Google Ads 101: A Complete Guide to Google Ads for Your Fitness Business

When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) and search advertising, there is no better option than Google Ads. According to research from Unbounce, PPC visitors are 50% more likely to purchase from a business than organic visitors. With 3.5 billion searches on Google daily, there is no doubt that Google Ads need to be part of your marketing strategy to help drive sales and grow your fitness business.

The problem though, if you run a campaign before you understand the basics of Google Ads, you could be wasting a lot of time and money. Here we’ll run through everything you need to create a successful Google Ads campaign.

Google Ads 101: What you need to know

Since Google started in 1998, it has grown into a behemoth search engine. In February of 2020, it was the most visited domain with 74.17 billion hits. Because of that staggering number, it generates 62% of the core search queries in the U.S.

At the beginning of 2020, 75% of the search market share belonged to Google. There are dozens of more statistics, but what they all amount to is the simple truth that the majority of companies out there rely on the Google Ads PPC system. They released Google Adwords in 2000 and later rebranded themselves as Google Ads in 2018.

What are the ad types?

The Google Search Network, which is a group of search-related apps and websites where your ads can appear, offers six types of ads:

• Text ads
• Dynamic search ads
• Call-only ads
• Shopping ads
• Image ads
• Video ads

When advertising on the Google Search Network, ads appear near the search results after a user searches for terms related to your business’s keywords, such as fitness studios or gyms in your area.

The Google Display Network (GDN), which is a list of two million websites, videos, and apps where your ads can appear, offers eight types of ads:

• Text ads
• Responsive ads
• Image ads
• App promotion ads
• Video ads
• Product shopping ads
• Showcase stopping ads
• Call-only ads

When someone puts their ad into the Google Display Network, their advertising will appear as targeted display ads on websites, YouTube videos, Gmail accounts, or mobile apps.

How do Google Ads work?

The obvious explanation is that it shows your ads to potential clients interested in your product or service. Google search ads can increase brand awareness by 80%. It is important to make sure your ads get seen by the public. In Google Ads, the Ad Rank is used to determine your ad position, which decides the order of your ads showing up in search results. The Ad Rank is affected by the Quality Score and cost-per-click (CPC), which is measured by your keyword relevancy, landing page user experience, ad copy, and call-to-action. As a result, the best-combined cost-per-click and Quality Score will lead to the best position on Google.

Why should you go with Google Ads?

With so many options for advertising online, why should Google Ads be your top choice? Here are three reasons why you should go with Google Ads:

Focus on your target range

Lead generation is an important tool for fitness businesses, and with Google Ads you can target clients throughout any point of their pursuit of a gym or studio. When you bid on keywords, the ad appears to prospect early in the process of researching gyms in their area.

Landing pages are then used to capture info that can be used to send informative (not spam) content to your prospects. Google Ads also has retargeting software that can be used to bring them back if they leave your website. This might be ads about your gym or supplements that you offer.

Consider the massive reach of Google

It’s no secret that Google is the go-to search engine, which is why it’s second nature to tell someone to “Just Google it.” This reputation is due to Google’s massive reach of 62.19 billion visitors every year which works out to 3.5 billion searches per day.

Advertising for any budget

While some businesses pay upwards of thousands of dollars for clicks and strong keywords, Google Ads doesn’t work that way. Whether you’re a boutique gym on a budget or an established business with various products with a little more to spend, you can find the price that works for you.

You can place a daily limit on the amount of money spent, the maximum bid that can be placed, and many other features as you build a campaign and ad group. To put it simply, you are in control of your own spending and budgeting.

Getting started

It’s time to set up your ad campaign location, which can be broad or exact. This allows you to advertise your gym or studio memberships locally. On the other hand, you can broaden the location of your campaign when you offer supplements, on-demand videos, or instructional videos.

As you start creating your Google Ads, aim to spend as little as possible. A small budget will allow you to see what works best and what doesn’t work, so you can collect data to retarget with a larger budget the next time around. For instance, your audience may be more interested in watching on-demand instructional fitness videos rather than attend a session at the gym. You can then adjust your ads based on the data from your first Google ad.

Campaign setup

Once you create your campaign and put a name to it, begin your ad groups with targeted keywords. You can use the same ad group for another campaign, but you’ll have to change the cosmetics of the ad first. Avoid keywords that include too much information to prevent your campaign from getting lost in the sea of ads. What are some different keyword types to look out for?

• Broad match type: The default type with the most audience reach.
• Modified broad match type: This is the happy medium or in between a broad and exact match.
• Exact match type: The keyword that is most restrictive and specific.
• Phrase match type: Your ad will only appear when you search for an exact keyword phrase.

Create Ad and Landing Page

Within the ad, there are two headlines and a description. The headlines will grab the attention of potential clients scrolling by, and the description goes into further detail about your offer. Remember that the user experience is linked with your landing page, so the content has to be engaging.

Since the landing page is where the user goes after clicking the ad, it needs to be optimized for mobile users, designed for conversion, and match the keywords that were used. It should be a seamless transition from the ad to the landing page. For example, users don’t want to click on an ad expecting details on a yoga class and see a landing page for workout supplements.

Track the Right Metrics

Tracking the right metrics will ensure you make the right decisions on future ads. The metrics you should be looking at are impressions (how many people see your ad), click-through rate (CTR), and cost-per-click (CPC). By using these data points, you can make a better-educated decision on your future campaigns.

It’s time to attract more clients with Google Ads

As a rule, it’s important that your ads are relevant. This means that the ad copy and headline must match your chosen keywords. While Google Ads aren’t the only marketing tool out there, it can help you effectively drive sales in today’s crowded online space, and it would be a mistake not to use Google Ads as part of your marketing strategy.

What are some other ways you can take your marketing to the next level? WellnessLiving’s all-in-one platform can help you build automated marketing campaigns through emails, SMS, and push notifications. Book a free, no-commitment demo today to learn more!