How to use Google Ads for photographers

Google Ads has been my saving grace for bringing in new photography clients. It’s an amazing tool for anyone looking for more clients. I’ve been working on the SEO for my website, but SEO is a long-term game and takes some time to establish, while Google Ads helps to speed up the process and you can see almost immediate results if done correctly.

I’ve gotta admit, starting Google Ads when you have no idea what you’re doing can be overwhelming and challenging..at least for me it was. Now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, I’m obsessed. It took many trials and errors to really understand how it all worked, but I watched a trillion YouTube videos and dug through Reddit threads trying to piece everything together. When I first set it up I wasted $50 in 24 hours and it was soul-crushing. Actually learning how to do it correctly is mandatory! It seemed like there wasn’t much information on how to set things up so I wanted to create this resource for anyone who was in the same boat as I was. I recommend Google Ads for any small business owners whether you’re a wedding photographer or other creative business owner. 

How do Google Ads work? 

Paying for Google Ads gets your website to show up when someone searches for your targeted keyword. You’ll typically see these at the top of the page and will say sponsored. The top websites under the sponsored posts are websites that are ranking high on Google with good SEO. Google Ads is an auction and you will bid for your website to show up and compete with other bidders. Your website may not show up every time and Google will determine which website shows up depending on the quality of ads, cost per click, and a few other factors. 

Before getting started with Google Ads: your website matters

First things first, having a good website is crucial. People will still find your Ads, but if your website isn’t quality, they likely won’t convert and book. Be sure to set up your website first so it’s appealing and will make people want to reach out to find out more to book your services. I also recommend having your Google Business profile set up with reviews so they can see that you’re a trustworthy business.

How much to spend on Google Ads

This will vary depending on your budget, but for me, I went with $10 a day which came out to be about $300 per month. Most education you see online will tell you to budget a few thousand but that wasn’t realistic for me. Obviously, a higher budget will give you the potential of more clients, and a lower budget will take a little extra time to get those clicks to your website bringing in new clients. 

Depending on the cost of your keywords, $10 can be one click to your website or it could be a couple clicks to your website a day.

Facebook Ads VS Google Ads

The amazing thing about Google Ads is the person is already searching for your specific service and typically, they are ready to book. Facebook or Instagram Ads puts you in front of new people (or retargeting people that have been on your website). What does this mean? Google Ads puts you in front of people who will usually convert faster. You have a higher chance of someone booking VS. Facebook Ads is more like a simple introduction to your business. 

How to set up Google Ads

First things first, you’ll want to sign up for your Google Ads account! I also like to have Google Search Console and Google Analytics set up so we can see where we’re at, and what’s already working and start tracking data to make your Ads even better. The earlier you can get these set up, the more data you’ll have to work with!

Set up a Campaign

We’re going to start with a bit of Google Ads lingo so stick with me! First, we start with Campaigns. I like to think of campaigns as the foundation of a home.

Note that there are SO many ways to structure Google Ads so take a minute to write down your services and areas you want to target. You may have different locations or completely different services to target. If you want to target multiple locations, you could have a different campaign for each location. Ex. One campaign for Washington DC, one for California, one for NC.  

I currently only have one campaign which is my main ‘hub’ since I’m not targeting other locations. In the past, I had a few different campaigns. One for North Carolina and one for Colorado when I was back in forth between locations.

Your campaigns will also control your budget. So if you want to spend more money on weddings and a little less on portraits, make 2 different campaigns for each service. I like to split mine evenly so I have one campaign set up and then break up my services in my Ad groups.

Step 1. New campaign

Step 2. Select your goal 

I like to click create a campaign without a goal guidance. This gives you a little more flexibility and more control.

Step 3. Select ‘search’ campaign type

I don’t recommend any of the other options. What we’re trying to do is target specific search keywords when someone searches on Google. Be sure to have the search network and display network *unchecked.* Again, that’s just putting money towards other places we don’t want to be promoting. 

Step 4. Choose the location you want to target

I have mine set up to The United States and ‘Presence or interest: People in, regularly in, or who’ve shown interest in your included locations.’ Since my keywords are super specific, I’m only getting people Googling the area that I’m in. I’m in a destination area so people are Googling the location from all over. Again if you’re doing multiple locations, I would set up a few different campaigns. 

If you have more vague keywords like ‘wedding photographer,’ you’ll want to set up your location in a specific area. I target certain towns/areas so my keywords would look like ‘Raleigh wedding photographer.’

Step 5. Choose your budget

This will vary from business to business. I do $10 a day which comes out to $300 a month. 

Step 6. Bidding

I like to keep things manual and focus on manual costs per click. You’ll click select a bid strategy. MCPC will be towards the bottom.

I don’t set a schedule for when I want these to run. Some people will set times so people won’t call during weird hours, but since I live in a destination area, people are viewing my website from all different time zones and I want them to be able to view whenever they’re searching. 

Set up ad groups

Ad groups will be our next ‘branch.’ While it’s structured similarly to campaigns, ad groups are like the branch under campaigns. 

For me, I have a different ad group for each service I provide. Examples: wedding ad group, elopement ad group, family ad group, engagement ad group. 

Step 1. Name your ad group

Step 2. Add your ad group keywords

I personally only use ‘exact match’ and ‘phrase match.’ I find broad match to be too general and it usually brings in people looking for something that I’m not selling or a service I don’t have. 

You’ll want to do a little keyword research to see what people are actually searching for. 

Keyword research

Finding out what your keywords should be is such an important step to setting up your Ads. There are a few tools out there, but my personal favorite is Keywords Everywhere. I’ve also used Keysearch, but I love the Keywords Everywhere Chrome extension and use it pretty much daily. It’s also pretty cost-effective. Instead of paying for a subscription, you pay for ‘tokens’ which will only be used when you search for different keywords. Honestly, it’s the best $15 I’ve spent. You can also do Keyword research for free right in Google Ads on their keyword planner, but again, my favorite is Keywords Everywhere. 

You want to find Keywords that people are searching for related to your services and area. I would stay away from super broad terms like ‘wedding photographer’ as that won’t convert as well and focus on something more specific. ‘Asheville wedding photographer.’ 

You’ll also want to find search terms that people are actually searching for. Google will let you know when your search term won’t show up and you’ll see ‘no search volume.’ 

You’ll plug your keywords into Google Ads and you’ll see the options for exact match, broad match, and phrase match. I like to use exact match and phrase match. Broad match brought in too many search terms that were somewhat related, but phrases I didn’t want to target. For example: ‘photography shops.’ You could still use broad match and add these terms you don’t want under ‘negative keywords.’ 

It will look a little something like this:

[santa barbara photographer] – Exact match

“santa barbara photographer” – Phrase match 

santa barbara photographer – Broad match

Exact match will target your specific keyword. So if a user types into Google, Santa Barbara photographer, it should trigger your Ad if you win the bid.

Phrase match will still bring up your ad for close variations of your keyword. So if the user types in photographer in Santa Barbara, your Ad should be triggered if you win the bid. 

Create your Ads!

Add headlines to your Ad

You’ll have the option to add in 15 headlines to your Ad which is the text that pops up to catch the reader’s attention. I find that specific terms like your keywords are helpful here. You can test these out and be sure to check out your data to see what’s the most converting. You can also add other details about your brand or business. 

Add descriptions

Here you’ll add similar verbiage, but more in length with a call to action. 

Add Ad extensions

This will be links to your website. Maybe a ‘contact’, ‘about us’, testimonials or whatever makes sense for your services.