Google Ads is one of the most advanced advertising platforms that allow big and small businesses to have their products and services advertised in front of potential customers, in a matter of hours!
If you’ve been using the platform, you’ll know that there are numerous targeting options and settings that cater to different types of businesses. These countless options and settings can often be overwhelming and difficult to understand when launching a new marketing campaign, which can easily eat into a large chunk of your marketing budget spent without achieving your marketing goals.
Define your audience with ad targeting
Who will you target with any given Ads campaign? As with most marketing campaigns, answering this question is an important first step in getting things off the ground. Pay close attention to ad targeting in order to make sure your ads surface for your desired audience. If you get enough traffic to your site, explore Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA), which allows you to serve ads on Google to previous website visitors.
Set your topic with keywords
In addition to the “who,” you also need to define the “what.” In this case, selecting the right keywords for your campaign is critical. Keep in mind the terms for which your target audience typically searches, and make sure they’re relevant to your ads, landing pages, and the product you’re marketing. Other factors to consider include keyword competition (the more competitive the keyword, the higher the costs will likely be), negative keywords (to filter out irrelevant searches/differentiate similar terms) and keyword matches (to designate broad, broad match modified, phrase, and exact matches).
Stand out from the crowd with creative ads
Defining your “who” and your “what” is a big part of the equation, but it’s only part of it. You also have to capture that audience’s attention, and that’s where your ad development comes in. Regardless of whether you’re developing a text ad to appear in search results or an ad with images to appear on partner websites, being catchy, creative, relevant, and concise is imperative. Make sure your CTAs are also standing out.
Consider all devices
Finally, don’t forget to think about the “where.” In today’s world, that means paying particular attention to mobile. We all use our mobile devices more and more frequently (even for business purposes), so it’s important to consider the differences between mobile and desktop. Specifically, you should consider how your ad will appear on screens with smaller and larger real estate, evaluate the opportunities presented by ad extension tools and make mobile bid adjustments (which dictate how often/not often your ad should be displayed to mobile users).