Adwords: You MUST Manage It

Greetings People!

Today I’d like to talk to you about Google Adwords.  As you probably know it is a powerful way to get more customers but it really is not designed to be a DIY platform.  You can get yourself in DEEP EXPENSIVE HORRIBLE Trouble in no time.

I was reviewing Adwords for a client today.  They paid someone to set it up a long time ago but it had not been monitored or changed in some time.  So what happened?

• Bidding on Non-Relevant Keywords This account was “broad match” to a lot of different terms that were outside of the scope of what this studio offered.  They were PAYING to show ads for Yoga when people searched for studios in other cities!  So if someone searched “Yoga Classes Southern Pines” this studio was serving an ad to them even though they are 2000 miles away! They were also bidding ads for people looking for Yoga equipment and supplies, or online yoga.  They spent $800 a year on non-relevant keywords!
• No Negative Keywords You must CONSTANTLY add negative keywords to your account to make sure you are effectively spending your money.
• BAD ADS!  Writing Ads is an art and a science.  You need multiple ads per campaign to speak to different types of customers.  This client had the same ad over and over but there was no clear call to action, keywords were not included and the same ad was being shown to people looking for Aerial that was being shown to People who searched for Restorative Yoga.
• Outdated Links  The links in these ads weren’t going to pages that existed anymore!  EEK!  That means even when someone clicked the ad didn’t work because the person never got there!
• Wrong Intro Offer These ads talked about an Intro Offer that didn’t exist!
• No Extensions Google encourages you to use Call Extensions, Location Extensions, Call Out Extensions, and Sitelink Extensions.  The more you use the less they charge you for ads  SNEAKY!
• No Remarketing  One of the biggest tools in Adwords is the ability to show your site visitors ads on the Display Network.  Have you ever looked for something on Amazon and then seen in your favorite website!  That is Adwords Magic!
• Stale Ads Ads go BAD!  Did you know that?  If people keep seeing the same ad over and over they go blind to it.

If you are paying for someone to manage your Adwords, you should be getting a FULL Comprehensive report on several Key Performance Indicators.  If you aren’t you should consider why not!

• Impressions by Keyword (how many times was your ad seen)
• Click Through Rate per Ad/Keyword
• Quality Score of your Ads
• Total Amount spent on Ads
• Change in Cost over time

Adwords is a big animal.  It takes a lot of time to get it right.  You have to constantly evolve your methods.

With You Always,

Marshall