If properly set up and managed, Google Search Ads are an extremely valuable marketing tool. If not, it can be very frustrating and an expensive waste of time and money. At first glance, the Google Ads interface can seem quite complicated and confusing. As a result, users can easily end up paying more for their advertising campaigns than they should be – and worse, for keywords that are bringing in not only the wrong people but people who never wanted what they were offering in the first place!
Frankly, a click on your advert is of no use if the viewer is in the wrong country looking for something completely unrelated because your account hasn’t been set up correctly. Proper analysis of the market and identifying the best search terms are essential steps when creating an effective advert.
Define your goals
Before you create a Google Ads campaign, you need to define your goals. This will help you set up your campaign more effectively and ensure that you are targeting the right audience. To define your Google Ads goal, you need to consider what outcome you want to achieve from running the campaign.
Some common goals for Google Ads campaigns include:
- Increase website traffic: To drive more traffic to your website, set up a campaign that focuses on generating clicks and increasing your website’s visibility.
- Generate leads: To generate leads for your business, set up a campaign that directs users to a landing page where they can fill out a form to provide their contact information.
- Boost sales: To increase sales for your business, set up a campaign that targets users searching for products or services like yours and directs them to a page where they can make a purchase.
- Promote brand awareness: To increase brand awareness, set up a campaign that focuses on generating impressions and increasing your brand’s visibility across different platforms and devices.
Once you decide what you want to achieve with your Google Ads campaign, you can tailor the settings and targeting options to align with that goal and monitor your results to measure the success of your campaign.
Determine your audience
Your target audience should be based on factors such as age, gender, location, and interests. These factors will help you create ads that are more likely to convert.
The following steps can help you find out more about your target audience:
- Conduct market research: Gather information about what kind of customers have a need for the product or service you offer, their interests, behaviors, and demographics.
- Analyze your current customer base: Identify what type of customers are buying your product or service, and what they have in common.
- Use Google Analytics: Analyze your website visitors’ behaviors and find out what type of people are visiting your website, where they come from, and what actions they are taking.
- Use customer profiling tools: Tools like Facebook Audience Insights, Google Trends, and other customer profiling tools can help you to segment your audience accordingly.
- Create a buyer persona: Build a detailed profile of your ideal customer with their needs, interests, behaviors, and demographics.
Targeting your specific audience is critical for the success of your Google Ads campaign, as it can help you to show your ads to the right people, at the right time, and in the right way.
Research your keywords
Choosing the right keywords is just as important for your campaign’s success as targeting the right audience. Keyword research can make or break you. If you were selling NZ-branded Jandals online to the whole world, you would need to know that nobody outside New Zealand calls them “Jandals” (Jandals is a brand name patented in 1957). In fact, they are known around the world as; flip-flops, hawaii chappal, thongs, Plakkies, slip-slops, go-aheads, chinelo, sandália, Havaianas, tsinelas, step-ins, slippers, sayonares, japonki, vietnamki and Japanese sandals (zōri). Use Google’s Keyword Planner to find out which keywords are relevant to your product or service.
Write your ad copy
Your ad copy should be clear and concise, highlighting the benefits of your product or service. Knowing your target audience will help create copy that resonates with them and encourages them to click on your ad. Avoid technical jargon that may confuse or turn off potential customers, and instead use language that is persuasive, engaging, and relevant to your preferred audience. Google Ads also offers a variety of ad extensions that can help you enhance your copy with additional information like product reviews or call-to-action buttons. Once your ad is up and running, monitor its performance and make adjustments as needed.
Set a budget
Decide on a budget for your campaign and stick to it. You can choose between a daily budget or a set amount for the entire duration of your campaign. You can use Google’s bidding strategy tools to help you keep to your budget. Once you have reached your daily or total budget, your ads will stop showing, so be sure to set a budget that aligns with your marketing goals and targets.
Create a landing page
Create landing pages that are relevant to and focused solely on the ad’s purpose. This will help improve your ad’s quality score and your campaign’s conversion rate. The headline of your landing page should be clear and concise, and match the ad’s copy. Have a clearly visible call-to-action that relates to your ad goal, such as “Register now,” “Download now,” or “Sign up.”
Furthermore, enhance your user’s experience by ensuring a fast page loading time and providing them with a mobile-responsive design that is easy to navigate regardless of the device being used.
Monitor your campaign
Once your campaign is up and running, use Google Analytics to monitor and analyze its performance. This will help you identify areas that need improvement and make necessary adjustments.
If you would like to learn more about Google Ads, contact the friendly team at Energise Web today. We are highly experienced in using Google Ads as a digital marketing tool. We are certified Google Partners and have successfully completed Google Ads master classes in New Zealand, designed to train Ads Client Managers to maximise the benefits and profits related to Google Ads campaigns.