I love Google Ads. In my
opinion, it’s one of the best investments a small business can make because it
can generate tons of leads that convert into sales.
But, it’s also very easy to
lose money if you mismanage your Google Ads account. Google Ads mistakes can be
costly, but are often easy to fix.
Here
are 7 of the most common Google Ads mistakes I see when working with small
businesses.
Mistake #1: Using The
Wrong Settings
Setting up your campaign
correctly is the key to success and if you’re using the wrong settings, you’re
guaranteed to end up wasting money.
For example, when setting up
your keyword settings you can waste a lot of money on irrelevant clicks
if you choose Broad match keywords instead of Exact or Phrase match.
Choosing the right settings is
easy if you know what to look for. Click here for more tips on choosing the right settings
to your Google Ads campaign correctly.
Mistake #2: Using The
Wrong Definition of Success
In order to be successful, you
must understand how to measure success with Google Ads.
I’ve spoken to more than a few
business owners about Google Ads, and when I asked how their campaigns were
going they said “Great!”
But when I asked, “How do you know?“
They say, “I’m getting a lot of clicks.”
This is critical –
clicks are the WRONG definition of success. Clicks do NOT equal customers!
If you’re getting lots of
clicks but no leads or sales, you’re losing money hand over fist. The only one
profiting from that situation is Google.
Instead of aiming for clicks,
your goal is to attract new paying customers… and to earn a healthy return on
investment (ROI) from your advertising.
It’s very important to
understand this difference when considering whether your campaign is performing
successfully.
Mistake #3: NOT Tracking
Understanding the definition of
success is important, but unless you’re tracking the results of your
advertising you’ll never know if your ads are profitable.
Most likely, you’re losing
money every month by not updating the campaigns that aren’t working.
From what I’ve heard when
speaking with small business owners, the vast majority of people are making
this mistake and are NOT tracking the results of their advertising.
Make sure to always track your
advertising. Even if your ads are generating an ROI, you should still be
tracking so you can improve your ROI.
Mistake #4: Not
Analyzing the Right Reports
Once you set up tracking, it’s
important to generate the correct reports.
When you first log into Google
Ads, you’ll see a list of all of your campaigns. It’s almost impossible to tell
what’s wrong with a campaign by looking at these aggregate reports. You need to
dig deeper and generate reports on individual keywords (for search) and
placements (for display).
But, running keyword and
placement level reports, still won’t give you the entire picture because there
are a LOT of factors at play. Segmenting your reports even further will give
you more exact results. For example, your performance may vary across Google
and the Search Partner network.
In addition to segmenting by
network, look at performance by time of day, the day of the week, geography,
and device. You’ll likely find that performance varies by all of those segments
and by reviewing them you’ll find ideas to improve your campaign.
Mistake #5: Ignoring
Search Partner Traffic
The Search network is a
combination of Google.com and Search partners like AOL, Ask, and even Amazon.
If you find that your
performance in the Search Partner network is poor, you have the option to turn
it off. And, while there’s no way to figure out which partner websites are
working and which ones are not working, you can still optimize your Search
Partner traffic.
For example, I reviewed a campaign
for a consultant not too long ago. When I ran the search query report to see
which keywords were driving sales, I noticed a tell-tale Search Partner sign:
very long search phrases that no one would actually type into Google.com.
As I dug deeper I found that the
majority of the sales for this Search campaign were not coming from Google…
they were coming from Amazon.com! That’s why it was so hard to figure out
how to optimize the campaign. Knowing the sales were from Amazon, not Google,
meant he would need to use a different strategy for keyword selection and ad
copywriting.
So while it’s fresh in your
mind, go log into your Google Ads campaign to see if you’re making this
mistake. Google Ads can be overwhelming, but when you’re looking at the right
reports, then things start to look a whole lot clearer.
Mistake #6: Treating
Desktop and Mobile the Same
Mobile is officially the most
popular way to search online. The thing is, advertising on mobile and desktop
yields different performance.
It is still possible to block
your ads from showing on mobile devices, which I typically recommend when
you’re just getting started. If you do target mobile devices, then make sure
you optimize your pages for mobile. Users have come to expect mobile-friendly
pages, so your standard “desktop optimized” website probably won’t cut it.
Mistake #7: Not Knowing
When to Delegate
Managing Google Ads can be very
time consuming, which is why people often hire an agency to manage it for them.
But, when it comes to delegating the management of your campaigns, you want to
make sure the timing is right.
If you delegate the management
of your Google Ads campaign before you fully understand how it works, you’re
taking a big gamble. We recommend learning how Google Ads works before you hand
it off to an employee or an agency. That way, you’ll know whether your campaign
is being managed properly or not.
It’s also important to
recognize when it’s time to invest in some help. If you’re having success with
your campaigns but feel like you’ve plateaued, then it may be time to hire an
agency to manage your campaigns. With an agency, an analyst who specializes in
Google Ads will be able to audit your campaign and quickly identify ways to
improve it. They’ll also be constantly optimizing your campaigns to make sure
you’re getting the best ROI.
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