When managing your own Google AdWords campaign to drive traffic to your website, a lack of knowledge or experience can really damage your finances. Today, we tell you what are the 5 most likely reasons you’re wasting your time and money.
Don’t feel guilty.
We already talked about the “Top 10 DIY AdWords Mistakes” in a previous post.
In this article, not only we want to make sure you don’t waste time, but also your precious money. Google Adwords charges you per click (Pay Per Click, PPC) and therefore the only way to save money is by reducing the amount of unwanted clicks.
1. You’re already on page 1
Google Ads are triggered by the keywords you choose, and make sure your website shows on Page 1 of Google. On the other hand, good SEO allows your website to reach Page 1 for some keyword combinations.
If you are already on Page 1, with Page 1 getting over 90% of the overall clicks, you shouldn’t really have your Ads as well! It’s guaranteed that potential customers will click on your Ads (hence you pay) instead of clicking on the natural, “organic” search result.
So, before setting up Google Adwords, make sure you write down the list of keywords that already rank your website on Page 1, and don’t choose them again to trigger your Ads!
2. Existing customers click on your Ads
If there is an audience you don’t need to advertise to, that’s your existing customers. Exiting customers are just coming back to your website to find your contact number or get directions!
The worst way of wasting money with Google AdWords is having your Ads show up when users search for the name of your company.
So, when setting up your Google AdWords campaign, make sure you select the name of your company, the full names of your company execs, as well as your address and phone numbers as negative keywords. If you don’t know what a negative keyword is and how to set them up, leave a comment below and I’ll try to guide you step-by-step.
3. You don’t review the campaign daily
The most difficult thing about Google AdWords is making sure Ads are shown to the right people. Wasting a bit of budget is very likely to happen in the first few weeks, when testing and reviewing is necessary to improve your campaign.
I’ve met dozens of website owners who set up Google AdWords and let it do the work. Never reviewed, never assessed, never edited or never deleted. Unfortunately AdWords needs a lot of care and the biggest waste of money is actually not at the beginning, but during the campaign.
AdWords advertisers should pause or delete under-performing keywords, add negative keywords, constantly change the Ad copy, review statistics and C.T.R. values. Test, test, test, review, review, review, edit, edit, edit! Set up is not enough.
4. You’re on the Display Network
When you set up a Google Adwords campaign, the AdWords campaign set up tool automatically selects “Search & Display Network” for your Ads.
This will mean your Ads will be shown on Page 1 of Google (“Search Network”), but also on other websites that have Google AdSense enabled (“Display Network”). The difference? The Search Network i.e. Google Search Engine is where people search for your product; other websites such as blogs are not really “search” platforms and is much more difficult to sell to a “reading” audience as opposed to a “searching” audience.
The more honest suggestion we can give you is: run your Ads on the Search Network only. Use the display Network only for big advertising budgets or branding.
5. You’ve got no price in your Ad Copy
Once again, a click on any given Ad means that you pay. The best trick to avoid unwanted clicks from unwanted “customers” is by specifying the price of the product you’re advertising.
This will make sure you do not spend money with users looking for “free” products, “low cost services” and “competitive prices”. If they are willing to pay your price, they will click and hopefully buy. If not, they won’t click!
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