Google ads are a type of paid ad that appear at the top of Google’s listings when people are searching for something specific. In the care sector, you might want an ad about dementia care to appear when families are actively looking for that service in your area. Or if you want to recruit, you can target carers who are using Google to look for local positions.
The benefit of paying for Google Ads is that unlike other marketing strategies, you get instant results. Your ad will appear in front of potential clients exactly when they’re looking for you – and Google doesn’t show them to just anyone. You can target specific audiences like people looking for services in your area, and tailor them for a short-term goal like filling vacancies in your care home.
How does it work?
Google Ads works on a cost-per-action model (an action being either a click, a thousand ad impressions, or when someone signs up to your mailing list or watches a video, for example), so the more engagement you get, the more you pay for the ad. It’s worth taking some time to look into pricing – it’s dynamic, which means it changes from pennies to a couple of pounds depending on variables such as the industry, quality score or relevance, and location.
When you place your ad, you can set a daily or campaign budget to cap the costs. Test your ads with a small budget to understand what gets the best results when you’re starting out. Refine them until you find what works best, then it’s time to scale up and invest more.
Getting started
Before you start using paid ads, you need a strong, joined-up digital presence. If your website, Google Business Profile and content aren’t accurate, engaging, and informative, paid ads won’t get the results you’re looking for. Once you’ve got that sorted, you’re ready to write the copy for your ad and landing page.
Your ad should be concise, informative, and contain a call to action like: ‘Call today for a free care assessment’, or ‘apply now’. Google Ads are responsive, which means you can write a few different versions of your ad and it will use AI to choose the most relevant wording to match the search query and intent. That means you can submit a few different headers and descriptions to target different audiences.
Focus on high-intent keywords. These are the phrases families are most likely to type into Google when they’re ready to act. For example, if you want to promote respite care, people might be searching for ‘emergency short-term care’, or ‘respite care in [your area]’ – remember, these should be location targeted to filter out clicks that are less likely to convert. Lots of people search for services ‘near me’ – if you don’t set your location filter, ‘near me’ could be anywhere.
Your ad must be linked to a landing page. If you’re running a specific campaign, you can create a custom landing page rather than using a page on your existing website. Make sure the landing page reflects the same message as your ad and uses the same language, imagery, and tone of voice.
Include trust-building elements like testimonials from happy staff or clients, relevant trust seals, or any awards you’ve won. And make life easy for the reader. Break up text blocks, keep the page easy to navigate on mobile and web, and make sure readers know exactly what the next step is. If you want them to call you, include the phone number or a button to call from their mobile. If you want them to contact you in writing, put an interactive form on the page rather than your email address.
Measuring the impact
Use Google Ads Manager to monitor how your ad performs. Track the click through rate (CTR), which is how many people clicked on your ad compared to how many saw it, and how many enquiries it generated. Look at cost per click (CPC) and cost per enquiry, which is how much you’re spending to generate each lead, to keep an eye on your budget.
You can adjust your target audience, budget, and messaging from this dashboard if you need to. Success with Google Ads isn’t just about clicks – you want them to convert into enquiries, so it might take a few attempts to get results.
If you need more advice on how to use Google Ads or don’t know where they fit in your marketing strategy, get in touch with one of our experts today.
