You used to be able to “SEO” your way to the top of the Google search results in the past. It was hard work and never a guarantee, but now even that isn’t really a thing anymore.
The Google search results are pretty chaotic lately. You may have an AI overview at the top, sponsored results everywhere, shopping results, map packs, a “people also asked” section and countless other on-page sections and elements. The layout is all over the place. If you ask me, Google has lost the plot in that respect. The results are chaos.
If you’re old like I am, you’ll remember what Yahoo was like in the 1990s. It was a hot mess:
Google came along with a super-simple homepage and, after you submitted a query, just 10 search results. People loved Google because of its simplicity and the quality of the results. Here is what the Google search results looked like in 2005:
Other than it being a substantial wall of text, the layout is as simple as it gets. Pretty easy to scan. Pretty easy to find what you’re looking for.
But history tends to repeat itself and so here we are again! Here is a Google results page in 2026:
Google search result page in 2026. Looks pretty busy if you ask me!
How Do You Get to the Top of Google in 2026?
Answer: Google Ads.
This was always the case – even as far back as 2004. You could always rank #1 on Google if you were willing to pay for it. And you didn’t have to wait months to get there.
There is an important thing I should clear up.
Search result layouts and on-page elements do change with every query. There are instances where no ad may be shown at the top of a specific query. But for the most part, many queries do display sponsored results (ads) at the top of the page.
Does Showing up at the Top of Google Even Really Matter if You’re Running Ads?
Not really.
Generally, people who run ads only care if people click on the ad. So it doesn’t matter if your ad ranks higher than a competitor. As a matter of fact, you may not want to bid for the top-most position if it’s going to be expensive.
There is certainly a case to be made that you’d prefer to be lower down the search results page if the price is more affordable. Remember, with Google Ads you pay by the click. If you’re getting better-priced clicks in another location (other than the very top), why not go for that? The only drawback is you might get fewer clicks throughout the week.
Don’t Forget – You Can Show up at the Top of Google for Thousands of Different Searches
Some people get myopic about Google Ads and SEO. They think of one keyword they want to rank for. You have to remember there are thousands of searches you can show up for and even questions. Once you start to think about this a bit, you can see there are a lot of ways to tackle your Google advertising strategy.
What that comes down to is you’re going to have to plan and design many different landing page variations to best handle these different types of keyword searches. Don’t just send all your Google Ads clicks to your homepage!
You Can Choose Which Cities to Show Up In – and Which to Avoid
This is another important detail. Google Ads has some pretty darn good geographic targeting. Limiting your ads to show up in specific geographies is really powerful. You will find that some cities are more competitive than others, or that some cities have better customers than others (depending on what you do). Picking the zip codes you want to target is a really important part of your ads strategy.
A classic beginner mistake is to run ads across the entire United States. If you’re a large brand, that may make sense, but if you’re a small local business that’s going to be costly.
You Can Choose What Time of the Day You Want Your Ad Shown
Timing ads can be an incredibly important detail that many people forget about. I’ve seen people target ads when they weren’t open, only to spend money on leads when no one is answering the phone! Or they were busy with a client meeting or appointment and couldn’t answer the phone.
There are also times of the day when your competitors aren’t advertising or are closed for business. These can be little sweet spots that you can target and clean up when no one is paying attention.
Finally, you may want to not advertise when the other side of the world is awake. In some industries, your overseas competitors are running ads or even trying to waste your ad budget. By not running ads 24 hours a day, you can save some money.
We Help Businesses With Their Google Ads
Judicious, Inc. has been running Google Ads campaigns for businesses across the United States and Canada since 2015 – from subscription-based software companies to automotive repair and home services.
Here is why we think you should consider Judicious, Inc. when it comes to Google Ads management:
- We’re affordable. We don’t charge a percentage based on your Google Ads spend.
- We’re flexible. There’s no multi-month contract. We work at your pace and budget.
- We may end up MAKING you understand your business better than you already do. Because that’s the real key to success.
There is no, “Oh yeah – looks like Google Ads doesn’t work with your business – better luck next time!” with us. We’re going to distill down what really makes your business tick with Google Ads. It’s a completely different process that most advertising agencies don’t get into.