Are you using AdWords to drive website traffic, but you’re worried you’re burning through budget for little return? If yes, take heed of this guide and I promise you you’ll save money and get better results.
Used by businesses across the globe, Google AdWords is one of the primary methods digital marketers use to drive website traffic and leads. But with such popularity comes fierce competition, and advertisers are constantly looking for new ways to improve their campaign and stand out.
Here’s a few tactics that in my years of researching, configuring and managing AdWords campaigns I know work to save money and ensure your ads remain competitive.
Utilise ‘all features’
Ensure you are utilising ‘all features’ in the settings tab and you can employ advanced optimisation techniques to ensure that your adverts are fully optimised for success. These include ad scheduling, delivery method, keyword matching options and more.
Implement an ad schedule
Schedule your ads for a time of the day when people are most likely to convert. Filter by day and time in the Dimensions tab and you’ll be able to see when most of your conversions occur and schedule your ads accordingly. This will ensure your ads perform for the best return on investment.
Beware broad match types
By default when you add keywords they are appear as broad match. Broad match keywords automatically trigger ads for variations of your keywords, even if they aren’t on your list and are irrelevant terms. While for some campaigns this can help increase reach and brand awareness, for many it yields all manner of irrelevant clicks, reducing your conversion rate and blowing your budget for little return.
Avoid this by adding in exact match keywords and considering a broad match modifier which allows you more control over the kinds of searches that trigger your ads. Exact match keywords must appear exactly as they’re specified to trigger ads (with the exception of plurals and misspellings), broad match modifier must include all of the keywords you specify but can appear in any order and with other words typed in as well. Read more about keyword match types and understand fully how your choice affects your campaign.
Run regular search terms reports
In addition to adding alternative keyword match types, run a search terms report – at least monthly. This report identifies all the terms that triggered your ads in a given time period. If you spot any keywords that aren’t relevant to your campaign you can exclude them from here, saving you money on wasted clicks.
Test and refine
By changing nothing, nothing changes and if you want to become more competitive or even just to maintain your ad position you need to continually refine your campaign. Testing new ad copy and ad extension copy can help you stay one step ahead. Don’t forget, if you haven’t already added in the new Expanded Text Ads to do so, soon standard ads will not be eligible to show.
Keep up to speed
We have identified that AdWords is a highly competitive market place. To ensure you are one step ahead regularly check in on the AdWords blog for updates to the platform that you can take advantage of.
