10 Ways to Optimise Your Google Ad Campaign
by Amelia Hodges on May 3, 2022 in Online Marketing
Google Ads are paid advertisements that appear on Google's search engine results pages (SERPs). They are triggered by certain keywords that users enter into the search box. When someone searches for one of your keywords, your ad may appear at the top of the SERPs, along with other ads.
To use Google Ads, you first need to create an account and set up your campaign. You'll need a clear understanding of your marketing objectives, as well as the keywords that you want to target. Then, you simply enter those keywords into your ad campaign, along with text for your advertisement and a budget for how much you're willing to spend on each click.
If you’re a beginner there are a few things you should keep in mind when creating Google ads. We compiled our top 10 tips for executing a successful Google ads campaign below.
1. Choose the right keywords:
When setting up your campaign, focus on words that people will actually use when searching for what you offer. Use tools like Google Trends and the AdWords Keyword Planner to learn about how frequently certain terms are being searched and which ones tend to bring in the most traffic.
2. Narrow down your targets until you have specific, well-defined audiences that match what you’re offering:
The more specific your targeting, the more likely you are to reach people who are interested in what you have to say.
“If you run a location specific service it can be essential to include the location in the ad copy” says business owner Mass, who utilises Google ads to advertise his mobile rendering company, “Not only will adding the location to the ad notify potential customers of the service area, but it will also help Google to identify who will find the ad most useful and relevant”.
3. Keep your ads relevant and informative:
No one wants to see a generic ad that could apply to any business – make sure yours is specific to what you do and why someone should choose you over other options. This is a great opportunity to showcase your “unique selling proposition” or “USP” which is the thing that sets you apart from your competition and is unique to your brand.
4. Pay attention to your ad’s “quality score”:
Your quality score is a measure of how relevant and useful Google believes your ad is. The higher your quality score, the better chance you have of being seen by potential customers.
5. Set up conversion tracking:
This will allow you to see how many people who saw your ad ended up taking the desired action, whether that’s signing up for your newsletter or making a purchase.
“This will help you gauge the effectiveness of your campaign and make necessary adjustments” says e-commerce lash retailer Lashstreet, “It is what online advertising is most useful for and it can save you a lot of time and money that could be lost if you continue pushing an ineffective campaign”.
6. Don’t be afraid to experiment:
Try different ad formats, copy, and targeting options to see what works best for you. And keep in mind that it may take some time to find the perfect combination – don’t give up too soon!
7. Make use of negative keywords:
Negative keywords are words or phrases that you don’t want your ad to show up for. By excluding them from your campaigns, you can avoid wasted clicks and improve your overall performance.
“We utilise this trick when advertising homes to distinguish between renters and buyers” explains real estate agent Nathan Hunt, “Our ad copy often has locations and general terms like real estate in them which means they can be served to both renters and buyers even if it is advertising a home for sale, by blocking out negative keywords like rent we can mostly limit the receiving audience to people looking to buy”.
8. Keep an eye on your competition:
Oftentimes you can get some great ideas for ad copy by simply googling your keywords and seeing what ads popup. It may show you some offers you could draw inspiration from or even some keywords you could include in your ad. If you see that a competitor is getting more clicks or conversions than you are, do some research to figure out why, and then adjust your strategy accordingly.
9. Test everything:
Don’t just rely on what worked yesterday – experiment with new ad types, copy, images, and more to find the combinations that give you the best results.
10. Ensure you use capital letters and symbols correctly:
Google will likely reject ads with incorrect usage of symbols like “@” and “!”. They may even knock you back if you don’t punctuate properly. You can ensure your text has correct capitalisation from start to finish by using a tool like “Capitalize My Title”.
The key to success with Google Ads is in choosing the right keywords and writing effective advertisements. There are many tools available online that can help you do this more effectively, so be sure to take advantage of them. And remember that it may take some time and experimentation before you find what works best for you and your business.
Ultimately, Google Ads can serve as a potent tool for marketing your online business. By investing time and effort in implementing effective digital marketing strategies, you can leverage Google Ads to reach a broader audience and significantly enhance your sales.