Google Ads is a very powerful tool for businesses, but it’s also full of potential pitfalls. If you don’t use your ads correctly, they can end up costing you money and losing customers. This is why it’s important to know how to avoid common Google Ads mistakes so that you can maximize your ROI with the program.
1. Not using specific keywords.
The first and most obvious mistake you can make with Google Ads is not using specific keywords. This may sound obvious, but it’s important to remember that people searching for your products or services are looking for something specific. If they come across a page on Google that doesn’t have the right words in its title or description, they’ll click away and never come back again!
To avoid this problem, use longtail keywords (these are longer than two words). Longtail keywords are often more relevant than short ones because searches tend to be broader and more complex than single-word phrases like “buy” or “sell.” For example:
- “buy dog food” vs “eat dog food”
- “sell books online” vs “read books online”
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2. Using only one keyword match type.
- Broad match: This is the most common keyword match type. It looks for all variations of your keywords, including synonyms and plurals.
- Phrase: This is similar to broad, but it also looks for exact matches with other words in the phrase (for example, “[keyword] vacuum cleaner” would be considered a phrase match with “vacuum cleaner”).
- Exact: This type will only show ads when there’s a 100% match between what you’re searching for and what you’re searching for on Google Ads (exact).
3. Not setting up conversion tracking
Conversion tracking is a must for any online business that wants to see how certain actions lead to sales and other metrics. Without conversion tracking, you won’t be able to know if your ads are actually driving customers through the door or not. If you don’t have this set up, it can be hard to tell when someone has converted because there aren’t any clear signs of success (like an email being sent).
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4. Placing ads on low-quality websites
Some of the most common Google Ads mistakes are placing ads on low-quality websites. You need to use this tool correctly and not ignore what it takes for your campaigns to work properly.
If you don’t know how to choose the best websites for your campaign, then at least make sure that they are well-optimized and have high quality content – otherwise it will be very difficult for them to perform well in search results!
In addition, having a poor quality website with poor content can also lead some users away from visiting other pages within your website or landing page (e..g., if they don’t find anything interesting enough). This means that they will never come back again when searching online using Google Ads (and therefore wasting money).
ALSO READ: 10 Ways to Make Your Website More Inbound-Friendly
5. Having a weak landing page
Landing pages are the pages that people visit after clicking on an ad. They are designed to convert visitors into customers and this is why they need to be relevant, optimized for conversion and easy to navigate.
There are some things you can do at your landing page to make sure it is mobile friendly:
- Create a simple yet attractive design with text that’s large enough for people’s eyesight (1-2 seconds). This way users won’t have any trouble reading everything on the page even if they’re looking at their phone while walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant waiting for their food order.
- Make sure images load quickly so users don’t have time consuming wait times between clicking on an ad and seeing what’s being advertised; this will also help improve conversions!
6. Underestimating the importance of ad extensions
Ad extensions are an important part of your ad, and they can help you get more clicks, more impressions, and more conversions.
Ad extensions are basically any element that’s outside the main piece of content. For example:
- A video player might show up when users click on a link in a text ad
- An audio player might play when users click on an image or button in an image ad
- A pop-up window could appear after users click on a call-to-action (CTA)
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7. Not setting separate mobile bids
The mobile CPC is often higher than the desktop CPC and you should be bidding more for mobile clicks.
You should also be bidding different amounts for mobile and desktop clicks, depending on whether you’re targeting people who are on their phones or not.
You can use a combination of device-specific ad units (such as image ads with text overlays) and regular text ads to reach both categories of users, but the latter will have better results if they’re served alongside a callout button or link back to your website.
8. Spending too much money on bad keywords and not enough on the good ones
As you start to optimize your ads, there’s a temptation to spend more money on keywords that aren’t relevant. This can be tempting because it feels like you’re getting more bang for your buck. But if you do this, you’ll be wasting money in the long run and not optimizing for the best possible performance from those ads.
It’s important that Google Ads serves up results that are truly relevant to whatever product or service you’re selling—not just any old keyword will do!
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9. Not monitoring your account regularly and making necessary changes
One of the most important things you can do to keep your Google Ads account in check is to make sure that you’re monitoring it regularly. A lot of people get so caught up in their work and don’t have time for this, but if you want to make sure that everything is working properly, then it’s important.
It’s one thing if a keyword or ad group isn’t getting any results; that’s probably just because there aren’t enough people searching for those terms yet (or at least not enough who are using this particular extension). But if there are no new keywords being added or groups being created, then something might be going wrong with your account!
10. Giving up too soon and not using remarketing
Remarketing is a powerful way to increase ROI. It helps you reach prospective customers who have already visited your website and are likely to become repeat visitors, as well as those who have already purchased from your website.
Remarketing lets you target ads only at those users who have previously interacted with your ads (or even just seen them once), so it’s an excellent opportunity for improving conversion rates.
Conclusion
The good news is that you can avoid these 10 common mistakes by using the tips we’ve shared. We hope that our list has helped to educate and enlighten your understanding of how Google Ads work, so that next time you set up an account with them, you’ll know what to do.
