No one would click on a search result that was blatantly an ad, right? Wrong. The click-through-rates (CTRs) speak for themselves. The average CTR for a Google Search ad is around 2%. When compared to other ad platforms and formats, that’s not too shabby. 

Why do Google Search Ads work so well and why should your brand utilize them? Here are five reasons why.

1. Searchers have intent. Google users input a specific term because they need or want to do something. Oftentimes, that something is to research a problem or to search for a specific product or service. Either way, Google Search Ads are a good way to be part of their research process because search ads aim to help, rather than interrupt, the searcher’s browsing experience. 
2. Ads can easily target users at different stages in the buyer’s journey. As users move further down the funnel during their journey, their search queries get more specific. By thoroughly understanding your ideal buyer , you should be able to loosely define what their search queries are at each part of the buyer’s journey and create ads around those. 
3. Reporting tools are user friendly enough for the novice and feature-rich for the pros. Google Search’s reporting tools can stay as high-level or go as in-depth as needed. Tools range from high-level reporting to in-depth tools that help you properly budget bids. 
4. Google’s reach is massive, so massive that it’s the most popular search engine in the world. If a brand wants to get in front of searchers, Google is the place to do so. 
5. Multiple bidding strategies give advertisers budget flexibility to maximize ROI. The ability to choose a bidding strategy that aligns with campaign goals is key in maximizing ad spend ROI because each bidding strategy spends the budget differently. Here are the options: 
• Target cost per action (CPA): To optimize for conversions, use Target CPA to help increase conversions while targeting a specific cost per action (CPA). 
• Target return on ad spend (ROAS): To optimize for conversion value, use Target ROAS to help increase conversion value while targeting a specific return on ad spend (ROAS). 
• Maximize Conversions: To optimize for conversions while spending the entire budget (instead of targeting a specific CPA), use Maximize Conversions. 
• Maximize Conversion Value: To optimize for conversion value while spending your entire budget (instead of targeting a specific ROAS), use Maximize Conversion Value.
• Enhanced cost per click (ECPC): To automatically adjust your manual bids to try to maximize conversions, use ECPC. This is an optional feature you can use with Manual CPC bidding. 

Google Search Ads is a way to advertise that works well for businesses of all sizes regardless of budget. With its wide reach, reporting capabilities, budgeting tools, and the fact that ads are served to users who already have intent, Google Search Ads is a prime spot for brands to get in front of their ideal buyers and generate new leads.