When it comes to Google Ads, making mistakes can be costly. You might not be spending as much as you should be, or you could be wasting money on ads that are never seen by your target audience.
Either way, it's important to be aware of the most common mistakes people make with their Google Ads campaigns so you can avoid them yourself. In this article, we'll list the 10 biggest mistakes to avoid when advertising with Google.
Failing to Set Ad Budget
When you're creating your Google Ads campaign, it's important to set a budget you're comfortable with. Failing to do so can result in runaway spending and lost money.
Set a budget that's realistic for your business and stick to it. That way, you'll stay in control of your campaign and won't end up spending more than you can afford.
Not Setting Bid & Budget for Keywords
You might be tempted to set a low budget and/or bid for your keywords, but this can actually be counterproductive.
When you set a low budget, you may not be able to show your ads as often as you want, which could mean fewer clicks and conversions. And if you set your bids too low, you may not get the visibility you need to compete with other advertisers.
Instead, make sure to set a budget that's comfortable for you and bids that are aggressive enough to get your ads in front of the right people.
Choosing Irrelevant Keywords
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your Google Ads is to choose irrelevant keywords. This means that your ads will show up for people who are not actually interested in what you're selling, and it's a waste of your money.
Instead, you want to focus on keywords that are relevant to your product or service. That way, your ads will show up for people who are already interested in what you have to offer. And that means more sales for you!
Ignoring Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are just as important as positive ones, and can help you save money on bad clicks. It’s easy to get focused on putting in the right keywords, but it’s important not to forget the ones you don’t want!
You can add negative keywords while setting up your ad campaigns, or after they’re running. For example, if you are a store that sells shoes but not boots, you’d want to add “boots” as a negative keyword so that a search for “shoes” won't bring up your ads for boots.
Another mistake to avoid here is adding too many or too few negative keywords. Too many, and you could be missing out on potential traffic; too few, and you could be wasting money on bad clicks. You want to find the sweet spot that works best for your budget and goals.
Not Utilizing Ad Extensions
Ad extensions are an important element of a successful ad, and unfortunately, they're often overlooked. Ad extensions provide extra details such as contact information and site links which can be displayed along with your ad. This helps to attract more clicks and ultimately more conversions.
It's also important to note that using ad extensions can significantly reduce your cost per click and increase your ad's visibility in search results. For example, the sitelink extension will give you the ability to add additional links within your ad that direct users to specific pages on your website. This means you can target different types of customers by directing them to various pages on your website that are specifically tailored for their needs.
Take some time to explore the various types of ad extensions available and find out which ones make sense for your business. Doing so will provide users with more information about your product or service and potentially attract more clicks and conversions in the long run.
Not Split Testing Ads
You should always be split testing your ads. Split testing means you are changing parts of the ad to see which performs better—like the headline, body copy, images, or call to action. You may find a small element that makes a big difference in your results.
But in order to find that out, you need to do actual testing. You can start by testing headline variations first and then move on to other elements of your ad. It’s important to test different versions of the same ad before creating a completely new one.
Also remember that split testing isn’t just about finding out which version of an ad performs better. It also allows you to refine your message and come up with ideas for future ads. Taking the time to test different versions of your ads will help you get more conversions from your campaigns in the long run.
Missing Out on Remarketing Audiences
Are you missing out on remarketing audiences? Remarketing allows you to stay connected with people who have already visited your website, or interacted with your business, whether it be on Google Search or Display Network. It’s a powerful way to keep prospects engaged and can help you increase conversions.
First, make sure you have the correct remarketing tags placed on your website so that you can create custom audiences for each of your campaigns. You’ll also want to segment those custom audiences by type of campaign and platform. For instance, if you’re running a campaign on both Google Search and Display Network, create two separate audiences for each one. Then, make sure to set the right bid modifiers to account for the higher conversion rate of returning visitors.
Lastly, don’t forget to create exclusions so that you don’t show them ads more than once within a certain timeframe. If not properly managed, remarketing campaigns can become inefficient very quickly.
Insufficiently Optimized Landing Pages
If you don't pay attention to what your landing page looks like, you're going to struggle to convert any of the clicks from your Google Ads campaigns. The landing page is where people are going to actually take the action you want, so it needs to be properly optimized for success.
Some of the key things you need to look out for include making sure that the payments are secure, easy for customers to fill out forms, and have a clear call-to-action. You should also ensure that it's mobile responsive and doesn't contain any broken links or images. It should also include product reviews, customer testimonials and social proof that can help build trust in your brand.
And finally, make sure that the landing page is consistent with your ad copy and provides an experience that matches what was promised in the ad.
Improper Tracking & Attribution
You've got your campaigns up and running, but did you remember to set up tracking? Proper tracking is essential if you want to understand how your campaigns are performing and make informed optimizations. Google Ads offers several options for conversion tracking, including HTML snippets for forms and phone numbers. You should always set up tracking for any conversions that happen with your ads, like sales or sign-ups.
Attribution is also critical in order to understand the efficacy of each campaign and help you determine where to spend more money. The default attribution setting in Google Ads is 'last click', which means the user's last interaction with the ad before they convert will get full credit. However, this doesn't consider all of the potential touchpoints in the customer journey, so make sure you're setting up other attribution models that take into account all of the previous steps in a conversion path.
Poor Ad Targeting
Finally, one of the worst mistakes you can make with Google Ads is to not target your ads correctly. To do this, you need to pay attention to who your target audience is, and then narrow in on their exact demographics and interests. Not only will this help ensure that you get better-quality clicks, but it will also enable you to allocate your budget more effectively.
It’s also important to make sure that the correct location target settings are in place for each campaign. You don’t want to be paying for clicks from people who are located too far away from your business location or not in the region you serve.
In addition, if you have any product lines or services aimed at specific gender or age groups, make sure they’re properly segmented into different campaigns and targeted accordingly. Taking the extra time upfront will pay off in the long run!
Conclusion
So, to sum up, avoid making these ten mistakes when you're running Google Ads campaigns:
Not optimizing your campaign
Not targeting the right keywords
Not using ad extensions
Not split testing your ads
Not using negative keywords
Not tracking your results
Not adjusting your bids
Not creating relevant landing pages
Not using ad groups
Not monitoring your competition
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