Updated: April 1, 2024
Have you tried Google Ads in the past and found that it wasn’t producing the results you had initially hoped for? Sadly, this is a common tale for many business owners – however, it doesn’t have to be. The way people find businesses today makes being accessible on Google a necessity for any business to grow. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t have the time or resources to rely on the long waits for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to start showing results (this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t try to improve your organic rankings or invest in SEO services, it will just take some time for your efforts to produce upward momentum). This is where Google Ads comes into play. Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising can get your website in front of interested people, quickly. But just because you have placed ads on Google, doesn’t automatically guarantee results. Competition for people’s attention online is steep and clicks can be difficult to obtain if your PPC strategy is lacking.
Instead of blindly running ads and hoping for the best, by properly strategizing and optimizing your PPC campaigns, you can begin to truly utilize the power of Pay Per Click. When developing your campaign, there are a few things to consider, not only for ad creation but for analysis and optimization as well. To find out more about the fundamentals of a winning PPC strategy, continue reading!
Tips For Creating More Effective Ads
- Single Keyword Ad Groups
Google allows multiple keywords in a single ad group, but it is more effective to use a single keyword for each ad group. This allows you to get highly targeted with your ads. Having multiple keywords in an ad group means that the same ads will show for different keywords. Reducing the number of keywords to one gives you more control over what people online will see. A simple and effective way to see your click through rates increase, and to more easily keep track of which keywords are pulling the most weight, is to use two ad variants per keyword in single keyword ad groups. Relevancy is key to running an effective PPC campaign. - Use the Right Keywords
Picking the right keywords in order for your ads to show, shouldn’t be a guessing game. There are several online tools you can utilize to find out what terms people are searching for. For example, some of our go-to tools include the Google Keyword Planner, AnswerThePublic.com, the Ahrefs free keyword generator, and Semrush’s keyword magic tool. If relevancy is essential to seeing results, choosing the right keywords is the key to a strategy that produces.
Another thing to consider is the length of the keywords you choose. Although short-tail keywords are the most searched terms, they can end up harming your results and costing you money, if not properly managed. Short-tail keywords leave too much room for intent, meaning most people who are searching for these terms are looking for reasons other than to convert. In today’s day and age of AI search results, this stands even truer than in past years. Instead, focus more on medium and long-tail keywords – although they are searched less often, they show a much higher degree of intent to convert. In addition, the use of negative keywords helps to prevent your ads from being visible during searches that aren’t relevant to what you are offering and, therefore, could result in a “fake” click. - Your Offer & Call to Action
Speaking of your offerings, your product or services is what attracts people to click and eventually do business with your company. With an effective promotion and eye-catching call-to-action (CTA), you can make it clear that what you’re offering holds immense value, not found anywhere else. By combining a tempting deal, like a free consultation or reduced fees for the first month of services, with an engaging CTA, potential clientele will be more likely to take notice of your ads – greatly increasing your online visibility. Remember, most people will read the headline of your ad rather than the description. - Consider the Temperature of Your Audience
What stage of your marketing funnel are people in when they encounter your ad? Top-of-the-funnel leads (otherwise referred to as cold leads) will be less receptive to ad strategies that would typically be successful with hot leads. For example, when a lead is nice and warmed up, a free review or consultation is a great way to get them onboard, but this is far less effective for a cold lead, who has yet to make any contact with your company. These leads either aren’t really on the search for what you do or are just beginning their search and may be turned off by this more assertive strategy. Instead, interesting content like blogs, infographics, or newsletters may be a better way to transition these leads from cold to hot.
Analysis and Optimization
Once you’ve been running your ads for a while it’s time to look at your results and start tweaking. No PPC campaign is going to be perfect from the start, making small changes over time to see what’s working and what’s not is essential to developing a successful PPC campaign.
- Use Negative Keywords to Your Advantage
As stated above, negative keywords are a great way to focus in on what’s relevant to your business and those searching for what you do. After some time of running ads, you may find that you missed some irrelevant keywords that your ads are matching with. - Use KPI’s to Find Out Which Ads are Your Heavy Hitters
Not all your ads will be winners to begin with. Use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to determine which of your ads are performing the best and double down on those. Look at KPIs like Earnings Per Click (EPC) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) to help you determine which ads are providing the best return on your investment. This combined with single keyword ad groups will tell you which leads are your highest converters. And remember, not all conversions are equal – instead hone in on the conversions that are more likely to produce sales (what this looks like depends on your business model). - Optimize Your Landing Pages
Although they’re important, ads are just a vehicle to get people to your site. You can have the greatest click through rate on the planet, but if your ads take users to a terrible landing page, then you’re wasting your time and money on online advertising. Spend time optimizing your landing pages so that they are relevant, have strong CTA’s and make it as easy as possible for people to convert. This is easier said than done, but by using A/B testing you can see what works and what doesn’t. Your website is the digital storefront of your company, invest the time necessary to ensure your website functions well and looks even better. As the age-old adage goes, first impressions are lasting impressions – so make sure it’s a good one!
Reach Your Marketing Goals
There’s a lot that goes into running successful PPC campaigns. A lot of business owners don’t have the time to run quality campaigns or the resources to have an in-house marketing department do it for them. Direct Placement LLC can help you with your marketing needs so you can focus on what you do best.
Direct Placement, LLC is a digital marketing agency that offers a variety of digital ads and services. Our team of trained and certified account managers and internet marketing advertisers are dedicated to helping your business achieve its advertising goals. Your personal account manager will work diligently with you to help ensure our advertising efforts are tailored to your specific needs. Contact Direct Placement, LLC today or visit our website to discover how we can transform your business one click at a time! You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogger for more online marketing related content.
Take your business to the next level with Direct Placement, your trusted digital marketing ally. As a Google Partner – and your marketing expert – we’ll boost your brand’s visibility and ensure your ads can be easily found on the front page of Google and other search engines. Sound interesting? Contact Direct Placement to get started on your path to success today!