Google Ads is Google’s online advertising program, which allows users and companies to advertise and reach out to audiences that are interested in purchasing their products or services on the search network and other partner websites. Those who advertise on Google Ads pay only per results. That means you pay only when someone clicks on your ad, visits your website, watches your video on YouTube, or picks up the phone and gives you a call. In other words, you pay when your ad yields success. So, naturally, this leads to the question: how do you improve your Google Ads to maximize success?
Performance Tricks
Here are 10 performance tricks that, in my opinion, can help to improve your Google Ads.
1. Look for new keywords.
It would be a good idea to use the Keyword Planner tool in Google Ads to research new keywords, which you can then use in your ad campaigns. Keyword Planner is a free Google Ads tool that you can use to search for keywords and see how a list of keywords might perform. To research new keywords, sign in to your Google Ads account. On the upper right corner, click the tools icon, and then under “planning” click Keyword Planner.
Type words or phrases in the Find New Keywords search box. You can also type or paste the URL of a webpage or entire website related to your business. It would be in your best interest to use the search terms report, which tells you the exact query people used to get to your site. This will help you select new keywords that will make your ads more effective.
2. Optimize your ads for mobile devices.
According to Google’s reports, mobile search traffic is growing 200% year-over-year with 50% of all search queries conducted on a mobile device. So, it is critical that you optimize your ads for mobile. By failing to do so, you are essentially not catering to a large portion of potential customers whom you may be unwittingly turning away.
3. Use effective landing pages.
Your landing pages should be as specific as possible. In fact, each of your ads should have its own landing page that should match with what your user searched for in the first place. Your landing page should have a powerful headline because, often, this is the only part of the copy many of your visitors might even read. The copy for your landing pages should be clear and concise. Implement visual elements such as bullet points and bold text that provide relief and make the copy more readable.
4. Use location and “exact match” targeting.
If you provide services within a certain geographic area, it would be a good idea for your campaigns to display ads only to searchers within that area. Otherwise, you may end up spending money for clicks from people whom you don’t or can’t really serve. “Exact match targeting” means your ads will appear only when someone searches for the exact keyword you’ve targeted in your campaign. This is especially useful if you are a small business that is new to Google Ads. It gives you greater control over your ads and ensures that you won’t waste money on irrelevant phrases that don’t get results. Once you gather data about keyword performance, you could perhaps use a broader match setting.
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April 1, 20225. Keep testing to see which ad performs better.
Make sure you are always running at least 2 different ad versions. Once you’ve gathered sufficient data to decide which one is performing better, get rid of the poorly performing version and add a new variation to the mix. This helps you make improvements incrementally as you proceed with your ad campaign.
6. Leverage social proof.
“Social proof” is a phrase that is used to describe the positive influence that is generated when people realize that “everybody’s doing it.” Building social proof into a Google ad in the form of reviews and testimonials is not only a great way to generate interest and build credibility, but also to drive more conversions. Social proof is essentially a convincing endorsement of your business, products, or offerings. Using social proof can have a significant impact on how your business grows and develops.
7. Use a call to action.
If you want someone to do something or spring into action, you have to first tell them to do it. Make sure you use a clear call to action in your ads. Some of the most effective Google Ads are those that utilize a powerful call-to-action sentence. When you call someone to action, don’t forget to tell them what to do or where to go to find you. Include a website, address, and phone number, where you can be reached or where the person can find out more information about what you’re selling.
8. Tell them how your product or service will benefit them.
For example, if you are a trade school, your readers may find benefits such as finding a job soon after the training program appealing. So, make sure you include a sentence in your ad copy about such benefits that are both useful and appealing to your target audience.
9. Bid more.
While you may be on a tight budget, it’s also important to understand that bidding more is the quickest and fastest way to improve ad ranking. If you increase your bid, there is a good chance that you’ll move up in the ad ranking and land a prime spot. If you cannot afford to do that, bid more only on high-value keywords such as the ones that drive conversions for premium products. This allows you to pay more only for the keywords that are of more value to you.
10. Use Google Analytics to your advantage.
If you don’t have a loyal audience or a specific audience in mind, you don’t have to worry. You can use Google Analytics to help you find those users who are already engaging well with your website. Google Analytics provides key characteristics related to your users. This helps you identify the existing user group that is performing best on your website. When you target users who are already engaging on your site, the likelihood of achieving a high return on your investment significantly increases.
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Success with Google Ads may not be an exact science, but these are just some of the hacks, we hope, you can use to help ensure success with your own Google ad campaign.
About the Author: Chris Foerster is Digital Marketing Manager, Fremont College. Fremont College offers an online Digital Marketing Course for those looking to learn from the comfort of their own home. Learn about SEO, PPC, Social media marketing, landing pages, email marketing, data analytics, and much more from an accredited college. For more information, please visit https://fremont.edu/.