How to Use Google Ads for Your Next Digital Product Launch

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Google Ads for Launching Digital Products | Episode #114 Of The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast

This article was originally inspired by a 2023 episode of the Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast featuring Google Ads expert Glenneth Reed. Some platform details (such as Google Analytics updates) may have evolved since the original recording, but the core strategy remains highly relevant for creative business owners launching digital products and services today.

If you have ever poured time, energy, and heart into a digital product launch only to wonder where all your buyers went, you are not alone. Most solo business owners put all their launch marketing eggs into the social media basket and then feel deflated when only a handful of people actually make it to the sales page. What if there was a way to show up right when someone was actively searching for the solution you sell?

That is where Google Ads come in. And before you click away thinking this is only for big businesses with big budgets, stick with me. In this post, you will learn how Google Ads can support your launch strategy (even on a $5 to $10 per day budget), why your Google Analytics setup matters before you ever hit “publish” on your sales page, and how to make your launch visible to the people who are already looking for what you offer. If you are a family photographer branching into education, courses, or digital products, this post is for you.

Not sure where to start with your overall marketing system? Grab the Lead Magnet Master Idea List to start growing your email list and impact the top of the funnel (to start bringing in leads to your ecosystem). 

What Are Google Ads and How Do They Work?

Google Ads is a pay-per-click advertising platform where you bid on keywords so your content appears at the top of search results when someone types in a relevant phrase.

Here is how it works in plain terms: you choose a keyword or search phrase that relates to your product or service. You set a daily budget and a maximum amount you are willing to pay per click. Google puts your ad into an auction against other advertisers bidding on the same term. If your bid and ad quality are strong enough, your ad shows up above the organic search results on Google’s first page. You only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad.

The real power here is intent. When someone types “email marketing course for photographers” into Google, they are actively looking for a solution. They are not passively scrolling through a feed hoping something catches their eye. They have a problem, and they want an answer right now. That makes Google Ads a warm-audience strategy, even if the person clicking has never heard of you before.

One thing that catches a lot of first-time advertisers off guard is how much control you actually have over who sees your ad, and more importantly, who does not. That is where negative keywords come in, and they are one of the most overlooked parts of a Google Ads campaign.

What Are Negative Keywords in Google Ads?

Negative keywords are search terms you tell Google you do not want your ad to appear for, preventing wasted ad spend on irrelevant clicks.

If you have ever tried Google Ads and felt like you threw money into a void, there is a good chance you were missing negative keywords. Google takes a lot of liberty with matching your keywords to search queries, so without a strong negative keyword list, your ad can show up for searches that have nothing to do with your offer.

Here is an example. If you are selling a paid digital product, you probably do not want your ad showing up when someone searches for “free email marketing templates.” That person is not your buyer. The word “free” is one of the most important negative keywords you can add if you are running ads for a paid product. Other common negative keywords include competitor brand names, unrelated industries, and terms like “Amazon” or “cheap.”

Google Ads expert Glenneth Reed recommends that your negative keyword list should actually be longer than your list of keywords you are bidding on. Most advertisers who say “Google Ads did not work for me” had zero negative keywords set up. That is a recipe for wasted budget every single time.

Pro tip: Never set up a Google Ads campaign using the “smart campaign” option that Google walks you through. It looks easy, but it removes the control you need over targeting, negative keywords, and bidding. Always set up your campaign using the advanced (expert) mode so you stay in the driver’s seat.

How Are Google Ads Different from Meta Ads?

Google Ads target people who are actively searching for a solution, while Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) show your content to people who might be interested based on their behavior and demographics.

Think of it this way: Meta Ads are passive advertising. You are hoping to show up in someone’s feed at the right moment when they are thinking about your product or might be interested. Google Ads are active advertising. The person has sat down, opened Google, and typed in a specific search phrase because they want an answer or a solution right now.

Both can work well, and they actually complement each other. Someone might see your Instagram ad, not be ready to buy in that moment, and then later go to Google to search for the product they vaguely remember seeing. If your Google Ad is there to catch them, you just closed the loop.

For family photographers who create a lot of long-form content (like blog posts, podcast episodes, and YouTube videos), Google Ads can be especially effective because your audience is already trained to search for information before making a decision. You are meeting them where they are already looking.

Want to make sure your overall marketing system is working together? Check out the Business Tools page for the marketing tools I personally use and recommend to keep all the pieces connected.

Why Should You Set Up Google Analytics Before Your Launch?

Setting up Google Analytics before your launch allows you to collect traffic data, track where your visitors come from, and identify where potential buyers drop off in your sales funnel.

This might be the least glamorous part of launching, but it is one of the most important. If you do not have Google Analytics (now GA4) installed on both your main website and whatever landing page or checkout software you are using, you are flying completely blind.

Here is what Google Analytics tells you during a launch:

Where your traffic is coming from. Is it organic search? Social media? Paid ads? Referrals from another site? Knowing this helps you understand which marketing channels are actually driving people to your sales page.

What people are doing once they arrive. Are they spending time on the page, or are they bouncing in two seconds? If 50 people start the checkout process and only 3 complete it, something is broken between the “add to cart” step and the final purchase. It could be pricing, shipping costs, a glitch in the checkout flow, or a page that loads too slowly.

Which platform is giving you the best return. If you are spending money on Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and Google Ads, analytics will show you which channel brought in the most conversions. Then for your next launch, you can put more budget behind the winner and stop wasting money on what is not performing.

Here is the thing most people miss: you should have Google Analytics set up even if you are not planning a launch anytime soon. The data you collect now will be incredibly valuable later when you do decide to launch something. Start collecting that data today so you are not starting from zero when it matters most.

To find your GA4 tracking code, log into Google Analytics, click the gear icon (Admin) in the lower left corner, go to Setup Assistant, click “Collect Website and App Data,” and then “Manage Data Streams.” Your measurement ID and setup instructions will be right there. If you use platforms like Kajabi, ThriveCart, or Showit, just Google “install GA4 on [your platform name]” and you will find step-by-step instructions.

Speaking of Showit, if you need a gorgeous website that is also SEO-friendly, you can get one month free of Showit with my link.

How Do You Optimize Your Sales Page for Organic Search?

Optimizing your sales page for organic search means using relevant keywords in your page title, headings, meta description, and body copy so Google can index and rank the page for related searches.

A lot of business owners treat their sales page like a secret document. Some even hide it from search engines on purpose. But here is why that is a missed opportunity: when someone hears about your product on a podcast, sees a mention on Instagram, or gets a referral from a colleague, they are not going to go dig through your social feed to find the link. They are going to type your product name (or something close to it) into Google.

If your sales page is not optimized for search, you might lose that person entirely. They searched, they could not find you, and they moved on.

Here is what to do instead:

Make sure your product name appears in the page title, URL, and at least one heading on the sales page. Think about what problem your product solves and include those keywords naturally in the page copy. If your product is an email marketing course for photographers, phrases like “email marketing for photographers” and “how to write launch emails” should appear on the page.

Keep in mind that SEO takes time. Google can take several months to crawl, index, and start ranking a new page. So do not wait until launch week to optimize your sales page. Get it set up early and let it start building authority well before your cart opens. If you are showing up both in a paid Google Ad and in the organic results for the same search, you now have twice the real estate on page one, and that kind of visibility builds trust fast.

If you want to learn how to create blog content that actually drives organic traffic to your offers, check out the Blogging and Organic Visibility System for Family Photographers. It walks you through the entire process of building search visibility through strategic blogging.

How Can Google Ads Specifically Help During a Launch?

Google Ads catch potential buyers who saw your brand elsewhere and then turned to Google to find you, closing the gap between awareness and purchase.

Picture this: someone sees your Instagram Reel about your upcoming course launch. They are interested, but they are at the grocery store with a toddler in the cart and cannot click through right now. Later that evening, they sit down and try to remember what they saw. They type something into Google, maybe your name, your product name, or the problem your product solves. If you have a Google Ad running on those terms, you show up right when they are ready to take action.

Without Google Ads (and without an optimized sales page), that person searches, finds nothing, and you lose them.

There is also a segment of your ideal audience that is not on social media at all. Some estimates suggest that around 25% of the population does not use social platforms regularly. Those people still have the same problems, need the same solutions, and are searching on Google for answers. If your only marketing strategy is social media, you are missing them entirely.

A few practical tips for running Google Ads during a launch:

You do not need a huge budget. Starting with $5 to $10 per day is a solid starting point. If budget is tight, focus your spend on bidding for your product name and your own name so that people who are already looking for you can find you.

Keep your keyword list tight. Ten to twenty well-chosen keywords are better than hundreds of broad ones. Think about how a real person would type their search, not how you would describe your product in marketing copy.

Make sure the keywords you are bidding on actually appear in your ad copy and on your landing page. Google checks for relevance. If your keywords, ad text, and landing page do not match up, Google will not show your ad.

You can turn Google Ads on during your launch and off when it is over. Or, if your product is evergreen, you can keep ads running at a low daily budget to catch people who discover you between launches.

One important note: Google has started limiting ad impressions for brand-new advertisers until it verifies that your landing page is secure and that your payment method is legitimate. So if you are running Google Ads for the first time, start your campaign two to three weeks before you actually need the traffic so you can build trust with the platform.

How Do You Research Keywords for a Google Ads Launch Campaign?

Start by typing potential search phrases into Google and observing what comes up in autocomplete, related searches, and competitor results to identify what your audience is actually searching for.

Keyword research for Google Ads does not require expensive tools. Open Google.com and start typing in phrases related to your product or the problem it solves. Watch what Google suggests in the autocomplete dropdown. Those suggestions are based on what real people are actually searching for.

Scroll to the bottom of the results page and look at the “related searches” section. This gives you even more keyword ideas. While you are doing this research, pay attention to what shows up that is not relevant to your product. Those become your negative keywords. You are doing double duty: finding what to bid on and finding what to exclude.

Glenneth Reed recommends organizing your research in a simple Google Doc with two columns: one for keywords you want to bid on and one for negative keywords. Once your campaign is live, check your search terms report weekly and keep adding negative keywords. This ongoing maintenance is what separates a campaign that wastes money from one that actually drives results.

If you want a system for organizing all the moving pieces of your business (including launch prep), the Backend Organization System for Family Photographers is a Trello board that keeps everything in one place so nothing falls through the cracks.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Ads for Launching

How much should I spend on Google Ads for a launch? A daily budget of $5 to $10 is a great starting point for solo business owners. Even $5 per day focused on your product name and your own name can make a difference in catching warm leads who are searching for you.

Can I use Google Ads and Meta Ads at the same time? Yes, and they work well together. Meta Ads build awareness and get your product in front of people. Google Ads catch those same people later when they search for more information or try to find your sales page.

What is the biggest mistake people make with Google Ads? Not using negative keywords. Without them, Google will show your ad for irrelevant searches, and you will waste budget on clicks from people who were never going to buy.

Do I need Google Analytics set up before running Google Ads? You do not technically need it to run ads, but you need it to understand whether your ads are working. Without analytics, you cannot see where your traffic is coming from, where people drop off, or which channels are driving actual sales.

How long does it take for Google Ads to start working? You can start getting impressions and clicks within hours of launching a campaign. However, new advertisers may see limited impressions initially as Google verifies your account and payment method. Plan to start your campaign two to three weeks before your launch for best results.

Should I hide my sales page from Google? No. Keeping your sales page visible to search engines means people who hear about your product elsewhere can find you through Google. Hiding your sales page cuts off a significant discovery channel.

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Meet Your Favorite Marketing Strategist and Business Coach for Family Photographers (Dolly DeLong Education)

Hi, I’m Dolly DeLong, a Nashville-based family photographer, marketing strategist, and systems educator for family photographers who want structure, clarity, and consistency in their marketing.

My photography journey began in 2006, and over the years, I built a sustainable family photography business while navigating motherhood, client work, and the realities of running a solo creative business. Along the way, I discovered something unexpected: I loved the backend just as much as the creative side.

What started as organizing my own workflows turned into helping other family photographers simplify their marketing, build repeatable systems, and stop relying on last-minute posting or panic marketing.

Today, I focus exclusively on helping family photographers intentionally market their businesses (not with trends but with consistently showing up).

I offer two ways to work with me:

• The Family Photographer’s Marketing Society: a systems-first membership that provides a clear weekly marketing cadence for Instagram and email, so you always know what to focus on without starting over.

• 1:1 Strategic Marketing Support for established family photographers who want hands-on guidance in building a sustainable, SEO-supported marketing system.

Through my blog, podcast, and YouTube channel, I teach family photographers how to think like marketers, plan ahead, and create marketing rhythms that support both their business and their family life.

I still photograph families around Nashville because it’s one of my greatest joys. But helping family photographers build calm, consistent marketing systems that actually fit real life is a close second.

I’m so glad you are here, reading this blog, listening to the podcast, or watching the embedded YouTube video. I hope this educational content was helpful. Please let me know what future systems content you would like me to create!