6 Paid Search Mistakes You’re Probably Making

1. Not Grouping Keywords the Right Way

 With AdWords, you can break down your ads and keywords in each campaign into ad groups. A common mistake people make is putting all of their keywords into one ad group, which then results in the same ad been shown to everyone. The ad being shown should match the keyword being searched: the more your ad copy corresponds with a keyword, the more likely people are to click on your ad, so make sure you group your keywords correctly!

2. Not Using the Right Keyword Matches

 Another common mistake people make when it comes to paid search is not using the right kind of keywords on your campaigns. A broad match keyword will reach a broader audience, but phrase and exact keywords often provide a higher conversion rate. The best thing to do is adjust your matches to see what works best for your business.

3. Neglecting to Use Negative Keywords

 When you’re managing your paid search campaigns with AdWords, you have the option to use negative keywords to exclude keywords that aren’t a good fit for your product. You can add negative keywords at both a campaign and ad group level. It’s a good idea to use Google Analytics to find keywords that should be excluded too – click “Query Match Type” to view the exact keyword phrases that aren’t converting very well, as well as keywords that people are searching for.

4. Being Too Attached to Ad Copy

 Results are more important than the copy you like most. Testing different variations of headlines and body text will help you to know what works best. Once you have at least 20 clicks, pick the one with the highest conversion or click-through rate, or the lowest Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), depending on what works best for your business.

5. Not Considering the Lifetime Value of Customers

If you’ve never calculated the lifetime value of your customers, there’s no way to know how much you should spend on paid search campaigns per acquisition. If the amount you spend per acquisition exceeds the amount you make per customer for the lifetime of the business you have with them, you’ll soon go out of business. Understanding the lifetime value of your customers means having a good idea of the appropriate CPA for your business.

6. Not Knowing Who You’re Competing Against

When it comes to paid search campaigns, a surprisingly common mistake people make is not knowing which ads their competitors are using. It’s essential to view ads from a customer’s perspective and see which one you’re most likely to click on. As you make your way to landing pages and websites, it’s a good idea to take note of the user experience so you can make adjustments to your own pages. Applying what you’ve learnt to your landing pages and testing new ad copy against old ones is the key to improving your conversion rates.

Want to get more out of your Google Adwords campaigns? Whitehat Agency can help! Contact us for more information.