may occasionally exceed your set budget, but it will never double. This helps “balance out” days when your ad was shown less and incurred fewer costs.
However, the total monthly charge will never exceed your monthly budget, which is calculated by multiplying your daily budget by the average number of days in a month (30.4).
3. Should I implement a Google Ads tracking tag?
It’s not mandatory but (highly) recommended. It allows you to measure campaign performance in terms of conversions such as purchases, appointments, sign-ups, or subscriptions. Without it, you miss out on a valuable tool for evaluating the return on investment of your campaigns.
4. What’s the difference between a Google Ads Express account and a standard Google Ads account?
Simply put, a Google Ads Express account is a simplified version of a standard Google Ads account, offering fewer features. It’s designed for small businesses with limited knowledge of paid search but who still want to advertise on Google.
With a Google Ads Express account, you can launch ads in just a few clicks through “smart campaigns.” A website isn’t even required—your Google Business Profile (Google My Business) is enough to promote your products or services.
The downside of Google Ads Express is the limited control over targeting, keyword selection, optimizations, ad formats, and other key campaign settings.
On the other hand, a standard Google Ads account provides full access to all settings and features, offering more control and customization. While this often leads to better performance, it does require more time and expertise.
5. Can competitors click on my ads? How can I prevent fraudulent clicks?
Yes, competitors can click on your Google Ads ads to waste your ad budget or distort your performance data. This practice is commonly referred to as “fraudulent clicks” or “malicious clicks.”
While it’s impossible to completely eliminate this risk, you can take steps to mitigate the issue.
Additionally, Google provides built-in anti-fraud features that detect fraudulent clicks, helping to filter out suspicious activity.
6. Why does my ad change from one time to another?
Responsive search ads on the Google Search Network adapt to display the most relevant message to users based on their search queries. A responsive search ad can include up to 15 headlines and
4 descriptions, but only 3 headlines and 2 descriptions will be displayed at a time.
Google Ads tests various combinations over time to identify the best-performing ads based on user profiles.
This principle also applies to responsive ads shown on the Display Network.
7. I don’t see my ad in Google search results, why?
Several factors can affect whether your ad is displayed in response to a user’s query. The key factors include:
- Targeting settings such as geographic area, language and demographics.
- Your ads are disapproved or have limited visibility.
- If your bid strategy isn’t competitive enough, your ads may not be shown.
- A limited budget that may not capture sufficient search volume, leading to missed queries.
- The quality of the landing page may not meet Google’s optimization standards.
- The search term may not be closely aligned with your ad content.
- New ads without a performance history may require additional time to achieve full visibility.
- Outdated payment methods or billing issues.
Google Ads offers a preview tool that allows you to test your ads and identify reasons why they may not be displaying.
Remember, just because you don’t see your ad doesn’t mean it’s not being displayed.
8. Is there a guarantee of results?
The million-dollar question! Google Ads operates on a bidding system, making it impossible to predict user behavior and competitor actions, both of which significantly impact campaign performance.
Other factors external to Google Ads, but influencing campaign results, should also be considered, such as:
- User experience on your website and with your services/teams
- Your products/services (price, quality, availability, terms, etc.)
- Seasonality
- Economic, political, environmental, or social conditions
Based on project settings (budget, goal, targeting, etc.), various tools and experience can still be used to make forecasts and estimates.
9. Should I consider the “Optimization Score” provided by Google?
It should be taken with a grain of salt. The score is directly linked to the recommendations found in the Recommendations menu; failing to apply these recommendations can lower your score.
It’s important to note that not all recommendations are applicable or relevant to your specific campaign goals. Consequently, achieving a 100% optimization score may not be theoretically feasible, as it might require ignoring or removing some recommendations.
At Suisseo, we regularly review and evaluate all recommendations, consistently maintaining an optimization score above 80%. We ensure that the recommendations we apply are appropriate for our specific goals and strategies.
10. Why are results different between Google Ads and Google Analytics?
It’s common, if not standard, to observe different results between Google Ads and Google Analytics, particularly concerning conversions or key events.
These discrepancies can be attributed to various technical and methodological factors, including attribution models, conversion windows, filters, privacy settings, user consent, and configuration errors.
For more information on this topic, we invite you to read our blog post, “Why Are There Tracking Differences Between Google Ads and GA4?”