Showing posts with label Mistakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mistakes. Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2011

3 Common Mistakes When Using Google AdWords

When you've been attempting to implement an effective AdWords campaign and haven't gotten the results you thought you would, chances are you're not using it to the best of its abilities. Using Google AdWords can improve your campaign's ROI when you avoid making some of the most common mistakes. Here are some suggestions about what NOT to do when using Google AdWords.


Limiting your target area to only one country such as the United States is a very common misstep. There is much more traffic than most people realize overseas. Just think about all of the missed opportunities businesses lose when they target only one place. Plus, the online traffic overseas is cheaper. Clicks that cost $0.50 and over in one place, will be only $0.25 in another country. There is positively enough traffic to make it all worthwhile. Many of your top campaigns may be ones you run only overseas once you start tapping into the traffic there successfully.


Another thing to avoid is making your AdGroups too broad and bold. Most people tend to group a broad range of similar keywords into AdGroups. For example, if you're promoting a roofing repair service, you may group keywords like: "flat roofing, roof repair, and roofing contractor" into one group called "roofing repair service." This is a big mistake. People are more picayune in their mindset than you may realize at first. There is a world of difference between the online searcher who plugs in "flat roofing" and the one who types in "roofing contractor." One group wants to buy a specific type of home product, the other is just generally looking for someone to do some minor repair work on their home. One keyword per AdGroup can avoid things being too broad.


Finally, you will want to remain conscious of your Quality Score. The name of the AdWords game is Quality Score, so make sure you understand what this is and how important having a good score is for your business development. The difference between a mediocre Quality Score and a good one is: higher rankings and more traffic; more ad rotations; and cheaper clicks. Being meticulous about your Quality Score by consistently providing fresh content is one of the most effective ways you can improve your business sales.


Marketing your business online is easy when you have the right tools. Google AdWords is a very useful tool which, when used properly, can bring much more traffic to your site. Just avoid some of the errors and you'll be up and running with it.


The 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Using Google AdWords

Many people using Google AdWords are often disappointed that they spend a lot of money, get lots of visitors to their website but don't get many conversions. In my experience, there are 5 major mistakes that people make when starting out on their AdWords campaigns:


1. Not Doing Keyword Research


You need to be conducting thorough keyword research before you even begin your AdWords campaign. If you don't know what people are searching for, how will you tailor your ads to meet their needs? Google's keyword tool is great - you can find it at googleeasysearch.com.


Targeting the right keywords is integral to your AdWords Campaign. The best keywords for AdWords are those that aren't too competitive, don't cost too much and are relevant to your business. It might be tempting to bid on keywords that are cheap and get a lot of traffic but unless they are relevant, the user either won't pay any attention to your ad, or if they do click through, they will most likely bounce straight off. A bounce occurs when a website visitor only views a single page on a website, that is, the visitor leaves a site without visiting any other pages.


2. Not Targeting Ads and Campaigns


Once you've got your keywords that are relevant to your industry, aren't too competitive and don't cost the earth to bid on, you need to divide them up into categories for different Ad Groups.


For example, if you are selling organic clothing, you could have an organic shirt category, an organic jumper and organic hat category. This way, you can write ads that target your specific keywords. A user is less likely to click on your ad if it is for organic jumpers and they are looking for an organic hat.


When you come to create your Ad Groups, you can then write an advert that is relevant to all of your keywords from one category.


3. Only Running One Advert Per Ad Group


In your Ad Groups, you have the opportunity to run several ads at the same time. In the Ad Group settings, you can choose to rotate them evenly, showing one the same amount of times as the others. Or you can choose to show the ads with the higher click through rates more often.


By rotating your ads, and seeing which have the highest click through rates, you can learn which ads work and which don't. Keep changing your adverts all the time and experiment with different wordings.


4. Ads that don't stand out


Every day, we are subject to thousands of advertisements; on the television, on the radio and on the internet. Yours need to stand out. Take time to think about what your potential customers wants to read. What will compel them to take action?


Even though you have a limited amount of characters, make sure to include what makes you different. Is it that you're cheaper? More eco friendly? Or a friendlier service? If you don't give your reader a reason to click on your advert above others, they won't.


5. Leaving The Campaign To Run


An effective AdWords campaign needs to be updated regularly. Monitor your click through rate - which ads are working and which are not? As new keywords pop into your head, check them out to see what the traffic is like. Leaving your AdWords campaign to run might bring you enough clicks but by changing your campaign all the time, you will open your website up to more and more visitors.


The main point to remember is to be strategic. Don't just throw lots of keywords at one campaign and see what sticks. By targeting your adverts and keywords, the user will find what they are looking for by clicking to your website. Relevance is key.