Google AdWords Mistakes

 

Running a Google AdWords campaign requires an extensive amount of time and knowledge for it to be successful.

 

When starting your first ppc campaign, it’s important to consider the different types of PPC advertising and choose the campaigns that will offer the greatest benefits for what you want to accomplish.

 

While many companies may believe that they can save themselves the money by doing it in-house, it usually isn’t the case. You’re actually more likely to be spending money on unnecessary clicks and driving your cost-per-click up.

 

So how do you know if you’re doing PPC wrong? This blog will guide you through the most common Google AdWords mistakes to help set you in the right direction.

 

Common AdWords Mistakes:

 

Mistake #1: Not Using Ad Extensions

 

In search campaigns, not using ad extensions is like ignoring your best friend. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
 

 

Ad extensions allow you to enhance your ads and provide a more personal touch to people looking for your product or service. If you haven’t used ad extensions or don’t know what they are, it’s time to brush up on your knowledge of them to gain a better understanding of how ad extensions work.

 

The Google AdWords program features ad extensions such as call extensions, sitelink extensions, location extensions, and several others. By setting these up, you’re proving more information for people viewing your ads. If you use a call extension, then searchers are able to click on the phone number in your ad in order to make a call to your business.

 

By not using these ad extensions, you’re placing yourself at a significant disadvantage compared to your competitors. To start using ad extensions, let Google walk you through the steps.

 

Advice: Apply ad extensions to specific ad groups, this will allow searches to see ad extensions that were created for the keywords they’re searching for. Also, make sure you aren’t just creating one or two ad extensions. Create all of the ad extensions that you feel add value to your business.

 

Mistake #2: Not Using Ad Groups Effectively

 

This might just be the most frustrating mistake you can make….

 

One ad group should NOT contain all of your keywords. Google recommends using 5-20 keywords per ad group, but another method is to use SKAGs. SKAGs are single keyword ad groups, and using the allows you to create ads that are highly relevant to specific search queries.

 

Advice: While using a single keyword for every ad group may not make sense, I’d suggest using one to five keywords per ad group.

 

Mistake #3: Not Eliminating Irrelevant Searches

 

Using the search query report in the AdWords interface, you get access to what people are searching for prior to clicking on your ad.

 

Having information on searches will allow you to pick out the irrelevant ones and make them negative keywords. If you’re hesitant on whether or not to add a search as a negative keyword, think about how it relates to your product or service. If it isn’t closely related, then it’s best to get rid of it.

 

Advice: Not sure where to start when building a keyword list? KoMarketing has a helpful list of 200+ negative keywords.

 

Mistake #4: Only Using Broad Match Keywords

 

By only using broad match keywords, you’re going to generate countless irrelevant clicks. Wondering why? Smart Insights breaks down each match type and offers an easy description of how each match type will make your ad appear. Being successful with PPC means being able to differentiate between match types and what searches can trigger your ad to appear.

 

Advice: Rarely use broad match keywords and know the difference between the different match types for both regular keywords and negative keywords.

 

Mistake #5: Not Analyzing Your Results

 

Analysis is vital to success with any marketing method. If you’re not proactive about analyzing your results, then how do you know what’s working and what you need to change? Quite simply, you don’t.

 

To get you started, here are three incredibly beneficial articles for learning how to analyze a PPC campaign:

 

 

Advice: Do your research on the metrics that will track your goals and monitor your account’s performance on a monthly basis. Don’t make rash decisions too quickly. Give your campaign time to play out so you can make informed decisions based on the data.

 

What’s Next?

 

Start implementing these tips in your PPC campaigns and if you have any questions, let us know.

 

Author:

Ryan Hanehan is a SEM & Content Marketing Specialist at KathodeRay Media, a marketing agency outside of Albany, NY. At KathodeRay Media, Ryan handles PPC & SEO initiatives in order to help companies grow their visibility and acquire more leads.

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