Advertising on Google Ads is something you’ve probably considered, but haven’t had the time to sit down and work out how to do it.

In this guide, we take you through the process of setting up a Google Ads Smart Campaign, as an added extra we give you some potential keywords and ad content to use. By the end, you will understand the key elements of the campaign setup process and also be confident with the messaging you’ll use.

Starting your Smart Google Ads campaign

Smart campaigns are a relatively new feature for your Google Ads Campaign management. It’s been set up as small business owners time is short. You don’t want to be spending hours creating a Google Ads campaign, while also juggling your business commitments. Anyone who’s created a traditional Google Ads campaign will know the long process needed to ensure you’re maximizing the application. While we don’t want to put you off using the advanced features, we recommend starting with a Smart Campaign, gaining confidence, and then stepping up to an advanced campaign when you feel comfortable.

The main difference between the two is that by using the Smart Campaign, you’re enabling the Google algorithm to handle most of the advanced decisions for your campaign, allowing you to save time and get on with your coaching business.

For the Smart Campaign the primary setup options are:

- Keywords: These are the keywords that your potential customers will be searching for in Google. So for example you may want your advert to show against the keyword “Personal Trainer Near Me”

- Advert Copy: This is your chance to add your skills, products, and packages to the ad content. The ad copy consists of a headline and description. We will go into the other requirements in more detail later.

- Smart Bidding: While the Google algorithm deals with the bidding you will need to decide what you are willing to spend daily.

- Location: Targeting your customers by postcode, city, or country will ensure your adverts are showing exactly where you want them to be seen.

- Conversion: There are three types of conversions you can track in a Smart Campaign. Phone Calls, Store Visits, and Website Visits. For this guide, we will be concentrating on phone calls, and website visits.

Before you start you’ll also need to make sure you have a Google Ads account, this is nice and simple and you just need to click here to set up an account.

1. Identify your main advertising goal, for our example campaign we are going to choose “Get more website sales or sign-ups” This means that we want to maximize the number of people who click our adverts, or sign up for our brand.

2. Next, give your business name. This helps Google show your ad when people search for your brand name.

3. Let Google know what your website or landing page is. This could be your PT Distinction mini-site or your website. Just choose the most relevant page for your campaign.

4. The Google Ads wizard will now show you a screenshot of the page, once happy select “Next”

5. Now it’s time to write your ad. Google will look at your landing page and create an advert for you. Put as much information into the headlines and descriptions as you can, adding unique selling points to your coaching business will help you stand out. Here are some examples

6. Add keywords that your potential customers are searching for on Google. Use keywords like:

- Personal trainer near me

- Find a personal trainer

- Find a certified personal trainer

- Nutrition coach near me

- Local fitness help

7. Location: This is where you can choose where you want to target people You have two options. The first is to search by postcode, and the second is by radius. See below, the two examples in action. Once you are happy, select “Next”

8. Set a daily budget you are comfortable paying, we would recommend starting low to begin with, ideally below £10 / $10. When you are happy, click “Next”

9. Review your campaign, when you’re happy with the set up select “Next”

10. The final page will show if you have not yet added your card information or promotional code.

The great thing about Smart Campaigns is that it gives busy coaches, and personal trainers an easy and flexible way of managing their marketing, with the ultimate aim of getting more clients. Following this guide will get you set up with your first Google Smart campaign. Keep an eye out for future guides where we’ll look at the other channels that can help you drive traffic to your coaching business.