5 Min Read If you’re looking to advertise your product or service online, Google Ads is a great way to get your offering in front of potential customers right when they are searching for it. However, it’s not as simple as just directing users to your website, there are many factors that go into formulating a successful Google Ads campaign.
At eclipse marketing, we have a wealth of experience in managing and optimising Google Ads campaigns. None more so than our resident Google Ads expert and PPC Manager, Katherine Fawkes, who shares her top tips on how to improve your Google Ads performance below.
Target Effective Keywords
First and foremost, the success of your ad relies on the keywords you choose to target. Keywords are words or phrases that Google uses to match your ads to the terms your potential customers are searching for. For example, if a user searches for gardening gloves, they don’t expect to see an ad for gardening shears. Ensuring you are only targeting keywords that are relevant to your offering using Exact Match or Phrase Match types will result in a more efficient campaign than one that targets broader search terms. Whilst it may seem like a better investment to bid on broader keywords and get your ad in front of more users, this will lead to a low click through rate as users will scroll past your ad to one more relevant to their search. It will also result in a higher bounce rate when users click through to your website, driving Google to deem your ad as low quality which will ultimately increase your cost per click (CPC).
Include Negative Keywords
Another way to ensure your Google Ads aren’t showing up in irrelevant searches is to use negative keywords. These are words or phrases that you do not want your ad to show up alongside, even though they are usually associated with your product or service. For example, if you only sell women’s gardening gloves, you wouldn’t want your ad being shown to users who searched for men’s gardening gloves, as they don’t have any intention of purchasing your product. Using negative keywords helps streamline your Google Ads strategy by making sure your ad is only shown to users with high purchase intent.
Audience and Location Targeting
When creating your Google Ads strategy, it’s not only the correct keywords that you need to be targeting. Your chosen audience and location also play a pivotal role in the performance of your ad. You can define your target audience through their demographics, interests, affinities and behaviour. For example, if you’re a gardening tool manufacturer, you want to make sure the users seeing your ad are interested in gardening. A successful Google Ads campaign will utilise location targeting to ensure your ads are being displayed to users who actually have the ability to convert. For example, if you’re a garden centre that only sells products in store, you will want to target a specific radius around your business targeting users who are within an acceptable travelling distance.
Optimised Copy
Now the behind the scenes of your Google Ads have been taken care of, it’s time to focus on the most important part, what the user will see. With multiple search results for your potential customers to choose from, it is vital that your ad copy is fully optimised to encourage users to click through to your landing page. Your headline must use clear language that directly addresses the user’s search intent and search term, if possible use words and phrases that evoke emotion and create a sense of urgency. Within the rest of your copy, focus on the benefits of your product/service rather than just features to highlight why your offering is better than the rest. Finish with a strong call to action that reinforces these benefits, telling the user exactly what you want them to do.
Customised Landing Pages
When a user clicks on your ad, they are doing so because they are interested in the particular product or service they were searching for, not because they want to view your website’s homepage. By creating a dedicated landing page for your ad, you are streamlining the user journey and ensuring consistency between what the user expects to see and what you are offering them. Building trust and increasing the likelihood of them making a purchase or booking. For example, if a user clicks on your ad for gardening gloves and is taken to your homepage which is focusing on garden furniture, they will most likely abandon your website altogether and hope that the ad below yours has what they are looking for, increasing your bounce rate and decreasing your ad quality.
Need Expert Help to Improve Your Google Ads Performance?
Creating a successful campaign is a continuous process, which requires constant monitoring, analysing and adapting. Whilst using the Google Ads tips discussed above will lead to improved performance, Google Ads is a complex platform that takes time and dedication to ensure you’re getting the best out of it. Luckily, here at eclipse we have a dedicated PPC team who know exactly how to build strategic campaigns that drive your business forward.
Contact our team on 01244 347 545, email [email protected] or fill out our online enquiry form to discuss how we can improve your Google Ads performance today.
