Google Ads - an effective investment or a waste of money?

Why does Google Ads work (or not) - what does it depend on?

What determines whether Google Ads will work? It is imperative that you pay attention to the following aspects to improve the results of your campaign.

• From the set target - Before launching a campaign, consider what goal you want to achieve. Do you want to increase sales, build brand recognition, generate leads or perhaps increase website traffic? The objective of the campaign determines its structure, its design, but often also the size of the budget or even how to measure its effectiveness.
• From the size of the budget - Too small a budget and choosing competitive keywords is a recipe for an unsuccessful Google Ads campaign. Ensure that your budget is tailored to the competitiveness of your industry, your target audience and the planned scale of your ad. A budget that is too low can limit the number of impressions and clicks, while a large budget but with an underdeveloped campaign does not guarantee success either, as it can lead to budget burnout. When setting your budget, estimate your costs based on average CPCs, analyse your competitors' rates using the SEMrush tool, for example, and work out how much you can spend per month or day.
• From selected keywords - Word analysis also influences the effectiveness of advertising in Google Ads. Keywords should correspond to the users' intentions and be precisely matched to the offer. However, it is also worth paying attention to the number of impressions and the level of competition, because if this indicator is too high, overtaking the competition will become more difficult, and a larger budget will also be required to do so.
• The relevance and attractiveness of Google Ads - Google assesses the quality of an ad by analysing three elements, such as the predicted CTR, the relevance of the ad and the quality of the landing page. The better the ad responds to the user's needs, the better the chances of a higher position and a lower cost per click.
• From the rate set - advertising in Google Ads is based on an auction system, which is why each advertiser sets the maximum rate they can pay for a user to click on their ad when creating a campaign. The specified rate affects, among other things, whether or not you win the auction.

For whom are Google Ads a good solution?

Google Ads is a good investment:

• for companies that operate locally - displaying your offer/service at the top of the search list as soon as the results load is a good way to attract new customers from your chosen area;
• for the e-commerce industry - if you have an online shop, Google Ads can prove to be a hit, it is particularly worth looking at Google Shopping, an option that allows you to promote a specific product while making it possible for the customer to quickly find what they are looking for and go to your shop to finalise the purchase;
• for businesses operating seasonally - if you want to target your offer at a specific time, e.g. during the holiday season, before Christmas or during the communion season, Google Ads can also be effective, as it allows you to quickly increase the visibility of your offer at the chosen time;
• for start-ups - newly established companies have to deal with a high level of competition and low visibility on the web, so it is worth starting from the very beginning with advertising on Google, which allows you to reap the benefits instantly, then it can be a good way to get your first customers.

The best idea will be to combine several different campaigns to achieve the best results - for example, combine a Google Ads campaign with a strategy of SEO and optimisation of your Google Company Profile. 

See also: Working in CRM - how do I get started?

What are Google Ads campaigns and how do they work?

Types of Google Ads campaigns

Google Ads allows you to create several types of campaign. Tailor your ad to the target you set and the way you want your ad to be displayed.

Among other things, you can choose from 5 types of Google Ads campaigns:

• Search - or search network campaigns, is a popular choice for displaying advertising in Google's paid search results and on partner websites. In this case, advertising is entirely based on the keywords typed in by the user.
• Display - or ad network advertising, is advertising that displays on Google's partner sites in text, graphic or video form. Recommended for reaching customers who are not yet familiar with your offer and for image building.
• Shopping - Product campaigns help to promote products in online shops and increase sales. Google Shopping advertising allows a lot of information about products to be displayed in search results, e.g. images, names, prices, ratings, etc.
• Video - The video campaign is displayed on YouTube and can take the form of spots in front of videos, banners or short videos in the feed. Used to build engagement and increase brand visibility.
• Performance Max - is a campaign that maximises effectiveness and complements the search network campaign. It aims to reach more customers across different Google channels e.g. via Gmail, Discover tabs, Google Maps and the search network. It uses artificial intelligence and automation to achieve business goals.

Setting goals for Google Ads campaigns - traffic, leads, sales

When setting up a Google Ads campaign, you need to set a goal that will define what campaign you will run, what actions you will measure and what results you will achieve.

Let's take a look at the three most popular targets for Google Ads campaigns, such as:

• traffic - the aim may be to generate more traffic to the website; it is worth setting this goal when you want to promote content, build brand awareness and when you intend to drive users straight to your website;
• leads - such a campaign is aimed at acquiring contacts to customers interested in an offer, e.g. e-mail addresses by filling in a form and signing up for a newsletter;
• Sales - increasing conversions is a way to increase profits; it's a popular goal in the e-commerce industry, which is realised once the customer has made a payment.

Advertising quality and Quality Score

High-quality adverts increase the effectiveness of Google Ads campaigns. It influences the effectiveness of the ad and its cost. Noted by Google on a scale of 1 to 10, and the higher the result, the better suited the ad and landing page are to user queries.

What influences the Quality Score?

The Quality Score is influenced by 3 elements:

• predicted CTR - i.e. information on how likely users are to click on an advert;
• relevance - Google analyses whether the content of the ad matches the user's intent and keywords;
• quality of the landing page - the quality of the landing page is also important, e.g. whether it is easy to read, loads quickly and contains useful information for users.

Google Ads campaigns in 2025 - what's changing?

Therefore, in 2025, be prepared for some changes to Google Ads campaigns, which include:

• development of the Performance Max campaign;
• Expanding the role of artificial intelligence and automation;
• greater restriction of access to user information - this is linked to, among other things, Google's announcement to discontinue the use of third party cookies in the Chrome browser;
• targeting using LSI and semantic keywords - Google already recognises intent, not just specific keywords;
• From June 2025, advertisers also gained the ability to edit the displayed name of the payer.

These are just a few of the major changes to Google Ads campaigns that await advertisers in 2025.

FAQ: Google Ads - an effective investment or a waste of money?

Does Google Ads work straight away?

Yes - Google Ads can start generating traffic practically as soon as the campaign is launched. However, effectiveness (i.e. real conversions: sales, leads, contact) depends on many factors: properly selected keywords, ad quality, landing page fit and budget. Therefore, despite an immediate start, it may take several days or weeks to fully refine a campaign.

How long does it take to see results?

You can see the first clicks and traffic even within an hour of the campaign launch. But a real evaluation of the campaign's effectiveness usually requires a minimum of 7-14 days to collect data, check the quality of the traffic and optimise the budget. For lead generation or e-commerce campaigns, it is worth looking at a period of at least 30 days - this is the time needed for testing, tweaking and scaling activities.

How much does a campaign cost per month?

It depends on:

• industry (e.g. law, medicine - expensive clicks),
• competition,
• location (national vs. local campaign),
• campaign objective (traffic vs. leads vs. sales).

The minimum test budget for small businesses is usually around £1,000-2,000 per month.

With more competitive industries, a budget of £3,000 to £5,000 per month is a reasonable starting point. In addition, if you are working with an agency, add the cost of the service (usually between £500 and £1,500 net).

Can I run the campaign myself or do I need an agency?

You can run the campaign yourself - Google Ads gives you access to all the tools and wizards, even for beginners. However, without experience it is easy to burn through your budget (e.g. on mismatched keywords, bad targeting or badly set targets). If you have the time to learn and test - it's worth a try.

If you want quick results and cost optimisation, working with an agency or freelancer can pay off - especially in competitive industries.