3 Most Common Google Ad Campaign Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
The Most Common Google Ads Mistakes
Google Ads can be a boon to your digital marketing campaign – it can also be a huge waste of money if you make a few easy mistakes. Doing small things wrong can open up your campaign to improper search terms and location targeting, and generate paid traffic that is unlikely to convert to leads. Keep reading to learn about some of the most common mistakes made with Google Ads and how you can avoid them.
Top 3 Common Mistakes with Google Ads Campaigns
1. Broad Match Keyword Usage:
If you’re unfamiliar, broad match keyword usage is when you type in keywords without any quotations or associated bidding strategy. Using broad match keywords opens you up to a near-limitless pool of searches – almost anything that is even remotely related to the keyword you typed. While broad match keywords can be useful to your campaign, using an excess of broad match keywords casts too wide of a net to focus your Google Ads campaign and generate ROI.
2. Location Targeting Under Settings:
Under the location settings of your Google Ads account, there is a selection box for your true location targeting with two options: “presence or interest” and “presence only.” Selecting “presence or interest” will target both users living in the selected location and users with an interest in the location, based on their search history. This can open you up to a lot of traffic from users far outside your targeted area. For this reason, it’s best to select “presence only,” which changes your campaign to only show your ads to users living in your targeted location. While the other option may have uses in certain campaigns, generally speaking, it will waste a lot of your money.
3. Incorrect Bidding Strategy:
Google offers a broad range of bidding strategies, from manual CPC to maximize conversions, and many other options. Before launching a Google Ads campaign, you should research all of the different bidding strategies that are available to you. If you have an account that is underperforming, the underlying issue may be that you have selected the wrong bidding strategy for your ads. Changing your bidding strategy can change the entire structure of your Google Ads account for a much better performance.
Set Your Google Ads Campaigns Up for Success
At NorthWing Digital, when we perform audits of our clients’ accounts, these three mistakes are what we most commonly see hindering the performance of Google Ads campaigns. If you would like to learn more about how to plan a successful Google Ads campaign while avoiding these mistakes, please reach out to us today.