Advertising is essential for businesses to expand their reach and online presence, potentially driving sales. However, advertising costs can add up quickly, especially if you're running campaigns on various platforms. This can be a challenge for those on a tight budget. But did you know that you can actually get free advertising on major platforms like Google? It's true, and it's made possible through free advertising credits.
With free ad credits, you can save on campaigns and still be able to promote your business. I’ll discuss these credits to show you where and how to get them and make them work for your promotions.
What Are Free Ad Credits?
Free ad credits, or advertising credits, are special promotional offers from companies or platforms to their users, especially to business accounts. These are credits they provide to allow users to advertise their services or products without incurring any costs. They’re usually offered as a reward for completing tasks or actions, and although it’s offered in many countries, they may not be offered in some.
You can get up to $500 of free advertising credits from any of these providers, but personally, don’t expect $500 offers all the time. The amount of the credits or promo offered to you can vary and would significantly depend on how much the platform decides to offer. This means it can be less than $500 or more than. Still, it’s free, so no matter the amount, it would remain useful for your ad campaigns and in saving money in your business.
Where and How to Get Free Ad Credits?
There are many marketing platforms that offer and provide business users with free advertising credits and promo codes or vouchers. Below are the platforms and the different ways to get free credits. I’ll also discuss some of the requirements you’d need to fulfill to be eligible to get and use the credits.
1. Google Ads
Google Ads is one of the major platforms that offer free credits to their users. If you want free advertising, Google is one of the best places you’d want your ads to appear. There are five main ways you can get free credits or coupons:
Get Free Ad Credits Directly From Google: Google offers credit to new users. This is to encourage them to learn the service and determine their needs. Existing users who haven’t advertised with them for a period of time might also be offered free credits. You can check out this link to get Google Ads credit.
Free Credits From Hosting Services or Site Builders: There are also web hosting companies that offer free Google Ads credits when you register with them, like HostGator or Bluehost. Some site builders, like Wix and Squarespace, can offer some when you buy through them.
Search Through Valid Coupon Sites: There are also free ad credit coupons in coupon aggregate sites like RetailMeNot and CouponFollow. You can also get valid promo codes for free Google Ads credit from these sites.
Remember, before using a code, make sure it's valid and see if there are any conditions, like expiration dates. If you find a valid code, follow the provided instructions to use it on the advertising platform.
Receive Credit For Eligible Non-Profit Ads: If you’re running ads for a charity or non-profit organization, you can send a grant application where you can get up to $10,000 ad credit. However, remember that this is for registered charities and non-profit organizations only.
Get Free Credits From Storefront Sites: Setting up an online store isn’t the only thing you can do with storefront sites like Shopify. When registering and starting on such sites, you can often claim a Google Ads voucher. You can use this to redeem for free ad credits.
How to Be Eligible for Google Ads Free Credits?
The eligibility criteria for getting free Google Ads credit can vary based on Google's specific terms and conditions. However, here are some of the most common requirements:
2. Facebook
Facebook is one of the biggest social media platforms where you can integrate and promote a business. Like Google, this big platform offers Facebook ad credits to encourage businesses to advertise on their platform.
There are four known ways you can get free credit:
Running Promotions on Facebook: This is one of the most common ways to receive free ad credits on Facebook or Meta. As long as you run in-product promotions, you can get free ad credit offers directly on your business or advertiser account.
Attend an Event or Join a Contest: Facebook often runs contests that give free credits to winners. Other times, Facebook hosts events such as workshops and webinars and gives free ad coupons to the attendees.
Look Online for Coupons: You can also find free Facebook credits on some online coupon sites. Make sure to find valid sites that offer valid coupons.
Sign Up for a Facebook Ads Account: Facebook also offers promo codes to new accounts that plan to advertise on their platform. However, based on forums online, this doesn’t seem to be true all the time.
You can check out this link to get your Facebook ads credit.
How to Be Eligible for Facebook Free Credits?
Unlike with Google Ads, there aren’t clear-cut requirements to be eligible to get them. Most of the time, it would be based on certain actions, like winning contests or spending a specific amount of money on Facebook ads. Still, here are a few things to keep in mind:
3. Bing
Bing ads work similarly to Google ads, and although the traffic quality is lower than Google, many people and businesses still advertise on the platform. It’s also one of the best platforms for dropshipping consumers. So running Bing ads would be ideal if that’s your target audience.
Bing is known to offer free ad credits in five ways:
Sign Up for Bing Ads: New sign-ups can be eligible to get a free credit. Once you sign up, you can check your promotional page for any available free credits or discounts. You might also find some offers in their blogs, as they usually post some. You can check out this link to get your Bing Ads credit.
Through Email Offers: Bing likes to offer promotions to their email subscribers too. You can sign up for their emails to get notified when there’s a new coupon code for free credits.
Follow Bing on Social Media: Bing Ads has many active social media accounts, like Facebook and Twitter. They like to post about new or upcoming promotions like free credits there. To stay updated, you can follow them there.
Look for Affiliate Networks: Often, affiliate networks have deals on their services that may include free ad credits. You can look for Bing affiliate networks and check if they have any free ad credit deals or discounts.
Ask for Referrals: Check with family and friends who are also using Bing Ads. Ask if they have any coupon codes you can use for free ad credits.
How to Be Eligible for Bing Ads Free Credits?
The eligibility of a free ad credit offer depends mainly on what Bing decides. If you ever get one, make sure to read the terms and conditions first to ensure you’re eligible for the offer. For your reference, it usually includes criteria like:
4. Pinterest
Pinterest is also a social media platform where you can run ads. They offer free ad credits ranging from $50 to $500. The only known way to get these credits is through signing up for a new account.
You can sign up directly on Pinterest or through Shopify to get a free credit offer. Once you have your account, you can check the promo section for any available offers and apply for them. Once approved, you can receive your free ad credit within 24 to 48 hours.
You can check out this link to get your Pinterest ads credit.
5. Snapchat
As part of Snapchat’s Snap Accelerate program, Snapchat offers free ad credits to businesses. On its own advertising page, “Snapchat for Business,” you can access and check your free credits. Depending on your ad spend, the amount can vary and reach up to $375, sometimes more.
Like with Pinterest, the only way to get these free credits is by signing up for a new Snapchat account and creating a business account in the Ads Manager.
You can check out this link to get your Snapchat ads credit.
6. LinkedIn
LinkedIn has been known to be a massive hotspot for businesses to gain and generate lots of traffic. And so you can also run ads on the platform to grow your business.
Like the previous social media platforms, the only way to get LinkedIn’s free ad credits is through them. You can get coupon codes for free ad credits from emails you directly receive from LinkedIn, usually after creating a LinkedIn account or signing up for a premium account.
You can check out this link to get your LinkedIn ads credit.
How to Use the Ad Credits for Free Advertising
Free ad credits don't automatically run and get applied on their own. No matter where you get or plan to use the free credits, the way to use them for your business to enjoy free advertising is streamlined.
Here’s a general step-by-step process on how to do so:
1. Sign Up on the Platform
One of the main similarities between these platforms that offer free ad credits is that they prioritize new users. If you still don’t have an account on the platforms you want to get credits from, this is the first step you need to do.
Sign up for a new business account on Google Ads, Bing, and Facebook. When doing so, make sure you have a valid business email address and website. This is to show and indicate that your business is legitimate.
When signing up on other social media platforms, like Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, you can simply sign up for a new user account before you create a business account. This business account is the one you’ll use to advertise and get and use free credits.
2. Look for and Claim Free Ad Credits
Once you have an account, you can start looking for free ad credits and getting them. To do so, check the promotion page on your account for free credit coupons. You can usually easily spot this section; if not, you can check the “billing” or “payment” section. Then, aside from this method, you can try the other methods discussed above based on the platform you’re using.
3. Check for Validity and Eligibility
This is an important step if you have a coupon for a free ad credit. You can’t just blatantly and directly use it on your account and expect it to work for your campaigns. You have to make sure you’re eligible to use it. The best way to do that is to read the terms and conditions thoroughly.
Although the requirements per platform differ, here are some common initial background checks you can do:
4. Redeem the Free Ad Credit
If you’re 100% sure you’re eligible to use the free ad credits, you can then start redeeming it. Go to the “Payment” section or something similar in your account settings to do this. Make sure you have an added payment method already. In the same section, you should be able to see a portion or a space where you can add a promo code.
This promo code — usually composed of 16 alphanumeric characters or 16 digits — will be used to claim the free ad credit. In the payment section, add this code, and you can redeem the free ad credit to your account.
5. Run Ad Campaigns
Redeeming the credit isn’t the end of the line. Although it’s in your account, you still won’t be able to use it without spending on ads first. This is a standard requirement for free ad credits: you have to spend first before they give you free ad credits that you can use for more, but free, campaigns.
The indicated amount on the free ad credit is usually the maximum you can get back after running a campaign. For instance, if you have a $500 free ad credit, you can get back up to $500 once you’ve met the promo’s conditions. But, you first have to spend up to $500 ad spend. It’s okay if you don’t reach that max amount as well. The credit will give you the same amount you spent if you meet the conditions.
6. Receive Free Ad Credits and Enjoy
As long as you meet the conditions of the offer, you will automatically receive the free ad credit on your account. You can then use this ad credit to run more campaigns on the platform with that amount as your budget.
Boost Your Advertising Campaign with Free Ad Credits
Running ads is a great way to grow your business. No matter what kind of business you have, you can benefit from free ad credits. These credits help you make your ads more effective on different platforms without extra costs. Using free ad credits broadens your audience and saves you money. So, whether you're a small or big business, grab the chance to boost your ads without spending more.
Let us know your experience with free ad credits in the comments! We would love to hear them!
