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Google Ads 'biggest misunderstanding: You think you are buying traffic, but you are actually buying "purchasing intent"

Published2026-07-10Authorhenry10 viewsSource奇点数聚
#News#Google SEO#Weixin Official Accounts

If you do B2B foreign trade, I want to ask you a question first. Suppose there are two people searching on Google at the same time.

If you do B2B foreign trade, I want to ask you a question first.
Suppose there are two people searching on Google at the same time.
First person searched:

What is industrial water pump?

Second person search:

Industrial water pump manufacturer in China

Who would you like to show your ads to?
Many people will think this is a very simple question.
Of course it was the second person.
Because he's more like a customer.
What's interesting is that when most companies invest in Google Ads, they keep spending money to chase the first person.

One year, I finally understood why Google made so much money.

It was at the Hanover Messe in Germany.
Near the end of the exhibition, a purchasing manager from the Netherlands chatted with us.
He said something that I still remember to this day.
He said:

"In fact, we had already screened out most suppliers on Google before contacting them. "`

I asked him:
How to screen?
He said it easily.

"At different stages, the things you search are different. "`

When you first started to understand a product.
I will search:
What is...
How does...
Types of...
When I started comparing options.
The search term will become:
Best...
Compare...
Advantages...
Wait until you are really ready to purchase.
What appears in the search box already reads:
Manufacturer
Supplier
OEM
Factory
Quotation
After he finished speaking, I suddenly realized something.
What Google really sells is not advertising space.
Instead:
The moment a purchasing manager decided to start looking for suppliers.
Later, I watched Google Ads again.
Many things that I couldn't figure out before were suddenly figured out.

We always thought we were buying keywords, but in fact we were buying a person's purchasing stage.

Over the years, I have looked at many corporate Google Ads accounts.
Making auto parts.
Making laboratory equipment.
Make LED lighting.
There are also food packaging, furniture hardware, and industrial automation equipment.
The industry is completely different.
The product is completely different.
But one phenomenon is surprisingly consistent.
The keywords that bosses like to buy most are almost the most searched in the industry.
For example:
LED Light
Bearing
Valve
Packaging Machine
Laboratory Equipment
Why?
Because of the high search volume.
Everyone will think:
The more people you search, the greater the opportunities.
But here comes the problem.
Google never told you.
Who is the person searching for these words?
Someone is doing graduation projects.
Someone is writing an industry report.
Someone just looked at the pictures.
Someone wants to repair equipment.
Some people are colleagues.
Of course, there are also buyers.
That's the problem.
Google will not help you filter these people.
You click once.
Advertising fees will still be deducted.
So.
What's really expensive is never clicks.
Instead:
You showed the ad to someone who would never have made a deal.

Later, I studied less and less keywords and began to study purchasing managers

In the past, I was like many companies.
Research keyword tools every day.
Look at the search volume.
Look at the level of competition.
Look at the click price.
Later discovered.
These are just superficial.
What is really worth studying is purchasing managers.
Because purchasing managers don't search for a sentence for no reason.
Every search.
There is actually one action behind it.
For example:
Search:
What is CNC Machining
It means he is still learning.
Search:
CNC Machining vs Casting
Explain that he started comparing plans.
Search:
Custom CNC Machining Supplier
It means that he has started looking for suppliers.
Search:
CNC Machining quotation
Explain that he is ready to make an inquiry.
See?
Have the keywords changed?
changed.
But what really changes is not the keywords.
Instead:
Purchasing intent.
What Google really recognizes is not those English words.
Instead:
Where is this person in the procurement process now?

Why do the keywords for real deals seem so "unpopular"

Once, a company that made industrial connectors showed me the background.
The boss didn't understand.
He said:
"Why is this keyword searched by only a few dozen people a month, but clicks are still so expensive? "
The word is:
Custom Waterproof Connector Manufacturer
He said:
"It's better to buy a Waterproof Connector because the search volume is large. "
I asked him:
If you are ready to purchase now.
How would you search?
The boss thought for a moment.
Smiling.
He said:
"I should still search Manufacturer. "
In fact, this is the answer.
Many keyword searches are really small.
But they are expensive.
Because all suppliers know:
The person who searched for this sentence was already very close to the order.
Google certainly knows.
So.
Google does not charge for keywords.
It increasingly seems to be following:
Charge for purchase value.
The clearer the procurement intention is.
The more fierce the competition.
The more expensive the clicks are.

What Google Ads really competes for is not ranking, but the customer's last search

Many bosses like to ask:
Why is clicks getting more and more expensive?
In fact, there is one more question worth asking.
Why is this click worth so much money?
Because Google knows.
Purchasing managers don't search endlessly.
When you are really ready to purchase.
The number of searches he searched became less and less.
Even in the end, only three to five suppliers will be contacted.
All companies are rushing for these searches.
Really valuable.
Not the previous ones:
What is...
How to...
But the last few times:
Manufacturer
Supplier
Factory
Quotation
Because.
It's closest to the order.

Purchasing managers have never studied Google Ads

Many bosses study the advertising backstage every day.
Research quality score.
Research click-through rates.
Study negative keywords.
But purchasing managers won't.
He just opened Google as usual.
Enter a sentence.
Then get back to work.
He doesn't even know.
At this moment.
There are more than a dozen companies competing for his search.
The real thing about Google is not its advertising system.
Instead, it can almost judge:
This person is here to learn.
Still here to spend money.
So.
What Google Ads really sells is not traffic.
It sells judgment.
Determine who is more likely to make a deal.
Then show him the ad.

This is why I increasingly dislike asking customers what keywords they are going to vote for

I prefer to ask a few other questions now.
When did your customers begin to realize their needs?
When do you start comparing plans?
When do you start looking for suppliers?
When do you start applying for a quote?
When do you start entering the purchasing list?
If there are no answers to these questions.
No matter how beautifully you choose the keywords.
Just a guess.
A truly great Google Ads account.
They are actually answering the same question.
What are the customers going to do now?
Instead of:
What the customer searched for.

written in the end

Many companies have always felt that.
Google Ads is buying traffic.
Later, I felt more and more.
This is a misunderstanding.
Traffic is just a symptom.
Clicking is just a formality.
Keywords are just entrances.
What is really valuable is the customer's few minutes of attention before preparing to purchase.
So.
Google Ads has never been a traffic competition.
It's more like a competition for timing.
Who can appear when customers decide to purchase?
Whoever has a better chance of entering the supplier list.
As for how to set up the advertising backstage.
Keywords how to bid.
These are of course important.
But they are all at the back.
Because it is never Google that really determines the effectiveness of advertising.
but customers.
To be precise.
It's when the customer decides to start purchasing.

Want to apply these ideas to your own website?