Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn’t easy. If it was, you wouldn’t have small businesses wasting 25% (or more) of their paid search budgets on ads that don’t work.
Your marketing budget might be inefficient for any number of reasons, from spending money on ads that reach the wrong audience to coming up with ads that use the wrong keywords. Here, you’ll discover five of the most common challenges you’ll face with Google Search Ads and how to overcome them.
Understanding Google Search Ads
Take a look at the top of any Google search results page and you’ll see at least two websites above the organic results. Those are Google Search Ads, which is a form of search marketing in which you pay Google to have your website appear at the top of the page for your chosen keywords.
This process works on bids. You place a bid, and Google compares that bid against all other bids for the same keyword. Then, it chooses where and when to place your ad.
It’s a good way to reach searchers, especially if your organic reach isn’t broad. Plus, a lot of searchers click them, with nearly two-thirds (63%) saying they’ve clicked on a Google Ad.
5 Google Search Ad Challenges to Be Aware Of & Solutions to Implement
Paying Google to display ads is the easy part. Creating a campaign that actually gets results is much tougher, with these challenges being top of the list of reasons why some ad campaigns don’t make money.
Challenge #1: Poor Keyword Research
Trying to create ads for every keyword you can think of results in a scattershot approach that results in one thing—waste.
You end up spending money on clicks for keywords that have low search intent, or that are only partially related to your site and might not be the keywords people use to search for your product.
The solution is simple—better research. That starts with identifying what your target audience looks like and sifting through the array of keywords that Google Ads suggests to filter down to the ones customers are most likely to use. Then, you have to track and tweak.
Challenge #2: Creating an Effective Landing Page
Let’s say you create an ad that gets clicks. It won’t mean anything if searchers take one look at your landing page and bounce away.
And given that 94% of people say their first impression of a website or landing page is design-related, the solution to people bouncing off a poor landing page is user-centric design. Ensure there’s a clear flow of information (related to the ad and search term the searcher used) that leads into a call to action that gives the visitor a clear next step.
Challenge #3: Limited Characters
Google only gives you 30 characters for your ad’s headline (though you can create three headlines) and 90 characters for the description. That’s not a lot of space, and many businesses end up wasting that limited character count on words that don’t matter.
Confronting this problem requires two things: boiling down your unique value proposition to its most attractive components and ensuring the copy directly relates to the search terms used for the ad. The increased relevance between search terms, ad copy, and landing page copy means you can bid less and still get a high position.
Challenge #4: Getting Clicks but Not Conversions
Most Google Search Ad campaigns run on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, meaning you pay your bid price to Google whenever somebody clicks on your ad. Of course, clicks aren’t conversions. It just means you’ve paid to get somebody to look at your landing page.
Your ads might get a ton of clicks but nobody’s getting in touch. Usually, that’s a relevance issue. There’s a disconnect between your ad copy and what the searcher sees on the landing page, causing them to bounce away. The solution? Tweak your landing page so that it more closely matches whatever your ad copy promises.
Challenge #5: Targeting the Wrong Audience
Imagine you have a plumbing business that serves Los Angeles. Two of the keywords in your ad campaign are “plumbers in Los Angeles” and “plumbing services.”
Which of these hits the right audience?
It’s the term that uses “Los Angeles” because it matches the type of search somebody with local intent has. A more general term, like “plumbing services,” may get more clicks, but most come from people who’ll never need your company’s services.
Save Your Business the Stress (and Costly Mistakes) by Enlisting Professional Help
It’s not just the five challenges discussed above that your business has to handle. There are also tracking campaigns, tweaking ads and landing pages to ensure relevance, and tracking (and reporting on) conversions.
All of that takes time and money, the latter of which you don’t want to waste and the former of which you may not have. That’s why using a professional Google Search Ads service is often the best way to increase your conversions from Google Ads.
Contact Walter814 to Discover How We Help Companies Just Like Yours Elevate Their Digital Advertising ROI
Getting good Google Search Ad campaigns up and running then tracking and adjusting them over time, is what Walter814 does for its clients. It’s all part of our search marketing services, which help you create great ads while staying in control of your business assets, such as your website and ad accounts. If you’d like to learn more, contact the Walter814 team today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Are the Challenges of Google Ads Campaigns?
Particularly when managing Google Ads by yourself, the biggest challenges are targeting the right audience, crafting a conversion-focused landing page, writing concise ad copy, and choosing the right ad spend budget.
How Effective Are Google Search Ads?
Google Search Ads allow you to target your ideal customer right where they are searching and ready to convert (whether that’s making a purchase or scheduling a consultation). And with the ability to set your own budget, you can make the most of your Google Ad campaign.
How Are Google Search Ads Targeted?
You can target Google Search Ads for a specific audience by focusing on demographics (like single or married), affinity segments (what their interests and habits are), in-market segments (what they are actively researching or planning), and more.
What Is the Difference Between a Google Ad and a Campaign?
The difference between a Google Ad and a campaign is that a campaign consists of individual Google Ads. Campaigns organize ads into a category of the products or services you offer. You can run multiple ads within a campaign and even multiple campaigns at the same time.
Let the ad professionals consult with you on the nuances and best practices behind an effective Google Search Ad campaign.