Everything You Wanted to Know About Search Ads and Tracking ROI

Executive Summary:

In this article we explore the different types of Campaigns and Ad formats for Paid Search Ads- PSA (also known as PPC Campaigns) for the major Search engines. With greater than 90% market share of Search, we will focus primarily on Google, but also lightly touch on BING and Yahoo!, in the FAQ Section, which are similar but may stand out for a few special niches and for Marketers looking to optimize costs.
We will focus on the different CTA’s involved, and how we can track the origin of leads generated by these campaigns to a conversion especially for non-ecommerce businesses characterized by online acquisition- offline conversion based on how these may be captured by a CRM using Pronnel CRM as a tool to give examples to properly track Marketing ROI and understand what is working.
If you are interested in alternate search engines for different geographies, or, for niche uses, please refer to our blog- Google Is Not the Only Game In Town. For understanding tracking leads in your CRM for Organic Leads, refer to our article- Generating and Tracking Organic Online Leads that have an Offline Conversion.

Why Do You Need a CRM to track Marketing ROI’s? Can’t I track Marketing ROI’s directly from my Google Analytics or MixPlan accounts?

“It Depends.” If your business is a straightforward complete ecommerce platform, between your ecommerce platform and Google Analytics/ Mix Panel/ Kissmetrics / Adobe Experience Cloud you can track Marketing ROI. A CRM will still come in handy for continued user engagement, relationship management, complaint management, Community Management. You can continue reading the following part of the article if you are interested in exploring different PPC options available for Search Engine Marketing.
Agreed that quantifying the effort in creating individual assets is difficult and it’s only something very evolved teams can do. But then, does that mean we should not track how much each asset is bringing in? Given that good content needs an analyst, copywriter, graphic designer, web developer and other Marketing Team members time, high quality content optimized for SEO can be quite expensive. As a Marketing Director, how would you decide or justify to the business leadership team the expense and effort that goes into getting Organic Leads. This thing becomes even more critical if you factor in the long lead time needed for Organic leads to build up.
So, while it may not be possible to granularly measure the exact effort, a savvy Marketing Team could work on thumb rules. Say, a blog will cost so much money if we create it without dedicated artwork vs so much money if we build with infographics, video, etc.
Once you have an estimate, you can go ahead and commission. Track leads which come from that asset (blog) and at the end of six months show a Marketing ROI against it. Does not have to be 100% accurate, but if it gives you a trend, is above your targeted ROI, you have a better tool for decision making. And more importantly, will be much better than going with generic platitudes. Each industry is different, geography is different. For example, Business Consulting firms may generate a lot of Leads by publishing White Papers, whereas, a haute-couture brand will do well to steer away from this type of content and focus on image content, and, a DIY hardware brand may find success publishing “How-To-Videos”.
The rest of this article will explore how we could track where an Organic Lead came from. At the end of this article, you should be able to identify how much revenue different pages on your website, or on sponsored content are generating. With this information, you should be in a better position to make decisions on what to invest in, what to improve, and what to axe. Having a table like the one at the end of a period will enable much more accurate decision making.

Understanding the different types of ways in which your assets appear on Search Engines.

With Google being the dominant market leader in PPC Ads, let’s use Google Ads as our template for study. As of the writing of this article Google Ads cover 10 types of Ad Campaigns and more than 20 different Ad Formats. With Ads continuously evolving we highly recommend checking the latest documentation from Google Ads before starting off. Here is a checklist of the different types of Ads currently available with Google Ads.

Campaign Type	Ad Type
Search Campaigns	Responsive Search Ads Dynamic Search Ads Call Only Ads (only for Mobile)
Google Display Campaigns	Single Image Display Ads Responsive
Video Campaigns	Skippable In Stream Ads Non-Skippable In Stream Ads In Feed Video Ads Bumper Ads Outstream Ads Masthead Ads
Performance Max Campaigns	AI driven optimizing Ad creation, placement to maximize goals.
Google Ads App Campaigns	For Engagement For Downloads App Pre-Registration (for Android only)
Google Ads Discovery Campaign
Google Ads Local Campaign	AI driven optimizing Ad creation, placement to maximize goals.
Google Smart Campaigns	Search Display App Pre-Registration (for Android only)
Google Local Services Ads	Google Guarantee Google Screen License Verified By Google
Google Shopping Ads	Product Shopping Ads Local inventory Ads

Google Search Campaigns

These are the Text only Ads that most of us are familiar with. You bid for Keywords, and if you win the Google Auction, your Ad will be placed above and in between Organic Results. These Ads are incredibly useful to place your product before people who have high intent. By paying Google, you can kind of force yourself up in to the first page even if your Organic results are not that great.

There are three types of Ad Formats in Search Campaigns-

1.1-Responsive Search Ads -

You will create multiple copy editions (headline and body copy), which Google uses machine learning algorithms to test and based on Audience response in real time to serve up the best performing combination. Use Ad Extensions intelligently to enhance your Ad and give the consumer options to choose from.

1.2-Dynamic Search Ads -

One of the simplest to launch. Just create a good description, then Google builds the headlines, copy, landing page based on your website. Perfect for a business that has a well-developed website.

1.3-Call Only Ads-

These Ads are only served to mobile users, and the only CTA is a Call. Google uses a GFN to track and measure performance. However, there are certain constraints in terms of the country, category and user information that is available. Please check out Google Documentation before launching Call Only Ads.

Google Display Campaigns

These are image-based Ads which are displayed on Google Display Network assets as people browse through those pages. Instead of bidding primarily on keywords, here targeting is based on Interest. Display campaigns come with Display Optimizer, which allows you to go beyond manually selecting interest categories, explore new and relevant audience segments likely to convert. It also allows you to do Remarketing based on Marketing lists to target specific users. They can be static images, animations or GIFs. Display Campaigns are great for building Brand Awareness and for niche segments where search volumes are low. A point to keep in mind when working with Display Campaigns is that they may not reflect high conversions, but it is also wise to track the View-Through-Conversion metrics for a specific Ad before deciding to pull the plug.

There are two types of Display Ads:

2.1-Single Image

- Upload Ad designs created by you. Generally, a headline, description, your business name, destination URL, or other CTA options. Single static image in PNG, JPG or static GIF format.



2.2-Responsive Display Ads(RDAs)

Similar to a Responsive Search Ad, a responsive display cycles through alternative images, headlines, descriptions and uses machine learning to serve the best performing Ad to your audiences. RDA’s can dynamically resize images to serve the best fit. You can also use video in RDA’s.

Video Campaigns

Let’s you show video Ads to viewers on YouTube, Google Video Partners network, Google TV Network and select Apps. Along with your video you can put in a Headline (Short/ Long), Description, Final Landing Page URL, and other CTA options. You can have Sales, Leads, Brand Awareness, or Website visits as your goals. Bidding is Cost-Per-View (CPV- A View is counted if the viewer interacts with your CTA, watches a video for 30 secs or more/ or lower if the ad is shorter) Video content, well done, can be extremely engaging, and businesses find it very suitable for Brand Awareness building. Another, Use-Case is for explaining complex product or service offerings. Two drawbacks are, video Ads can be expensive and there are chances that a lot of your Ad placements may be on partner networks of dubious quality (check out our FAQ section on Google Video Partners).

There are six types of Video Ads:

3.1-Skippable Instream Ads

Skippable in-stream ads play before, during, or after other videos on YouTube or partner networks. Viewers have an option to skip watching after 5 secs without interacting with the Ad. These ads can be long, up to 3 minutes and can be used for Remarketing Campaigns. Like the ADCB Sustainable Call Account shown below.



3.2-Non-Skippable Instream Ads

Limited to 30 secs maximum, and charged on CPM basis, these non-skippable ads play before, during, and after other content on YouTube, Partner networks and in partner Apps.



3.3-In Feed Video Ads

Only appear In-Feed on viewer’s YouTube Feeds along with Organic Search results, or alongside currently playing YouTube videos or on YouTube mobile homepage. Video appears as a thumbnail with text and other CTA displayed. Advertisers will be charged when viewers click to view the Ad. Has no maximum length and can be used to Remarket to Viewers.



3.4-Bumper Ads

Very short, 6 seconds Ad, that can be used as a reminder or reinforcer for Brand messages. These cannot be skipped and are charged on CPM basis. These Ads will be placed on YouTube and partner networks. One reason to give them serious thought is the changing media habits of consumers. The rise of TikTok, popularity of Instagram Stories and YouTube shorts all point to the underlying trend that consumers prefer short form video content. Properly done, they can serve to reinforce brand messages and have very high ROI.



3.5-Outstream Ads

Non YouTube, mobile only Ads that appear on Google Video Partners websites and Apps. These ads are charged at vPCM (Viewable Cost Per Thousand Impressions, i.e. if an Ad is played for more than 2 seconds). These Ads start playing muted, and viewers can then turn on the audio to watch the full Ad and have no maximum length. Pretty useful if you are running a Remarketing Campaign.



3.6-Masthead Ads

These are what we call Google’s equivalent of primetime TV advertising. These Ads enjoy premium position and can be booked only by getting in touch with one of Google's Sales representatives (Reservations, or, Display and Video 360). Perfect if you are launching a new product or trying to impact a very large audience. They give you access to premium placement like the top of the YouTube Home feed through the YouTube Masthead (Desktop/ Mobile/ YouTube TV App), target premier content on YouTube through YouTube Select. You can negotiate a fixed CPM rate directly with the Google Advertising Team.



Performance Max Campaigns

Think of it as Google’s answer for Marketing Teams trying to scale up and achieve goals in a campaign. Performance Max, takes all the assets across your Google Ads inventory and seeks to deliver goal conversions by using AI to optimize bidding, budget optimization, placements, creatives, audiences by placing your Ads across Google’s network, YouTube, Display, Search, Maps, Gmail, Google Shopping Network etc. It’s great for eCommerce businesses, allowing multiple automatic placements focused on driving goal conversions. When it comes to Lead Generation, the results are not so clear yet. Other drawbacks, are that it maybe expensive to start with because Google will need to generate enough experiments to optimize in the initial period( say a period of six weeks with a daily budget of USD 50~ or a campaign learning budget of USD 2000), and, that you need to have built up an inventory of assets, copy, video, creatives to be able to fully take advantage of this. Ads are served up across Google Search and Display Networks.



Google Ads App Campaigns

Designed to increase App Store Downloads or App Engagement these Ads are served across Search, Play Store, YouTube, GDN, Discover on Google Search. These Ads generally focus on Android Users. For firms dependent on target customer profiles using iOS Apps, a closer look at Apple Search Ads may be insightful. We discuss this portion separately in our FAQ section on how we can promote iOS Apps.
There are three types of App Ads. Created using images and copy from your Play Store listing.

5.1-Download Ads

Promote App installs. Will come with an option to install.



5.2-Engagement Ads

Promote existing App users to engage with the App. Will generally come with text of being installed and typically will have deep link to a new feature in the App.



5.3-App Pre-Registration

Only available for Android Apps to drive pre-launch registrations. For Apple Apps, you can create a pre-Order but not advertise. Refer Apple Documentation here.



Google Ads Discovery Campaign

Discovery Campaigns are perfectly suited to firms trying to discover new audiences and drive brand awareness for their products and services. These Ads are visually engaging and personalized and are limited to Google feeds only with a potential of reaching an audience size of 3 billion plus. Like Performance Max Campaigns, Discovery Campaigns are automated and serve your Ads whenever there is an opportunity for a viewer to be in an ‘exploratory moment’ on YouTube, Gmail App, and Google Discover on Search. The difference with Performance Max is that Google Discovery Ads seeks to build Brand Awareness, whereas Performance Max is more focused towards goal conversion. Like Performance Max, Discovery Ads have a two-week learning period during which Google uses AI/ML to optimize the Ads performance.



Local Ads

These Ads which were focused on promoting the Google Business Profile have been phased out as of Sept 2023. Users who used to use this to promote their local businesses in contextual local Search and on Google Maps will be migrated to Performance Max Campaigns.

Campaign Type: Smart Ads

Fully automated Ads that allow you to highlight selling points to prospective clients across Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Google partner websites. Best for advertisers who don’t want to spend much time setting up and running campaigns. The con is that since Google will manage this campaign automatically, the advertiser doesn’t have as many control options and takes about seven days for the AI/ML algorithms to optimize the process. Any changes you make during the learning phase will reset the learning mode again to zero.
There are two types of Smart Ads:

8.1-Search Campaigns

Text based Ads focused on Search where CTA’s can be Calls, Website Form Fills or Store visits.

8.2-Display Ads

Mostly focused on boosting video views and Brand Awareness on YouTube and partner channels.


Local Services Ads (LSAs)

Local Service Ads are targeted at local services businesses seeking to generate leads. Here you pay per lead and not per click. To qualify, businesses need a Google rating of 3.0 or higher. These Ads are run through the Google Local Services Account and are based on your Google Business listing and appear at the top of Google Search results. These businesses are vetted by Google and the Ads have Trust badges on them based on the vetting process. Google will vet if your business meets local licensing and insurance requirements, employee background checks, etc.
There are three types of Local Service Ads depending on the category of business.

9.1-Google Guarantee Ads

Reserved for blue-collar businesses like Plumbing, Window Cleaning, Pest Control, Carpentry, HVAC, etc. The Google guarantees to reimburse dissatisfied customers of the initial amount of the service subject to certain conditions. You will get a Google Guaranteed tick on all your Ads. Google Guarantee screening process will also need your location to be verified. You can check Google Support for the criteria for your business here

9.2-Google Screened Ads

Helps professional service firms and professional service providers (like Pet Care, Tax Specialist, Veterinarian, Real Estate Brokers, lawyers, Financial Planning, Auto Care, Beauty, Childcare, Pre-School) build trusted reputations online. Currently it is only available in the US and UK. Businesses passing these checks will get a Google Screened.

9.3-License Verified By Google

This is for Healthcare providers and is limited to parts of the US only and is limited to doctors and dentists. Businesses qualifying for this will get a green tick on their Ads.



Google Shopping Campaign

Shopping campaigns help you promote your products by giving users detailed information about what you're selling before they even click your ad. You will need to sign up on Google Merchant Centre before you can start. These Ads depend on your product listing on Google Merchant Centre, and if you are not careful with your negative keywords, you can see weird results. Read more about Google Shopping Network in our previous blog- Search Marketing- Track Organic ROI
There are two types of Shopping Ads which serve both ecommerce and local Brick-and-Mortar Stores.

10.1-Product Shopping

Suited for ecommerce businesses. These are served in Search, in the Shopping Tab on Search page and google Partner websites.



10.2-Local Inventory

These are an enhanced set of Ads perfect from Brick-and-Mortar stores where clients want to visit or pick up material from. In addition to details of the product, the inventories are also uploaded in Google Merchant Centre. These Ads are also served on Maps for local search.

How to Handle Different CTAs for Lead Origin Tracking?

As we can see the number of different campaigns and Ad formats from Google Ad Words itself is large. If we were to consider other PPC alternatives like Miscrosoft Advertising/ Bing Ads, Yahoo Advertising, Taboola, OutBrain, RevContent, Reddit Ads, Yandex Ads, etc, the list would be humongous and way beyond the scope of any blog article. Are they worth investigating? Yes. Keep in mind that the PPC market is worth about USD 45 billion, forecasted to grow at 11% CAGR over the next 10 years and even now 25% of the share of the industry is with other players who serve niches. We will touch upon some of them lightly in our FAQ section (What are alternatives to Google Ads in the PPC market?) but it is worthwhile to keep in mind that most PPC Campaign options would be more-or-less similar to the ones we saw for Google Ads above. Moreover, what is common would be Call To Actions (CTA’s).
Our primary interest in generating leads is to convert and gain revenue. Let’s leave aside ecommerce, which is a case of Online Lead Acquisition- followed by Online Conversion. What can we do to help other businesses (Online Lead Acquisition- Offline Conversion)?
The starting point would be Lead Aggregation, followed by implementing a robust sales funnel to track and measure conversion. An additional requirement would be to connect Lead Source to final conversion amounts. Most CRM’s do a great job of the second part. It’s coming to the Lead Aggregation from different sources and tracking that they fall flat. A great CRM should be omnichannel.
It’s in this capacity that Pronnel, stands apart. Let’s quickly summarize the different CTA’s and see how they can be captured in an omnichannel CRM like Pronnel. We could split CTA’s into the following groups for our purpose:

Lead Generation Form Fills-

Will include lead generation forms on website, landing page etc. Maybe direct enquiries or book a Demo for Sales Qualified Leads, or, Download a Free White Paper, etc for Marketing Qualified Leads to be nurtured. In all these cases, we can use UTM’s with information encoded about the Campaign ID, Ad Group ID, Ad ID and capture these as hidden fields in a form. For a discussion on how this can be done in an omnichannel CRM like Pronnel, refer the FAQ Section on our previous blog.

Shop Now/Buy Now-

Can lead to an ecommerce platform, or a physical store. In ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart et al, your software will provide tracking information. If it’s to your own store, then again, your ecommerce platform will capture the information (though should you want, Pronnel can capture the information through an API call – refer Pronnel Developer Documentation or by using a connector -Pronnel is already an available integration with Zapier, Make, Pabbly, Integrately). In the case of visits to physical stores, this becomes difficult.

Calls-

These are harder to track considering the telecom regulations in different countries and Privacy Laws. However, a workaround is to work with a WebIVR which can get linked to Pronnel through an API Integration to create a lead.

Website visits/ Video Views-

These are non-lead generation activities and are not the focus of an omnichannel CRM like Pronnel. Information is best captured in your Google Analytics or YouTube Analytics.

App Downloads/ App Purchases/ In App Purchase (through deep links)-

We can think of them as an example of online acquisition and online conversion, in that they are instantaneous. These can be tracked through Google Ads linked to your GA4 Account. If required these conversions can also be captured in Pronnel omnichannel CRM through a Single Click Integration (using Zapier, Integrately, Pabbly or Make- refer to FAQ Section on how to integrate Pronnel with GA4.

Conclusion:

In summary, this comprehensive exploration delves into the intricate world of Search Ads, focusing primarily on Google's dominant position in the market. The article navigates through various campaign types and ad formats, shedding light on essential aspects such as lead origin tracking, CRM integration, and alternative PPC options.
The significance of a CRM in tracking Marketing ROI is emphasized, especially for businesses with offline conversions in the buyer's journey. While Google Analytics and other tools offer insights, a robust Omnichannel CRM, exemplified by Pronnel, proves essential for end-to-end user engagement and conversion tracking.
The detailed breakdown of Google Ads' diverse campaign types and ad formats provides a valuable checklist for marketers. From Search and Display Campaigns to Video and Performance Max Ads, each category is dissected, offering insights into optimal utilization and best practices.
Additionally, the article addresses the importance of Call-to-Actions (CTAs) and their role in lead origin tracking. It recognizes Pronnel as a standout Omnichannel CRM capable of aggregating leads from various sources and seamlessly integrating with different CTA types.
For those seeking broader perspectives, the article directs attention to alternative search engines and platforms. It also acknowledges the evolving landscape of PPC options beyond Google Ads, encouraging exploration and consideration of various platforms for niche targeting.
In conclusion, this guide serves as a valuable resource for marketers navigating the dynamic realm of Search Ads, offering insights, recommendations, and practical tips to optimize campaigns, track ROI effectively, and stay ahead in the ever-evolving digital advertising landscape.

FAQ’s

What is the Structure of the Google Ads Account?

A Google Ads account is organized in the following hierarchy:

Campaign

At Ad Campaign level you set up objectives, spend plan and goals. Each Campaign is identified by a Campaign ID.

Ad Group

A Campaign may contain one or more Ad Groups. Think of Ad Groups as giving themes to a campaign. Ad Groups are identified by an Ad Group ID.

Ads

Each Ad Group has multiple Ads associated with focusing on targeting keywords and is identified by a unique Ad ID.

An Account can have up to 10,000 Campaigns (Active or Paused), a Campaign can have up to 20,000 Ad Groups, and an Ad Group can have up to 50 text Ads or 300 image gallery Ads.

What Are Ad Extensions or Ad Assets? Are they different from CTA’s?

Ad Assets (or Ad Extensions as they were previously better known as) are additional information snippets that Advertisers can add to their ads to make them more compelling and informative to potential customers. Some of these like the Callout, Lead Form Assets can be additional direct CTA’s whereas others are indirect ones.

• Sitelink Assets – Additional links to important pages on your website.
• Callout Assets – Short messages highlighting key information.
• Structured Snippet Assets – Highlight specific products, services, or features.
• Call Assets – Add a clickable phone number.
• Location Assets – Display your business locations.
• Affiliate Location Assets – Show where your products are sold.
• Price Assets – Highlight your product or service pricing.
• App Assets – Link to your mobile app listing.
• Lead Form Assets – Allow users to submit information directly from the Ad.

What is the Google TV Network (GTV)?

Google TV Network (GTV) is a streaming platform that powers Smart TV’s, Over-The-Top (OTT) devices and Set-Top-Boxes allowing users to stream TV shows, movies and other video content without juggling Apps. Currently available only in the US, GTV allows you to target users with Masthead Ads, non-skippable in-stream Ads (15 secs) and bumper Ads (6 secs) based on location, interests, habits, and preferences.

How can you connect your Pronnel omnichannel CRM to Google Analytics to track conversion events on your ecommerce store or in-App Purchases?

You will have to first connect your Google Ads and GA4 Account. Step two is to set up Purchases as Goals. Next you can use a connector like Zapier to connect your GA4 Account to Pronnel. Every time a new goal has been achieved; a new Item will be created in Pronnel as a completed deal.