Starting a new Search Engine Marketing Strategy and Google Ad Campaign can be daunting for beginners, but there are common mistakes even experienced PPC Specialists can make that can cause you to target the wrong audience and wasting ad budget. We are going to explore the most common mistakes we see when we take over Google Ad accounts that are under performing.
What are Google Ads?
Google Ads are a vehicle for businesses to advertise in the Google Search Engine as well as their search partners so that businesses can get more visibility for their brand and website.
How Can Google Ads Help You Advance Your Business Goals?
Google Ads can be effective for businesses who are looking to reach a new and wider audience that they may have trouble achieving with other marketing services. Additionally, Google Ads can be helpful for companies that have not established a strong search engine optimization strategy which has left them struggling to gain visibility organically in search engines. This is especially true for websites with limited content and startup companies that have yet to build up domain authority.
Common Mistakes in Google Ads and How to Resolve Them
1. Keyword Intent in Your Bidding Strategy
It is very tempting to target any keyword that relates to your business, but choosing keywords that don’t have a strong intent can lead to overspending and attracting searches who have something else in mind other than your business. Make sure to use long tail keywords with stronger intent. For example, if you were a moving company you wouldn’t want to bid on the term “moving” as those searches may be looking for anything related to moving such as homes, realtors, packing tips, etc. Instead, using longtail keywords or multiple keyword phrases can better target potential customers that need a mover such as “moving company” or “moving company near me”. There are many keyword tools available including Google’s own, but a place to start is to simply put yourself in your customers shoes and consider what you would type into a search engine to find your business.
Additionally, make sure when implementing your keywords you are using the best keyword match type. For example, during the learning phase of your ad campaign, you may want to restrict your keywords to an exact match as your bidding strategy. This helps lessen the keywords you may have to pay for and add to your negative keyword list.
2. Monitoring Keywords
After implementing your target keywords it is incredibly important to monitor those keywords at least daily for the first few weeks of your campaign going live. The first few weeks are critical as this is when Google’s algorithm is learning and no matter how restrictive your keywords are Google will experiment with showing your ads for keywords you did not chose to bid on. This is where monitoring and using the negative keyword tool is leveraged. Check your searched terms daily to see what keywords Google shows your ad for and if you don’t feel it has the correct keyword intent add these keywords to your negative keyword list so that you don’t continue to pay for keywords that aren’t targeting your customers and which won’t result in new business for you.
3. Search Area
You can Geo target your ads to only show in certain areas. You may be targeting the entire country you live in, a single state or province or perhaps a small radius around a brick and mortar location. However, after you choose your target make sure to click on “location options” as here you will see further options on if you want to show your ads to searches in your location or those who have searched your location. This choice is hidden by default and if you aren’t careful missing this choice can lead to showing ads to users outside your target area. This mistake can lead to maxing out both your daily or monthly ad budget depending on when this mistake is caught.
4. Google Recommendations
Within Google Ads, there is a tab for recommendations from Google. This is an important area to monitor as it can provide incredibly helpful information on how to further optimize your ads, however make sure to review and consider each recommendation before you accept the change. Not all of the recommendations will make sense for your business. The more information you give Google the better your ads perform so review these recommendations often, but be critical in what you implement or dismiss.
Google Ads can be an incredibly important marketing tool for your business, but it is easy to make costly mistakes so make sure if you are running your ads, have a staff member running them or if you are using a 3rd party agency to manage them that you understand the strategy and that you are also participating and monitoring the progress of your ads. Investing in this time will only improve your marketing strategy.
Need help with starting your Google Ad Strategy? Point of Action has a variety of services to help support you from full ad management to providing audits and training. Contact us for a free consultation if you are interested in learning more.
