Google Ads: what it is, which formats exist and how you get real returns from it

Google Ads is Google's advertising platform and, for many businesses, the fastest channel to become visible to people who are searching right now. We've worked with it since it was still called Google AdWords — more than fifteen years of campaigns, bid strategies, structures and (expensive) lessons. In this article we explain what Google Ads is, which formats exist, what you can and can't achieve with it, and how we help you turn ad budget into returns.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is an advertising system where you pay for visibility and clicks within Google's network: Google search results, Google Shopping, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, Maps and millions of websites and apps in the Google Display Network. You decide which keywords, audiences, locations and moments your ads appear for — and how much you're willing to pay for a click or a conversion.

The basis of Google Ads is an auction. For every search, Google decides in milliseconds which ads are shown and in what order. That is not simply a matter of the highest bid: Google weighs your bid against the quality and relevance of your ad and landing page (the Ad Rank). Whoever is more relevant pays less per click in practice for the same position. That's why Google Ads is never just a budget question, but above all a relevance question.

Google Ads is often mentioned in the same breath as SEA (Search Engine Advertising). SEA is the discipline — paid advertising in search engines — and Google Ads is the platform you almost always use to carry it out in the Netherlands. Where SEO needs time, Google Ads delivers data and enquiries within days. The strongest setup combines both: paid search captures today's demand, organic builds a foundation you don't have to buy per click.

Which formats of Google Ads are there?

Google Ads is not a one-button channel. Under the hood sit campaign types that each play a different role in the customer journey. The skill is not turning them all on, but choosing what fits your goal, your margins and your offer.

1. Search campaigns

The classic form of Google Ads: text ads above and below the search results, shown based on keywords. This is the most intent-rich ad format there is — someone literally types what they're looking for. Search campaigns are often the starting point, because they show fastest which search terms generate revenue and which don't.

2. Performance Max

Performance Max is the successor to Smart Shopping and automatically deploys your assets (copy, images, video, feed) across all Google channels: Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Maps. It's powerful for webshops with a good product feed, but requires discipline: solid conversion measurement, excluded brand keywords where needed, strong assets and sharp audience signals. Without that, Performance Max becomes a black box that mostly skims off existing demand.

3. Google Shopping

Product ads with photo, price and shop name, fed by your Merchant Center feed. For e-commerce, feed quality often matters more than the bid: titles, categories, GTINs, shipping information and availability determine which searches you compete for. In practice we see feed optimisation deliver more than a bid adjustment.

4. Display advertising via Google

Display advertising via Google is about visual ads (banners, responsive display, native) on websites and in apps within the Google Display Network. Display is less suited to capturing direct demand and instead strong for brand awareness, reach building and remarketing. Use it deliberately: with sharp audiences, placement exclusions and a frequency cap. Unmanaged display advertising is the fastest way to burn through budget.

5. YouTube and video

Video campaigns (in-stream, in-feed, Shorts) also make Google Ads a brand channel. Video works excellently to create demand, explain and persuade — especially in markets with a longer decision cycle. Combine video with remarketing in Search: people who saw your video later search more specifically for your brand.

6. Demand Gen

Demand Gen focuses on demand development in Google's visual feeds: YouTube, Shorts, Discover and Gmail. It works similarly to social advertising, but with Google's intent and search data underneath. Interesting for brands that want to go beyond simply skimming existing demand.

7. Brand and competitor campaigns

Advertising on your own brand name is cheap and protects against competitors bidding on your name. Advertising on competitor names can work, but requires sharp copy and realistic expectations about conversion rates.

8. Local campaigns and Maps

For businesses with a location or service area, location extensions, Maps visibility and radius-targeted campaigns are often the most profitable corner of Google Ads — exactly where search intent and proximity come together.

Google Ads in the age of AI results

The search results page is changing faster than ever. AI Overviews, AI Mode and answer engines like ChatGPT are capturing more and more informational searches. What does that mean for Google Ads?

• Ads appear in and around AI results. Google integrates ads into AI Overviews and AI Mode. Paid visibility therefore continues to exist, even as the organic part of the page shifts down.
• Informational clicks become scarcer, commercial clicks more important. Queries like "what is …" get answered directly more often. Queries with buying intent — brand, product, price, "near me", "request a quote" — keep generating clicks. Exactly the territory where Google Ads is strongest.
• The machine learns from your signals. Smart bidding, Performance Max and asset generation only work well if your conversion measurement is accurate and you feed back values (offline conversions, lead quality, margin instead of revenue).
• Creative and content become the differentiator. If everyone uses the same AI tooling, the difference lies in your offer, positioning, ad copy and landing pages. That's why we always pair Google Ads with conversion optimisation and content.

Our approach is simple: use Google Ads' automation where it's good (bids, combinations, scale) and keep control yourself over what the machine can't determine — goals, margins, audience, message and measurability.

What can you achieve with Google Ads?

Google Ads is suited to much more than "more clicks". In practice we use it for:

• Enquiries and leads for B2B service providers, steering on cost per qualified lead instead of per form.
• Revenue and ROAS for webshops, via Shopping, Performance Max and feed optimisation.
• Local visibility for businesses with a region or locations.
• Testing new markets or products, because within two weeks you know if there's demand.
• Brand awareness and demand development via YouTube, Demand Gen and display advertising.
• Remarketing: reaching visitors who didn't convert again at the right moment.
• Market insight: Google Ads' keyword reports are one of the most honest mirrors of what your market actually asks for.

Equally honest about what Google Ads does not fix: an offer that doesn't resonate, a landing page that doesn't convince, a price that isn't competitive, or follow-up that takes days. Google Ads amplifies what's already there — in both directions.

What does Google Ads cost?

With Google Ads you pay two things: media budget to Google and guidance. Media budget depends on your market and the click prices in it; in the Netherlands these range from a few tens of cents to well over ten euros per click in competitive B2B niches. A meaningful start is usually possible from a few hundred euros a month for a sharp, local setup, but for serious growth most organisations work with €1,000 to €10,000+ media budget per month.

More important than the amount is the sum behind it: what may a lead or order cost, what is your conversion rate, and what is your margin? Once those three are known, Google Ads is no longer a cost item but a dial you turn up or down. Want to work through that sum together? Book an advisory call — we'll simply run the numbers with your figures. More context on budget allocation across channels is in our article on online marketing budget.

Where Google Ads usually goes wrong

From hundreds of account audits since the AdWords days, the same points keep coming back:

1. Conversion measurement that's off. Double-counted conversions, all forms valued equally, or consent loss. Everything you optimise afterwards optimises on noise.
2. Everything lumped together. One campaign, all keywords broad, no separation between brand and non-brand. You never know what actually works.
3. Broad keywords without exclusions. Budget leaking to "free", "vacancy", "DIY" and job-search queries.
4. Landing pages that don't match the ad someone clicked on.
5. Optimising for clicks and CTR instead of leads, revenue or margin.
6. Adjusting too often or too little. Tweaking bids daily disrupts learning; doing nothing for six months costs just as much.
7. Only skimming existing demand and never investing in demand development, so growth hits a ceiling.

What matters most in Google Ads

We've been doing this since it was called Google AdWords — from manual bids and exact-match keyword lists to today's AI-driven bid strategies and Performance Max. These are the points that make the difference in nearly every account:

1. Goals from your own figures. Revenue, margin, conversion value and cost per lead determine what "good" means in your account — not a benchmark.

2. Measurement in order. GA4, Google Ads conversions, consent, server-side where needed and, where possible, feeding back lead quality from your CRM. No smart bidding without reliable measurement.

3. Account structure. A clear split between brand, generic, product/service clusters, Shopping and remarketing. A structure you can explain is also a structure you can steer.

4. Ads and landing pages together. Copy, offer and page should be made in one motion, so copywriting and web design sit at the same table as the advertising side.

5. Expanding channel by channel. Is Search performing? Then expanding to Shopping, YouTube, Demand Gen or display via Google only makes sense once it demonstrably adds something.

6. A rhythm of optimising. Short-cycle checks, analysis over a longer period, and an occasional strategic recalibration prevent you steering on noise.

7. Knowledge transfer. Want to be able to do it in-house yourself? Then working together, training or a temporary interim specialist is an option.

Combining Google Ads with the rest of your marketing

Google Ads performs best when it's not an island. A few combinations that pay off most in practice:

• Google Ads + SEO/GEO: paid captures today's demand, organic and AI visibility build structural findability.
• Google Ads + CRO: a conversion rate that goes from 2% to 3% cuts your cost per lead by a third — without spending an extra euro on media.
• Google Ads + social advertising: create demand on social, harvest demand in Google.
• Google Ads + CRM and marketing automation: feed back lead quality so bids learn to steer on revenue, not on forms.
• Google Ads + content: good content makes both your ads more relevant and your landing pages more convincing.

Ready to get more out of Google Ads?

Whether you're just starting with Google Ads, wondering if your current campaigns are performing well, or simply want a second opinion on your account: we're happy to take a look. In a no-obligation advisory call we go through your goals, your figures and (if you have one) your existing account, and tell you honestly where the biggest gains are. Even if that means you should tackle something else first.

👉 Book an advisory call or discuss a case with us — then we'll talk through specifically what Google Ads can deliver for your situation.