Are you looking to take your digital advertising to the next level? Look no further than Google Ads.
As the most popular search engine in the world, Google offers advertisers unparalleled reach and targeting capabilities. But the benefits of starting a Google ad campaign go far beyond just putting your brand in front of more eyes. With Google Ads, you can target your ads to the right audience, control your costs, measure your success, and more. But to do so, you must ensure you set up the campaign correctly from the start for optimal success.
Something to know about me, I don’t like to rush into anything. I am a planner by nature and hate doing things last minute. In this post, I will share with you 8 steps I have learned from my experience in Google ads campaigns — some learned the hard way.
Let's be honest, not all campaigns are going to work. If you have been doing this long enough like me, you understand that failure is a part of the learning process.
" In order to succeed, you must fail so you understand what not to do the next time. " - Anthony D A'ngelo
So let's dive in, and I will show you how to set up your Google Ads to get the best performance and ROI from the start.
The first step in any successful Google Ads campaign is determining the demand for your product or service. This involves conducting thorough keyword research and analyzing search volumes to identify your industry's most relevant and popular keywords.
It's important to approach this task with a customer-centric mindset and consider how real people might search for your product or service rather than relying on industry jargon.
You can also gather valuable insights by speaking with your Sales and Customer Service teams to understand what customers ask when they call or inquire. This information will help you identify gaps in your strategy and shape your overall approach.
Now that you have your list of keywords, let’s move on to the next step.
Any overlap in keywords they are using and what you want to use will determine your bid amounts and overall budget requirements.
It's also worth checking whether your competitors are bidding on your business name (some refer to this as setting up a competitor adgroup with a list of competitor names), as this can indicate a more aggressive approach that you should be aware of in your strategy.
Before launching your Google Ads campaign, it's essential to have a clear goal and outcome in mind. I cannot stress enough that you don't jump in without this. Consider what you want to achieve with your campaign, whether it's increased traffic, improved brand awareness, or higher sales conversions, and tailor your approach accordingly.
Be sure to define your target audience and develop a list of relevant keywords that align with your campaign goals. It's also important to define the specific action you want your customers to take from your ads and ensure your landing page is optimized for conversions before launching your campaign.
I will say it again — is your landing page set up for conversions? If not, fix this first before driving traffic to it.
Setting up your conversions is a critical step in tracking the success of your Google Ads campaign. You can use a tool like Google Tag Manager or set up individual conversions to track user behavior and measure campaign outcomes.
With the recent shift to GA4 are your Events set up correctly for tracking?
When writing your Google Ads, keeping your target customer in mind is essential. Use a tone and context that resonates with your audience and craft ad copy that raises interest and convinces customers to take action.
Be sure to create multiple ads per ad group and maximize your ad assets by including all extensions offered.
It's also worth exploring different types of ads, such as dynamic, search, display, Performance Max, and YouTube, but be sure to keep them as separate campaigns to measure each individually.
You have your lists of keywords, now how will you set them up? Optimizing your keyword strategy is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and refinement. Understanding the differences between broad, phrase, and exact match keywords is critical to ensuring you are targeting the right audience and minimizing wasted spend.
You can also use search queries from Google Search Console to identify what people are currently searching for, helping you refine your keyword list and add negative keywords to eliminate bad traffic.
This is not a set-it-and-forget-it channel. Nor is it a short-term channel and requires a long-term strategy for success.
Take the first few weeks or months as a learning phase, where you can gather data and insights to inform your optimization efforts. Then, review, optimize, and repeat to improve your campaign performance continually
Finally, remarketing audiences offer an excellent opportunity to nurture visitors who have already engaged with your business. By targeting users who have already shown interest in your brand, you can continue communicating with them and drive them toward conversion. This means developing compelling content, offers, and other highlights of your brand that will keep them engaged and ultimately win them over.
Please take the time upfront and review these steps to ensure your campaign is set up correctly.
"Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pitiful Poor Performance" - Don Meyer
Say that three times real fast :0
As you continue to optimize and refine your Google Ads campaigns, it's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices. In addition to testing and learning on your own, there are a variety of resources available to help you develop your skills and achieve success with this powerful advertising channel.
I want to end this blog post with some of my favorites:
By staying informed and educated on the latest trends and best practices, you can ensure that your Google Ads campaigns continue to perform at their peak. So, whether you use the resources mentioned above or have another go-to source, keep learning and growing with this powerful advertising channel.
If you have any other resources that have helped you achieve success with Google Ads, I would love to hear from you.
BUT WAIT! I want to add one more. I would be remiss if I did not mention this one:
Can we all agree that Google likes to throw in new ad options for us to use? I don’t have experience yet in this one, but I am excited to see how they work.
Are you using them yet? Leave me a comment below!