Top 10 Adwords Mistakes That Will RUIN Your Business!
Hi there,
Actually this list comprises of 13 costly Adwords errors, but I put 10 in the title because I’m a marketer :) Anywho, let’s get to the list!
#1 Basic Account Setup Errors - Check account setting. You need to make sure your ads are showing at the right times of day and in the right location, etc.
#2 Not Setting Match Types
- If you’re spending way too much money on your account, it’s probably because you’re running a bunch of Broad Match keywords, which Google Adwords gives you by default. You should make use of a variety of match types, such as Broad Match Modifier, Phrase Match, Phrase Match Modifier, and Exact Match.
#3 Not checking Search Terms - You can check your Search Terms to make sure relevant search queries are triggering your ads. If you’re getting irrelevant searches costing you money, you can add those terms as negative keywords.
#4 Automatic Bidding
- This one happens a lot. For most advertisers, this is a terrible idea. Set Manual CPC to help control your budget
#5 Poor Account Organization - Account structure should ALWAYS resemble the website. This goes for everything from account settings, to keywords, ad groups, even the ads themselves. The naming conventions in the account also need to make sense.
#6 Landing Pages & Quality Score - Ads should ALWAYS talk about a topic AND send the searcher to a landing page talking about that same thing.. Make sure that Adwords “ quality score” ( composed of Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page experience) of an Ad is good. Quality Score also affects how much Google charges you for clicks, as well as how often your ad is served (shown) to searchers.
#7 No Negative Keywords - ALWAYS have negative keywords. This will save you tons of money in the long run. Negative keywords are keywords that won’t shown for your ads.
#8 Not Optimizing Website For Mobile Traffic
- Make sure website is mobile friendly. Use http://quirktools.com/screenfly/ (it's free) to verify.
#9 Improper Location Targeting - Make sure your ads are targeting people in the location you selected. Most of the time, change the default setting to “ people in my targeted location” by going to campaign → settings → location options (advanced) → target → people in my targeted location. Make sure as well that you exclude the locations where your don't want your ads to show ( locations → select city → select exclude)
#10 No Remarketing Campaign/List - Make sure that the remarketing feature is enable for the website. Setup the code on the website and build a campaign where the ads can target people who left your website. Alternatively, you can also build a remarketing list.
#11 Bad Ad Copy and No A/B Split Testing
- Look over your ad copy. If you wouldn’t click on that ad yourself, don’t expect anyone else to either.
- The text of the ads you are writing need to be relevant to the keywords that you are bidding on. This all goes back to proper account structure. It’s the foundation of a properly run Adwords account.
- A/B Split Testing (a.k.a. Test ONE variable against another). Without A/B testing you won’t know which ads are truly performing and which ones to keep vs those to shut down. In other words, not testing will costs you a LOT of money.
#12 Not Using Ad Extensions
- There’s simply no reason to NOT use as many Ad Extensions as you can for your business. It simply makes sense to do so, because Ad Extensions give your ads more real estate (make your ad space larger) on the search pages, making it all the more likely for YOUR ads to be clicked.
#13 Not Setting Up Conversion Tracking
-- This is HUGE. If you don’t have proper conversion tracking installed, you’re literally pouring your hard earned money down the drain, due to the fact you’re basically shooting in the dark. The particular actions you track of course will depend on your type of business, as well as your own business goals, but at the end of the day, if you want Paid Advertising to be profitable for you, (not just Adwords) set up proper conversion tracking.
So there you have it, 13 ACTIONABLE steps for not wasting money on Adwords :) If you’d like to know more, just reach out!
- Ash