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Blog > Google Ads for Skincare Brands

Google Ads Strategy for Brands in 2025

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By Cullen E

A tailored strategy to mastering Google Ads for skincare brands. Expert-level insight and industry specific strategies on how to advertise your skincare products on Google.

Google Ads for Skincare Example

Best Google Ads Strategy for Skincare Brands

Competition in the beauty and skincare industry is FIERCE.

 

And showing potential customers what makes you different, and why they should buy from you, is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face as an online skincare brand.

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In this guide to Google Ads for skincare brands, I go into a lot of detail on how to get into the mindset of your ideal customer and how to use this mindset to build your Google Ads campaigns effectively.

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Before continuing - I always recommend you consult a Google Ads expert when investing into paid advertising campaigns.

Get Into The Mindset of Your Customer

The first step to creating a successful Google Ads campaign is getting into the mind of your ideal customer.

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The goal is to feel their problems so that you can position your product as the solution.

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You'll see why this is important later in your Google Ads campaigns but for now, here are three easy steps to follow.

Step One: Research

I've worked with more than 30 different beauty, health and skincare brands over the years and I can't stress how important good research is to a successful Google Ads campaign.

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Thankfully, it's never been easier to do good research than it is today.

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Heres' how, and where, to learn about your target audience:

 

  • Review website data on Google Analytics or Shopify Analytics

    • Analyze age groups, gender and other demographics

  • Do some stalking (not literally) on Facebook & Instagram

    • Look at followers and comments on your own business page - what are they saying? What are they posting about?

    • Do the same for competitors

    • Join skincare groups that discuss the specific problem you solve - what are the common pain points? What do users find important?

  • Go on Reddit and find Subreddits that discuss the specific problem you solve

  • Sift through customer reviews and testimonials

    • I like to create a tally of specific things users are mentioning in reviews like ‘amazing quality’ ‘great value for money’ or ‘skin feels softer after use’

    • You can also look at competitors’ reviews too if you have a low number of reviews

Skincare Google Ads Reddit Example

Use Reddit to discover unique problems that your customers face and how it affects them.

Step Two: Build a Buyer Persona

Now that the research is done, you next need to build out a buyer persona that puts you in the shoes of your customer.

 

And my best advice to building a buyer persona is to be uber-specific.

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Are they male or female? What's their name? Where do they work? Do they have kids? What do they do in their free time? What problems do they face in every day life?

 

To speed up the process, the Buyer Persona Generator by Rock Content makes this super easy - give it a go!

Step Three: Craft Value Propositions

Value propositions are the defining messages that your brand portrays and shares with potential customers.

 

And it’s how you position your product within your Google Ads copy to acquire new customers over your competitors.

 

To start creating value propositions, we need two lists:

 

  • A list of challenges & pain points your customer faces (you should have this from steps one and two)

  • A list of your product benefits

    • Be sure to list benefits and not features

    • Features are facts about your product whereas a benefit is the result a customer actually gets from your product

    • E.g. ‘Natural organic ingredients’ is a feature whereas ‘Better for sensitive skin’ is a benefit

 

Once you have these two things, you can start drafting up value propositions by matching the benefits with your customers' pain points:

Pain Point
Product Benefit
Value Proposition
Sensitive skin
Natural ingredients that are better for skin
Skin-friendly ingredients that strengthen broken or delicate skin
Red, irritated and dry skin
Designed for dry and tired skin
Hydration-boosting formula that rejuvinates dry skin

Keyword Research and Average CPC in the Skincare Industry

There are two main goals we need to achieve when conducting keyword research:

 

  1. Identify the most relevant searches relating to our product(s)

  2. Identify common ‘buzzwords’ and high-volume terms related to our product(s)

1. Identify the Most Relevant Searches Related to Your Product(s)

Identifying the most relevant search terms is core to how you will set up your Google Ads for success as we will use these as keywords inside our campaigns.

 

I like to create a spreadsheet and export or manually fill-in keyword data for each product.

 

So, if I am researching for a skincare subscription brand, I’ll jump onto Ahrefs or Google’s Keyword Planner entering terms like ‘skincare subscription’ or ‘monthly skincare’.

 

I’ll then input data such as the search term; the monthly search volume; and the estimated CPC into my sheet.

 

The aim here is to find the absolute cream of the crop searches that are most relevant to your brand as these are going to form the base of your Google Ads campaigns as keywords.

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These searches should have a mix of relevance, good search volume and a CPC that is profitable to you.

2. Identify 'Buzzwords' and High-Volume Terms Related to Your Product(s)

Another thing you’ll find when conducting keyword research is a mix of buzzwords or terms that users include in their search.

 

For example, when researching ‘skincare subscription’ we see a LOT of users searching for a ‘skincare subscription box’. 

 

We also find users searching things like ‘men’, ‘korean’ and ‘natural’.

 

If these terms are relevant, we can not only add these as keywords in our campaigns but feed them into our ad copy for more clicks too:

 

'Skincare Subscription Box for Men | Subscribe Today for Just £9.99'

 

And if they’re not relevant, we add them as negatives later to reduce wasted ad spend.

Google Keyword Planner for Skincare Subscription

Average CPC in the Skincare Industry

Google CPC varies widely in the skincare industry due to the number of brands competing for clicks in the space across so many different niches and product types.

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CPC can range anywhere from £0.50 for low ticket items all the way to £4 for clinical skincare products.

Scale Your Online Skincare Brand with Google Ads

Speak to a PPC expert today for a tailored strategy on Google Ads for your skincare brand.

Best Campaign Types for Skincare Brands

For online brands in the skincare industry, you want to focus on a mix of Google Search and Google Shopping campaigns.

Google Search

Google Search campaigns allow you to bid directly for the searches that are most relevant to your brand.

 

Here are some best practices for setting up a profitable Google Search campaign:

 

  • Use the most relevant search terms found in keyword research as keywords

  • Your search ads are tied to your keywords, so always group similar keywords together and separate ad groups by theme to ensure your ads stay relevant

  • Always lead your ad to the most relevant page on your website (this is usually your product page)

  • Include keywords in your headlines and descriptions to improve ad rank

  • Make good use of your value propositions to create an ad that connects with customers

  • Use relevant extensions like images, callouts, sitelinks, price and structured snippets

Google Shopping

Google Shopping is typically cheaper in terms of CPC than a Search campaign and allows you to occupy the product listings section at the top Google search results:

Skincare Google Shopping Example

In order to create a Google Shopping campaign, you must first set up a Google Merchant Centre account and upload a Shopping feed.

 

Whilst creating a Shopping feed is not the most straightforward process, it is the most important part of a Google Shopping campaign.

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You can learn more about how to create a Google Shopping feed here. 

Google Shopping Feed: Best Practices

Once you are familiar on how to set up your feed, here are some tips on creating a feed that dominates Google search results:

 

  • Upload a product image that is high quality and the right dimensions

  • Use a product image that stands out on the Search page

    • Experiment with different colour backgrounds

    • Try using an image of your product in action

  • Include keywords and ‘buzzwords’ in your product title

  • Use custom labels to segment products by price, size, type etc.

  • Experiment with the first 60 characters of your title

  • Use as many relevant product data attributes as possible

  • Make your description around 400-500 characters long with buzzwords and keywords included

How to Write Ad Copy That Connects

Here are some easy tips to follow when writing headlines and descriptions for your Google Search ads:

 

  • Read your skincare product reviews (or competitor reviews) to find things that your customers’ care about, and include these in your ads

  • Always include a CTA e.g. ‘Shop Now’ to drive action

  • Share your unique value proposition(s) in your headlines and descriptions

  • If you’re price competitive, include the price in your headline

  • Aim for 6-8 headline variations that are unique

  • Include your main keywords in at least 2-3 of your headlines

  • Use sentence case in headlines

  • Experiment with special characters like ‘10,000+ Happy Customers’

How to Advertise Skincare Products on Google Ads: Policies You Need to Know

Advertising skincare products on Google Ads often involves a serious set of guidelines and restrictions that you need to be aware of.

 

This is especially important if you’re advertising products that address specific skin conditions like eczema or acne.


Below is a summary of the most relevant guidelines for you to adhere to. However, I strongly advise reading through the official Google Ads documentation as this is an ever-adapting topic and subject to change.

Prohibited Content

Advertising prescription drugs is strictly regulated and, in most cases, prohibited. You must be certified by Google in the country you’re advertising in to advertise prescription drugs.

Permissible Claims

Claims about the efficacy of a product must be supported by scientific evidence. Avoid the use of claims such as ‘clears acne in 4 weeks’ unless you have documentable proof.

 

In general, I recommend avoiding overstatements to prevent your ads from being disapproved.

Restrictions on Certain Ingredients

Some ingredients that are regulated or considered prescription-only cannot be promoted in certain countries.

In Conclusion

Google Ads is one of the best ways for skincare brands of all sizes to go shoulder-to-shoulder with the big names like L’Oreal, Lookfantastic and Elemis.

 

However, one mistake that many brands make is stepping out into the world of PPC without any sort of game plan or strategy.

 

And if you don’t have a game plan in this industry, you’re asking to get burnt.

 

With the strategy we’ve discussed, you’ll be one step ahead of competitors on how to set up profitable Google Ads campaigns that double, triple or even 10x your return on investment.


Still unsure on how to navigate Google Ads for your skincare brand? Book a free 15-minute consultation with a Google Ads expert using my Book a Call page.

Grow Your Online Brand with Google Ads

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