When Should a Digital Strategy Focus on Google Search Ads?
In this article we explain when a strategy has a high probability of working well by implementing Google Search Ads. Learn more.
AI, digital marketing and medical marketing consultant · btodigital
As a digital marketing consultant, I receive many questions every day related to digital strategy. One of the most common ones is when a strategy should focus on Google Search Ads.
If you don’t know much about the digital world, the first thing is to explain what Google Search Ads is. Many people search every day for solutions to their problems, product needs, services and more on Google. To do this, they write phrases in the search engine and get results to their queries.
Companies know this, and therefore Google allows them to place ads that appear at the moment when people make their searches. This, which sounds so simple, has an entire world behind it and is, in general, highly effective.
To learn a little more, I recommend this content: Google Ads: Basic Concepts Every Marketing Manager Should Know.
Example image of Google search ads. In this case, we can see three ads that respond to the need “used cars in Medellín”.
Is Google Search Ads Worth It?
Advertising with Google search ads is a powerful tool to reach new customers and increase traffic to your website. But, when should you focus your digital strategy on this advertising platform?
First, Google Search Ads is ideal for companies that have a specific product or service and want to reach people who are looking for that specific product or service. For example, if you have an online store for cycling clothing, Google Search Ads can be a great option for you, since people who search for cycling clothing on Google are probably interested in buying this type of product.
Second, Google search ads is ideal for companies that have a local or regional audience. If you have a fast food franchise in a specific city, you can use Google Search Ads to reach people who search for fast food in that city. This is especially useful if you have strong competition in your area and need to stand out.
Metrics, One of the Strengths of Google Search Ads
We all know that what is not measured cannot be controlled. In marketing, in general, marketing managers have had little information in traditional marketing. This changed with digital marketing and Google is one of the pioneers in what is known as analytics, so much so that the most used tool by everyone is Google Analytics.
Google Search Ads is ideal for companies that want to measure the performance of their advertising campaigns in a precise way. Google’s platform provides a large amount of data and metrics that allow you to see how your campaign is performing and make adjustments accordingly. This allows you to optimize your campaign and ensure that you are getting the greatest possible return on investment.
It is also important to note that Google Search Ads is not suitable for all companies. For example, if you have a B2B company that sells to other companies, you may have more success using other advertising platforms, such as LinkedIn Ads.
In summary, Google Search Ads is a valuable tool for companies that have a specific product or service, a local or regional audience, and want to measure the performance of their campaigns in a precise way. If your company meets these criteria, then you may want to consider focusing your digital strategy on Google Search Ads.
To maximize the return on your paid campaigns, you should also understand how to measure marketing campaign performance, combine ads with strong local SEO positioning, and learn how improving your forms can turn more ad clicks into qualified leads.
The real question: does the search already exist?
It comes down to a distinction almost nobody makes explicit. On Google you find people who already have the problem. On social media you appear to people who do not know they have it yet.
So the decision is not about budget or fashion, but about the kind of demand you sell:
| If your business looks like this | Start with |
|---|---|
| People search for you by service name (“orthopedist in Medellín”, “24 hour locksmith”) | Google Search |
| The need is urgent and solved the same day | Google Search |
| Your product is new and nobody searches for it yet | Social media |
| You sell on impulse or desire, not urgency | Social media |
| You sell to companies with long cycles and few possible buyers | LinkedIn or direct outreach |
A practical test: if nobody types what you sell into Google, no search campaign will rescue it. Before investing, check how many monthly searches your terms really have.
What it costs to enter, and why small budgets fail
In search you pay per click, and your sector’s competition sets the price. That is the trap of small budgets: if clicks in your sector are expensive and you invest little, you are not buying insufficient traffic, you are buying insufficient data, and without data the campaign never learns.
The rule I use: before judging a search campaign, you need at least 100 clicks per ad group. If your monthly budget cannot buy that, you have two honest options: narrow down to fewer terms and a single city, or start with another channel.
As an order of magnitude, in a campaign of our own in September 2026 on social media we got contacts at COP $2,679 each, spending COP $20,000 a day. In search, in competitive sectors in Colombia, a single click can cost what a whole contact cost there. Neither channel is better: one charges for interest, the other for intent.
When not to use search ads
- When your page is not ready. Paying for visits to a page that does not explain what you do or how to contact you is the fastest way to burn money.
- When you cannot answer quickly. In services, whoever replies first keeps the client. If messages wait a day, the budget turns into lost contacts.
- When you have no measurement. Without knowing which search brought each client, in three months you will still be deciding on intuition.
- When you compete only on price in a saturated sector. There the auction is won by whoever can afford to lose the longest.
What to have ready before the first campaign
- One page per service, not a single page for everything.
- A visible phone or WhatsApp, and someone who answers it.
- Conversion tracking configured, not just visits.
- A negative keyword list, so you stop paying for other intents such as “free”, “jobs” or “how to do it myself”.
Frequently asked questions
How much does advertising on Google cost in Colombia? It depends on the sector, because you pay per click in an auction. What matters is not the cost per click but how many clicks you need per client and what a client is worth to you.
Google or Meta, which is better? Google finds people who already have the need; Meta creates it in people who did not. If people already search for what you sell, start with Google.
How long before a search campaign works? The first clicks arrive the same day, but you need several weeks and a minimum click volume to know which terms work and which to switch off.
Can I run it myself? Building the campaign, yes. What separates a profitable campaign from an expensive one is the weekly cleanup: which terms get paused, which ads get rewritten and which pages get fixed.