Google Ads: 10 Steps To Advertising Perfection
Whether you are seeking to monetize your blog or watch your website ROI soar, Google ads are the way to go. It works by finding ads that are related to your content. Formerly known as AdWords, google ads use the pay per click (PPC) marketing strategy.
There are various ways of targeting your ads depending on the type of your business. The platform comes with several tabs and options that can be rather overwhelming. In addition, AdWords marketing campaigns eat up a rather large portion of your advertising budget. Therefore, it is crucial that you learn the best way to use it. So here are some of the steps to help you make the most out of AdWords.
1. Track the Negative Keywords
One of the many reasons why internet users have mixed reactions about ads is that sometimes they receive irrelevant ad content. A negative keyword is what will save you from such. They prevent your ad from being triggered by some words or phrases that aren’t closely related to the ad content. In other words, it returns a negative match for any content you don’t want appearing in the ad content.
Here’s an example: You are running an online software company that sells enterprise software. Using general keywords like “software” is likely to attract broad queries such as “learn software engineering for free”, “HP software for PC”, “PC antivirus”, or “software upgrade for your office PC”. If you want to block such ads include everything you don’t need under negative keyword. It could be a specific keyword such as “PC” or a phrase like “learn software engineering for free”.
2. Drive Relevant Search Clicks with Single Keyword and Ad Groups
Whenever you are inserting a keyword to your AdWords, it is imperative that you avoid several keywords that aren’t related in a specific way. Focus more on single keywords that capture a wide range of queries. Long tail keywords may also work. These work better as explained in this example. Consider a marketing campaign for plumbing services. As you set up the AdWords, Google requires you to choose the keywords that can be triggered by search queries in your site. Possible keywords for plumbing could be “kitchen plumbing”, “expert plumber”, “local plumbing”, “London plumbers”, and “commercial plumbing”. Choosing all these at once will most likely fail. For example, whoever’s looking for a “kitchen plumber” isn’t the same as the one looking for a “commercial plumber”. Similarly, one looking for a “London plumber” may not be effectively targeted by the keyword “expert plumber” as it is too general.
The trick is to be specific by using single-keyword ad groups. In the example, a great solution would be to use various match types such as modified broad (+keyword), phrase match (“keyword”) and exact match ([keyword]) as shown.
+Kitchen +plumber +London
“Kitchen plumber London”
[Kitchen plumber London]
These are much more specific and will capture all the variations for kitchen plumbers if that’s what you offer. Consequently, the ads seen by your traffic will be more relevant resulting in higher click-through rates.
3. Make Use of all the Available AdWords Content
The AdWords of nowadays offer extra space for additional content. You can use this to provide more details about your product or service. So make sure not to leave those extra spaces empty. Here is a breakdown of how to go about it to make the most out of your AdWords campaign.
Final URL- here, insert a unique URL that leads the traffic to a powerful landing page.
Headline 1- insert the name of your brand and what you offer.
Headline- insert content to back up the services that you mentioned in the first field.
Path 1- insert the geographical location that you seek to target
Path 2- you can use this to put everything you have already mentioned into context.
Description- what you include in this field will do the actual conversion of potential customers. A short and pithy description of your product/service and practical ways in which it applies to the customers’ needs. A CTA would also suffice in this section.
4. Make your AdWords Campaigns Mobile-Friendly
Mobile phones have become ubiquitous and should be considered just as much as PCs in ad campaigns. Make sure to get the format right for your mobile users. You might even consider separating mobile ad campaigns from those of other platforms. But before you do that, find out which platform is offering the best conversions in your analytics. If it is mobile, you can employ negative keywords to omit queries originating from desktops.
A great technique with regards to mobile-optimization is to insert site-link extensions to the ads targeted for mobile users. One thing you need to know is that most mobile users browse on the go. This implies that they might not have the time to abandon what they were browsing to go to a foreign link. Bring the content right to them on the ad itself and let them consume it right at that moment.
Also, don’t forget to change device preferences to mobile when adding the site-link extension.
In summary, using Google AdWords is quite effective but requires you to be savvy. Get enough information before you begin rolling out big money into robust AdWords campaigns. Also, think of it as an investment which will come back when your site gains web dominance. While you are at it, pay attention to trends that Google rolls out often to stay a step ahead.
Did you enjoy this post?
Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest articles, direct to your inbox.
