A lot of companies think too easy about setting up a Google Ads campaign. It is more than simply adding in some keywords you want to be found on and throw in a budget. There is more then meets the eye and in this article, I would like to list out 5 important points you should always note when setting up your campaign.
1. Expecting too much of your Google Ads campaign
Good campaigns take time, no matter how much the budget is. In many cases companies with low budgets often have high expectation fort heir Google Ad campaigns. Truth is the lower the budget the less opportunity you have to test diffirent ads and optimize them. Optimizing a campaign takes time and also requires a good budget that you can work with.
Another thing to take into account is to use the right marketing mix in your campaigns. This is related to your product, price and place your advertising with. If one of these factors does not match well enough you are missing out on what your potential target group is looking for.
2. Setting up the right conversion of your campaign
A key part of your campaign is setting up the right conversion. You can set up a custom conversion for your website or app. This can be done for a purchase online or a completed contact form up to the click of a button. You can also choose to track calls or import conversion of another google tool such as Google analytics.
Remember that any campaign can generate a lot of impressions and clicks. But if the visitor does not complete the desired conversion then it does not benefit your company. Therefor you must always make sure that the right conversion is set in your google ads campaign. You can set up the conversion by going to Tools & Settings> Conversions.
3.Too broad advertising
Search terms containing several words can be matched with search results in many different ways. If nota ware of this your campaign might automatically use the broad search term function. This means you will bid on certain search terms but also automatically on synonyms and terms that are similar to the search term.
Next to broad match keywords, there are many other match types that you can use as keywords in order to make your campaign more suitable for your visitors:
-Modified broad match, for example + selling + second-hand + cars. Your ad will be shown if a search is matching one of these words, no matter in which order.
-Phrase match, for example ‘second-hand car seller’. Your ad will only be shown to anyone matching the exact same search term. But by using the Phrase match your ad could also be shown if the search term is ‘second-hand car seller New York’
-Exact match, for example [second-hand car seller]. Your ad will only be shown if someone searches exactly for ‘second-hand car seller’ in that order.
4.Always try to use A/B testing
You have the option to set multiple ads for each ad group under your campaign. In this way, you can test which ad will perform better for each ad group by comparing the click-through rate or conversion rate over a certain period of time. You can do this by using different titles and descriptions for each advertisement. You can replace bad performing ads with new ones in order to optimize your ad groups.
Read more on A/B testing on Neil Patel’s: A Beginner’s Guide to A/B Testing: Better Pay-Per-Click Ads
5. Adding negative search terms
A negative search term (or word) is a search term on which you do not want your ad to be shown. By adding negative search terms you can exclude possible searches that are not relevant for your business or company. This will make your ad more relevant and ensures that you are not wasting money on irrelevant clicks.
For example, imagine you are advertising for a ‘city bike ride’. If customers have to pay for your service then “free” should be excluded from your ad campaign. When people search for ‘free city bike ride” and they find your ad they will leave as soon as they find out that you are offering a paid service. This results in you paying for an irrelevant click, which could have been avoided by excluding the word “free”
So here are 5 mistakes you should really look out for when setting up a campaign in Google Ads. Please let me know what you think of these points and if I should maybe add on another one. Cheers!
