Boosting Phone Leads with Google Ads
So you’ve made it into the mecca of Google Advertisements -- great job! This is the first step to building a strong online presence that allows you to reach a much larger audience. You may be wondering why PPC or pay-per-click advertising is so important, or maybe why it’s Google advertising in particular that you’d want to emphasize.
First off, Google is the number one highest ranked search engine globally. Consistently ranking in the top 85 percentile. In 2019, Unbounce noted that 50% of PPC visitors are more likely to purchase something than organic consumers.
Pay per click advertising is part of Google’s bread and butter and their increasingly witty AI can both intuitively guess what the consumer is looking for but also recommend a business or service based on data.
The worlds’ top search engine is so efficient at reaching customers that in 2020, Wordstream documented that ads placed on Google can reach up to 90% of users.
So how can you make your PPC ads work better for you? Here’s 13 tips that will help you get the most out of your pay-per-click ads and target a larger audience!
Focus on Copy Quality and Your Quality Score
One key way to bump those CTR or click-thru-rate numbers up is by having high quality advertisements. One way that you can do this is by following a quality score. So what is a quality score? A quality score is Google's way of rating the quality of your message by correlating your copy with keywords and your ppc ads. Google does this to determine the cost per click or how much each click is worth and how much money you’ll get when consumers click on your advertisement! There are a few other key factors that will improve your quality score.
These include:
- Your Click-Thru-Rate
- Keyword relevance and it’s Advertisement Group
- Ad Text and the Ad Relevance
- The Historical Performance of Your Google Ad Account
If that’s not enough incentive to up your quality score and focus on writing good copy, Google also rewards you by giving higher quality ads higher Google rank and lower costs. This means that your advertisement may be ranked higher than your competitor, and at a lower cost to you! Having a high quality ranking will also aid you in advertising with Microsoft Ads and help you lower your cost even more for digital advertising.
Google also rewards you by giving higher quality ads higher Google rank and lower costs. This means that your advertisement may be ranked higher than your competitor, and at a lower cost to you!
Photo provided by Wordstream.com
Use Extensions to Increase CTR
We already talked about the key factors that go into having a high quality score, but what about increasing your click-thru-rate? Like said in the above tip, having a good CTR is one surefire way to increase your quality score and therefore increase the possibility that Google will show your ad to more consumers at a lower cost.
You can do this by using extensions, specifically ad extensions. On their webpage Google explains that in order to maximize your advertisement performance they will select extensions that can potentially work well with your advertisement. This is why it’s always a good idea to utilize relevant extensions for any type of business.
PPC Resellers noted that in 2019, 46% of consumers were unable to tell the difference between PPC advertisements and their own search results, increasing the chance they may even accidentally click on your ad!
Know Your Extensions
Now you know what an extension is, it’s time to get into what kinds of extensions there are, and how they can help you further your digital advertising avenues.
There are two key types of extensions -- automated and manual. For manual extensions you must set them up well, manually. This takes a bit more time and effort but if you have an extremely particular niche or just want to really hit the hammer on the nail, you can manually create your own extensions. That being said, there is some setup required when doing your own DIY extension.
The other type of extension is an automatic extension. This means that Google’s advertising AI will predict what extensions best suit your business’ advertisement and recommend content that may increase ad performance. There is no setup required for automated extensions.
Please note that extensions for your advertisement will not always show with your ad. This is because Google’s AI keeps track of your ads positioning with the Ad Rank tool. When your advertisement is starting to gain traction, you’ll find that your ad may have extensions attached more often.
Although extensions are free, the actual PPC advertising varies in cost, depending on how many consumers click through your ad. The State of PPC noted both in 2019 and in 2020 that 74% of brands say pay per click advertising is a huge driver for their business and for brand promotion.
There is also no additional cost to adding extensions to your campaign, making them a great way to reach a larger target market without the pricetag.
Ad More Content
Yes, we know that add as in “addition” is spelled with two d’s but when reaching your business advertisements highest potential we highly recommend that you add more to your ads. Coming direct from Google:
By adding more content to your ad, extensions give your ad greater visibility on the search results page. This means you tend to get more value from your ad.
Since adding extensions gives you a higher number of clicks in total, it also presents the opportunity for customers to have more avenues to reach you, like an address or by leaving a phone number. You can also add more content by doing keyword research for your particular niche, allowing you to find buzzwords that resonate with your audience.
Do Your Keyword Research
Do you know the buzzwords or keywords for your particular niche? For example, a gardening business wouldn’t use the phrase “10% hot and ready pizza” but instead do something along the lines of “gardening tools”, “soil by the bag” or “vegetable seeds available.”
Through Google’s Keyword Planner you can research potential keywords, find what words are currently trending, and create specified lists of words for you to use in future advertisements. This allows you not only to keep track of what keywords you’ve already used but to track the performance of word batches and pick more successful keyword bundles.
By knowing the keywords associated with your business, customers can better find you when they search up a relevant term or keyword.
Adjust Your Geolocation
So you just finished finding the keywords perfect for your niche, you’ve got all your recommended extensions, and you’ve got a top-quality advertisement ready to go. Many businesses end up publishing their ad at this point and overlook it’s geolocation. Your geolocation is crucial to reaching new customers as it correlates with where your advertisement will show. For example, a Floridian Florist wouldn’t want to show their advertisement on the West Coast but instead in Tampa Bay, Florida or within a 10-15 mile radius of where their shop is located. This is because when consumers start looking for a “flower business near me” they’ll be able to find your store or in this case, the Floridian Flourist!
Your geolocation is crucial to reaching new customers as it correlates with where your advertisement will show.
Now you have a few tips and tricks to make your PPC ads work better for you, we’re hopeful that you’ll be able to rank higher with your ads at a much lower cost!
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