Google Ads can be a very effective way to grow your business. Yes, even for you. No, not just for giant companies with suspiciously large budgets. When it is set up with clear goals and someone is actually paying attention to it, Google Ads tends to reward the effort.
This guide exists because Google offers several different ad types, all of which sound like they do the same thing until you spend money on the wrong one. Below is a plain-English breakdown of what each ad type does, when it makes sense to use it, and how to avoid asking “why is this running” after the fact.
Google Ad Types
There are some more options, but here are the Legend tried-and-true Google Ad types.
Search Ads
Search Ads are the ads that appear at the top of Google when someone actively searches for a product or service. These are the ads you see when you type something like “emergency plumber near me” and suddenly everyone is available right now.
Display Ads
Display Ads are visual ads that appear across websites, apps, and online content. You have definitely seen them. Sometimes you even remember them. Sometimes you wonder why that ad followed you for three weeks.
Video Ads
Appearing on YouTube and other video platforms, Video Ads show your brand to people while they are watching content they actually chose to watch. They can be skippable, unskippable, short, long, dramatic, educational or memorable for reasons nobody planned.
Shopping Ads
Shopping Ads display products directly in Google search results with images, prices, and business name. Customers can see what you sell before they click, which works well for people who already know they want to buy something.
Performance Max (PMax)
Performance Max is Google’s all-in-one campaign type that runs across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and more. It’s a bit of all of the above ad types, and more. You give Google your goals, assets, and budget, and it decides how to spend your money. This can be brilliant or terrifying, depending on setup (but that’s why you have us).
So Which Google Ads Should You Use?
Short answer: it depends.
Longer answer: it depends on your goals, budget, audience, and how much patience you have for learning curves. Most successful accounts use a mix of these ad types, each doing a specific job instead of trying to do everything at once.
That is where we come in.
If you want Google Ads that are set up properly, monitored constantly, and adjusted based on real performance instead of vibes, talk to Legend. We manage Google Ads so you can focus on running your business and not refreshing dashboards at midnight.
Get in touch with Legend and let’s make Google Ads work the way they are supposed to.
Legend manages your Google Ads so your budget goes where it should and stops where it shouldn’t.
