Google is the number one search engine in the world and the best way for you to grow your business or organisation is to be seen early and often in the Google search results. We know that engagement drops quickly if your website is not shown on the first page of results, and the best way to guarantee you will be seen right at the top of the search engine is to purchase real estate on the front page as part of the Google Ads campaign.

Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is a great investment in growing your business and your website, after all, websites, domains, and storage all cost money and you need that money to be working for you and not just collecting dust on page six of the results. You also need to make sure you are purchasing the correct Google Ads and not committing one of these five most common errors on the platform.

Not using the right keywords in your ad copy

When developing a website and securing an excellent SEO score, you are careful in choosing the right keywords in how they associate with your business.

When preparing ad copy, be sure to focus on using broad general terms in your ad. When people are searching for where they can find a social media consultant or place to have their window repaired they are more likely to click on ads and visit websites that most closely resemble their searched for words.

Your time is best used developing ads based on keywords that resemble what your website is trying to provide.

Another area in which people go wrong on Google Ads is not including the local market in their key terms. If you are a local small business that does not travel or caters to only a certain metropolitan area it is essential that you include the name of your town or media market in an effort to be better shown amongst your competitors and vie for the essential real estate on the top of search engine page one.

Avoid using negative words in your ads

When using Google Ads, you may think that you want to be at the top of pages where your competitors have fallen off. If you can get your name out there as a trustworthy mechanic you may think you want to buy ad real estate on the top of the “untrustworthy mechanics” ad results. While your intentions are clear that you want to contrast yourself with many of the others who may be overcharging or gauging their clients, you never want your business associated with a negative term. These are people looking to avoid someone or something rather than purchase an item or service.

So while this strategy may be cheap and may result in the kinds of click through rates you are looking for, it can cause long-term damage to your business and your brand by being associated with a negative search result.

You are better off sticking to the positive and paying a little more for a good result rather than trying to differentiate yourself from your competitors through purchasing cheaper real estate in a bad search.

Not creating landing pages associated with your ads

When people go to Google to purchase a good or a service, they are looking for a solution to a problem. They are looking for somewhere to go this afternoon for lunch or to an ice cream shop right then when they are planning or hungry. When creating Google Ads, do not just send your audience to your main webpage.

While the main webpage may provide access to the answer they are looking through, you do not want your audience to have to jump through hoops to find it. You want to lead the horse to water and make it drink. You can always allow for the custom landing page to redirect back to your site if they are seeking more information, but when it comes to those looking for a quick and easy solution or answer, you want all of the information in front of them as soon as they click the link. 

Test Your Ads before and during their run

Google Ads aren’t a set it and forget it, advertising strategy. You have to keep up with the analytics associated with each ad. If you have the ability too, you should run A/B tests to see which keywords are working best and how long the users are spending on your site following their clicking of the ad link. On your own, try searching for the keywords and see if your ad is popping up. You should also be continually changing the keywords and titles to ensure you are always getting the best audience available to you.

Google Ads is fully customisable, so you can see where your ads are and how they are performing. If you are getting a larger reach in certain areas at certain times in certain demographics you should be able to redirect your funds to this advertising strategy. Do not just set everything up for a week or a month and check back when the ad has run its course.

You do not want to waste money when money is stretched so thin for so many small business and organisations.

Don’t be afraid to go bold

Many companies or organisations just fiddle with the corners and outskirts of their digital marketing plan. When you are getting started, don’t be afraid to change the big picture. Change where your name appears, change the slogan on your ads, or test out new ones. Use keywords that foster emotions and bring out the kind of clientele you are searching for and cultivate an online relationship with them.