Top 10 Google Ads Mistakes To Avoid In 2020

Posted by AdNabu

Updated on July 30th, 2020

Top 10 Google Ads Mistakes To Avoid In 2020 

As an eCommerce business owner, you should be aware that the design and execution of marketing strategies are crucial to the health of your business. The eCommerce sector in the retail world is overcrowded with multiple big and small players, so it’s important not make mistakes with Google Ads.

The only way for your business to stand out is to invest in a marketing strategy that helps your brand stand out. A marketing strategy identifies all the areas your resources should be diverted to in order to maximize sales. Essentially, a good marketing strategy effectively utilizes limited resources in the most efficient manner.

Google AdWords allows you to place adverts strategically on the Google pages. Since the program is based on a pay per click (PPC) model, it is one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to advertise your business. However, it is imperative to devise a marketing strategy that incorporates Google ads in an efficient manner.

Here are the top ten Google ads mistakes to avoid for your next marketing strategy.

1. Poor landing page experience after click 

It’s great that you have spent a lot of designing the perfect Google ad. However, it is equally important to pay attention to where the customer will land once they have clicked on the ad. The post-click landing experience is an important factor in determining the quality of your ad.

Remember, the better Google ranks your ad, the higher the visibility of the advertisement. One of the important ways to improve the experience for your customers is to ensure that the loading speeds of your pages are as fast they can be. In fact, studies have shown that most internet users will click away from a page if it takes over three seconds to load.

Apart from having an aesthetically pleasing landing page, you also need to ensure that it is optimized for mobile devices. There’s been a significant surge in the customers who prefer shopping on their mobile devices rather than having to power up their desktops or laptops.

Remember to ensure that your advertisement has a strong and clear call to action (CTA) as it helps boost conversions.

2. No post-click landing page relevance

You might be tempted to redirect customers to your online store’s best selling product when they click on the ad. After all, this product has given you the best sales and creates the best impression of your brand. But you need to keep in mind why customers click on the ad in the first place. If you are advertising earrings, then redirecting them to a page that sells a necklace will only leave the customer feeling frustrated.

You can solve this issue by grouping relevant keywords in an ad group. Make sure that the post-click landing pages are specific to the ad group by linking the right page. Your earring advert should direct customers to your online store’s earrings section and nothing else.

3. Redirecting to the home page

Similar to the previous mistake, many businesses redirect customers to their homepage. The argument for this decision is that the homepage gives customers a full picture of the brand and the various products it offers. However, customers click on an ad because they see something they like and they do not want to wade through pages of products in order to find the one they liked in the first place.

The chance that they will click away is much higher than the chance that they might find some other product interesting. Make sure that your ads are linked only to the relevant pages and not your online store’s homepage.

4. Poor keyword choices

It is extremely important that you pick keywords that have a high search volume and use only those that are relevant to your brand. You can check if your keywords are working based on the results of your Google ad.

Choose only a maximum of 20 keywords for each ad group and remove or pause keywords that are underperforming or are irrelevant. Use phrases and common search commands as keywords to gain more bang for your buck. You can also use a keyword planner to find fresh keywords that your competition might have overlooked.

5. Not using negative keywords

You should utilize the negative keywords feature in order to stop appearing on searches that are irrelevant to your business. For example, if ‘cheap’ is one of your keywords, you might find your ad on random searches for clothes, appliances, and furniture.

You will notice that this issue arises mostly when you use broad keywords. You can correct this by using specific keywords or phrases. However, it is better to utilize negative keywords in order to correct unrelated searches. In this case, you would add ‘clothes’, ‘appliances’, and ‘furniture’ as negative keywords. Keep adding to this list as your campaign continues.

6. Not using targeting options

No matter what you sell, you will have a target audience in mind. Knowing and defining this target audience is only half the battle. Your marketing strategy should be built in order to have your campaigns to reach your target audience. With Google Ads, you can target the right audience in order to boost sales.

You also save on clicks from those outside your target audience which, more often than not, will not lead to conversions. Remember, your ads are built to drive up sales and not just get potential customers to visit your online store.

You should define your target audience based on your brand and the products or services you sell. Who will be most inclined to buy your products? Where do they stay? The last question is important particularly if you do not offer international shipping or if your shipping rates are high.

You should also consider if your customers usually access your store via their mobile devices. You can then set your ad to target your audience who live locally via their mobile devices.

7. Not using Google ads extensions

Overlooking Google ad extensions is undoubtedly one of the most  common Google Ads Mistakes. They help customers navigate the site and respond to the CTA smoothly, without even having to go to the post-click landing page. They also make your ad bigger. The bigger your ad is, the more real estate it takes on the search page. This improves the chances of your ad getting noticed and clicked on.

Make sure that you familiarise yourself with the various extensions offered by Google ads. You should apply those that apply to your business in order to maximize sales. If you still aren’t sure, then opt for the callout extension which simplifies the decision-making process for your customers.

8. Not creating an ad group for your brand

Creating an ad group for your business ensures that your competition doesn’t snatch away your brand keywords which would result in their ads featured instead of yours. The worst nightmare for businesses is that when a customer searches for their brand’s name, their competition pops up instead. Make sure that you create an ad group that includes your brand keywords.

9. Not testing ad positions

Contrary to popular belief, having your ad right at the top might not be the best position for your campaign. Of course, if the aim of your campaign is to improve impressions and branding, then the top position is the best. However, if your marketing goal is geared towards increasing the conversion rates, then the third or fifth positions are a better option. These positions are also cheaper and come with a bigger payoff.

It is important that you know the purpose of your campaign and the goals you want to reach. Based on these criteria you should test different ad positions in order to derive the best for your campaign.

10. Not testing ad copy

Contrary to popular belief, having your ad right at the top might not be the best position for your campaign. Of course, if the aim of your campaign is to improve impressions and branding, then the top position is the best. However, if your marketing goal is geared towards increasing the conversion rates, then the third or fifth positions are a better option. These positions are also cheaper and come with a bigger payoff.

It is important that you know the purpose of your campaign and the goals you want to reach. Based on these criteria you should test different ad positions in order to derive the best for your campaign.

Ad copy is not an exact science and settling on the one that makes the most sense to you might not necessarily resonate with your potential customers. No one can tell exactly how an ad will perform and so testing your ad copy is an important step.

You should start training to have several different versions of your ad copy. You can have the same title with different descriptions or the other way round. Also bear in mind that your customers might want specific results from a service or product.

For example, a campaign for increasing the sales of tea can be devised in two ways – one that expounds on the calming effects of tea, and another that offers high-quality tea at competitive prices. You can experiment with both types of ads and suspend the one that is not performing as well.

With such an approach you can also gain great insights into what your customer wants and what is making your brand stand out to the audience. Your future campaigns can then be based on these insights.

Conclusion – Google Ads Mistakes

Like other marketing mistakes, Google ads mistakes will negatively affect your online store spending instead of driving sales. Just because your business is based online doesn’t mean that your marketing isn’t subject to traditional mistakes. Learning the full capabilities of Google AdWords will give you a firm hold on the platform.

Utilizing this knowledge in a customized manner for your business can bring in the results you desire. An important aspect of this knowledge is to know which Google ads mistakes are the most common and which ones you are likely to fall into. Avoiding these mistakes will not just increase sales, but will also increase your brand’s visibility.

About AdNabu

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If you are running the search, shopping, or display campaigns in Google Ads, Their software will be able to increase your sales. Sign up today for a 14-day free trial from here.

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About Adam Franklin

Adam Franklin is the bestselling author of Web Marketing That Works. He is an international social media speaker and CEO of Bluewire Media.  His blog was Australia's #1 Business Blog and his podcast was #9 on the top marketing podcasts in Entrepreneur magazine. His work has featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Huffington Post and iTunes. Download the popular Web Strategy Planning Template which has been used by hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. His weekly 'Bluewire News' email goes out to over 32,000 readers.

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