Pay-per-click or PPC marketing is a powerful tool used by marketers to drive more traffic to their website. In this type of advertising model, marketers pay for each time a user clicks on the ads. Many different elements contribute to the success of PPC campaigns. These different elements include keywords, targeting, bidding, ad copies, landing pages and more. Sometimes PPC campaigns can be challenging to manage. Marketers can end up making many mistakes in their ad campaigns. These mistakes can result in companies wasting money without gaining any profit.
In this article we will discuss some common mistakes you can avoid ensuring that you drive a successful PPC campaign. It is important to be aware of all the errors you can expect to make. This will make you more proactive and you can use your time and money.
Let’s take a look at some common mistakes that marketers make in their PPC campaigns.
Not targeting the right audience
If you do not target your ads correctly it will be shown to the wrong people who are not likely to engage. Many times marketers do not define their audiences which can be a barrier to the success of PPC campaigns. Ads that are not relevant to the users are going to get ignored. To make sure that your ads are shown to the right people you need to understand your audience. Create your buyer personas to get to know your target audience better. You can target audiences based on different aspects like demographics, interests, preferences, pain points and more.
In Google AdWords you can add audience targeting to ad groups. This will ensure that you reach people based on their interests, hobbies and what they are looking for or how they have previously interacted with your brand. Audience targeting can improve the performance of your ad campaigns as they allow you to reach people browsing websites, watching videos or using apps. These audiences are determined by Google based on their interests, intents or demographic information. While adding an audience to a campaign you can select from various categories including interests, past Google searches or page visit history.
It is important to not overlook these targeting tools that can help you reach the right audience who are interested in the type of products and services you offer.
Not using negative keywords
Any marketer working with a PPC ad campaign knows how important it is to target the right keywords. Keywords are the search terms that your audience use when looking for products or services. Marketers spend a lot of time researching the relevant keywords for their ad campaigns, however sometimes they avoid including negative keywords. Negative keyword is a type of keyword that prevents your ad from appearing for a certain word or phrase. These keywords stop your ads from being triggered by irrelevant searches. It tells Google which keywords are not relevant to your ads so that you don’t get impressions for searches that don’t lead to conversions. Adding negative keywords makes your ads more relevant. Ads that are relevant to the keywords have a higher quality score and ad rank. It also helps you save your money so that you don’t have to pay for irrelevant searches.
To create a negative keyword list, you can use various tools like Google Keyword Planner. Just like you research for keywords, enter a search term and select phrases that are not relevant to your ads. Another way to find out negative keywords is looking at the Search Term report in Google AdWords. This report shows you the list of keywords that your ads appeared for. If you see that your ad has been triggered by an irrelevant search term, add it to your negative keyword list. Having a negative keyword list is important and should not be avoided. This ensures that your ads are relevant and appear for searches that more likely leads to a sale.
Lack of ad extensions
Ad extensions are a way for you to provide additional information to your audience. This encourages people to click on your ads, improving click-through rate. Extensions include various information like call buttons, address, links to specific pages of your website, promotions or offers and more.
Failing to include ad extensions can cause you to miss out on many opportunities. Additional information included in ads can give it more visibility and help improve rankings. Make sure that you have included extensions that further optimize ads.
Not writing compelling ad copies
Ad copies are one of the key aspects of your ads. It is important to spend time in creating compelling, unique and genuine ad copies. Your ads should give the audience the exact information they are looking for. First, focus on writing enticing headlines that immediately attracts your user’s attention. Headlines determine the performance of your ads. Experiment with different headlines to see which gets more interaction. Run A/B testing on your ads and test different headlines that you write. This will help you improve your ad performance.
Next, write descriptions that are relevant and provide the right information to your target customers. Identify all the benefits that your users will receive from your products and services. Incorporate these benefits and needs of users into your messaging. Users are more likely to click on ads that have been personalized as per their needs.
Google Ads include responsive search ads that let you enter multiple headlines and descriptions to provide more relevant information to your customers. These headlines and descriptions will be automatically tested by Google Ads by using different combinations to see which is performing better. You can leverage responsive search ads to improve the overall performance of your ad campaigns.
Another important element is keywords. Ensure that you include your target keywords throughout the ad copies. Use keywords in the headlines, description and URL. This shows the audience that your ads answer their search queries. Lastly, include CTAs or call to actions that encourage the users to click on your ads. These CTAs should again highlight the benefits that your customer will receive. Make it more personalized rather than using very generic advertising language.
Not testing landing pages
When users click on your ads it leads them to a landing page. Landing pages play a key role in converting the users who come to your website. Optimize landing pages with target keywords so that it improves the quality score of your ads. You need to ensure that you are focusing on user experience. Without a good user experience the users will end up leaving the website without taking any action. Hence, testing your landing pages is important.
Run A/B testing by creating different versions of the same landing page. Test elements like layout, headlines, color scheme, fonts, CTA buttons, placement etc. This will give you an idea about your customer preferences. The landing page that performs better is the winner. Then you can continue using that version of the landing page. Testing landing pages allows you to understand what appeals to the customers. This helps you improve the user experience which drives more conversions.
Not measuring the right metrics
Measuring the right metrics allow you to track the performance of your ads. With the help of these insights, you can improve your ad performance. Google ads provides you with multiple reports that can allow you track various aspects of your PPC campaigns. Regularly monitoring these metrics gives you insights about your ads and all the different areas you can optimize.
Not sure how to get started with measuring the performance of your ads? Here are some metrics you can start tracking.
PPC campaigns are important for your overall digital marketing strategy. Now that you are aware of the common mistakes you may end up making, it is easier to avoid them. This can help you successfully run your ad campaigns and generate positive results.
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