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Google Ads

Google Ads
Formerly AdWords

Overview

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.

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Recent Reviews

Ad Management with Google Ads

10 out of 10
January 23, 2023
Google Ads is a very platform to manage paid advertising that is sought to be shared within the Google search engine as well as the allies …
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Best Ads Campaign Tool.

9 out of 10
October 12, 2022
We use Google Ads to reach prospects with very high intent. We have been using this for more than five years now, and it has always worked …
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Google Ads = ROAS

8 out of 10
May 17, 2022
Incentivized
We use Google Ads to support priority campaigns to drive traffic to certain areas of our site, specific products, etc. The platform offers …
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Worst customer service ever!

1 out of 10
May 04, 2022
I use it to advertise my services. The problem is that my ad was suspended and it is impossible to get in touch with a human to figure out …
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SAVE YOUR MONEY THEY ARE A SCAM

1 out of 10
March 17, 2022
SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE THIEVES. FIRST THEY OVERCHARGE FOR PPC ADS, THEN THEY WILL SUSPEND YOUR ACCOUNT FOR NO REASON AND WHEN …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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What is Google Ads?

Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Demos

5 Minutes Guide: How to Setup Google Ads Account [2021]

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How to create Google Ads Tracking Template URL with example? Campaign URL Option in Google Ads 2021

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Upload to AdWords (Demo)

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Google Analytics tutorial for Beginners

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Google Web Designer for Google Ads Demo

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Quick Start Guide To Google Ads For Beginners: Create Your First Campaign In 20 Minutes

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Product Details

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear. There's no minimum spending commitment, and the program can be paused or stopped at anytime. With Google Ads the user reaches people as they search for words or phrases as they browse websites. Ads can appear in Google search listings and on partner websites. Remarketing and retargeting techniques can be applied to increase return traffic and make sales. With cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, Google Ads charges users when visitors click on ads.

Google Ads Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.9.

The most common users of Google Ads are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Reviews and Ratings

(1286)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 54)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
November 07, 2022

Google Ads Problems

Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Worst experience ever. I was paying for a campaign that Google specialist help me set up. I found out that during the term of my advertisement, people who wanted to reach others, would click on that person's ad but instead of connecting to their office, my office phone would ring. Many hours waisted by my staff and I would pay for the ad which was meant for another business. Waisted another few hours and brought the issue up to Google , but all they could say is to start another campaign and hopefully that would work.
  • Not telling the truth about giving a customer $$$ after they spend so much on ads
  • Not having good intentions to give you credit when they make mistakes
  • Not being accountable when they clearly mess up
  • Not connecting you to a person higher up to discuss your problems
  • The specialist was so busy and rushed and he did my campaigns, as a result I ended up paying for my competitor's advertisement. Google never gave me a credit for their mistake.
  • If they want to be in the business of advertising, they need to get to know their customers and their businesses. I don't mean like an algorithm but really know them.
  • Google has to stand behind their work and be compatible. Most my other advertisers have a system that if I don't get to my minimum goal, they do a good faith effort to give you credit for the next round.
  • Google is all about money. They could care less if your ads work or not.
If you are a big corporation and do not care about how much money to spend to get your name out there then google may be for you. If you are small business with limited budget, as google will tell you, you may get a lot of clicks and impressions but when it comes to customers calling your place, there is a lot be be desired. I was told twice by Google that if I spend $500 in ads, they will credit me another $500 to use for ads. Both times they used some excuse to get out of paying the credit.
October 12, 2022

Best Ads Campaign Tool.

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Google Ads to reach prospects with very high intent. We have been using this for more than five years now, and it has always worked for us. Google has made this tool relatively easy to use over the years. We run Google Search and Display ad campaigns.
  • Target High Intent Audience.
  • Easy to use.
  • Relevant tool for marketers.
  • Reporting is on point.
  • Error resolution could be easier.
  • Support centre is not approachable.
  • Access Management is complex.
If you are planning to acquire new customers / reach your high-intent target demographics, Google Ads is your go-to tool for running ad campaigns on Google Search. You can experiment with lower budgets and then scale up if it performs for you. You can also run Youtube ads using this tool.
May 17, 2022

Google Ads = ROAS

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Google Ads to support priority campaigns to drive traffic to certain areas of our site, specific products, etc. The platform offers the potential to reach new users, retarget existing ones, and overall drive sales that we otherwise could have or would have missed out on. The best part of the platform is the ROAS, as clicks are usually pretty cheap for very good returns
  • Reaching new customers
  • Easy to use platform
  • Good ROAS
  • You can only have one draft campaign at a time
  • Certain functions are hard to find (setting monthly budget)
  • The recommendations can be better, ie keyword suggestions are not always relevant
Google Ads are great for companies looking to drive traffic, sales, etc that have the budget to bid on certain keywords. The platform can give small to medium size companies a chance against larger ones. One scenario where Ads may not work is for smaller businesses who don't have the budget to bid on certain keywords because the CPC is too expensive.
Phil Parrish | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our agency utilizes the Google Ads platform within our Client Services department. We actively manage the Google Ads platform to provide campaign management services for our clients with the following Google Ads products: paid search, Google Shopping campaigns, YouTube, and app install campaigns. The Google Ads platform helps our agency develop keyword strategies, targeting strategies, and helps us optimize our client's campaign performance. The Google Ads platform is a key part of our ad tech stack and it saves our team a lot of time managing Google campaigns.
  • Paid search (PPC) campaign management
  • Keyword planning and analysis
  • App install campaigns
  • Google shopping campaigns for direct response
  • Advertising on YouTube
  • Bid and budget management
  • Conversion tracking
  • Lack of hands-on customer support and dedicated account management resources
  • Google automatically turns campaigns on - they should make it easier to set launch dates in the future
  • Doesn't integrate well with third-party technology platforms
If you are a small business looking to get started in digital advertising, Google Ads is a great product because there is no additional cost to license the technology - you simply pay when users click on your ads and are redirected to your website. Google also provides a wealth of training and tutorial content to get you up and running. While the Google Ads platform is suitable for small businesses, it is also a technology that can scale with your organization. Our agency manages millions of media dollars in Google Ads, and many mid-market to enterprise brands manage the Google Ads platform in-house. If you are a small business getting started in Google Ads, you need to invest the time to learn the system because you will receive little to no support from Google's account management department.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE THIEVES. FIRST THEY OVERCHARGE FOR PPC ADS, THEN THEY WILL SUSPEND YOUR ACCOUNT FOR NO REASON AND WHEN YOU TRY TO CALL SOMEONE YOU ARE DIRECTED TO A EMAIL CONTACT THAT IS A ROBOT THAT JUST SAYS THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE, IF YOU TRY TO OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT THEY JUST SUSPEND THAT ACCOUNT. THE PEOPLE YOU SPEAK TO AT THE CALL CENTER ARE RUDE AND JUST HANG UP ON YOU AND SAY THEY CAN NOT HELP. GOOGLE IS A SCAM. THEIR ADS ARE EVEN MORE OF A SCAM, NOT ONLY DO THEY SUSPEND YOUR ACCOUNT AND OVERCHARGE, YOU SPEND 3K A MONTH AND GET MAYBE 300 PEOPLE COME TO YOUR SITE IF YOU ARE LUCKY AND PAY 6.00 OR MORE PER CLICK. THIS COMPANY IS A JOKE AND NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN.
  • STEAL YOUR MONEY
  • SUSPEND YOUR ACCOUNT FOR NO REASON
  • HANG UP ON YOU WHEN YOU NEED HELP
  • WILL NOT LET YOU SPEAK TO A PERSON
  • TELL YOU TO WASTE 2 HRS TO KEEP SENDING EMAILS TO THIER ROBOT SO THEY CAN SEND THE SAME EMAIL STATING THEY CANT HELP
  • FRAUD
  • HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
  • THE ENTIRE COMPANY
DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Working at a Marketing Agency, we used Google AdWords on behalf of clients' advertising plans/needs. We would create a marketing plan that typically included a variety of forms of advertising, where Google Ads always took place. We'd focus on using Google Ads to generate more clicks to the website or direct calls to the business phone number. It was always a great way to engage with local customers, specific demographics, and target regions.
  • Provides real-time data on insights.
  • Easy to create ads.
  • Ability to easily learn with online platforms.
  • Updates on when your budget is close to stopping.
  • Ability to add more characters.
  • Easier ability to monitor quick changes.
We specialized in working with clients within the healthcare industry. As you can imagine, people are always searching for new doctors, dentists, offices, etc. Using Google Ads, we were able to target specific regions, or online searches, that allowed for the businesses we were advertising on behalf of to pull up first in a Google Keyword Search.
Thomas Holland | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It allows us to advertise to people based on what they are searching for at that moment. There are also tools to create an informed campaign like Keyword Planner and estimates based on what type of campaign. Lastly, it's pretty versatile as it covers Google Search ads, Google Display (and the partner network), and YouTube.
  • Relevant ads upon search
  • Audience targeting
  • Keyword research
  • Ad campaign versatility
  • Keyword tool could be better
  • Traffic estimates
Everyone Googles things, and showing up at the top of that page is crucial to getting the leads you are looking for. If you are looking for awareness, Google Display does that. There is a benefit to seeing an ad, even if it's not clicked on (of course, we all want the clicks, though). For eCommerce, there are also product feeds. Literally a ton of reasons to use Google Ads.
Aditya Rai | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Google Ads has been an integral part of my marketing strategy. I've been using it for the last many years for the clients I manage. It helps in scaling business, increasing revenue, driving relevant traffic, and many more such benefits. For eCommerce clients, the Google Ads platform is really a boon. With the help of Google Ads, I've helped clients scale their business 2x revenue to 10x revenue in a year or two, and that's an amazing achievement for small business owners. For anyone who wants to go online and advertise their products, Google Ads should be the number one priority. It is also recommended to have a dedicated PPC executive handling Google Ads job and managing the day-to-day execution and optimization as sometimes it can be burdensome while looking into other business-related entities. Talking about reporting, it has several reports available at the campaign, adgroup, ads, and keyword level. One can easily get to know about audiences, demographics, auction insights, and many more reports available and can be scheduled to the mailbox that has access to Google Ads account.
  • Automated targeting via Smart Shopping campaign. It's one of the best campaign types in Google Ads. In the beginning, you may see lower revenue and ROAS, but once you give some meaningful time to your campaign, it is most likely to perform well.
  • Smart bidding strategies: Google Ads has developed some really great bidding strategies such as maximizing conversion and maximizing conversion with ROAS settings. Based on one's requirement and their goal with revenue and target ROAS, they can choose the appropriate bidding strategy.
  • Reporting: A business owner and advertising must know about their audiences, how their campaigns have been performing, what's working and what's not, and for that reason, powerful, effective reporting is needed, and Google Ads provides rich details reporting that covers almost every aspect of a business.
  • Display network: I think it's the area where Google Ads really lacks. Most of the time, I don't see display campaigns performing. Maybe they need to look into it and get rid of spam websites over Adsense.
  • Less control over smart shopping: Even though smart shopping usually performs well, it gives very low control for a user on it. We can't even see what's working inside a campaign, what audiences are performing well, and no search term report available.
  • Google Ads App for Android and iOS also lacks most functionalities and needs strong improvement.
Clients who are selling products such as dresses, clothes, jewelry, beauty products, etc., generally work well. Also, in some cases, it doesn't fetch a good ROAS for very small business owners. If a client is already doing well in SEO, the probability for it to perform well over Google Ads is always enhanced, and if it doesn't have a good organic reach, Google Ads also suffers.
Kara Hooper | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Google Ads allows for immediate traffic to your website compared to SEO which is slower. It allows you to target and research keywords, allows negative keywords, flexibility creating ads with multiple formats, and setting up conversions to track results. This is a great advertising tool for businesses to be found online.
  • Run various types of Ad campaigns.
  • Increases leads, sales, and traffic.
  • Variety of features.
  • Suggestions many times aren't relevant.
  • Not as efficient as it could be.
  • Rejections on Ad campaigns.
Some clients don't understand the audience bidding for keywords so there is a bit of a learning curve to get started. If you aren't aware of certain settings then it can be easy to waste money and not receive the results you want. It's easy to scale your marketing and campaigns up or down as your business grows.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
AdWords is currently being used as a marketing tool to support other channels such as Paid Social and Programmatic. As AdWords works lower down the funnel it helps to generate leads and increase revenue via selected targeting, either it is B2C or B2B marketing. It is currently being used by our specialist Paid Search teams that use AdWords and BingAds.

Overall, AdWords solves many problems, these include but are not limited to, low organic search rankings, finding new customers, driving more users to your site, as well as allowing the business in question to increase their overall revenue.
  • AdWords utilizes audience lists very well. These are lists that are created either with cookies, first-party data (from the business) or by using Google's own created topics. Audience lists are a strength mainly because it allows the business to target users who are more relevant to them, this, firstly, reduces spend on less relevant users and also increases revenue and conversions, which can really help a business grow.
  • AdWords also circumvents the problem regarding low organic search rankings.
  • For many businesses, organic search rankings could be very low for many non-brand related terms. AdWords gets around this by allowing you to bid on the first 4 positions on the search results page. This is essential to increase the visibility of the business, as well as allowing you the choice to bid on certain terms.
  • AdWords also provides Ad Extensions, these are extensions to your usual PPC ads and allows you to add additional information that you may not be able to fit into the character limit. The ad extensions include sitelinks (links that take you to various pages on your site), callouts (a list of unique selling points that will entice the user to click), Call extensions (a phone number).
  • These extensions allow your business to firstly take up more space when the advert is shown on the results page, which takes attention away from competitors and thus, vastly increases the likelihood of a user clicking on your ad. These extensions would not always be available if you run your business using SEO only.
  • AdWords editor doesn't allow for the editing of Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) campaigns. I would like for this to be changed, as I prefer to see my changes before they go live, however for DSAs you are unable to do this and all changes have to occur live in the account.
  • I would like to see a functionality that allows you to apply an audience list to a device, without the need to create a separate device-specific campaign. This would be beneficial if you see a certain type of user is more likely to click on a specific device.
  • I would like to see the user interface to change slightly to allow for more visibility of overall performance in a graph. This could be done by setting primary and secondary KPIs in the account and then these could be displayed on a top-level chart. The idea of this is to see where drops and peaks occur and where you could investigate it more.
AdWords works very well as a lower funnel channel, this means that you are able to target users who are already expressing interest or intent to buy or sign up for a specific product, it works very well as a B2C product, where you have a product to sell, or you want to push a certain product.

I think AdWords is less suited when it comes to a branding piece if you are trying to give your business more exposure in the public eye. This could work as support to other channels, such as out of the home, or paid social.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Google Ads for its intended use... pay per click advertising. We target our customers based on location, age, and income - all of which Google Ads allows us to narrow down. It is a great marketing tool to get new customers. We set up many of our clients on the platform to attract customers for them as well.
  • Target Marketing
  • Ease of Creating PPC Ads
  • Great Reporting Features
  • If you don't know what you're doing, it will be a costly mistake. You need to target ads, and it is difficult the first time to do that.
  • There isn't a feature to run an add for a couple set date spans, just hours you want to run them or a single date span.
It really depends on your business. Some businesses will benefit greatly from pay per click ads and some will just waste endless money. Not only does your customer need to be searching for the keywords you are using, but the ad has to be enticing for them to click on it. We have also found that only advertising with Google Ads gives us better results than advertising with their search partners (like YouTube).
Ruben Diaz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Google Ads (formerly AdWords) to manage multiple business search campaigns--over 1,000 keywords and 20 campaigns. SEM solves many issues with regard to brand awareness and product awareness. Utilizing Google Ads (formerly AdWords) allows us to conquer all aspects of marketing. I'm able to add images and reviews of our products so that our potential clients see our products and see how great our products are.
  • Drive traffic
  • Keyword research
  • Campaign analytics
  • Smart bidding
  • Conversions
  • Smart bidding audience adjustments
  • Smart bidding bid adjustments
  • Distinguish between new and existing potential leads
It's basically monopolizing search because Google doesn't allow other companies to bid on Googles SERP. Google is basically everywhere and thus is the SERP of choice. Google is suited to showcase your website based on the keywords you want to be seen under. I honestly wish they kept the BMM modifiers in broad match. Switching it over to phrase match sucks.
Sydney Lovegrove | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
In my last role, our company used Google Ads across our whole marketing department. It was an option we provided to clients but only about a third would choose to utilize Google Ads. It was a great resource for driving applications at financial institutions which were our main goal. Google Ads was only one portion of our whole marketing strategy - it is a great tool to drive brand awareness! I love that you are getting right in front of your desired audience when they need you most and are searching directly for you and your business's service.
  • Reporting Dashboard
  • Ad Setup Wizard
  • Geographic Targeting
  • Keyword Pricing
  • Reporting Dashboard Organization
Google Ads is great because you can target essentially anyone - the reach is limitless. It is a good resource when you are wanting to get relevant content directly in front of the right people. It's also nice that you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. The platform itself does a nice job gathering any and all data you would ever need to continue improving your campaign performance.
Patrick Stephens | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is used solely in my department. I do use it on consulting assignments, and have often taught individuals how to use it, so my experience lies in several facets with the program. Ultimately, it addresses our need for digital marketing.
  • Options. It gives you plenty of ways to customize and build your ads as you wish (obviously within their parameters).
  • User Functionality. While it would be burdensome (see weaknesses) for some, if you are familiar with these types of programs then you will be able to navigate around Google Ads pretty easily.
  • Budget Friendly. You can set your own budget. That, in and of itself, is key for us.
  • Support. Almost every account rep we've had has been a bully. They've harassed our employees to get to me, all to tell me that they think I need to raise my budget (mind you, as a school we aren't able to simply raise a budget just because someone thinks we should). In another instance, an account rep was claiming to help us (this was several years ago), and made changes on the ads - they ended up making the ads for something we were not affiliated with.
  • Not for Beginners. Many marketing companies use the expansive display as a way to stymie clients, making it seem like the overview is more complicated than it seems. If you are new to the program, you will be fooled. Be mindful that this facet of Google Ads allows for manipulation.
It can be a great deal of your marketing. If you study how the program works, and how the ad space runs, then you can make this work for you very well. For us, we have run ads for many years on Google Ads, refining the budget very carefully. We have been able to suss out competitors' tactics based on how the bids in our area look. It has not just readability for you, but for your industry.

Just be mindful that the representatives are there to raise your budget, first and foremost. Most marketing companies will go out of their way to confuse you by downloading the Overview and making it seem like they put in hours of work, especially if it nets them profit. Many industries just need someone to train an in-house person to handle the ads (which is also better because then you can avoid the third party not fully knowing your brand). Once you get it, you get it.
April 09, 2021

Google AdWords

Missy Geyer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Google Ads is being utilized for our digital department. We run AdWords campaigns on behalf of our clients. We run anything from your typical search campaign, to display campaigns, shopping campaigns, and YouTube campaigns. We are a digital agency that can pitch and fulfill a client's Google AdWords campaign. We manage hundreds of clients on a monthly basis.
  • A strong audience
  • An easy to use UI
  • A great value proposition for clients
  • Many targeting capabilities
  • Could use some help in the ad builder, it would be great to have examples of ad copy to use.
  • The set up is easy, but it is a long process from start to finish.
Google Ads is perfectly suited for a number of client verticals. Real estate, home services, retail, restaurants, and general services, etc. It works well when there are a promotion or special driven offers to get more of a call to action. It is something great to have to run all year long and update throughout the year based off of seasonality and special offers!
March 25, 2021

Google Ads Review

Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Simply opened up an account to familiarise myself with google ads. It was going to help us gain visibility on the web and gain more prospects.
  • It is probably the best methods for reaching out to prospects, BUT sadly we have no other choice due to GOOGLE's monopoly as a research engine in western nations.
  • Ergonomic interface
  • Easy to setup an account
  • A support team that is rude and unaware how their processes work
  • They didn't know that google ads requires your payment details to sign up
  • They don't know how a campaign is set up
  • They conned me with the free voucher
  • They automatically started a campaign for me, billed me 128 euros and don't know how to activate the voucher on this bill, even if the voucher has been granted.
  • They need to fuse : Google ads, google mybusiness and google analytics, so many accounts to create if you are a company
Biggest bully on the planet ! They already have one the biggest business empires and they still take (steal) money from a small startup in France.
Beware at the beginning ! When signing up, they require payment details.
Beware when trying to request a voucher "to try" a google ad campaign, they launch it without validation (maybe a mistake on my behalf, but unlikely i would validate a campaign with my website not ready. Now they are not able to tell if i can redeem the voucher on my total bill ! Absurd! Then they tell me, "our email must be in your SPAM" . You are sending an email from google ads to a gmail?! How can you not rectify this !? Sorry, don't really have a good point for them, except google ads is only suited to you if you are in the right sectors and your clients have the good demographics







Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We are using Google Ads for about last 6 years. We are not able to make any profit using google Ads even after consulting numerous Google ads employees and external consultant. There are many marketing companies, who charges around 10% of the whole budget, even we consulted those companies. These kind of marketing companies simply run your Google Ads campaign and at the end of day, they do this to make some money. <br><br>Before you appoint any consulting companies, Ask them some minimum assurance on the ROI. If you are spending x amount of money ask your marketing company to get return of at least 3x or 4x or some amount. Marketing agencies might say, need few months to show results, after few months, you will be with empty pockets and no results using Google Ads.<br><br><b>Google Ads is completely bogus scheme and it is a big fraud. I request you all to read this carefully and if possible please share it with others.<br></b>1. In display Ads, there are lots of fraud clicks happens. You cant get refund for the same. There is no easy to get refunds. <br>2. In Google search Ads, there is no option to block repeat clickers...it means that, any competitor can keep on clicking your Ads.<br>3. Simply buy some AWS servers and keep rebooting the servers and click on your competitors...this is what told by one of the person involved in marketing.<br>4. Google comes up with too many features, too many changes within a year, It is NOT IMPROVEMENT TOWARDS THE SYSTEM. It is to confuse people with distraction. Just compare the Google Ads interface with today and whats there about 2 years ago, you will understand my point. The same way, Google confused SEO agencies for years.<br>5. Google Ad platform is a blackbox. - As a customer, you dont know what is happening inside the bidding. (who is bidding / how many other people bidding)<br>
  • Google Ads is too good to take your money away, It is very easy to spend tons of money within hours, without any result.
  • Easy to setup a campaign and lose your money
  • There is no easy option to get refund of the fake/fraud clicks.
  • Google can block all bot clicks or competitor's click on Google search, but it will not, because it will lose revenue
  • Too fast, too many changes in features and too many experiments in Google Ads, simply to waste the money of customers.
  • It is definitely game played by Google without considering the results and return of investment by their customers. Google is simply interested in the money
  1. It is surely not useful for small and mid size companies
  2. If you are looking for good ROI, come up with other Ad platform, do not use Google
  3. DO NOT TRUST the marketing agency and insist on ROI
  4. Google Ads forces to get too many fake clicks from Mobile platform, even though I want to focus only on Desktop platform.
  5. DO not click on their recommendation or suggestion, It is a sure shot way to lose all your hard earned money.
  6. Their recommendation will only waste your money, without any results.
Anamaria Setti | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I signed up as a new Google Ads user based on a promotion for new users. I don't have any prior experience using Google Ads. I tried the service to increase traffic to my website.
  • It has detailed tracking tools.
  • There is an app so you can monitor progress on your mobile.
  • You can customize settings to view stats most important to you.
  • Transparency and clarity of terms and conditions, especially for new customers.
  • Making the web interface more intuitive for new users.
  • Enable specific audience targeting in Smart Campaigns (this is done exceptionally well in Instagram ads).
  • Differentiate how Smart Campaigns are run by business size and category.
This is not a tool I'd recommend to small businesses or people new to Google Ads. Unfortunately, I responded to a Google Ads promotion aimed at exactly the aforementioned categories and got burned.

The promotion is a $150 credit for new users but the terms are vague and misleading. It should more clearly state that the credit will only apply towards a second campaign and that new users will have to pay for their first ad out of pocket. Since the promotion targets new customers it's obvious that many won't fully understand the process. I found out once the promotion completed and I saw an unexpected charge for the full cost of the campaign.

Like many other companies, Google is capitalizing on the pandemic and targeting businesses that are struggling and looking to earn new customers. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable due to limited knowledge of ad campaigns and a lack of funds. Perhaps Google Ads is far better suited to larger, more established businesses with experience running ads, a well-defined audience and the ability to spend on multiple campaigns.
Jason Krzeminski | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Google Adwords was being used to direct potential customers to our website. It is seemingly easy to set up and places our website closer to the top of the page. Campaigns and ads are easy to create. However, just like every big business, customer service is lacking. When you ask for help because there is an issue on your account, you get automated messages. Moreover, unless you are a professional, you are wasting your money. I spent hundreds of dollars per month to get calls from people that were not local or wanted a completely different product. This product is not good for a small business.
  • Charging your credit card
  • Ignoring your requests for help
  • Sending automated messages when you ask for help
  • Customer Service in the support department.
  • Allowing people to speak to human beings that are actually there to assist you when there are issues with your account.
  • Directing your ads locally.
  • Costs a lot to get it to begin to show progress.
  • Lots of rules that a layman would never understand. Their resolution for that is a web page utilizing ad language that never actually helps you resolve the issue. When you attempt to reach someone for help they redirect you to a website and state that all you can do is reach them by email. Then rather than answering your questions, they send the same response to you over and over and the problem is never resolved.
  • Uses a platform that you feel you are stuck using because they are so well known.
If you are a small business, I would not recommend Google Ads. Use a company that will appreciate a customer who has spent over $30k on advertising with them and is willing to help and actually allow that company to speak to a human being if there are issues on their account.
Sarah VanDunk | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I decided to try using what was then called AdWords, about a year ago, as part of my marketing campaign for my real estate career. Unfortunately, it did not work because I got calls from Paterson, a city an hour away that I do not work out of. There was no way to focus the leads any closer. So every time someone even just googled my keywords and clicked on my link in Paterson, I was being charged for it.

So I canceled. Fast forward approximately a year later, I find out that Google Ads, which it is now apparently called, had been charging one of my rarely used credit card accounts for 3 months! Even more so, the account they charged was NOT the account that I had even used back then. They somehow, without authorization, acquired it and proceeded to charge me month after month for a bogus campaign I had absolutely no part of!! What a nightmare. Beware. And they to this date, refuse to delete the campaign so that it doesn't happen again.
  • It could help people find your business.
  • If you have unlimited funds and time, it could be a good tool to obtaining leads.
  • Many leads came from way outside the acceptable geographic radius
  • You must pay for those clicks, calls, etc.
  • The program (ad campaign) has a major glitch so beware, I was charged for a campaign that I never created
  • It is difficult to stop the campaign once created.
  • You can only "pause" a campaign. There is no option to delete a campaign.
  • This is problematic because somehow, these campaigns will start on their own, meanwhile without knowing, you are racking up tons of charges for leads that you never had any interaction with
If you do not have the advantage of having access to a good amount of funds, you will spend more money than what you will see in return from leads.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Google Ads for paid ads on Google Search. Google is the biggest driver of traffic to our website and has the highest volume of monthly searches for keywords relevant to our product offerings, so Google Ads has been a good choice for ensuring that we top the search results, especially where we don't rank via organic terms.
  • Helpful Resources - Given how long Google Ads has been around, there are a lot of resources you can tap into to get started and create high-performing campaigns
  • Easy to Set up - Overall it is easy to set up and get started with Google Ads
  • In-Depth Reporting - Google Ads has some very in-depth reporting capabilities. It can be overwhelming at first, but once you understand the reports you can find some really actionable information
  • Google Ads can get really pricey really quickly. You need to monitor the account and really think about ways to optimize your spend
  • Best practices are not intuitive. Although getting started is really easy, it is not intuitive to follow best practices. Going to a class (in person or online) can be very beneficial.
If you have search traffic coming from Google, you should really consider using Google Ads to augment your search efforts. This is especially true for keywords or phrases that you are not ranking highly for organically. Investing properly in Google Ads can drive high-quality traffic to your site and boost your performance overall.
John Kobel | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are a digital ad agency focusing on the New Car Dealership market. We manage the Google Ads accounts for approximately 175 clients. Clients submit their budgets and objectives to us and we set up, manage and maintain their Google Ads accounts to maximize their ROI on their ad spend in Google Ads. We manage Text Ads, Display Ads and Video ads for these Auto Dealership clients.
  • Allows for accurate budget spend on Pay per click advertising
  • Allows for easy management of client's accounts
  • Allows for targeted advertising in the digital space by focusing on Geography, Demographics, in market buyers and other types of parameters depending on the objectives of the advertising campaigns
  • Unfortunately, customer support has fallen by the wayside since Google has gone public. It is now outsourced to a foreign country where command of English is an issue as well as limited understanding of the Google Ads platform.
  • The platform was upgraded recently and now performs slower than it used to. This may not be an issue if you don't manage your account often, but larger accounts with higher budgets will spend more time on the platform performing the same tasks.
  • The Help Files need better organization and updating. A lot of the Help files are still showing how to operate in the old platform and need updating. The Help files also have a tendency to be too broad and not focused on one task or section of Google Ads. Finding answers to your questions can take a bit of time.
If you are going to do Search Advertising to promote your website, Google is the 600 pound gorilla in the room. If you don't spend money on Google for Search, you will not get the results you want. If you manage your account properly you can get a very good ROI. Results are easy to track and corrections can be made to your account based on the data Google Ads provides. Where Google is struggling is display advertising. Although Google has 90% of the internet covered, the platform does not make it as easy as other platforms to get your display ads in the right place at the right time. Lastly, everything Google tells you as guidelines must be taken with a grain of salt. They often toot their own horn but are not always looking out for your best interests. Ever since they went public, their focus is Return on Investor Dollars and not Return on Your Ad Dollars.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Google Ads on our marketing team. We're a two-sided marketplace and we use Google Ads to help with user acquisition on both sides of our market. It's a fairly inexpensive ad tool (if you know how to use it) and it's helped fuel our lead generation efforts for years.
  • Keyword targeting
  • Analytics
  • Ad attribution
  • Retargeting is a little complicated and it shouldn't need to be
  • More options for display targeting
  • Currently doesn't have a built in tool to build display creatives
I think most tech companies can and should be using Google Ads. It takes some time to master the keyword targeting, but you can get users and traffic pretty cheap if you do it right. If you're a very high volume business with low value customers, then it might not make sense. But in most scenarios most companies can find a use case with positive ROI.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Currently, I manage about 15 different Ads accounts. With them, I help my clients increase their presence online as well as their sells and business leads. I achieve this using different campaigns with different strategies, each one of them, very useful to what we are focusing on. At this point, I have about 2 years of experience using this platform, and I found it to be one of the main and most useful tools to achieve my client's marketing goals.
  • Reaching my client's different buyer personas by using specific keywords and other types of segmentation.
  • Creating an online presence through different types of ads.
  • Increasing traffic to my client's websites.
  • Acquiring leads for my client's businesses.
  • Find competitors I didn't know about by analyzing the impression share from the keywords we are using.
  • Sometimes it takes a long time to load the page, which can make me grow impatient.
  • Some features are not available in markets such as in Mexico. Some of them would be useful, mainly for shopping campaigns.
  • Sometimes setting up a shopping campaign can be difficult due to linking and approvals from the merchant center.
I think Google Ads is very useful in creating leads for B2B since you can segment using business-related keywords or predefined audiences such as "intent" or "in-market". It is also very well suited for e-commerce businesses because you can use different kind of campaigns focused on sales, such as shopping campaigns, which show your product image and your business name. Creating brand awareness through display campaigns can be effective due to a very low cost that can bring a big amount of traffic to a website.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We currently use Google Ads to set up and manage all of our search ad campaigns. Google Ads has come a long way in the past 10+ years. The current platform is incredibly powerful and customizable, with incredibly detailed metrics and reports available to help you slice and dice your data however you see fit. Targeting options are also robust, as are the capabilities to customize ads with modifiers, extensions, etc.
  • Google Ads is more affordable than other advertising options like radio or television, and allows us to tailor our ads to specific audiences interests.
  • The Google Ad campaign was easy to set up and run.
  • Ad tracking aids in optimizing your campaign while in motion to reduce your CPC and increase your conversions
  • Google only allows you to run one credit card at a time.
  • The trickiest thing about Google Ads is getting started if you are a beginner.
  • The platform gives you a lot of information in terms of how your ads are performing.
Google Ads has helped us to increase the number of qualified visitors to our website and these visitors are people really interested in signing up for healthcare. Since we used Google Ads we have increased our number of customers locally and we are currently conducting campaigns to increase the number of customers throughout the state.
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