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Education · Google Ads

Everything you need to know about
Google Ads.

Pay-Per-Click, SEM, AdWords, Google Ads, Sponsored Links — whatever you have heard it called, this page explains exactly what it is, how it works, and what it means for your South African business.

Google Ads also known as
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
AdWords
Sponsored Links
Paid Search
The terminology

Many names.
One thing.

You may have heard Google Ads referred to by several different names. They all mean essentially the same thing: paying to advertise your business on a search engine's results page. Here is what each term means.

The original name
Google AdWords
Google's advertising platform was originally called AdWords when it launched in 2000. Google rebranded it as "Google Ads" in 2018, but many people still refer to it as AdWords out of habit. If someone tells you they manage AdWords, they mean Google Ads.
How you pay
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Pay-Per-Click describes the billing model. Your ad can be displayed thousands of times at no cost — you only pay when someone actually clicks on it. This is what makes Google Ads fundamentally different from traditional advertising, where you pay for exposure regardless of results.
The broader category
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the umbrella term for paid advertising on search engines. Google Ads is the dominant SEM platform, capturing well over 90% of search traffic in South Africa. When people say SEM, they almost always mean Google Ads in practice.
What it looks like
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links is how Google Ads appear on the search results page — labelled as "Sponsored" above or below the organic search results. The label distinguishes paid placements from earned organic rankings, though most users click both without noticing the difference.
The current name
Google Ads
The current official name since 2018. Google Ads is a complete advertising ecosystem — not just search, but also Display ads across millions of websites, YouTube video ads, Shopping ads, Gmail ads, and more. All managed from a single platform.
What we do
PPC Management
PPC Management is what LeadArt Digital provides — professional, ongoing management of your Google Ads campaigns. We handle campaign strategy, setup, keyword research, ad copy, bid management, optimisation, and reporting so you can focus on your business.
How it works

The Google Ads auction
explained simply.

Google Ads works through a real-time auction that happens every single time someone performs a search. Understanding the basics helps you see why strategy matters so much — and why the highest bidder does not always win.

It does not cost anything for your ad to appear
Your ad can be displayed on a search results page thousands of times without costing you anything. You are only charged when someone clicks. This is what makes Google Ads one of the most efficient advertising channels available — every rand you spend represents a genuine interaction with a potential customer.
01
Someone searches on Google
A potential customer types a query into Google — "plumber Pretoria", "estate agent Sandton", or "best orthodontist near me". The moment they press Enter, Google runs an auction in milliseconds to decide which ads to show and in what order.
02
Advertisers bid on keywords
Companies like yours bid on keywords — the terms your potential customers search for. The price of each click is determined by auction: if many companies bid on the same keyword, the cost per click rises. Niche or long-tail keywords often have very low costs because fewer advertisers target them.
03
Google determines ad position
The highest bidder does not automatically get the top spot. Google uses a formula called Quality Score — a combination of your bid, your ad relevance, and the quality of your landing page. A well-managed account with highly relevant ads can outrank a competitor bidding twice as much.
04
You pay only when clicked
Your ad appears on the search results page at no cost. If the searcher clicks your ad, you are charged the cost-per-click for that keyword — which is determined by the auction at the moment of the search. You set the maximum you are willing to pay; Google never charges more than that.
05
They land on your website
The person who clicked arrives on your website or landing page. From here, your ability to convert that visitor into a lead or sale determines your return on investment. This is why the quality of your landing page matters as much as the quality of your ads.
What makes it work

Google Ads comes down
to strategy.

The effectiveness of Pay-Per-Click advertising ultimately comes down to your strategy. A well-structured account with targeted keywords, relevant ads, and a high-converting landing page will consistently outperform a poorly managed account — regardless of budget.

01
Targeted keywords
The right keywords are the foundation of every successful Google Ads campaign. Too broad and you waste budget on irrelevant clicks. Too narrow and you miss potential customers. A tightly focused keyword list — supported by a strong negative keyword strategy — ensures your budget reaches only people who are genuinely looking for what you offer.
02
Well-written ads
Your ad copy is what turns an impression into a click. Headlines that match what the searcher is looking for, descriptions that clearly communicate your value, and a compelling call-to-action all contribute to a higher click-through rate — which in turn improves your Quality Score and lowers your cost per click.
03
A well-built website
A disconnect between your keywords, your ads, and your website is the most common reason Google Ads campaigns fail. If someone searches "emergency plumber Pretoria", clicks your ad, and lands on a generic homepage, they will leave immediately. Your landing page must deliver exactly what your ad promised — quickly and clearly.
Need a landing page that converts?

LeadArt Digital builds conversion-focused landing pages designed to work in tandem with your Google Ads campaigns. Ask us about adding a landing page to your service plan.

Ask about landing pages
Common mistakes

The pitfalls that cost
local businesses money.

For a small or local business owner with little experience in Google Ads, there are numerous costly pitfalls. Most businesses that try to manage their own campaigns make the same mistakes — spending months learning from expensive errors before getting results, if ever.

Broad match keywords bleeding budget
Using broad match keywords without negative keywords is the fastest way to burn through your budget on irrelevant searches. A plumber in Pretoria could end up paying for clicks from people searching for DIY plumbing videos in Johannesburg.
Following Google's "recommendations"
Google's in-platform recommendations are designed to increase your spend, not your ROI. Auto-applying Google's suggestions — or taking advice from a Google rep — frequently results in higher costs and lower performance. We see damaged accounts from this constantly.
No conversion tracking
Running ads without conversion tracking is like driving with your eyes closed. You have no idea which keywords, ads, or campaigns are generating leads. Without this data, you cannot optimise — and neither can Google's algorithm.
Sending traffic to the homepage
Your homepage is not a landing page. Sending Google Ads traffic to a generic homepage instead of a purpose-built landing page consistently results in high bounce rates and low conversion rates — wasting the budget you spent to get the click.
Setting it and forgetting it
Google Ads is not passive. Your competitors change their bids, Google changes its platform, and search behaviour shifts over time. An account left unmanaged for weeks quickly accumulates wasted spend and missed opportunities that compound over time.
Insufficient budget to generate data
Google's AI-driven bidding strategies need conversion data to optimise effectively. With too small a budget, the algorithm never gets enough signal to learn — resulting in poor performance that makes the channel look ineffective when the real issue is insufficient data volume.
What to do next

Ready to use Google Ads
the right way?

Whether you are running your own campaigns and want a second opinion, or you are new to Google Ads entirely, we can help you get results without the expensive learning curve.

Already running Google Ads
Get a free account audit
If you are managing your own Google Ads — or working with a freelancer or agency that is not delivering results — our free audit will tell you exactly what is working, what is not, and what to fix. One-on-one with a certified specialist, no automated reports, no sales pressure.
Book a free audit →
New to Google Ads
Start with a discovery call
If you want to avoid the pitfalls and benefit from Google Ads as quickly as possible, book a free 30-minute discovery call with our team. We can get you started with a simple campaign on a starter budget — and you will know within a few months whether Google Ads is right for your business, without the costly guesswork.
Book a free discovery call →

Stop learning from
expensive mistakes.

Most businesses spend months making costly Google Ads errors before getting help. Skip that stage. Talk to our team today and get your campaigns set up correctly from day one.

Book a free discovery call View Google Ads management