5 Common Google Ads Mistakes to Avoid for Advertising Success

Do you have a digital business or e-commerce store? Are you looking for the best way to promote your products or services?

If so, then you’ll need to target Google Ads.

Unfortunately, many businesses waste their whole advertising budget running ads, only to find out that the ROI is subpar.

If Google ads aren’t profitable enough for you, then you’re probably doing them wrong! If you are unsure of what the issue is, they have a top Google Ads agency in UK review your campaign and identify common errors (or you could try and do it yourself!).

Read on to find out about the common mistakes that businesses make with Google ads, and how to avoid them.

Is Spending on Google Ads Worth It?

If you’ve met someone who doesn’t have the right Google ads strategy, they’ll probably tell you that spending on Google Ads isn’t worth it.

However, the opposite is true.

As compared to Facebook, Instagram, or TV ads, Google ads have a higher ROI. They are also more direct, allowing you to target specific customers with certain search intent.

Best of all, Google ads can easily be tracked and you can adjust your budget according to your success rate.

However, so many people still struggle to get a decent ROI with their Ad campaigns. But why?

Here are 5 common mistakes that you should avoid when doing Google Ads:

1. You Don’t Target the Right Keywords

This is downright the most common mistake that people make when doing Google ads. Simply selecting the keyword with the highest number of searches is not enough. You’ll need to target more specific keyword categories.

The top Google ads agency in UK will help you target the right keywords by doing proper keyword research before each campaign. There are several categories of keywords that you should target when doing Google ads. These include:

  • Broad Keywords

Broad keywords are those that include all searches with the specified keyword. These searches may have additional words or they may be jumbled up. For example, if you target the keyword “shoe sale” in a broad targeting category, it will include phrases like “where is the best shoe sale” or “Nike shoe on sale”.

Evidently, there are several benefits and downsides to targeting a broad keyword category. On the plus side, you get to target a wider audience.

On the downside, it may include irrelevant search terms. In the example above, if someone searched for "Nike shoe on sale" and you don’t sell Nike shoes, then it would result in lower ROI.

If you sell a broad collection of items, then use broad targeted keywords. Otherwise, go for more specific targeting.

  • Phrase Match

The second category of keyword targeting is phrase match. With this method, you can target keywords that include broad search terms, but the phrases will include keywords in the right order.

For example, if you target the search terms “shoes on sale”, then it will include all terms with the exact phrase in it such as “best shoes on sale”, etc.

This is a much better form of targeting and gives you a decent customer base to target.

  • Exact Match

This is very specific targeting. When you use this method, you’ll only target the exact keyword and exclude phrases that don’t fit in with this.

For example, if you choose the keyword “shoes on sale”, then your ad will only show when a customer searches for the exact phrase.

If you want a great ROI, then you should target exact keywords!

However, as with everything in business, there is a trade-off. Targeting exact searches will narrow down the customer base, resulting in fewer clicks.

A top Google ads agency in UK will help you target the right keywords based on your product type, keyword bounce rate, and other factors.

2. You Don’t Target Negative Keywords

This is yet another common mistake that many people make when running ads. If you don’t target negative keywords, you’ll likely see a lot of irrelevant clicks and a high bounce rate.

So, what are negative keywords?

Negative keywords are keywords that you don’t want to include in your search terms. In the example of Nike shoes above, you may add “Nike shoes” as a negative keyword if you don’t sell Nike shoes.

When targeting negative keywords, make sure to include popular keywords that are misleading or those that you don’t want to be associated with your search terms.

A top Google ads agency in UK will do research on which negative keywords to include when setting up an ad, so you don’t get too many irrelevant clicks.

3. You Don’t Target Your Brand Keywords

Have you ever searched for a popular brand like Apple or Amazon and noticed an ad that leads to their website on the same page? So, why do these companies advertise using their brand name as a keyword when their site already shows up on top of the search results?

This is called bidding for brand keywords and it’s one of the secrets of successful brands. So, what’s the logic behind bidding for your brand keyword?

Firstly, it helps your business improve website SEO conversion rate. If your website is appearing twice in the search results, the possibility that a customer clicks on your website increases significantly.

Secondly, it prevents competitors from making use of your brand keyword in their ad campaigns. Like it or not, Google allows competitors to bid on your brand name, allowing them to appear on top of the search results even though they search for your brand!

4. Not Optimizing Your Ad Copy

Having customers see an ad is easy but convincing them to click on your ad is a different matter altogether. This is why you should have a top Google Ads agency in UK to manage your ads. When optimizing your ad copy, you’ll need to look at user search intent and make use of effective marketing techniques.

Whether it’s managing your SEO strategy, creating content for an e-commerce website, or creating ad copy, choosing the right words that match the user's search intent is crucial.

If your Google ads aren’t performing well, then the best way to improve the ROI is to improve the ad copy.

5. Your Landing Pages are Sub-par

Unfortunately, this is one of the more common ad mistakes and yet the easiest to fix. When a customer clicks on the ad, they will be redirected to a landing page.

The ideal landing page is concise, direct, and gives a sense of buying urgency to the reader.

You’ve worked so hard and invested so much in having a customer click on your ad, but if your landing pages are not designed right, then you’ll end up wasting all that effort!

So, next time your Google ads are underperforming, have them reviewed by a top Google ads agency in UK. The best UK-based Google ads agency will help you identify and fix any issues that you may have with your ads.

If you outsource your ad campaign management to the best Google ads services, you won’t have to face these common problems and you’ll have a much better Google ad ROI.

By - 10 Jan 2022

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