Working with clients on their search engine marketing has really given us some insight into the most common mistakes businesses make with their AdWords campaigns. And those mistakes, paid marketing mistakes, can end up costing. A lot. 

So, we’ve together a few tips to help you avoid the potential money pit of a poorly run campaign. 

Tip #1: Send Traffic to a Landing Page

It makes no sense to drive traffic to your website just to have them do a quick look-around and then leave. Most people who click ads are looking for immediate solutions to their problem (…need a refresher on the Buyer’s Journey?) and if they don’t find it right after clicking, they’ll go elsewhere.

A lot of advertisers are still sending clicks to their homepage, which not only means  users looking for immediate answers will likely leave, and it also means the business has no process set up to capture email addresses or other information that would enable them to nurture those leads in the future. 

Tip #2: Understand Keyword Matches

You can add keywords to campaigns using broad match, phrase match or exact match, defined as follows:

• A Broad Match keyword means that your ad will display as long as your keyword shows up in any order of the search. For example, if your keyword was “Lululemon yoga pants”, your ad will display for people who type “yoga pants Lululemon” or “where can I find Lululemon pants for yoga”.
• A Phrase Match keyword means that your ad will display only when the phrase of your keyword matches what is being typed in the search bar in the same order. Using the same example as above, your ads would only be displayed when people are searching for “best Lululemon yoga pants” or “where can I buy Lululemon yoga pants”.
• An Exact Match keyword means that your ad will display only when your keyword matches exactly with what is being searched. So an exact match keyword of “Lululemon yoga pants” would only work if people are searching for “Lululemon yoga pants”.

It’s important to understand these definitions as the match type you use will have a big impact on the success of your campaigns.  Sure, a broad match may bring in more clicks, but some of this traffic could be irrelevant and not lead to conversions. Phrase match and exact matches may not deliver as many impressions, but they will be more targeted, leading to a higher chance of successful conversions.

Tip #3: Use Ad Extensions

Ad extensions will enhance the look of your ads, giving them greater visibility on the search results page, and providing valuable information to your potential customers from the first interaction. They will make your ads more targeted and more relevant, increasing clicks for the same cost per click you would have paid without them.

You can add extensions based on business or advertising goals. For example, if your goal is to get more people to request a quote, you can add a “Callout extension”, which will allow you to add additional text to your ad such as “free estimate”. 

Extensions will only be displayed when that extension (or combination of extensions) is predicted by AdWords to improve your performance.

Tip #4: Check Out Your Competitors

It’s called healthy competition for a reason. You should always know what your competitors are doing, and how they are advertising, and see their ads and landing pages as a customer would. Compare apples to apples and give an honest review: if you were a customer, would you click their ad first, or yours. Which parts are better and which parts could use improvement? Take those findings and use them to build a better ad, better landing pages, and better conversions.

Tip #5: Solid Ad Copy

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many ads we see that are are poorly written or don’t contain the keyword they are promoting. AdWords limits your first headline to 30 characters (and the rest to 80 characters), so you need to make sure your copy is eye-catching and informative, providing all of the data points your audience need to know about your business, products or services, but without being too wordy.

Also, make sure your copy includes the keyword you’ve bid on. If you’re searching for something, chances are you’re more likely to click on the ad that contains the keyword you’re searching for, right?

Tip #6: Bid on Yourself

This isn’t an ego thing, we promise. The fact is, if you’re not bidding on your own brand — someone else might. If you’re a market leader, a competitor may try to use your brand name for an ad group and target the visitors you would normally bring in. It’s slimy, but it happens.

If someone is searching for your company or brand, you always want to make sure you’re the top result.

Tip #7: Constantly Measure Your ROI

If you’re running an AdWords campaign and don’t check in on your results until it’s finished, you’re basically throwing darts at a dartboard with a blindfold on. And unless you’re somehow good at that (and deserve a spot on the next season of America’s Got Talent), you need to be constantly reviewing performance and testing different versions to see which brings in the most conversions. 

You can test using different keywords, match phrases, headings or ad copy, locations, landing pages…there are many options to play around with (as long as you’re only changing one thing at a time). A/B Testing is the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t, and to increase your ROI with each successful conversion.

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Paid marketing campaigns are an investment, and although every investment has ups and downs, following these tips will help you avoid costly mistakes and increase your campaign ROI.