However, there is one
huge difference...
Google Ads Has
No "Idiot Lights"
We take it for granted now,
but cars were not always equipped with self-diagnostic tools and
"idiot lights" to tell us there was a problem. Can you
imagine if there was no "check engine" or "brake
fluid" light? How would you ever know if your car needed a quick
tune-up?
Most likely you would
not know you needed help until it was too late and your car was stalled
in the breakdown lane. Luckily all cars now come with plenty of warning
lights so you don't have to be a motor head to maintain your car.
But this is certainly
not the case with Google Ads.
There are no "idiot lights"
that illuminate red when your campaigns are underperforming to indicate
you need a tune-up. Instead, you'll need to do a manual audit. In this
article, I put together a checklist that highlights some potential
problems in your campaigns. Use this list to see if you have any
flashing "red lights" indicating your campaign needs a
tune-up.
Remember, it's less
costly to continually tune up your ads than it is to ignore them and
later have to fix a completely broken down campaign.
The "Check
Keywords" Light
The first warning sign
is your keyword list in a Google Ads Search campaign. The "check
keywords" light will illuminate red indicating a problem if any of
the following conditions are true:
·
You're using all Broad match keywords instead of Phrase
and Exact match. This leads to poor Google Ads Quality Scores, low ad
rank, higher CPCs, and wasteful clicks on irrelevant search phrases.
·
You're using some Broad match keywords with no Negative
keywords. Again, this
leads to poor Quality Scores, low ad rank, higher CPCs, and wasteful
clicks on irrelevant search phrases.
·
All or most of your keywords are in a single Ad Group. This leads to poor Quality Scores and
low ad click-through rates because the ads are not 100% relevant for
all keywords in the Ad Group.
If your "check
keywords" light is on, then take action immediately to change your
keyword match types, add negative keywords, and restructure your ad
groups. Until you fix this problem your ad campaign will struggle to
get out of the breakdown lane.
Next, let's move on to
your ads...
The "Check
Ads" Light
The second warning sign
is your ad copy. The "check ads" light will illuminate red
indicating a problem if any of the following conditions are true:
·
There is only one ad in any Ad Group. This means you're missing an opportunity
to split test to find better performing ad copy. By testing multiple
ads at the same time you'll discover which ads get a higher
click-through rate and a higher conversion rate, which ultimately leads
to higher Quality Scores.
·
You're missing Ad Extensions. Every Ad Extension available should be
used whenever appropriate to increase your response rates. Plus,
missing Ad Extensions can lead to poor Quality Scores now that Google
Ads uses Ad Extension performance to calculate your Quality Scores.
·
The ad copy does not match all keywords in the Ad Group. This leads to poor Quality Scores and
low ad click-through rates because the ads are not 100% relevant for
all keywords in the Ad Group.
If your "check
ads" light is on, then take action immediately to add ads to your
ad groups, set up all appropriate ad extensions, and restructure your
ad groups so that your ads are 100% relevant to all keywords in the ad
group. By fixing your keywords and your ads you'll ensure you're
targeting your ideal customers and driving as many prospects to your
website as possible.
Next, we need to review
what happens when your prospect "lands" on your website...
The "Check
Landing Pages" Light
The third warning sign
is your landing page copy and layout. The "check landing
pages" light will illuminate red indicating a problem if any of the
following conditions are true:
·
Your landing page is your homepage. This leads to low conversion rates
because website homepages are too broad in scope. For example,
homepages talk about every product and service offered and appeal to
every different type of customer. In contrast, high-converting landing
pages are laser-focused on one product or service and appeal to the
subset of your prospects that would be searching the keyword you're
advertising on.
·
You're using one landing page for more than one product or
service. Again, this
leads to low conversion rates because your prospect can get distracted
or think your offer is not as relevant as your competitors' offers that
are more laser-focused.
·
Your landing page is not 100% congruent with your ads. This leads to low conversion rates
because your prospect does not find the same offer and the same product
or service promised in the ad copy.
If your "check
landing pages" light is on, then take action immediately to create
a unique landing page for each product or service you're advertising,
and make sure your landing page copy is 100% congruent with your ads.
At this point, you know
your keywords, ads, and landing pages are all set up properly to
maximize your advertising investment. However, we're not done yet. The
only way to continually improve your campaign is to track your key
performance indicators.
This brings us to the
last warning sign...
The "Check
Tracking" Light
The fourth and final
warning sign is your conversion tracking. The "check
tracking" light will illuminate red indicating a problem if any of
the following conditions are true:
·
Conversion tracking is not set up for webforms. This means you do not know when
prospects click on your ads and then complete a webform. Therefore,
there's no way to optimize your bids to increase leads and eliminate
wasted ad spend on under-performing keywords.
·
Conversion revenue tracking is not set up for shopping
carts. If you have an
e-commerce website, then it's possible to automatically send revenue
data back to Google Ads so you can calculate your return on investment
for each keyword. If this is not set up then again you can not optimize
your bids to increase sales and eliminate wasted ad spend.
·
Website Call Tracking is not set up. This means you do not know how many
prospects are calling your business after clicking on one of your ads.
Therefore, you can't optimize your bids to drive more calls.
·
Call Extension Tracking is not set up. This means you do not know how many
prospects are calling your business using the phone number listed on
the ad. Therefore, you can't optimize your bids to drive more of these
calls.
·
Offline Sales Import Conversion tracking is not set up. This means you're not tracking sales
and revenue from prospects that click on an ad, complete a webform, and
then convert to customers via phone or in-person sales. Therefore, you
can't optimize your bids to drive more offline sales.
If your "check
tracking" light is on, then take action immediately to set up
webform conversion tracking (and revenue tracking if you have an
e-commerce website), website call tracking, call extension tracking,
and offline sales import conversion tracking.
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