Helping You Get The Most Out Of Google Ads

In our modern world, the internet and smartphones help to enhance and streamline everything we do, and that includes how people shop for goods and services. In order to be effective marketers, this is something that we must both recognise and take full advantage of, which is why online endeavours are essential.

One of the most popular mediums for these is Google Ads. Managed properly, it can deliver results that give you a great return on investment; used poorly, it could cost more money that it’s bringing in. That’s why we’ve written this article to help you make the most of it.

Common Google AdWords Mistakes

Mistake #1: Incorrectly Grouping Keywords

Those who use Google Ads will know that it gives you the ability to break keywords down into ad groups, in order to help manage multiple types of campaigns, but lots of people fail to take advantage of this, which is a mistake that you really don’t want to make. Rather than lumping all of your keywords into one group so that the same ad is shown to everyone and your click-through is reduced, keep your groups down to 20 carefully chosen words or less to increase effectiveness.

Mistake #2: Using Incorrect Keyword Matches

Another common mistake is for individuals to ignore their ability to use broad match, phrase match, and exact match keywords. Each of these has a unique function, one that can be used to the advantage of your business, so make sure that you know how to utilise them to your benefit. We recommend starting with exact matches, before expanding into phrase matches and broad matches as and when they’re needed to effectively deliver a maximal number of conversions.

Mistake #3: Not Using Negative Keywords

Don’t forget to also take advantage of your ability to exclude keywords that are not a complementary match for your product. Google Analytics is great for helping you to identify these, as it will provide more in-depth information than that supplied by Ads regarding specific keyword searches.

Mistake #4: Relying On Creativity Rather Than Numbers

Everybody wants to love their ad copy, especially if they’ve written it themselves, but if you’re an enterprising entrepreneur trialling various options to see what works best, always make your final decision based on click-through rates and/or conversions rather than your personal preferences. Test, test, and then test again, only stopping when you have a final result that delivers the sales you’ve been seeking.

Mistake #5: Not Bidding On Your Own Brand

A lot of retailers and service providers make the mistake of not bidding on their own brand, assuming that because they rank for it, they needn’t advertise for it. This is something that other companies can capitalise on. Bearing in mind that those searching for your company are more likely to convert than any other group, make sure that you bid the highest for yours.

Mistake #6: Not Knowing The Lifetime Value Of Customers

If you’ve never calculated the LTV of your customers, then you won’t ever really know how much to spend on Ads per acquisition. This is something you ought to rectify. Take a look at how to calculate yours, do your sums, and then manage your campaigns accordingly, in the newfound knowledge that your strategy makes strong financial sense.

Mistake #7: Failing To Test Optimal Ad Position

Did you know that if you’re attempting to improve branding, it’s recommended that you’re in either the first or second ad position, whereas if you wish to get better results, research suggests you’ll do better in positions three to five? Although this may go against everything you think you know, it’s absolutely true, which is why you really need to test which ad position works best for your business. This can be easily achieved by raising or lowering your bid on cost per click to see how much you actually need to be paying to get conversions.

Mistake #8: Not Directing Visitors To The Appropriate Product Or Category Page

Perhaps the biggest mistake of all for those utilising Google Ads is a failure to direct customers to the appropriate product or category page, instead sending everyone to your home screen and expecting them to do all of the legwork for themselves. Take people straight to what they’re searching for instead, and you’ll soon see an increase in conversions.