A guide to Google Ads for Equestrian and Rural Businesses

Written By Jemma Lynch

Google Ads remains one of the most powerful advertising platforms in the UK and worldwide, reaching millions of users with highly customisable targeting options. For businesses in the equestrian and rural sectors, Google Ads' targeting capabilities are particularly beneficial. You can tailor your adverts to specific keywords, demographics, interests, and locations, ensuring that your message reaches those most likely to be interested in your products or services.

Tips for Successful Google Advertising Campaigns

Just like our Meta ads guide, the first step is to understand the functionalities available to you through Google Ads.

  • Ad Manager: The central hub for creating, managing, and analysing your Google Ads campaigns. It provides tools for setting up ads, adjusting bids, and tracking performance.

  • Keyword Planner: A tool that helps you research keywords, get estimates on search volume and costs, and plan your keyword strategy effectively.

  • Google Analytics: Integrates with Google Ads to provide deeper insights into user behaviour on your website, helping you understand how visitors interact with your site and optimise accordingly.

  • Ad Extensions: Enhance your ads with additional information such as your business location, phone number, links to specific pages on your site, and more, making your ads more informative and compelling.

  • Audience Targeting: Build custom audiences based on your existing customer data, website traffic, or app activity. This allows you to target ads to people who are already familiar with your brand.

  • Google Shopping: Promote your products with ads that include product images, prices, and your business name, appearing in Google Shopping results.

  • Dynamic Search Ads: Automatically generate ads based on the content of your website, helping you cover a wider range of search queries without having to manage a large keyword list.

  • Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool: Allows you to see how your ads appear in search results and diagnose any issues that might be affecting their performance.

1. Build a Strategy

A well-defined strategy should be established before setting up your campaign. Are you looking to increase website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales?

  • Set Up Conversion Events: Determine the specific actions you want users to take, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. Set up conversion tracking in Google Ads to measure these actions and evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns.

2. Choose Your Campaign Type

Based on your goals, you can choose from several Google Ads campaign types, each suited to different objectives:

  • Search Campaigns: Best for generating leads and driving traffic. These show text ads on Google search results when users search for keywords related to your business. Ideal for targeting users actively searching for equestrian or rural products and services.

  • Display Campaigns: Best for brand awareness and retargeting. Display image ads on websites across the Google Display Network. Ideal for visually promoting your brand to a broader audience and re-engaging past visitors.

  • Shopping Campaigns: Best for e-commerce businesses looking to increase sales. Promote your products with ads that appear in Google Shopping, showing product images, prices, and your business name. Ideal for showcasing your inventory directly in search results.

  • Video Campaigns: Best for brand storytelling and engagement. Show video ads on YouTube and other Google partner sites. Ideal for promoting events, showcasing testimonials, or delivering engaging content about your products and services.

  • App Campaigns: Best for driving app downloads and engagement. Promote your mobile app across various Google platforms. Ideal for businesses with a mobile app looking to increase installations and in-app activity.

3. Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy

Determine how much you want to spend on your campaign. Google Ads allows you to set a daily budget and choose a bidding strategy that aligns with your goals. Common bidding strategies include:

  • Manual CPC: Control your maximum cost-per-click for ads.

  • Enhanced CPC: Adjusts your manual bids to help you get more conversions.

  • Target CPA: Sets bids to help you get as many conversions as possible at your target cost-per-acquisition.

  • Target ROAS: Optimises bids to maximise conversion value while achieving your target return on ad spend.

  • Maximise Clicks: Automatically sets bids to help you get the most clicks within your budget.

4. Keyword Research and Selection

Keyword research is critical to the success of your search campaigns. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to identify relevant keywords for your business. Focus on long-tail keywords specific to equestrian and rural industries, such as "horse riding lessons Nottingham" or "buy agricultural equipment UK."

5. Create Compelling Ad Copy

Your ad copy should be engaging and relevant to the keywords you're targeting. Highlight the unique selling points of your products or services and include a clear call-to-action (CTA). Ensure your ad copy aligns with the content on your landing page for a seamless user experience.

Keyword Bidding Strategies

1. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are more specific and less competitive, making them cost-effective for small businesses. For example, instead of bidding on "horse riding," consider "affordable horse riding lessons in Nottingham."

2. Use Negative Keywords

Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. This helps you save money and improve the relevance of your ads. For example, if you sell premium horse feed, you might add "cheap" as a negative keyword.

3. Adjust Bids Based on Performance

Regularly review the performance of your keywords and adjust bids accordingly. Increase bids for high-performing keywords and reduce bids for those that are underperforming. Use Google Ads' automated bidding strategies to help optimise your bids based on your goals.

Measuring and Optimising Ad Performance

1. Track Key Metrics

Monitor key metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost-per-click (CPC), and return on ad spend (ROAS). These metrics provide insights into how well your ads are performing and where adjustments are needed.

2. Use Conversion Tracking

Set up conversion tracking to measure actions that users take after clicking your ads, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.

3. A/B Testing

Conduct A/B tests on different ad elements, such as headlines, descriptions, and CTAs. A/B testing helps you identify which variations perform best and refine your ads for better results.

Get Started with Pelham Digital

If you want to get started with Google Ads but don't know where to begin, Pelham Digital can help. We specialise in results-driven marketing and can handle all aspects of Google campaigns, from setup to execution. With experience running multi-million-pound ad campaigns, we ensure your equestrian or rural business achieves its advertising goals and reaches new customers.


Jemma Lynch
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