Are You Wasting Money on Google Ads?

It sounds like a no-brainer if you want to get in front of customers when they’re searching for businesses like yours, but there are pitfalls when setting up a Google Campaign.

Here are 3 common mistakes advertisers (and agencies) can make when setting up a Google Ads campaign:

1). The wrong keywords.

If you are setting up a search campaign, keyword research is a key step. Choosing the right keywords for a search campaign can either find you the right customers or blow through your budget with keywords that are too general. A small mistake can cost you a big chunk of your budget and result in clicks on your ads that are not relevant to what you offer. And always, always use match types on keywords.

2). Missed settings.

Are you excluding traffic that is not in your targeted areas? This is a small box to check and if you miss this setting, you may be serving ads to cities, states, and even countries outside of your targeted area. If you are setting up a display campaign, make sure there is frequency capping and exclusions in place. Examples of exclusions may include “below the fold,” “parked domains,” and “DL-G: General Audiences.” You may be getting a ton of impressions from your Display campaign, but if they are below-the-fold, visitors will need to scroll to the bottom of the page to even see them.

3). Poor Quality Score.

Google rates your keywords on a 1-10 scale in a search campaign. Ratings are based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. A low quality score can result in higher cost-per-click and impression share. On the flip side, Google rewards you on good quality scores, with lower costs and better ad position. Your ads and ad extensions should include keywords relevant to the ad group, and these keywords should be prominent on the landing page.

These are just 3 common mistakes, but there are many more that I have seen when campaigns are set up with little knowledge of the pitfalls. Would you like to know if you are wasting money on your Google Ads campaigns? Schedule a Free Audit today!