Although Google may make it simple, constructing and managing a profitable AdWords account requires experience and understanding. There are many different advertising features, opportunities, and common mistakes that profoundly impact the success of a PPC advertising campaign.
To underscore some of those mistakes, below are three common issues that can plague the performance of a Google AdWords PPC advertising account. If you’re making these PPC mistakes, then consider them game-changing opportunities that can transform your account.
One of the most common mistakes that inexperienced PPC advertisers make is building one or two ad groups that include a wide variety of keywords.
In short, ad groups perform best with very tight, relevant, and focused keyword groupings. For instance, if truck scale company is bidding on the keywords “truck scales” and “weighing equipment,” the campaign should be set-up with two separate ad groups for each keyword grouping.
The Truck Scales ad group might bid on keywords like:
And the Weighing Equipment ad group might bid on keywords like:
Further, developing more specific ad groups enables you to write more targeted and specific ad copy. As a result, your ads can see better CTR’s and your keyword will often have higher quality scores.
Lastly, with laser-focused ad groups, you can also implement ad group-specific Ad Extensions that really make your ads stand-out from the competition (more on Ad Extensions below.)
In the mock ad groups above, notice the symbols defining the keyword match type (+, “, []). It’s crucial to understand these keyword match types (broad match modifier, phrase match, and exact match.) It’s also vital to use the latter match types instead of broad match (which extremely broad.)
Using “Broad Match,” which does not using any symbols to further define the bid type, can wreak havoc on your account. In short, Broad Match keywords result in ads being triggered for overly broad and often times unrelated keyword queries. For example, bidding on keyword “red wagon” in Broad Match might cause the ad to trigger for unwanted query like “burgundy Subaru wagon.”
As a result of unknowingly using Broad Match, you can waste a lot of ad spend on poor quality clicks. Additionally, your CTR’s and quality scores for those keywords might hinder. It’s a common mistake that can easily be avoiding by implementing more specific keyword match types.
There are a number of “Ad Extensions” that can help increase the size and prominence of your PPC ad in Google search.
Even Google reports that leverage Ad Extensions can increase click-through rate (CTR) of ads by 30% on average.
With compelling data like that, it’s paramount to include AdWords Ad Extensions in your PPC advertising practices.
