What is Google Ads (AdWords)?
Google Ads (AdWords) is a powerful tool to speak out your brand to the public. It’s a lot of features that help you to measure your advertising trip.
It’s important to what this channel is capable of and how one can make use of it. Google Ads (AdWords) is an inexpensive way to get into the advertising game.
You don’t need a big creative budget to get started and you can set your daily budget with your comfort. There is no minimum spend to get started.
It can be a good option if your ads are much targeted. You can show your ad in certain cities and locations.
Google Ads (AdWords) is an advertising software that allows you to reach new audiences with targeting, bidding, and keywords.
It can also create and manage advertising campaigns that feature the products you have uploaded to the Google Merchant Center account.
Steps to Link Google Merchant Center and Google Ads (AdWords) Accounts –
To allow the product data to flow from Merchant Center to Google Ads, you need to connect your Google Ads (AdWords) and Merchant Center accounts:-
# In the Google Merchant Center account, go to the 3-dot icon menu and click Account linking.
# Select Ads
# Under your Ads Account, find the Ads Customer ID
# Click Link
Setup Google Ads (AdWords) Conversion Tracking –
If you’d like to measure the conversion from your ads, you need to integrate Google Ads (AdWords) account with XYZ by creating a conversion action in ads and adding the tracking code into your XYZ store.
Create Google Ads (AdWords) conversion action:-
#Sign in to your Google Ads (AdWords) Account
# In the top right corner, click the Tool icon
# Under Measurement block, Click Conversions
# Click the Plus button and select Website
# Choose Category of conversion you want to track
# In Value, choose to use different values for each conversion
# In Count, choose Every
# Setup the Conversion window – After an ad click how long to track conversions
# In View-Through conversion window – how long to track conversions that happen after an impression of not an interaction with your ads
# In Include in “Conversions” – if you want to include in your “Conversions” and “Conversion value” columns. If you uncheck it, data will still spear in the “All conversion” column
# Click Create and Continue
Setup Google Ads (AdWords) Conversion Tag –
# Select Install the tag yourself
# Choose The global site tag isn’t installed on all your HTML pages if it’s your first time setting up the tag for a conversion action and you haven’t installed the global site tag from another Google product
# In Global site tag, click Download snippet
# In Event snippet, choose Page load
# Copy the Event snippet and open the text file with the Global site tag in the text file
# Edit the parameter ‘value: 1.0’ in the event snippet to ‘value’:’%snippet_total%’. The %order_total% variable will pass the specific order value to the tracking code
# Edit the parameter ‘transaction_id’ in the event snippet to ‘transaction_id:‘%order_id%’. The %order_id% variable will pass the specific order value to the tracking code.
# Copy the conversion scripts from the text file.
# Now you can add the conversion codes to your XYZ.
# Insert Ads conversion tags to XYZ Control Panel:-
# Go to your XYZ Control Panel > Settings > General > Cart & Checkout
Now, enable the Tracking code on” Thank you for your order” page. You have to paste the conversion codes into the text area and click Save to apply the changes
Now when your customers reach the Thank you for order page at the checkout, the conversion scripts will flash and pass the conversion data to your Ads account.
Difference Between Google Ads & AdWords Express –
If you’ve been in the PPC industry for a while, then the chances are you’ll have stumbled across Ads Express at some point. Both Google Ads (AdWords) and Google Ads (AdWords) Express have some significant differences.
Campaign Management – The regular Google Ads (AdWords) allows you to continually update your campaign while it’s active, allowing you to do things such as optimize your amount per click and change keywords.
Google Ads (AdWords) Express has an entirely different management approach. Here, the campaign is entirely automated.
It means as soon as you launch your campaign Google’s robots will take control and start optimizing your adverts.
By not having control of your campaign, you’re basically relying on Google doing the right thing. Google will be optimizing your adverts for the most views and clicks and not the most conversions.
If your ads are getting clicks but no conversion, then it’s worthless. It’s the first problem with Google Ads (AdWords) Express.
# Formats of Ads – Google Ads (AdWords) allow you to use animated or static banners. It allows engaging video adverts and expanded text adverts on Google’s own websites and their partner websites.
It’s ideal for complex A/B testing of different banners and adverts to see which one performs the best.
Google Ads (AdWords) Express, on the other hand, is limited to just text adverts on Google’s websites which not only reduces the number of views but makes people less likely to click them.
It doesn’t allow you to use the newly advanced ad formats such as video adverts on Google’s YouTube. If you’re planning on having a complex and rich-media advertising campaign then Google Ads (AdWords) is the only choice for you.
# Google Ads (AdWords) Express – It’s ideal for first-time users and people who don’t have a lot of time on their hands. It aims to save your time by automatically managing your campaigns.
You’ll write the ad and Google will display it on their website of Google Maps, when you set up your campaign. The ongoing maintenance with Express is minimal and you’ll only pay for the clicks that you receive.
The benefits of Express include:-
- Pay only when someone clicks on your ad
- There are minimal management and maintenance of ads
- You can advertise on Google and Google Maps
- You can reach customers in any geographic location you choose
# Google Ads (AdWords) – It gives you full control over your ad campaigns with the ability to manage keywords, locations, and ad formats.
It gives you the ultimate customisability. You simply create a new advert and decide which of the Google ad networks you want to be displayed on to set up your campaign. You can use multiple formats like video ads and shopping ads.
The benefits of Google Ads (AdWords) include:-
- Pay only when someone clicks on your ad
- You can choose your own keywords, set prices, and structure your account
- You can reach customers in any location
- You can advertise with special ad formats and detailed reporting
Both Google Ads (AdWords) & Express are very similar but the main differences are the automated management feature and advanced ad format.
Express takes control of the management for you who might seem like a useful feature, but you’ll never get the ROI of normal Ads management.
Express also lacks the advances ad formats such as video and shopping ads which reduce your overall customer audience.
No matter which Ads version you choose, they’re both susceptible to click fraud. It’s a major problem in the PPC industry and affects millions of users every single day.
You need PPC protection if you want to stop seeing your PPC budget go up in smoke.
# Dedicated Landing Page – It’s crucial to make sure that the landing page is optimized to boost your business. It’ is important to use landing pages for your Google Ads (AdWords).
If you want to do better, then your landing page should be well aligned with the keywords, your ad copy, and your searcher’s intent.
It’ll improve your quality score for your ad. Your quality score has a massive effect on your PPC. Targeted and optimized landing pages will affect your conversion rates and it could easily double your ROI.
It’s not showing only a blog post, but also includes:-
- A link to your business
- A call to action button to visit a product or service page
- Sharing buttons to allow to share the piece of content
- Social media icons that lead people to your social network pages to follow your updates
- A comments box to log-in through social media so customers can discuss the content
- Sign up or email newsletter button so that visitors never miss any piece of great content or any special offer
# Keywords Research – Proper keyword research and selection are important to the success of your Google Ads (AdWords) advertising.
You should start seeing where you’re losing money. It’ll start with keywords with data from the new tracking information to create a filter to show the keywords in your account that have never generated a conversion.
Google Ads (AdWords) would then show you all the keywords that haven’t generated any conversions in this timeframe. Then you can remove those keywords.
You can use the Google Keyword Planner to find related terms and phrases to develop a more complete list of possible keywords.
It’s important, because your customers may use different words and phrases when looking for your products/services. Google will generate a list of related keywords, along with search volume and average CPC.
# Keep Mobile in Mind – Mobile strategy building for Google Ads (AdWords) helps you reach people who are searching on their smartphones.
You should consider the following factors to ensure mobile success:-
- Optimize your landing age for mobile, and consider the best content that looks great on mobile
- Add a clickable phone number on your landing page so that visitors can get in touch
- Keep the mobile user in mind while writing copy and choosing keywords
- Use the same testing and evaluate methods to constantly improve your mobile ads. Mobile versus desktop is another metric to measure. It may lead your business to exclusively run Google Ads (AdWords) campaigns.
# Right Tracking for ROI – It’s important, otherwise, you’re basically throwing your money away. If you simply getting your tracking set up correctly, you could easily double your Ads return on investment (ROI).
Google Ads (AdWords) has in-built capabilities that both track and report on your return on investment (ROI). You can track e-commerce sales, phone calls, and even offline sales that were closed via phone calls or in person.
This report will show you exactly most sales-driving/lead generation keywords and ads which allowing you to allocate your budget accordingly and maximize your ROI.
Google Ads (AdWords) conversion tracking tool provides important data relating to what a searcher does after clicking on your ad, which allows you to make advertising decisions based on what is actually getting results.
You’ve to access to the following metrics:-
- Cost Per Conversion – how much you are paying for a sale/call
- Conversion Rate – what percentage of visitors are completing a transaction, contracting you, etc.
You’ll be able to easily identify and make changes accordingly. You’ll need to add a piece of code to your website to use the Google Ads (AdWords) conversion tracking tool.
# Retargeting (RLSA) – It’s basically a way to show your ads only to people who have come to your website. You can even show ads to people who have looked at specific pages on your website.
It’s genius because rarely buy the first time they visit a website. But when you build brand affinity with them, the chances they’ll convert easily.
So using remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) for your ads could easily double your ROI.
Few Mistakes by New Advertisers in Google Ads (AdWords) –
New advertisers throw any and all semi-relevant keywords into their accounts on the basis that more keywords will result in more visitors and sales. You should keep in mind the following factors which include:-
# Cost – If you have a limited advertising budget and more keywords you have in your account, the more you’ll spend on advertising.
You can start with a smaller number of keywords that are most relevant to your business and most likely to be profitable, and then expand your keyword list.
# Quality Score – It’s an important difficult concept for new advertisers to understand. The higher your quality score, the less you’ll have to pay per click for your ad to appear in a certain position on the SERP.
It’s possible for an advertiser to pay less than a competitor in position 2 due to a higher quality score.
Some ads look more appealing to searchers than others and therefore have a higher click-through-rate (CTR), which is the number of clicks that an ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown.
Google likes ads that have higher CTR because ads that get clicked on more make them more money.
Google uses a number called Quality Score (a reflection of CTR) which determines how much an advertiser has to pay for an ad to appear in a certain position.
It’ll be with lesser pay per click to display their ads. An ad with lower CTR is punished with lower quality score meaning that they have to pay more per click. So, it’s important to choose our keywords carefully.
# Search Volume – It’s important to focus on targeted keywords that are highly relevant to your business. You need to strike a balance with search volume, how many people are actually searching for the keyword on Google. Generally, a more targeted keyword will generate a lower search volume.
Common Mistakes in Keywords Selection –
New advertisers make the mistakes of using broad match because it’s the default settings in Google Ads (AdWords).
It wastes its advertising budget on clicks that will never convert. Always be cautious with Google’s default settings, which are set with Google’s objectives in mind rather than your own.
# Broad Match – It’s a default option in Google Ads (AdWords), and allows you to reach the largest number of people. It provides the least control over when your ad is shown.
# Phrase Match – It provides more control than broad match. But it reaches a similar audience. When someone must enter a search into Google that contains your keyword in the same order that you typed it a keyword to display your ad.
# Exact Match – It’s the most targeted match type in Google Ads (AdWords), and as a result reaches the smallest number of people.
Someone must search for your keyword in Google, exactly as you have typed it to be displayed on an exact match keyword.
It basically depends on two things, your budget and desired reach. If you’re starting with a limited budget and want to make your advertising is profitable.
Then, you should start with mostly exact match keywords. It’ll give you the most control over when your ads are shown, reducing wasted ad spend on non-converting keywords.
If you have a large budget and are willing to reach a larger number of people, you could start with all three match types.
# Negative Keywords – These are different from regular keywords and they prevent your ads from being shown when that particular keyword is included in a search query.
If you’re using phrase and broad match keywords in your account in combination with these. Therefore, you should always use negative keywords to increase your CTR and reduce wasted ad spending.
These keywords should be added at the campaign level or at the ad group level. You add them with a negative symbol right in front of the keyword, like this: “-cats”.
You should think carefully before picking-up negative keywords. They can make a massive difference in profitability.
Mistakes in Dedicated Campaigns and Ad Groups –
New advertisers one of the biggest mistakes is not creating enough campaigns and ad groups. It would send visitors to the page on your website that is the most likely place to convert them into customers.
Most of your ads spend and profitability is probably running through a small group of keywords. These keywords are ultra-valuable which requires more attention than your other keywords.
You should create dedicated landing pages for those very special keywords. You can put the bulk of your budget into those very special keywords.
You should think to be choosing campaign type from the following:-
# Search Network – When you probably think about Google Ads (AdWords), advertisements displayed on SERP, when visitors enter a search query into Google.
It targets people who are actively searching for your products/services. New advertisers should start with this network only.
# Display Network – It’s a network of more than a million websites where Google Ads (AdWords) can be displayed.
It targets people who are browsing websites that contain content that is related to your products/services. Do you know where are you running Display Ads? Go to Display Network > Placements.
You can see where your ads are running. Then actually go to the top ten websites listed. Advertisers are shocked by what they find in the list.
Your ads are probably showing on thousands of similar websites. It’s not a branding problem. It’s also a click fraud problem.
It’s a serious, widespread, and black hole for money. If you’re getting conversions and you would found that most of those conversions are fraudulent.
You should fix this problem. You should delete the campaign, erase all the display placement and start with your own list.
- You can find a list of the top 500 most-visited websites on the internet.
- Then add those websites to your display placements. Once you’ve completed the safe list of websites.
- Turn the campaign on and see how the two campaigns run. Track how these early conversions in Google Ads (AdWords) convert into actual sales.
- A display network is a valuable tool. It just needs careful management.
# Bidding – It’s most important because it’ll determine how much you spend on Google Ads (AdWords) advertising.
It’ll have 2 options,
1. Manually setting your bid, or
2. Allowing Google Ads (AdWords) to set them automatically.
The best option is manual bidding for clicks because it’ll give you the most control over how your budget is being spent.
# Location – This option determines what geographical locations your ads will be shown. It’s important for local businesses to service to customers in a small geographical area.
In local business, you can choose the mileage radius that customers will visit. Google Ads (AdWords) makes it easy to see this information.
It allows you to choose geographical targeting that will ensure your ads are only displayed to potential customers.
# Know your USP – It explains why a potential customer should buy your product/service instead of a competitor’s. Your ads will differentiate it from all other ads or search results around it.
# Think like a Customer – You should try to put yourself in the position of a customer searching for one of your keywords in Google. What do they want to know about your product/service? What is their concern?
# Helpful in SEO Strategy – SEO is a great investment because if your website is on the first page, you don’t have to pay for the clicks to your website.
SEO can take several months to get your business to rank on the first page of Google. With Google Ads (AdWords), you can get your website visible on the first page of Google within hours.
Google Ads (AdWords) gives you the ability to test different keywords and see if they drive sales for your business.
This information is helpful for your SEO strategy and investing your budget on keywords that will actually generate sales once your website is ranking.
Conclusion – Google Ads (AdWords) is an incredibly powerful tool for advertising your business. You need to pay close attention to the setup, tracking, and managing your account, it’ll give you an excellent ROI and create sales for your business.