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Google Ads (previously known as Google AdWords) is a paid advertising service provided by Google that maximises the likelihood of your website being found by potential customers. Google Ads has the potential to give your business an estimated 700% ROI if utilised properly. However, not having a strong plan for your campaign is one of the many Google Ads mistakes that can break the bank. Yes, you can limit your daily spent amount, however, not fully utilising your daily spent effectively is a waste of your limited resources.

To help you get reach some of Google’s 246 million unique visitors and your target market, here are our 3 top Google Ads mistakes to avoid:

Google Ads Mistakes #1: Neglecting Negative Keyword Lists

Negative keyword lists are vital to ensuring that you reach your target audience only. It is a list that holds all the keywords your product, service and business don’t want to be associated with. It can be the difference between showing your ad to a paying customer verses one looking for a freebie.

For instance, your keywords “digital marketing services” may cause your ad to appear to a user searching for “free digital marketing services”. However, as you’re not offering free services, this visitor may leave your website instantly, increasing your bounce rate and decreasing your relevance. Moreover, you’ve lost part of your budget on a poor lead.

Creating and updating your negative keyword lists will help you save your money by further focusing your keywords and increasing the likelihood that each click will bring your online visitors one step closer to becoming customers.

Google Ads Mistakes #2: Relying Too Much on Automation

Once you’ve set up your campaign on Google Ads, you’ll be given two choices: to automate your campaign or to operate it manually. Fully automating your campaign implies that you’re giving Google Ads control over your spending behaviours and tactics.

For example, automating the Enhanced Cost Per Click bidding tactic allows Google to increase or decrease the bid on your keywords by 30% based on how likely you’re going to get a conversion. With no capped amount, you may get successful conversions at the cost of spending your weekly budget in a day.

Manually managing your campaigns will encourage you to monitor and tinker them daily, giving you the flexibility and agility to respond to changes in strategic ways without breaking the bank and increasing your ROI.

Google Ads Mistakes #3: Hinging your Campaign on Popular Keywords

Everybody is competing for the best keywords on Google Ads. The cream of the crop that will capture a large majority of your target market and conversions. Believing these keywords will help your ads reach for thousands of people each month, waiting for clicks to burst open to your landing page with confetti in celebration.

While there is truth in using top keywords, this can be a Google Ads mistake for most, leading to busted budgets and unreachable targets. But why?

As Google Ads is a global platform, you’ll not only be competing with local and international competitors, you’re competing with the biggest brands on the planet. If you’re a small mum and pop business selling homemade burgers, you’ll be competing with Maccas for an important keyword such as ‘Cheeseburger’.

Considering multi-national corporations have much larger marketing budgets, the likelihood of you out bidding them for the keyword is low. This means your audience may not see any of your ads, defeating the purpose of your campaign. Moreover, if you do rank highly for top keywords, the average Cost Per Click cost could send you packing.

In 2017, the keyword ‘business services’ would have set you back $58.64. That’s 14 cups of coffee for a singular click. Hence, only bidding on top keywords can be unhealthy for your pocket and your overall strategy.

If done well, Google Ads has the potential to increase your business’ reach, awareness and revenue. Realise your campaign’s full potential by avoiding mistakes that can kill your budget and increase your ROI.

Need some help in evaluating your Google Ads game? Team Elephant is ready to help. Contact us for a complimentary consultation today!

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