4 ways to improve your Google Ads campaign today
Published: September 07 2022
You spend money every month on Google Ads. You get a phone call here and there, and when you search your business' name, you see your business in the search results. But at what cost?
Are your Google Ads actually performing well enough to warrant what you're paying for them? Or are you wasting your dollars on keywords that aren't converting? Now's the time to find out.
1. Review your ad language and relevance score
Google scores your ads in part based on relevance. There are 3 tiers: “Above average”, “Average,” or “Below average”-- if you find your keywords marked the as latter, try starting your investigation there:
- Make sure your ad language and “search terms” match what your target customers or clients will be searching for in Google. Example: if your customer is likely to search Car detailing Kelowna, your ad should use this search term
- Consider grouping your keywords into themes to make them even more relevant. Themes can be based on your products, services, or any other category which makes sense to your industry. Example: if you sell pet food, you might have a group of keywords for "dog food" and another group of keywords for "cat food."
2. Optimize your ad text to match your landing page
Simply put, this means updating your landing page to ensure your page matches the message in the ad. If someone clicks on your ad that advertises the “Lowest prices on winter tires in Vernon” and land on your homepage with a full service menu from oil changes to maintenance packages, instead of a landing page telling them more about winter tires with pricing information and a number to call, they might leave and try the next ad.
Remember it helps to work backwards: if you think about the questions your potential customers are typing into Google and give them what they’re looking for, improved performance should follow.
3. Determine if SmartAds are still working for you, if applicable
When it comes to seeking Google Ads expertise it’s hard to know where to turn. The platform (and the competition!) changes constantly, the ease with which you can gain traction often varies by industry and Google’s SmartAds may not be spending in the right places if you don’t have the technical knowledge required.
Example: If you are a Penticton hair salon running ads for “Hairdresser” keywords, you might be showing up for search terms which are highly competitive and you could be paying far too much for each click! Do most clicks turn into a booking? If so, that could be worth it. If not, you may want to use Google’s Keyword Planner to determine if keywords like “highlights Penticton” or “Balayage” might be far less competitive and therefore far less expensive. On the other hand, if your search terms are not used by people very often, your ad might not get seen or clicked.
SmartAds may perform well when first set up but could stop delivering the same results after a few months. This can be best mitigated by regular monitoring and optimizing. When in doubt, speak with an expert who can audit your account.
4. Audit your account
Digital marketing expertise comes in all shapes and sizes, and it's hard to know where to start. Our Google Ads Grader Report will give you a full professional audit of your Google Ads account free of charge.
Each Csek Creative Google Ads Grader Report will break down:
- Account Activity: how frequently you, or your paid expert, made changes in the past 30 days to key areas of your Google Ads account
- Quality Score: which is the above mentioned keyword relevance score
- Impression Share: how often your ads are appearing for searches that are relevant.
- Wasted Spend: a category that speaks for itself!