Google has made great strides in simplifying the process of running ad campaigns. A PPC or pay-per-click campaign, for instance, is one of the quickest ways to drive massive traffic and leads. But Google Ads management is a complex and highly technical field. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are also many pitfalls. So if your campaign is not working well, make sure you are not making any PPC mistakes.
Google Ads Mistakes That Even PPC Specialists Make
These are not the only common PPC mistakes but are among the most serious ones. If you can avoid these pitfalls, you are much closer to running successful campaigns.
PPC Mistake 1: Running a Campaign Without Goals
In almost all PPC campaigns, the most common goals are to:
• Increase traffic
• Generate more leads
• Improve conversions
• Generate higher revenue
While those are reasonable goals, they are only a part of a broader, comprehensive marketing plan.
Problem
Some Google Ads specialists focus too much on generating traffic while neglecting lead quality and conversion rates. Also, the PPC campaign may not align with other digital and traditional marketing goals.
Solution
Ensure each PPC campaign is SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) to achieve the desired goal. Throughout the campaign, analyze the data and tweak relevant parameters to reach or exceed lead generation and conversion objectives.
Keep the communication line open between the company and the PPC management team. The company’s visions and goals must also be clear so that the PPC strategies can effectively contribute to the success of long-term plans.
PPC Mistake 2: Poorly Designed Website and Slow Site Speed
Every entry point to a website (homepage, product or service page, landing page, blog content) must give a positive impression within seconds. It must also have a fast loading time to enhance the user experience.
Problem
Some companies may not place much importance on updating a website. Unfortunately, that may give a negative impression and turn away potential customers.
Site loading speed is also another issue. Each second added to the loading time correlates to higher bounce rates, lower leads and conversions.
In fact, business-to-business (B2B) sites that load in one second have five times higher conversion rates than those that load in 10 seconds.
Whereas business-to-consumer (B2C) sites that load in one second have 2.5 times higher conversion rates than those that load in five seconds.
Solution
Update the website using the latest web development innovations and design trends. Ensure that it highlights the value propositions and projects the brand as trustworthy and reliable.
You could also migrate to a faster hosting solution if the current one is slow. In addition, combining technical search engine optimization (SEO) with PPC marketing services can significantly improve site speed and PPC performance. What’s more, a highly optimized site ranks better and gains more organic traffic from search engines.
PPC Mistake 3: Not Using a High-Quality Landing Page
Landing pages are not like blog content. Instead of being informative, they are pages that PPC-generated users see. So, they must be high-quality and persuasive enough to turn leads into conversions.
Problem
Some companies do not have specific landing pages, so they send users to the homepage or a product or service page. This practice, however, fails to narrow the sales funnel. Even worse are the higher rates of leakage between audience acquisition and conversions.
Solution
Create a dedicated landing page tailored for the specific customer segment or need. Use the services of professional copywriters who are proficient in creating persuasive copy.
A better approach is to create at least two landing pages and use A/B testing to determine which one works best in converting visitors to leads and conversions. This approach is commonly used by a PPC marketing agency.
PPC Mistake 4: Not Testing and Trackings Metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
It is almost impossible to optimize PPC campaigns without measuring each PPC performance metric, such as:
• Click-through rate
• Conversion rate
• Cost per acquisition (CPA)
• Cost per click (CPC)
• Quality score
Problem
The lack of data or limited knowledge prevents the PPC management team from optimizing their Google Ads campaigns. Consequently, the results are poor or tolerable but far from their full potential.
Solution
Knowledge of SEO and PPC plus advanced tools to track analytics are necessary to maximize the Google Ads budget.
Above is an example of month-over-month (MoM) metrics of a company offering online certificate programs and continuing education courses for government agencies. The Google Ads specialist assigned by a PPC marketing agency tracked the PPC performance of their campaign:
• Conversions increased by 119.12 percent.
• The conversion rate increased by 26.18 percent.
• The click-through rate increased by 80.19 percent.
• Cost per conversion decreased by 26.18 percent.
Because this information is available, the PPC ads agency can do many things to optimize PPC campaigns.
• Change PPC tactics for campaigns that are not working.
• Make changes to certain parameters to improve the outcome.
Testing is a staple in most reputable pay-per-click management services because it effectively boosts performance. For example, the advertiser can have two or three different landing pages. During the test, they can determine which one has the highest conversions and use that for the rest of the campaign. This method, of course, is only possible if there are measures of the KPIs.
PPC Mistake 5: Not Accounting for the Returns
Generally, there are three ways to measure the success of a Google Ads campaign.
• Return on Investment (ROI) refers to the ratio of net profit to the total costs of the PPC campaign, expressed as a percentage.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is the revenue earned for every dollar spent. According to Google, PPC advertisers average $2 per $1 spend.
• Profit per Click accounts for the revenue generated per click by tracking the actions taken by users after interacting with an ad, such as calling or filling out a form, downloading an app, ebook or whitepaper, or purchasing a product or service.
Google Ads management and pay-per-click management services cost money. It is, therefore, imperative to consider the benefits of implementing PPC strategies and avoid wasting the Google Ads budget.
Problem
Seeing the increase in conversion rates and other KPIs is impressive. But, sometimes, the numbers are “too good to be true.” So while the improvements may be in hundreds of percentage points, it does not necessarily translate to revenues. As some companies have experienced, it is possible to lose money because advertising costs more than the returns.
Solution
Understanding the three ways to measure the success of any PPC tactics is by closing the loop on returns to avoid one of the most common PPC mistakes. Remember that ad spending is not the only investment made in a Google Ads campaign. Others include the cost of hiring a pay-per-click consultant and subscriptions to SEO and PPC tools or platforms.
Calculating the returns, however, is simpler if outsourcing to a PPC ads agency. Reputable pay-per-click management services would not only have access to the latest and most advanced technologies used in PPC management. They would also have entire teams of experienced Google Ads specialists who would develop solid PPC strategies instead of making PPC mistakes.
Maximize Google Ads Budget by Avoiding PPC Mistakes
Usually, PPC tactics are a part of a more comprehensive digital marketing plan that includes other aspects such as SEO. Therefore, the pay-per-click consultant must understand the broader marketing plan to tailor each campaign to the objectives needed to achieve the long-term goals.
The goal of PPC marketing services is to increase reach, leads, conversions and sales. So knowing the common PPC mistakes is one step toward ensuring that nothing goes wrong. Furthermore, it provides two benefits:
1. Know the pitfalls that cause failure and avoid them.
2. Know the solution to PPC mistakes if they happen.
For more information on how to optimize PPC campaigns, contact us or call 843-353-6383 so that our Google Ads management team can provide you with tips at no cost.
