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12 tips for a successful Google Ads campaign
It goes without saying that there is unfortunately no perfect recipe to follow to guarantee the success of a Google Ads campaign. As in cooking, this is left to the ingenious mind of the chef.
November 16, 2020
It goes without saying that there is unfortunately no perfect recipe to follow to guarantee the success of a Google Ads campaign. As in cooking, this is left to the ingenious mind of the chef. However, having the right utensils, a fully equipped kitchen, a helpful team and fresh ingredients always help to ensure that the final recipe is a delight.
When it comes to performing with ads on Google Ads, it’s somewhat of the same thing. To make it easier for you, here are the 12 key points you need to pay attention to in your Google Ads campaigns to make them successful.
1- Is Google the right channel for you ?
Let’s start with the basics: why would you want to advertize on Google in the first place? Sure, the platform’s effectiveness is proven, but is it the right choice for you and your business? Remember that Google is a platform that connects active prospects to advertizers. However, active prospects do not guarantee that your niche is actively looking for your products and services. Ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have the budget for this ?
No? Look at other alternatives for your marketing strategy.
Do you have the necessary resources in terms of time and knowledge ?
No ? Get help from an agency or external resources. That said, if you don’t already have the budget for Google, you may not have the budget to get the assistance you need.
Is there enough volume on the keywords you want ?
No? Look at other alternatives for your strategy.
Is your product/service simple enough to be “sold” in a text-only format?
No? Look at other alternatives for your marketing strategy.
Are my competitors present on Google Ads ?
No? This could be an indicator that your product has little chance on Google. Having said that, check if the keywords have enough volume. If so, go for it (go for it if you have the budget and resources).
Are my competitors present on Google Ads ?
No? This could be an indicator that your product has little chance on Google. Having said that, check if the keywords have enough volume. If so, go for it (go for it if you have the budget and resources).
2- Choose the right keywords
Without a solid and structured keyword selection, you will never be able to get your campaign to perform in the way you want it to. So, take the time to choose your keywords correctly:
- Don’t exclude any option, even if these are not the exact terms you will have used to describe your solution. Remember that your keywords must match what users are looking for, not the company’s policy.
- Think differently or think like someone who doesn’t know your solution. Use synonyms and make sure you have a nice plurality in your occurrences (specific words but also more generic words within the limits of what is acceptable). Look at what your competitors are doing (always).
- Organize your search by theme for your future ad groups or campaigns.
- Make sure your keywords match what you have to offer.
- Ban too generic terms: whether they are too high in the conversion funnel (BOFU) or too vague
- Make sure that your keywords have the same intent as your users so that the search is action-oriented (by looking at the content of the search results page. If the content doesn’t seem to be aligned with what you want to do with a predominance of organic results or optimal payback, it may not be a good keyword).
- Validate if your keys have enough search volume.
3- Write relevant ads
Your ad must be written with the primary intent of inciting users to click. This is the first step you need to think about. So, you should:
- Provide enough factual information in your ad so that users can base an intent decision on it.
- Include a keyword in your ad, ideally in the Headline 1, Description 1 and Path 1
- Add a clear and direct call to action.
- Don’t forget to add a sense of urgency, be it temporal or quantitative.
- Put your ad in its real context and temporality.
- Be precise, clear and legible.
- Argue all your sales points with numbers.
- Avoid repeating yourself (too much).
- Reflect the content of your landing page.
- Write 2 to 5 variations of your ad.
4- Choose the right bidding strategy
The bidding strategy you choose will reflect how Google’s algorithm will interpret and use all the information you want to use in your Google Ads campaign. This is a critical choice that will greatly influence your future results.
– Traffic: Maximize for the clicks
– Visibility: Target impression shares
– Value: Maximize value and target ROAS
Is your campaign a short-term test? If so, you are better off opting for an automated bidding system that favours clicks.
- Do you want an automatic or manual bidding strategy?
- Do you have enough data to feed the Google algorithm in the case of an automated
- bidding strategy (especially if you consider automated conversion-oriented strategies)?
- Do you have the knowledge to manage an automated bidding strategy?
- In which direction do you want to take your performance if you want to automate your bidding?
– Traffic: Maximize for the clicks
– Visibility: Target impression shares
– Value: Maximize value and target ROAS
Is your campaign a short-term test? If so, you are better off opting for an automated bidding system that favours clicks.
5- Use precise and targeted geolocation
Although it is sometimes easy to think that the whole world is your target and that the wider we cast our “net,” the more fish you can catch. However, this is not necessarily true or effective. Your Google ads are part of a precise strategy to target a or several personas. Therefore, it is better to focus on an area that is smaller, but more relevant.
First of all, think about where your customers come from. If you can’t collect enough information from your company’s departments to determine this, think about your actual areas in which you operate (delivery zones, areas where your products are the most sold, restrictions, etc.).
Always keep in mind the budget that will be allocated to your campaign, and therefore to your zone. The size of this budget will be a factor forcing a possible reduction in geolocation or the possibility of extending it.
First of all, think about where your customers come from. If you can’t collect enough information from your company’s departments to determine this, think about your actual areas in which you operate (delivery zones, areas where your products are the most sold, restrictions, etc.).
Always keep in mind the budget that will be allocated to your campaign, and therefore to your zone. The size of this budget will be a factor forcing a possible reduction in geolocation or the possibility of extending it.
6- Use ad scheduling intelligently
You don’t have to be visible at all times for your ads to be effective. You just need to be seen at the right time. Ad schedules are rather useful tools for this purpose. Indeed, they allow you to select the times of day when your ads are visible.
For example, in most cases, there is a drop in traffic during the night. There is also a drop in traffic on weekends for B2B campaigns. Make sure you analyze the data. Look at how your campaigns are performing and see if you can optimize your reach by restricting certain hours that bring little traffic or the least value.
For example, in most cases, there is a drop in traffic during the night. There is also a drop in traffic on weekends for B2B campaigns. Make sure you analyze the data. Look at how your campaigns are performing and see if you can optimize your reach by restricting certain hours that bring little traffic or the least value.
7- Adjust your bids
In the event that you use an automated bidding strategy, you don’t need to worry about this detail. However, if this is not the case, then it is strongly recommended that you analyze your data on a monthly basis in order to adjust the competitiveness of your bids.
These adjustments enable you to tell Google whether you want to increase the aggressiveness of your bid or, conversely, reduce it. This adjustment can be made at many levels: geographical area, day, time, device, operator and browser.
For example, in the case of a restaurant, it may be a good idea to increase bidding during meal times and decrease it on days when the restaurant is closed. Another example: if the majority of your traffic comes from mobile phones, adjust to lower bids from computers and tablets.
These adjustments enable you to tell Google whether you want to increase the aggressiveness of your bid or, conversely, reduce it. This adjustment can be made at many levels: geographical area, day, time, device, operator and browser.
For example, in the case of a restaurant, it may be a good idea to increase bidding during meal times and decrease it on days when the restaurant is closed. Another example: if the majority of your traffic comes from mobile phones, adjust to lower bids from computers and tablets.
8- Choyez votre score de qualité
Think of your quality score as a relevance score that Google assigns to your keywords, which it then uses to determine the position of that keyword in search results. The quality score acts as a guarantee of your ads’ relevance and ensures positive experience between advertizers and users. The quality score is calculated by Google according to the following factors:
- Relevance between your ad and your landing page
- Relevance between your keyword and your ad
- Your CTR on different keywords
- Past performance of your Google account
- Other factors that Google is careful not to tell us about
- High quality score results in lower CPCs, higher positions in search results, and better visibility (more impressions).
9- Use all the extensions you can
You can use more extensions than you actually need. On the contrary, they take up more space in search results and gives you extra visibility. They also give more information, and therefore relevance, to your ads.
Finally, they also increase your chances of attracting clicks by offering more entry points to your ad. All together, extensions contribute to increasing your quality scores.
Finally, they also increase your chances of attracting clicks by offering more entry points to your ad. All together, extensions contribute to increasing your quality scores.
10- Choose the right landing page
Your landing page is the extension of your ad, which itself is the extension of user queries. Your landing page is therefore the direct response to user queries. Your page must therefore include the solution that you offer and be in line with your target audience’s search intent.
Therefore, a landing page is specific to each set of keywords or campaigns and must reflect the content related to your ad. To achieve this:
Therefore, a landing page is specific to each set of keywords or campaigns and must reflect the content related to your ad. To achieve this:
- Make sure you use the same vocabulary as your ad in your landing page.
- Use the same keywords included in your ad group or campaign.
- Build your solution with concrete, useful and decision-supporting information.
- Use the same call to action as your ad, which must correspond to the value action you want your target to take.
- Include a sense of urgency.
- Have a simple and streamlined navigation so as not to distract users into an action other than the one that is of value to you.
11- Adjust your budget towards performance
Your budget doesn’t have to remain fixed. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Your budget should be a moving budget based on your performance.
This way, you can allocate more budget to what brings you value, all while respecting your costs and limiting your spend on campaigns that don’t meet your expectations.
This way, you can allocate more budget to what brings you value, all while respecting your costs and limiting your spend on campaigns that don’t meet your expectations.
12- Improve your impressions share
To improve your impression share, the first thing you need to know is why you don’t win the bids. Google is kind enough to provide you with this information. Bids are lost either because of budget or rank.
- Lost Impression Share to Budget: Your campaigns lack financial resources. Increase your daily or shared budget.
- Lost Impression Share to Rank: Your bids are not competitive enough; you need to increase them. Be careful, however, to increase CPCs only for keywords that have a proven or potential value for you. Avoid increasing CPCs on keywords that are underperforming.
À PROPOS DE L'AUTEUR
Passionné de marketing numérique depuis 2012, Tai DILEUTH s’est spécialisé en marketing de référencement payant (Google Ads) afin d’aider les entreprises à développer des produits ou services à forte valeur ajoutée. Aujourd’hui c’est avec le challenge d’accompagner des clients sur Google et Facebook qu’il fait partie de l’équipe Turko Marketing.