Kristen McCormick January 14, 2022 Things that can be hard:
1. Dubstep dancing
2. Google Ads
3. Saying no to free stuff
And as such, I’ve rounded up 10 free tools to help you succeed with Google Ads—from ad creation, account structure, and audits to RSAs, reporting, and ROI.
And if you think I forgot about dubstep dancing, think again.
Let’s get into it.
10 free Google Ads tools to try now
Google Ads gives us plenty of free and useful tools, like the Keyword Planner, budget report, and offline conversions import helper tool. But let’s take a look at tools outside of Google Ads that your competitors may not know about.
1. Optimise Lab’s free responsive search ad builder
As of June 30, 2022, responsive search ads will be the only search ad type you can create or edit for both Google and Microsoft ads (here’s the story in case you missed it). As such, it only felt right to kick off this list with a free RSA template from Optimise Lab.
Use the template to build RSA campaigns fast. Also, don’t miss these seven things to do to make sure you’re prepared for this change.
2. WordStream’s Free Google Ads Grader
Okay so this tool you probably do know about since it’s plastered all over our site. But that’s because it’s awesome. Sure, Google Ads will show you your campaign metrics, but metrics alone won’t give you the full picture of your performance. WordStream’s free Google Ads Performance Grader uses 17 factors to tell you how your account is really doing, like:
- Wasted spend
- Click-through rate
- Best practices
- Long-tail keywords
- Quality Score
- Impression share
- Account activity
- Mobile optimization
In less than a minute, you’ll get an in-depth, easy-to-read report with your score plus exactly how to improve it. Try the free Google Ads Performance Grader now.
3. Whatagraph’s free Google Ads reporting template
With so many PPC metrics, it can be hard to make heads or tails of the reports in the Google Ads interface. Whatagraph’s free Google Ads report template visualizes key metrics like like clicks, impressions, conversions, and more to help you stay on track with your KPIs.
Create a free account, select Google Ads as the platform, then choose the data you’re looking for (conversions, traffic, or ecommerce). You’ll then see a report based on sample data:
Select “change” in the black box on the right to connect your Google Ads account and see your own information displayed.
And if you’re in the cross-channel marketing game, you can do this for a slew of other platforms, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Analytics, Facebook Page, and more.
4. Google Data Studio’s free Google Ads dashboard templates
Data Studio is another free tool to help you with better PPC reporting. In the free marketing template library, there are reports for:
- Discovery performance
- Search creative performance
- Daily budget depletion (you can also use the Google Ads budget report)
- Display network
- Shopping
- Account health
- Search Impression share
- Search impression share lost (budget & bid)
- Display impression share lost (budget & bid)
- Shopping auction insights
- Local campaign store report
- Search ads 360 data driven attribution
Select any report and in the upper right, click where it says “Click to select your data” so you can connect your account.
Magic!
5. YouTube’s free Google Ads tutorials
If this 12-year-old can master dubstep dance in eight months with YouTube alone, then you can certainly stand to benefit from a Google Ads tutorial or two. Our round-up up of the best Google Ads training courses contains plenty of tutorials. We also have a few of our own, like:
6. Ink’s Free Google Ads description generator
Ink’s free Google Ads description generator uses AI to help you write ads that convert. Of course, you can’t rely on a machine to generate your descriptions. You need to do your keyword research and cultivate ad copy over time based on results. But this tool can help you get ideas to start with, or even for copy elsewhere in your marketing materials.
Enter your product name and “brief concept” of 100 characters or less. Hit create, and see what you get.
It is called a headline generator but it only generates descriptions.
I tried the tool out for our Google Ads Grader.
- Product name: Google Ads Performance Grader
- Brief concept: Free audit of your Google Ads account with score and recommendations.
Here’s what I got:
Not bad, right? I wouldn’t necessarily use these word for word in my Google Ads copy, but there are some good ideas in there, like “in-depth insights,” “how it impacts your bottom line,” and “what’s going on behind the scenes.” And the fact that it came up with terms like bids and advertising budget is pretty cool.
7. WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool
Speaking of doing your keyword research, we’ve got a free tool for that! It’s got a fancy name. It’s called…
…drumroll please…
Enter a term or URL into the tool, choose your location and industry if you so please, and get hundreds of relevant keywords to target with your ads and website content—with cost per click and competition levels for Google and Bing. You can then get the keywords emailed to you in a CSV.
Try our Free Keyword Tool here.
8. StoryLab’s free Google Ads Headline Generator
Here’s another free generator tool for you to try out. In StoryLab’s free Google ad headline generator, enter the name of your product, service, or offering, a brief description, then click “Inspire me!” (that’s a fun call to action phrase).
You’ll have to create a free account to see your results, but no credit card information needed).
I tested this one as well with our Google Ads Grader.
- Name: Google Ads Performance Grader
- Description: Get a free, instant report on your Google Ads account performance, with recommendations on how to improve your score and get more out of your budget.
The results? Not too bad.
- Grade your Google Ads performance instantly.
- See how you stack up! Run a FREE Google
- Grader Report
- Your Google Ads Performance Grader
- Find out exactly how you’re doing and
You get 25 runs free when you create an account and can also try out the Google Ads description generator.
9. WordStream’s free Google Analytics cost data import template
Did you know that you can view your ad costs in Google Analytics for ads other than Google Ads? All you need is the data import tool in Google Ads and a CSV. Easy but not so peasy. That’s why we have a post on how to import your cost data into Google Analytics, step by step. In it you’ll find a free Google sheet template to use in the process.
The post will also show you how to customize your cost analysis report to your liking and see your ROAS.
10. Supermetrics’ free Google Ads budget template
How much does Google Ads cost? This depends on so many things so we can’t give you a definitive answer, but we can give you a tool to help you plan, pace, and stay within your target budget. It’s a free Google Ads budget pacing template by Supermetrics that will help you to keep track of and visualize your budget and projections for any number of accounts. You can even set up email notifications for certain budget thresholds.
You may also be interested in the Google Ads budget report.
Improve your search ad performance with these free Google Ads tools
Whether you’re looking to make Google Ads account optimizations, better track your performance, or write better ad copy, these free tools can help make your life easier. Give them a shot!
- Optimise Lab’s free RSA template
- WordStream’s free Google Ads Performance Grader
- Whatagraph’s free Google Ads reporting template
- Google Data Studio’s free Google Ads dashboard templates
- YouTube’s free Google Ads tutorials
- Ink’s free Google Ads description generator
- WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool
- StoryLab’s free Google Ads Headline Generator
- WordStream’s free Google Analytics cost data import template
- Supermetrics’ free Google Ads budget template
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