How to Use Google Ads to Promote Online Courses

Hundreds of thousands of businesses use Google Ads to promote and generate revenue.

It is the largest digital ad publisher, accounting for 26.8% of all ad revenue.

As a result, even if your online course ranks organically for a search term, your competitors' ads can push it down the page.

Google Ads is the best platform for reaching the most leads, with more than 8.5 million searches per minute.

Moreover, you can make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.

Therefore, if you want your Google Ads investments to be successful, you must learn the right tactics and strategies to drive maximum impact for your online course.

In this post, we will explore how to use Google Ads to promote your online courses, boost your website traffic, receive more inquiries, and increase enrollments.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers can pay to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users.

It can place ads both in the results of search engines like Google Search (the Google Search Network) and on non-search websites, mobile apps, and videos (the Google Display Network).

Google Ads can be a powerful tool to promote your online courses, driving targeted traffic and boosting enrollments.

Here’s how you can run Google Ads for your online courses:

• Cost-per-click (CPC): When a user clicks on your ad, you pay. It is ideal for driving traffic to your course page.
• Cost-per-mille (CPM): You pay per 1,000 ad impressions. Useful for brand awareness campaigns.
• Cost-per-engagement (CPE): You pay when a user engages with your ad (e.g., signs up for a newsletter). This method is suitable for lead generation.

The targeting options offered by Google Ads help online course creators reach their desired audience. Here are the options:

1. Keywords: Bidding on specific words or phrases relevant to the course.
2. Location: Targeting ads to specific geographic locations.
3. Demographics: Reaching people based on age, gender, education, and income.
4. Interests: Showing ads to users based on their interests and online behavior.
5. Remarketing: Targeting users who have previously visited the course website.
6. Device: Targeting specific devices such as desktop, mobile, or tablet.
7. Time: Scheduling ads to run at specific times or days of the week.

Moreover, Google uses Quality Score to evaluate the relevance and quality of your ads and keywords.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click your ad after seeing it.
• Ad Relevance: How closely your ad matches the user's search intent.
• Landing Page Experience: The relevance and quality of the landing page your ad directs users to.

Also, there are different types of Google Ads that you can use to promote your online courses, such as:

• Search Ads: Text ads appear on Google search results pages when users search for keywords related to your course.
• Display Ads: Visual ads (image or video) that appear on websites, apps, and videos across the Google Display Network.
• Video Ads: These ads appear on YouTube and other Google video partners and can be skippable or non-skippable.
• App Ads: Ads that promote app installs and engagement across Google Search, Google Play, YouTube, and the Google Display Network.
• Smart Ads: Automated campaigns that use machine learning to optimize ad placement and bidding across the Google Network based on the advertiser’s goals.
• Discovery Ads: Native ads that appear in multiple Google feeds, including the YouTube homepage, Gmail, and the Google Discover feed.

Effective Tips for Creating Google Ads for Your Online Courses

1. Setting Up Google Ads for Online Courses

Follow these steps to set up Google Ads:

1. Sign Up: Go to Google Ads and click "Start Now."
2. Google Account: Sign in with your Google account or create a new one.
3. Campaign Goal: Choose the main goal for your campaign (e.g., “Get more website sales or sign-ups”).
4. Set Up Billing: Enter your billing information to activate your account.

Now, you need to determine what you want to achieve with your ads.

Here are some of the common goals for online courses:

• Course Sign-Ups: Drive users to enroll in your courses.
• Website Visits: Increase traffic to your course landing page.
• Lead Generation: Collect user information for follow-up marketing.

Now, decide how much you want to spend each day. This controls your overall campaign spend.

For example, If you have a $1,000 budget for a 30-day campaign, set a daily budget of around $33.

Now that you’ve set your Ads and decided on the budget, you need to choose a bidding strategy that aligns with your goals:

1. Manual CPC (Cost-Per-Click): This option allows you to control your bids manually, which is suitable if you want precise control over your spending.
2. Automated Bidding: Let Google automatically adjust your bids to get the most clicks or conversions within your budget. Options include:
   1. Maximize Clicks: Get as many clicks as possible within your budget.
   2. Target CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition): Set a target cost for each conversion, and Google will adjust your bids to achieve this.
   3. Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Set a target return on ad spend, and Google will optimize bids to maximize revenue.

Pro tip: Remember that you can easily adjust bids based on device, location, and time of day to optimize performance.

2. Keyword Research and Selection

Selecting the right keywords ensures your ads are shown to users actively searching for information about your online courses.

Targeting relevant keywords helps you avoid spending money on clicks that won’t convert, optimizing your budget.

Also, well-chosen keywords improve your ad relevance, leading to a higher Quality Score, which can lower your cost per click and improve your ad position.

Here are some of the most common tools and techniques used for keyword research:

• Google Keyword Planner: This free tool helps you discover new keywords related to your course, estimate the searches they receive, and determine the cost of targeting them.
• Competitor Analysis: Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyze the keywords your competitors rank for and target in their ads. Look at competitor website meta tags, page titles, and content to identify commonly used keywords.
• Google Trends: Use Google Trends to see the popularity of search terms over time and discover emerging trends.

You must choose the right keywords for your online course based on the following:

• Relevance
• Search Volume
• Intent
• Long-tail keyword
• Negative keyword

Select keywords closely related to your online courses' content. The more relevant the keyword, the higher the chances of attracting potential students.

For example, if you want to use blockchain boot camp as your primary keyword, the search volume for this keyword will be 150, the global search volume will be 500, the keyword difficulty will be 22, and the cost-per-click will be $5.

3. Creating Effective Ad Copy

A well-written ad grabs the attention of your target audience, conveys the value of your online course, and encourages potential students to click through to your landing page.

The headline is often the first thing users see, so it must be engaging and relevant.

Similarly, the description provides more context and persuades users by highlighting your course's benefits and unique aspects.

Effective ad copy can significantly improve your click-through (CTR) and conversion rates.

Here are some tips for creating Google Ads for your online courses while highlighting the unique selling points:

• Showcase Course Benefits: Emphasize the practical outcomes and skills students will gain. For example, "Master Digital Marketing in 8 Weeks with Expert-Led Lessons."
• Leverage Testimonials and Success Stories: Use quotes from satisfied students or statistics showing success rates. For example, "Join 5,000+ Graduates Now Thriving in Tech Careers."
• Offer Special Features: Highlight unique features like live Q&A sessions, certification, or lifetime access. For example: "Get Certified with Hands-On Projects and 24/7 Access."
• Promote Limited-Time Offers: Create urgency with discounts or bonuses for early sign-ups. For example, "Enroll Today and Save 20% - Limited Time Offer!"

A Call-to-Action (CTA) is important because it guides users toward the desired action, such as enrolling in a course. Compelling CTAs help maximize the impact of your ad by turning interest into tangible results.

For example, this CG Boost sculpting course landing page has a clear CTA stating, “Enroll now,” with the abovementioned price.

4. Designing Landing Pages

A dedicated landing page allows you to tailor content to the ad campaign, ensuring relevant and consistent messaging.

You must remove distractions and provide a clear singular path to action (e.g., signing up for a course); dedicated landing pages typically see higher conversion rates than generic pages.

Key elements of a high-converting landing page:

• Course Title and Description
• Clear and Compelling Headline
• Engaging Visuals (Images/Videos)
• Course Benefits and Learning Outcomes
• Instructor Bio and Credentials
• Student Testimonials and Reviews
• Enrollment Form
• Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons
• Pricing Information
• Guarantees (e.g., Money-Back Guarantee)
• Social Proof (e.g., Number of Students Enrolled)
• Mobile-Friendly Design
• FAQ Section
• Contact Information

Here’s an example of a Google Ad course landing page that provides useful and relevant information, easy navigation, and a user experience based on the ad creative.

Also, this course website is fully mobile responsive in various resolutions and formats.

5. Targeting and Audience Segmentation

Targeting and audience segmentation are essential for Google Ads because they ensure that your ads reach the most relevant potential customers.

Focusing on specific demographics, interests, and behaviors can help you create tailored ads that resonate with your audience, increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Moreover, you can leverage remarketing to reach previous visitors, reminding them of your online courses and encouraging them to return and enroll.

Target users who added a course to their cart but still need to complete the purchase, offering incentives or reminders to complete their enrollment.

Display ads to individuals who have subscribed to your email list but have yet to purchase a course, driving them toward enrollment.

Also, you must create tailored lists based on specific user actions on your website, such as viewing a particular course, to deliver highly relevant ads.

Pro tip: Remember to link the business’s Google Analytics account with Adwords—it’ll make sense when you review the data. 

How to Choose a Campaign Goal

Choose a campaign goal such as “Sales,” “Leads,” or “Website Traffic.”

For example, to increase the number of leads, you must opt for “get more website sales or leads” as your main advertising goal.

How to Choose a Campaign Type

When starting a campaign, Google asks what you want to achieve and suggests different campaign types based on your goal.

Ηow to Choose Your Bidding Strategy

Each bid strategy is suited for different kinds of campaigns and advertising goals.

Here are five smart bidding strategies you can use to promote online courses:

1. Target CPA: Aim for more conversions at a specific cost per action. Ideal for optimizing conversion numbers.
2. Target ROAS: Focus on increasing conversion value while targeting a specific return on ad spend.
3. Maximize Conversions: Spend your budget to get as many conversions as possible without targeting a specific CPA.
4. Maximize Conversion Value: Use your entire budget to get the highest conversion value possible without targeting a specific ROAS.
5. Enhanced CPC (ECPC) automatically adjusts manual bids to maximize conversions. It can be used alongside Manual CPC bidding.

However, before opting for your bidding strategy, you must consider the following tips:

• Define what you want to achieve, such as conversions or traffic, to guide your bidding strategy.
• Leverage Google's Smart Bidding strategies to optimize for conversions or conversion value.
• Review your campaign's performance regularly and adjust bids to improve results.
• Apply bid adjustments for specific demographics, locations, or devices.
• Experiment and test with different bidding strategies and monitor their impact to find the most effective approach for your campaigns.

Conclusion

Google Ads is a potent tool for promoting online courses. Its impressive return on investment (ROI) makes it even more enticing.

Start boosting your Google Ads for your online courses by understanding your audience—what drives them and what they’re searching for.

Don’t include keywords that potential students might use when searching for your course. Use ad extensions to add extra information, such as a phone number or website link.

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And the best thing is that you can pause your ads anytime if they’re not performing well enough.With a few simple steps, you can promote your online course to your target audience and increase enrolment.