OK, so we’re embellishing a little. But the above situation is usually the reality if a good strategy is not devised. If your aim is to become a grizzled veteran on Google AdWords, you’re going to need to learn the ins and outs of this magnificent platform. Even then, every seasoned pro in the sport of online marketing tends to have a slip up once in a while. To get back on track, one needs to monitor trends.
Learning from mistakes made is also key to improving your Google AdWords campaigns. In this case, one can extrapolate the practice of digital marketing to real life in a very simple way – preparation is crucial. At the foundation of preparation, one of the first bricks to lay down is to acknowledge the mistakes. We don’t just mean your own, but the mistakes of other digital marketing experts as well. In order for you to start conquering this business, we have to begin with the basics.
Additionally, to be a true master of Google AdWords, you have to let go of the idea of compensation. There is no room for compensating one bad move with a good one. If you want to decrease your chances of botching that sales funnel, you’re going to want to avoid making these 6 mistakes listed below.
- Not making use of SKAGs – Single Keyword Ad Groups
When starting a campaign, there are several rookie mistakes to avoid. One of them is throwing together a plethora of random keywords. Creating keyword lists minimizes your chances of success. To maximize the potential of your product, you should consider using Single Ad Keyword Groups (SKAGs). These SKAGs aren’t created right away. They’re created by pitting keywords against each other and monitoring which are the best-performing ones.
To maximize your ranking within a certain category, you’re going to need to improve on the variations of a single keyword and focus on expanding that category only. Focus over dispersion, as it should always be.
- Forgetting about negative keywords
When you’re investing money in PPC ads, you’re going to mingle with keywords quite a lot. In fact, they very well may be your ticket to illustrious places within the Google search results. We tend to focus on what people are searching for and that is the start of the groundwork of every good campaign. However, something we omit often is negative keywords.
Negative keywords are terms that prevent your ads from showing on unrelated searches or websites and they can help you get the results you’ve paid for. By forgetting to use negative keywords, you will get unwanted clicks. For example, if you’re selling men’s basketball shoes and your ad is clicked on by someone who is searching for women’s shoes, those clicks are wasted.
When you furnish your campaign with negative keywords, the chances of that happening are decreased, and you will get more valuable clicks. This increases the chances of potential conversions now that the ads are more targeted.
- Linking the wrong landing page
When you arrive at work for your first day, your suit will contribute to others’ first impression of you. Digital marketing is not so different in this aspect. Your landing page affects the first impression you make when customers visit your website initially.
One mistake that we see with digital marketers on a daily basis is linking an ad to the home page. However, a thing to note is that visitor interactions are about one thing above all others – convenience. Of course, aesthetics are valued. But if you’re looking for information about a product or service, which would you rather: the immediate solution to your inquiry, or three hours worth of website browsing? I think we all know the answer to this one.
What you need is a quick conversion method. You want something that will turn curious visitors into loyal customers. The key is giving people what they want right away, no delays allowed.
- The absence of conversion tracking
Many online marketers get so ecstatic when they see a sudden spike in clicks. Barring a spambot attack, you should, indeed, be happy. But what happens next? Well, your typical marketer would go to bed with a smile on his face, thinking he succeeded. However, that’s going to be short-lived. Why? These sudden click booms can only repeat themselves if you track data regarding visits to your website.
In particular, you’ll want to know four crucial details about these visits:
- Destination of the conversion
- Events
- How many pages were viewed
- Duration of the visit
By knowing these details, you will know then learn how to direct your future campaigns. For instance, if your audience is 89% Filipino men aged 20-40, why not direct your messages solely to them?
- Not knowing the intent of users
People never search for things without intent. Whether they are searching for information, products or services, this is a well-known fact. A common mistake that dozens of digital marketers make is bid for keywords that don’t relate to their business, products or services. This doesn’t bring them extra traffic – it wastes clicks and drives customers away. So be sure to only include terms that are related to your products.
However, if you’re selling car brakes, you might consider adding keywords about related products such as “tire change”. If someone is looking to change their tires, they might then decide to get new brakes as well. It’s all about being one step ahead and knowing your audience.
- Omitting to include keyword variations
This is the deadliest sin of them all. Digital marketers have the hideous tendency to only include one keyword in every category. But if it’s conversions you’re seeking, consider adding these alternatives as well:
- Synonyms of your keyword
- Misspellings
- Phrases with extra words
- Your keyword in all caps
- Similar products
By adding these variations, you increase the chances of getting clicks. Chances are someone is going to misspell a word or search for something else while wanting your product. It’s your job to direct them back to your landing page.
