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Search advertising

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Search advertising means ads shown in search results when someone searches for specific keywords. They appear at the top of Google (labelled “Sponsored”), above the organic results.

Unlike other forms of advertising, a search ad reaches people with high purchase intent. They are actively looking for a solution to a problem, a product to buy or a service to hire.

That is why search advertising often works well when the goal is sales or enquiries. The wrong keywords, a poor structure or weak landing pages, on the other hand, can quickly use up the budget.

Why search advertising works

The search query reveals purchase intent

A search for “buy CRM system small business” or “web agency Stockholm quote” suggests that the person wants to buy, not just read up.

How the ad formats differ

  • Display ads: Shown while the user is doing something else (low purchase intent)
  • Social media ads: Shown in the feed while the user is doing something else (low purchase intent)
  • Search advertising: People are actively looking for a solution (high purchase intent)

This can give a higher conversion rate for the same budget.

Measurable and controllable

You know exactly

  • Which keywords generate clicks
  • Which ads work best
  • Which landing pages convert
  • What each conversion costs

You can

  • Pause campaigns immediately if something is not working
  • Double the budget for campaigns that pay off
  • Test new variants and see results within days
  • Adjust bidding per keyword based on performance

Search ads deliver fast results

Search engine optimisation (SEO) takes months, but with search ads you can usually be visible within one working day.

For example

  • Product launch tomorrow? Start the campaign today.
  • Seasonal campaign next week? The campaign is up and running in a few days.
  • A competitor ranks organically but you don’t? Ads make you visible for the same searches.

Search advertising complements SEO

Even if you rank organically, search advertising can be useful.

Cover what you do not rank for

  • New keywords you are working on in SEO but do not rank for yet
  • Competitors’ brands as keywords, but not in the ad text
  • Extremely competitive keywords where organic ranking is difficult

If you appear both organically and in the ads, you take up more space on the results page.

Protect your brand: Competitors can advertise on your brand name. If you advertise on your own brand, you can appear at the top even when they try to take your traffic.

How search advertising works

The ads compete in an auction

Google Ads works like an auction. When someone searches, Google runs a real-time auction between all advertisers who have bid on that keyword.

The highest bid does not win automatically.

Google takes six factors into account:

  1. The bid (CPC, Cost Per Click) How much you are willing to pay per click.
  2. Ad quality How useful and relevant the ad and the landing page are.
  3. Ad Rank thresholds The ad must reach a minimum level to be shown.
  4. Competitiveness of the auction How close other ads are in Ad Rank.
  5. The context of the search For example search terms, location, device and time.
  6. Expected impact of assets How sitelinks, phone numbers and other assets are expected to affect the ad.

An ad with a lower bid but higher quality can beat an ad with a higher bid but lower quality.

Quality Score shows where ad quality can improve

Quality Score is a diagnostic tool with a rating from 1 to 10 per keyword.

The rating is based on three components

  1. Expected CTR (Click-Through Rate) How often have people previously clicked your ad when it was shown for this keyword?
  2. Ad relevance How well does the ad match the keyword?
  3. Landing page experience Is the landing page relevant, fast and mobile-friendly?

Track Quality Score as a measure of ad quality

Quality Score is not used in the auction. The rating shows how your ad quality compares with other advertisers’, and higher ad quality can lead to a lower cost per click.

How you can improve ad quality

  • Create tightly focused ad groups (one theme per group)
  • Write ads that match the keyword exactly
  • Link to relevant landing pages (not just the home page)
  • Improve the landing page’s speed and mobile experience
  • Use the keyword in the ad headline

How to build a keyword strategy

The right keywords give the right results

Choosing keywords is the most important part of search advertising.

The wrong keywords waste budget

  • Keywords that are too broad: Many clicks, low conversion
  • Irrelevant keywords: Traffic that never converts
  • Keywords that are too expensive: The budget runs out quickly with no ROI

The right keywords give a better return

  • High purchase intent
  • The right audience
  • A reasonable cost

There are three types of keyword

1. Brand keywords

The keyword contains your brand or a competitor’s.

Examples

  • “Carnaby SEO agency”
  • “Carnaby prices”
  • “[Competitor name] alternative”

Advantages

  • Very high purchase intent (people are searching specifically for you)
  • High conversion rate
  • Low CPC (if you own the brand)

Use them to

  • Protect your own brand (advertise on your name)
  • Capture people who are comparing you with competitors

2. Generic keywords

The keyword describes what you do, not who you are.

Examples

  • “web agency Stockholm”
  • “SEO services”
  • “digital marketing small business”

Advantages

  • Higher volume (more people search generically than for a specific brand)
  • Reaches new customers who do not know you yet

Disadvantages

  • More competition and therefore a higher CPC
  • A lower conversion rate (people are still comparing)

Use them to

  • Reach new customers
  • Build brand awareness
  • Complement SEO if you do not rank organically

3. Long-tail keywords

Examples

  • “web agency Stockholm specialising in e-commerce”
  • “SEO consultant for B2B tech companies”
  • “digital marketing agency with Google Ads certification”

Advantages

  • Less competition and therefore a lower CPC
  • Higher relevance and therefore a higher conversion rate
  • Qualified leads (they know exactly what they are looking for)

Disadvantage

  • Lower volume (fewer people search for exactly this)

Suitable for

  • High-quality leads
  • A niche audience
  • Complementing broader keywords

How match types control when the ad is shown

How strictly should the keyword match for the ad to be shown?

Broad match The ad can be shown for searches related to the keyword, including searches that do not contain the keyword’s terms.

Example: Keyword “web agency Stockholm”

  • Can be shown for: “web developer Stockholm”, “website agency in Stockholm”, “web design Stockholm”

Advantage: Reaches more searches and discovers new keywords. Disadvantage: Can trigger impressions for irrelevant searches and lead to higher costs for irrelevant clicks.

Phrase match The ad can be shown for searches that include the meaning of the keyword, even when the meaning is implied.

Example: Keyword “web agency Stockholm”

  • Can be shown for: “best web agency Stockholm”, “web agency Stockholm prices”
  • Can also be shown for: “Stockholm web agency” (same meaning)

Advantage: More control than broad match. Disadvantage: Misses some variants.

Exact match The ad can be shown for searches with the same meaning or intent as the keyword.

Example: Keyword [web agency Stockholm]

  • Can be shown for: “web agency Stockholm”, “webagency Stockholm”, “web agency in Stockholm” (same meaning)
Advantage
The most control over who sees the ad. Disadvantage: Reaches fewer searches than phrase match and broad match.
Our recommendation
Start with phrase match or exact match. Expand to broad match once you have negative keywords in place and enough conversion data for Smart Bidding (Google’s automated bidding). Google states that Smart Bidding is essential for broad match.

How negative keywords stop the ad appearing for irrelevant searches

A negative keyword tells Google which searches the ad should not be shown for.

Example

You sell “premium dog food” and advertise on “dog food”.

Without negative keywords, the ad is shown for

  • “cheap dog food” (not your audience)
  • “free dog food” (not buyers)
  • “homemade dog food recipe” (not looking to buy)

With negative keywords, you add

  • Negative: “cheap”
  • Negative: “free”
  • Negative: “recipe”
  • Negative: “homemade”

Then you avoid paying for clicks that never convert.

How to find negative keywords

  • Review the search terms report in Google Ads (see what people searched for)
  • Add irrelevant terms as negatives
  • Repeat every week or month

How to build the ad structure

A clear campaign structure gives you control

With a poor structure, campaigns become hard to optimise and the budget is wasted.

Build the campaigns in four levels

Level 1: Campaign One campaign per geographical market or business goal.

Example

  • Campaign 1: Sweden, brand keywords
  • Campaign 2: Sweden, generic keywords
  • Campaign 3: Stockholm, local keywords

Level 2: Ad group One ad group per theme or product category.

Example (for the “Generic keywords” campaign)

  • Ad group 1: SEO services
  • Ad group 2: Google Ads services
  • Ad group 3: Web design

Level 3: Keywords 5 to 20 closely related keywords per ad group.

Example (for the “SEO services” ad group)

  • “SEO services”
  • “SEO consultant”
  • “search engine optimisation company”
  • “SEO agency”

Level 4: Ads At least two responsive search ads per ad group, with many headlines and descriptions that Google can combine.

A structure like this has four benefits

  • It is easier to write relevant ads (one ad group per theme)
  • Better ad quality (clear relevance between keyword and ad)
  • Simpler optimisation (see what works per theme)
  • Better budget control

How to write search ads that work

A responsive search ad consists of parts that Google combines

  • 3 to 15 headlines (up to 30 characters each)
  • 2 to 4 descriptions (up to 90 characters each)
  • URL (display path)
  • Assets (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets)

Five techniques work well

1. Include the keyword in the headline

If someone searches for “SEO consultant Stockholm”, the ad should say: “SEO consultant in Stockholm”

Not: “Search engine optimisation experts”

This gives higher relevance and a higher CTR.

2. Match the search intent

If the keyword is transactional
“Book an SEO consultation | Get a quote today”
If the keyword is informational
“Learn SEO | Free beginner’s guide”

3. Write a clear call to action

What should the user do?

  • “Book a demo”
  • “Get a quote”
  • “Contact us”
  • “Read more”
  • “Buy now”

4. Show what sets you apart from the competition

Why choose you over the competition? Made-up examples

  • “20 years’ experience”
  • “Certified Google Partner”
  • “Transparent prices, no lock-in period”
  • “E-commerce specialists”

5. Use numbers where possible

A number says more than a general claim, as long as you can back it up. Made-up examples

  • “200+ satisfied customers”
  • “Increase traffic by 150 per cent”
  • “Within 3-6 months”

How ad assets give your ad more space

Assets are extra information that can be shown below the ad.

Important assets

Sitelinks: Extra links to specific pages.

Examples

  • “About us”
  • “Prices”
  • “Case studies”
  • “Contact”

Callouts: Short phrases that highlight benefits.

Examples

  • “Free SEO audit”
  • “No lock-in period”
  • “Certified Google Partner”

Structured snippets: Short lists of, for example, services or industries.

Examples

  • Services: SEO, Google Ads, Content Marketing
  • Industries: E-commerce, B2B, Service companies
Location asset
Show your address (especially important for local businesses).
Call asset
Show your phone number (for mobile users).

Assets have three benefits

  • They take up more space on the page (greater visibility)
  • They give more information (users can choose the right page directly)
  • They can improve Ad Rank (Google factors the expected impact of assets into the auction)

How to build landing pages that convert

Even well-written ads achieve little if the landing page does not convert.

What makes a good landing page?

Relevance
The landing page must match the ad’s message.
If the ad says
“SEO for e-commerce | Increase sales”
The landing page should be about: SEO for e-commerce, not SEO in general.
A clear call to action
What should the user do?
  • Book a demo
  • Get a quote
  • Download a guide
  • Buy now

Make it easy to act with a large, clear form or button.

Fast loading time
On a slow page, visitors may leave before it has loaded.
Target
Under 3 seconds.

How to do it

  • Compress images
  • Minify CSS/JS
  • Use a CDN
  • Shorten the server response time

Mobile-friendly: The landing page must work perfectly on mobile.

Check

  • Text readable without zooming
  • Buttons large enough to tap
  • Forms easy to fill in
  • Fast loading on mobile

Trust signals: Why should the user trust you?

Include

  • Customer reviews and ratings
  • Case studies
  • Logos of well-known customers
  • Certifications
  • Guarantees (“Satisfaction guarantee”, “Money back”)

Minimal friction: The fewer steps to conversion, the better.

Examples

  • Forms: Ask only for what you need (name, email, phone, not 15 fields)
  • Purchases: Offer guest checkout (do not require account registration)
  • Demos: Book directly in a calendar (not “We will contact you within 48 hours”)

How to choose bidding and budget

Choose a bid strategy based on the goal

Google Ads offers several bid strategies, and the goal determines which one you should choose.

Manual CPC (Cost Per Click)

You set an exact bid per keyword.

Suitable when

  • You want maximum control
  • You know which keywords convert
  • You have time for ongoing optimisation

Advantage: Full control
Disadvantage: Requires more work

Maximise clicks

Google tries to get as many clicks as possible within the budget.

Suitable when

  • You want traffic (not necessarily conversions)
  • Brand campaigns

Advantage: Simple
Disadvantage: Does not optimise for conversions

Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

Google tries to get conversions at a specific price.

Suitable when

  • You know what a conversion is allowed to cost
  • You have conversion data (as a rule of thumb, at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days)
Example
“I want leads at no more than SEK 500 each”
Advantage
Optimises for conversions
Disadvantage: Works less well without conversion data

Target ROAS (Return On Ad Spend)

Google tries to maximise revenue based on the target return.

Suitable when

  • E-commerce with known order values
  • You have conversion values in Google Ads
Example
“I want 400 per cent ROAS” (for every krona spent, you want SEK 4 back)
Advantage
Optimises for revenue
Disadvantage: Requires a lot of data

Maximise conversions

Google tries to get as many conversions as possible within the budget.

Suitable when

  • You want conversions regardless of cost (within the budget)
  • You have conversion data
Advantage
Simple, optimises for volume
Disadvantage: No control over CPA
Our recommendation
Start with manual CPC or Maximise clicks until you have data, because strategies that optimise for conversions work better with a history. Switch to Smart Bidding, which Google recommends, once you have around 30 conversions a month, and test Target CPA or Maximise conversions.

How to plan the budget

How much should you spend?

It depends on

  • Your business goals (how many leads/sales do you need?)
  • The CPC for your keywords (expensive or cheap keywords?)
  • The conversion rate (how many clicks does a conversion take?)

Worked example

Goal: 20 leads per month
Conversion rate: 5 per cent (every 20th click becomes a lead)
Clicks needed: 20 leads ÷ 0.05 = 400 clicks
CPC: SEK 25
Budget needed: 400 × SEK 25 = SEK 10,000 per month

Tips

  • Start cautiously, test and scale up what works
  • Allocate the budget where ROI is highest (some campaigns deliver better results than others)
  • Keep a buffer for testing new keywords and campaigns

How to measure and optimise search ads

What to measure

Clicks and impressions
How many people see the ad? How many click?
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The share of people who click when they see the ad.
A low CTR means poor relevance or a poor ad.
CPC (Cost Per Click)
What do you pay per click?
A high CPC suggests strong competition or low ad quality.
Conversions
How many people complete the desired action?
Conversion rate
What share of the clicks convert?
A low conversion rate suggests problems with the landing page or the wrong audience.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
What does each conversion cost?
If it is higher than you can afford, you should adjust the campaign or pause it.
ROAS (Return On Ad Spend)
For every krona spent, how much do you get back?
Quality Score
A diagnostic rating from 1 to 10 per keyword. A low rating shows where the ad, keyword or landing page can improve.

What the optimisation process looks like

Weekly

  • Review performance per campaign and ad group
  • Pause underperforming keywords (high CPC, no conversions)
  • Increase the budget for overperforming campaigns
  • Add negative keywords (review the search terms report)
  • Test new ad variants

Monthly

  • Deeper analysis: Which keywords deliver business value?
  • Adjust bids per keyword based on CPA
  • Analyse landing pages (a high bounce rate means a problem)
  • Test new audiences or geographies
  • Compare with the previous month

Quarterly

  • Strategic review: Is the campaign structure working?
  • New keywords to add?
  • Competitor analysis (what are they doing?)
  • Testing new features (new ad types, AI features)

How to avoid common pitfalls in search advertising

The ad groups become too broad

Problem: One ad group with 50 different keywords on widely different topics.

Result

  • Low relevance between keyword and ad
  • Low Quality Score
  • High CPC
  • Poor conversion rate

Solution: Split them into tightly focused ad groups (5 to 20 related keywords per group).

Conversion tracking is missing

Problem: Campaigns run without you knowing what converts.

Result

  • Money is spent on keywords and campaigns that deliver no results
  • The campaigns cannot be optimised

Solution: Set up conversion tracking before the campaigns start. Define what a conversion is and implement correct tracking.

All keywords lead to the home page

Problem: All ads link to the home page regardless of keyword.

Result

  • Low relevance
  • High bounce rate
  • Poor conversion rate
  • Low Quality Score

Solution: Create dedicated landing pages for each theme. Keywords about “SEO for e-commerce” should link to a page about SEO for e-commerce, not the home page.

Negative keywords are forgotten

Problem
The budget goes on irrelevant clicks.
Example
You advertise on “web agency”, but the ad is shown for “free web agency”, “web agency jobs” and “web agency training”.
Solution
Review the search terms report every week. Keep adding negative keywords.

How we go from campaign to results

Our process

1. Strategy

  • Business goals and KPIs
  • Keyword strategy (brand keywords, generic keywords, long-tail keywords)
  • Budget and expected return

2. Campaign set-up

  • Structured campaigns and ad groups
  • Well-chosen keywords (positive and negative)
  • Relevant ads with assets
  • Conversion tracking implemented

3. Landing pages

  • Relevant, fast, mobile-friendly
  • A clear CTA
  • Trust signals

4. Ongoing optimisation

  • Weekly: Adjust bids, pause what is performing poorly and scale up what is performing well
  • Monthly: In-depth analysis, new tests
  • Quarterly: Strategic review

5. Transparent reporting

  • What works and why
  • What can be improved
  • Concrete recommendations

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