5 Expert Tips for Google Search Campaigns

If your website is not receiving enough organic traffic, launching a Google search campaign can give you more visits. Google Ads are commonly the first links listed in the search results. It can be tricky trying to understand how Google’s algorithm ranks ads, but luckily there are experts who have spent years studying this very topic.  

Google Ads can be in Display, Video, or Shopping formats as well. Depending on your business, one campaign may be a better fit than another. Search tends to be the most successful because people are using searching on computers and phones more than ever. If you perfect your search campaign, you’ll receive higher traffic and more customers! 

Read on to learn tried-and-true tips to improve your Google search campaigns.  

Research Keywords First 

First off, you need to do the legwork and research your keywords before you even start a new Google Ads account. Along with your website’s quality score, the bids on your keywords determine where Google will rank your advertisement in the search results. Bidding on the best keywords for your business will lead to a higher Clickthrough Rate (CTR) and conversion rate.  

This is why extensively researching your keywords is crucial to a successful search campaign. You can create a broad and generic list of keywords based on your brand, but using research tools will help refine the list to be more specific.

Below are three tools experts use to determine which keywords work best:

 

• Google’s Keyword Planner: This is a free tool that comes with your Google Ads account. The Keyword Planner displays the average number of times a term is searched every month. It also shows the competition level for each term, which helps you gauge whether to bid high or low. It’s best to bid on a relevant search term with a low competition level and a high average search. This can be a cheap keyword that will generate clicks and conversions. 
• Google Trends: Another free tool, Google Trends can help you decide which keywords will perform better than others. You can see the popularity of a search term over time and by subregion. Google Trends also provides popular related topics and queries, which can give you some more ideas. If you’re stuck between two keywords and don’t know which to bid higher on, Google Trends also has an option to compare search terms.   
• 3rd Party Tools: These are mostly used for SEO, but 3rd Party Tools can be valuable towards a search campaign. These tools expose the keywords your competitors are bidding on. This can help you decide how much to bid and what keywords to use or not use. Spyfu and Ahrefs are reliable and expert-trusted options.  

Adapt Quickly 

There is no sure-fire way of predicting the traffic levels of your keywords before you launch. Google provides traffic estimates, but estimations aren’t always right. When you first launch your new Google Ads campaign, trust your research and be ready to adapt quickly.  

In the beginning, monitor your campaigns hourly. Tracking your CTR, conversion rate, and additional metrics will help you determine which keywords and ads are working well. You also need to monitor new campaigns to ensure you’re within your budget and the money is allocated properly.  

Create a Sensible Account Structure 

Account structure refers to how campaigns and keywords are grouped. If the structure of your account doesn’t make sense for your business, your search campaign will get messy very fast.  

To make account structures easier to understand, think of them as umbrellas. First is your Google Ads account, where you may have multiple campaigns (Search, Display, Shopping, etc.). Within each search campaign, you should have multiple ad groups. And lastly, an ad group consists of a keyword list and your ads. 

Ad groups create the connection between keywords and ads. The ads in one ad group are of similar themes, so the same keywords are related to them. This organizes ideas and can help you see which ads and keywords perform better than others.  

Once you determine the best account structure for your business, don’t think of it as set-in-stone. Over time, different keywords may have higher conversion rates or a higher volume of traffic than others. Leaving room for your campaigns to grow as you receive more traffic allows you to add in keywords. 

 The last step is to write your ad copy, which I’ll talk more about below.  

Carefully Craft Headlines and Descriptions 

Your ad copy is the headline and description people read when they see your advertisement. You can have all the right keywords and bids, but if your headline is sloppy, people won’t click on it.  

To create a great headline, you need to think about the customer’s intent:

• What are they searching for? 
• Why are they clicking on your ad? 

The answers to these questions can help you write your headlines and descriptions.  

You also want to stand out from similar ads. If you run a cleaning service, your ad can blend in with all the other local cleaning services. Figure out what distinguishes your business from similar ones, and find a way to include it into your ad copy.  

If your ad receives more clicks, the chance of a conversion occurring is higher. Even better, if you have a high CTR, you will have a lower Cost per Click (CPC) and a higher quality score. Google ranks ads with higher quality scores above others, which will lead to more clicks and conversions. If you craft a great headline, everything else can improve along with it.   

Test different headlines and descriptions to see which works best for your audience. Sometimes the headline should be creative and attention-grabbing, while other times a more straightforward and informative ad copy is better. You won’t know unless you monitor your ads and adapt along the way.  

Read Through Search Terms Frequently 

Search terms are the words people type directly into the Google Search bar. When you first create your keyword list, you may be unsure which should be Exact, Broad, and Phrase match types. If you monitor search terms that lead to clicks on your ads, you can improve your keyword list and consequently increase your clicks. 

If you notice a specific search term is high in volume and causes a high conversion rate, you may want to make it an exact match type keyword. Sometimes, you may not think of search terms relevant to your ad until you start reading through a search term list. Checking the search terms often can help you refine your keyword list and rank your ads higher. 

Alternatively, if there are search terms you do not want to show up for, you can add these in as negative keywords. Once a search term is added as as negative keyword, your add will no longer show for this term. 

 Final Thoughts 

Understanding Google’s algorithm and figuring out how to improve your ads’ performance can be confusing, but hopefully these expert tips can help lead you in the right direction. A Google AdWords Consultant can help get your search campaign started or fix a messy campaign. If you’re creating a search campaign on your own, just be sure to do your research first and be prepared to monitor data and adapt along the way!  

Image: Depositphotos

This article, "5 Expert Tips for Google Search Campaigns" was first published on Small Business Trends