In the world of digital marketing, Google Ads stands as a cornerstone tool for businesses seeking to boost their online presence.
This guide offers insight into the best practices of Google Ads, tailored for marketers and businesses aiming to optimise their campaigns for maximum impact.
This guide covers the essential elements that make a successful Google Ads campaign, from keyword research and selection to campaign structuring.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your existing strategies, this guide provides valuable insights and practical tips to help you navigate the dynamic landscape of Google advertising.
The Best Way To Use Google Ads
So, what is Google Ads, and what is the best way to use the platform?
Google Ads is an online platform that you can use to promote your business, help sell products or services, and increase traffic to your website.
Google Ads is a PPC platform (pay-per-click) where businesses bid on keywords relevant to their brand to appear in search results. The great thing about Google Ads is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
The best way to use Google Ads is to create a budget and stick to it. Once you’ve chosen your budget, it’s time to select the type of ads you’d like to run and keywords you’d like to target.
Another great thing about Google Ads is that you can change your mind anytime. If a particular campaign isn’t working for you, you can switch it up until you find one that suits you.
Choosing Google Ads Keywords
The first step to setting up a Google Ads campaign is choosing the right keywords for your business. The keywords you choose will determine which search pages your website will show up in and, ultimately, impact who you’re targeting.
For example, if you own a luxury accommodation in Noosa and target the keyword “luxury accommodation in Noosa”, you will generate traffic from people looking to book a luxury holiday in Noosa. However, if you choose the keyword “Noosa”, you’re more likely to reach people who want to learn more about the destination.
But how do you know which keywords will work best for you?
Think like your customers
What words and phrases are your ideal customers searching for? You can find out by looking at your Google Analytics to see the most common terms they’re searching for when they land on your website.
Use Google’s Keyword Planner
Type a word or phrase related to your business in Google’s Keyword Planner. The tool will then suggest relevant short and long-tail keywords that you can use in your campaigns.
Utilise a keyword research tool
Once you have your list of relevant keywords from Google’s Keyword Planner, you can enter them into a dedicated keyword tool, such as SEMRush or Ahrefs. These tools provide more specific results, such as how many people search that keyword per month and competitor content gaps you can fill.
Consider keyword search volume and competition
When utilising keyword tools, such as the ones mentioned above, you’ll want to choose keywords with a relatively high search volume but low competition. Choosing these keywords means there isn’t as much competition to show up, but there’s still enough traffic to warrant spending money on them.
Optimising Ad Landing Pages
When it comes to running a successful ads campaign, choosing the right keywords isn’t enough.
Once the people you’re targeting have clicked on your ad, you need them to be able to follow through with a purchase, and that means creating a landing page that’s highly optimised.
Here are some Google Ads best practices for quality landing pages:
- Make sure the context matches the ad the searcher has clicked on
- Have the most important information at the top, making your offerings clear
- Use short and snappy calls to action to drive conversions
- Limit or remove all other navigation options apart from the CTA
- Use eye-catching images and visuals
- Use scarcity and urgency tactics to compel searchers to take action
Best Practices For Google Ads
When you want to achieve great results through PPC campaigns, following these Google Ads best practices is best.
Set clear goals
When creating a Google Ads campaign, what do you hope to achieve? Choose one clear goal for each ad and use that to create your ad copy, landing page copy and call to action.
Avoid broad keyword terms
When it comes to Google Ads, you need to nail your keywords, so testing and tweaking your campaigns should be part of your strategy.
If your keywords are too broad, Google will place your ad in front of the wrong audience, which means fewer clicks and a higher ad spend.
Review your keywords and see which ones generate the most clicks. Then, adjust your keywords to best match your ads with your target audience.
Don’t run irrelevant ads
If your ad doesn’t match the searcher’s intent, you won’t get enough clicks to justify your ad spend.
Your ad headline and content must match the keywords you’re bidding on, and the solution your ad is marketing needs to solve the pain point the searcher is experiencing.
Remove low-performing keywords
One of the most important Google Ads best practices is eliminating keywords that aren’t performing well. Doing this will help to reduce your budget and optimise your campaigns.
Make it a habit of going into your Ads account to monitor the performance of each campaign and removing any keywords that aren’t giving you the desired results.
Create specific ad groups
Create groups of similar ads and use corresponding ad copy for each of them. This will help streamline your efforts and ensure your messaging remains consistent across your campaigns.
Best Practice Google Ads with Anchor
Are you looking to increase conversions and traffic to your website with Google Ads but don’t know where to start?
Look no further than Anchor Digital. As a leading digital marketing agency in Brisbane, we know all of Google Ads' best practices to ensure your campaigns are successful.
Whether you’re just starting out on Google Ads or simply need help revitalising your campaigns, we’ve got the experience and knowledge to lead you on the path to success.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your business grow with Google Ads, drop us a line today.
