Google AdWords PPC services can be a quick and instant way to drive targeted traffic to your website.
Wait… we have heard this before but your AdWords campaign is just burning money left right and centre.
So, you keep at it because everyone tells you that it works.
You scratch your head and try to absorb all the information you can in the hope of turning your AdWords campaigns around. Surly if 40% of all clicks on a Google search results pages go to the ads then this must mean you should be making money.
I have been a PPC consultant for over 10 years and I will give you the top five mistakes you may be making and ways to fix it.
1. Not determining a cost per acquisition
This is the number one mistake that almost everyone makes. You must firstly work out how much you are willing to pay for each conversion.
This will help you to work out what your maximum cost per click should be.
For more information on how to work out your cost per acquisition then download the ultimate PPC guide for more help.
2. Your using broad match keywords
Using broad match keywords can be a very easy way to burn through your monthly budget within a few days. Broad match can be very effective if you know what you are doing.
Most people just select keywords without changing the match type.
Try using modified broad match instead as this will eliminate a lot of the crapping keyphrases that are triggering your ads.
Broad Match: green everlasting gobstoppers
Modified Broad match: +green +everlasting +gobstoppers
Notice how I have added the + symbol in front of the keywords, this is modified broad match and will eliminate most of your unwanted keyphrases.
3. Advertising to everyone in the world
Does your business only cover a particular area?
Then stop advertising to the whole country, try limiting your advertising to your area. This will mean there is less competition and your budget will last a lot longer.
If you do offer your products or services to a wide area or a whole country, still create smaller campaigns that focus on cities.
4. Only using one ad
The secret to Google AdWords PPC campaigns that return good ROI is optimisation.
You must be always testing your ads and that can be impossible if you are only running one ad. You will also have the same problem if you run too many ads.
Start with two ads and let them compete against each other and when you are certain one is performing better than the other pause the loser (never delete an ad).
If you are not sure which one is best use this excellent tool that will help you to decide.
Another important point to remember is make sure your ad rotation settings are set to “Rotate indefinitely”, if you don’t then this will give unfair results.
5. Where are my conversions?
You cannot improve what you do not track and you cannot see what is working in your Adwords campaign if you do not know what is causing conversions.
Make sure you have the conversion code installed on your website. You need to place this code on the page where a conversion would occur.
This could be a confirmation page for a transaction, a contact us, thank you page or any page that you deem would constitute a conversion.
Conclusion
With these 5 PPC consultant tips you will be able to start turning your Google AdWords account around.
Make sure you know how much you are willing to pay and stop using broad match keyphrases (for now).
If you only service one particular area, define your geographic regions and stop using just one ad as your account will never improve.
Always make sure you know which ads and keyphrases are causing conversions by adding the conversion code to your website.
What are your biggest challenges you face with your PPC account?
Let us know in the comments below.