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MBA Module: Digital Marketing

Week 4

Search Engine Marketing & Google Ads

Buying intent. Capturing demand at the exact moment of decision.

Today's Agenda

  • SEM vs. SEO: The Strategic Difference
  • How the Google Ads Auction Works
  • Campaign Structure: Account → Campaign → Ad Group → Ad
  • Match Types & Negative Keywords
  • Quality Score & Ad Rank Explained
  • Bidding Strategies for Different Goals
  • Writing High-CTR Ad Copy
  • Lab: Plan a Mock Google Ads Campaign

Part 1: SEM vs. SEO

Renting attention vs. owning it — and when each is right.

Why Pay for Search?

SEO

  • Takes 3–12 months to see results
  • Free clicks (once ranking)
  • Best for long-term brand building
  • Cannot scale clicks instantly

SEM (Google Ads)

  • Immediate top-of-page visibility
  • Costs money per click
  • Best for product launches, promotions
  • Scale up or down on demand
Strategic Play: Use SEM to generate revenue while SEO is building. Eventually, SEO reduces dependence on paid traffic.

Part 2: The Google Ads Auction

Why the highest bidder doesn't always win.

How the Auction Works

Ad Rank = Max CPC Bid × Quality Score × Expected Impact of Ad Extensions

The auction runs in real-time, billions of times a day. The winner isn't the highest bidder — it's the advertiser who best combines bid with relevance.

This means a well-structured, highly relevant campaign can outrank a competitor who bids 3× more.

Quality Score Explained

Scored 1–10 by Google for each keyword. Three components:

Expected CTR

How likely users are to click your ad vs. others for this keyword

Ad Relevance

How closely your ad copy matches the search query intent

Landing Page Experience

Is your landing page fast, mobile-friendly, and relevant to the ad?

A QS of 10 can reduce your CPC by up to 50%. A QS of 1–3 makes it nearly impossible to compete.

Part 3: Campaign Architecture

Structure is strategy. A disorganised account wastes budget.

The SKAG Principle vs. Thematic Groups

SKAG (Historical)

Single Keyword Ad Groups — one keyword per ad group. Provides maximum control and relevance.

Con: Enormous account complexity.

Thematic Groups (Modern)

Group 5–15 tightly related keywords per ad group. Google's Smart Bidding can now handle the micro-targeting.

Best practice in 2024+

Match Types: Controlling Who Sees Your Ad

Match Type Example Keyword Ad Shows For
Broad digital marketing Any loosely related query (risky)
Phrase "digital marketing" Queries containing this phrase in order
Exact [digital marketing Nepal] Only this or very close variants
Negative -free, -jobs, -course Blocks irrelevant traffic — saves budget

Part 4: Bidding Strategies

Telling Google what outcome you're optimising for.

Bidding Strategies by Goal

Your Goal Bidding Strategy How It Works
Brand Awareness Target Impression Share Bid to appear in a % of auctions
Website Traffic Maximise Clicks Google finds the most clicks for your budget
Lead Generation Target CPA Google optimises to hit your target cost-per-acquisition
Revenue Target ROAS Google optimises to hit your return on ad spend target

Part 5: Writing Ad Copy That Converts

You have a headline and 3 seconds. Make it count.

Anatomy of a Responsive Search Ad (RSA)

Components

  • Headlines: Up to 15 (30 chars each). Google auto-mixes the best combinations
  • Descriptions: Up to 4 (90 chars each)
  • URL Path: yoursite.com/keyword

Headline Formula

  • Keyword inclusion (relevance)
  • Core benefit statement
  • Urgency or differentiator
  • Trust signal ("Top Rated", "Since 2010")

The Ad Extensions (Assets) Advantage

Ad extensions don't cost extra. They increase ad real estate and CTR for free.

Sitelinks

Extra links to key pages below the main ad

Callouts

Short benefit phrases: "Free Consultation", "24/7 Support"

Call Extension

Phone number directly in the ad — critical for service businesses

Budget, ROAS & Scaling Logic

Example: You spend NPR 50,000/month on Google Ads. You generate NPR 200,000 in revenue. ROAS = 4x. For every 1 rupee spent, you earn 4 back.

If ROAS > break-even threshold → Scale up budget aggressively.

If ROAS < break-even threshold → Fix the campaign before scaling.

Lab: Plan a Mock Campaign

Google Ads Campaign Blueprint

  1. Define campaign goal and target CPA
  2. Create 1 campaign with 2 ad groups (thematic)
  3. Write 5 headlines and 2 descriptions for your RSA
  4. Add 3 negative keywords
  5. Propose a monthly budget and explain the rationale

Deliverable for Week 4

SEM Campaign Blueprint Document

  • Campaign structure (campaigns, ad groups, keywords)
  • 3 written ad copy variations
  • Proposed budget with ROAS target
  • Negative keyword list (minimum 10)

Due before the start of Week 5. Mid-Module Review is next week.