Running ads online is key to increasing your site visibility. Google Ads is a pay-per-click advertising campaign platform, so you only pay when potential customers click your ad and lands on your page. Even with a limited ad spend, you need to make sure your budget is not being wasted by targeting the right people who will click on your Ads.
Launching a new Google Ads search campaign is a continuous structuring process that needs fine-tuning to keep producing results and value to your efforts. If you are not an expert, you might feel a lot of excitement, anxiety, fear, and hope which are all emotions that you might feel when you are about to take your new campaign live.
If you’re just starting your campaigns, a lot might be running through your brain. Hopefully, this article will put you at ease with Google Ads – so you can be patient and discover the power of advertising to your target audience.
The Google ads tips we are about to go through will ensure you’re getting paid more money from your campaigns, rather than helping Google unicorn grow bigger.
These are step by step tips you need to digest as a walk-through
#1: Customer Search Demand & Intent
Customer demand. If your customers are not searching for your product or service in Google, then obviously, Ads search advertising is not going to work for you. So, before you get too excited about creating your first campaign, you need to verify there is, in fact, search volume for what you’re going to offer to potential searchers.
The tool to use is Google Ads Keyword Suggestion Tool. The keyword tool acts much like a recommending or suggestive system. You enter in phrases you think your prospects are searching, and Google tells you other similar, relevant phrases that match your customer intent.
Google also will tell you in volume how often people search these phrases, how competitive the keywords are in Google Ads, and how much it’ll cost to advertise on each keyword. All of this information will help you determine which target keywords to use in your first Google ads campaign.
How to use Google Ads Keyword Suggestion Tool
Before you start using the tool, make sure the Advanced Options are set. If you’re in the United States, then set the Location to the United States and set the Language to English. The Device should default to desktops and laptops, which is what you want unless you’re targeting only mobile devices.
Next, click on the Columns drop-down menu and make sure to Check Competition, Local Monthly Searches, and Approximate CPC (cost per click)
boxes in the columns drop-down menu. Local Monthly Searches will show the searches in the United States (if you picked the U.S. in the Advanced Options). Plus, you’ll see the Google Ads competition and the cost per click for each keyword. This will help you analyze the keyword opportunities and how much you’ll need to spend to reach your goal.
Also, when you’re conducting keyword research for Google Ads, we recommend you use the keyword Match Type setting called “Phrase” match. This will give you an accurate sense of how many relevant phrases there are per month related to your audience.
Finally, to use the Keyword Tool, simply type the phrases you think your ideal prospects are typing into Google to the right of “Word or phrase” and click the Search button to view your suggestions.
When the Keyword Tool refreshes, you’ll see a list of keyword ideas along the left column, which are based on the phrases you typed into the search box. Plus, you’ll see Google ads network Competitors, the Local Monthly Searches, all the way to the right is the Approximate CPC for each keyword. That’s how much it will cost each time someone clicks on your ad.
Three questions to determine whether or not to advertise using a particular keyword
- Are there Searches For this keyword in Google?
If there is no search volume, then that tells you no one is typing that phrase into Google. There is no point in advertising on keywords no one is searching for.
- What is the searcher’s intent & Are they likely to buy my product or service?
Or is the person more likely just researching with no intention of making a purchase? In other words, what is the intent of the keyword? When starting, you’ll want to advertise on what I call “buying intent” keywords where the person is looking to buy.
- Can I afford to advertise on the keyword?
This question is important, but it requires a bit of math to calculate. So let’s take a look at that now.
#2: Learn some Basic Math to balance out your approach
You will need some math implementation before you can finalize your keyword list, you must first make sure some basic “5th-grade math” makes sense. This will prevent you from going after keywords where there’s no chance of being profitable. It’s better to run these numbers now before you’ve sunk time and ad spend into a campaign destined to fail.
To answer the question “Can I afford to advertise using this keyword?” you need to calculate your maximum cost-per-click (Max CPC). You’ll compare your business’s Max CPC to the estimated keyword CPC in the Keyword Tool to see if you can afford to advertise.
For example, if your Max CPC is $5 and the estimated CPC is $4, then you know there’s a good chance you can profitably advertise on that particular keyword.
Your Max CPC is determined by your website conversion rate, your profit per customer, and your target advertising profit margin. If you don’t know these numbers, then you’ll need to guesstimate or set up tracking to more accurately calculate them.
How to Calculate and Compare your Max CPC and Estimated CPC
Use the formula below to calculate your Max CPC and then compare to the estimated CPC you found above:
Max CPC = (profit per customer) x (1 – profit margin) x (website conversion rate)
For example, let’s say your average profit per customer is $500, and out of 1,000 website visitors, you convert 10 into customers. That means you have a 1% website conversion rate. If you are comfortable with a 30% profit margin, then here’s how you would calculate your Max CPC:
Max CPC = $500 x (1 – 0.30) x 1% = $3.50
Again, your Max CPC must be in the neighborhood of the estimated CPC in Google’s Keyword Tool or else you’re in trouble. If your Max CPC is $3.50 and the estimated CPC for a keyword is $10, then you’ll need to first increase either your profit per customer or your conversion rate before you can profitably advertise on that particular keyword.
#3: Competitor Intelligence Analysis
At this point, you now have a list of “buying intent” keywords that you’re confident you can afford. The next step is to reduce your risk by leveraging competitor intelligence. In most industries, you’ll find competitors who already have tested and optimized their Google ad campaigns. That means they have figured out which keywords, ads, and landing pages work and do not work in your market. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just hack into your competitor’s Google Ads accounts and collect that information?
Well, before you get too far along on your illegal hacking plot, we should let you know about a very cool competitive intelligence tool called KeywordSpy.
Keyword Spy collects, organizes, and provides easy access to all of your competitors’ historical advertising information.
Once you’re all signed up and logged in, then copy one of your competitor domains into the search bar and select the Domains option as shown below. (To find your competitors, simply type your keywords into Google and then copy the advertiser domains.)
When the search is complete, click on the PPC Keywords tab to see all of the keywords your competitor is advertising on.
We recommend you review several competitors’ ads to see what types of offers resonate with your target market. Also, while you’re reviewing the ads, look for a way to differentiate your business from all of your competitors. Differentiation is critical to Google Ads’ success.
#4: Have A Powerful Unique Selling Proposition
Your USP, or unique selling proposition, is what differentiates your business from your competitors and gives your prospects a compelling reason to choose you. In other words, your USP answers the question “Why should I, your prospect, choose to do business with you, versus any and every other option, including doing nothing?”
You can thank the direct response marketing expert, Dan Kennedy, for giving us that valuable question.
3 important reasons to create a powerful Unique Selling Proposition
- First, a strong USP will generate more traffic from qualified prospects (encourage clicks on your ads) and repel unwanted leads (prevent clicks on your ads).
- Second, a strong USP will skyrocket your sales conversion rates. So, not only will you generate more traffic because you’ll get more clicks on your ads, but you’ll also convert more of your traffic into paying customers.
- A powerful USP can eliminate price comparison This can be a game-changer for your business because you’re no longer seen as a commodity. If you give your prospects a compelling reason to do business with you versus your competition, then price becomes a secondary issue, and you’ll be able to demand higher prices than your competition without hurting your sales.
How do you create a USP?
Well, first, you focus on your core strengths. What are you better at than your competitors?
Second, talk to your customers, and more importantly, listen to them. A great USP is built on customer insight, so ask your customers why they do business with you. Also, ask questions to determine what your customers dislike about your industry and what your customers wish you could provide in addition to your core products or services.
Third, analyze your competitors, and look for an opening. The most important word in a unique selling proposition is unique.
To create a strong USP, you need to study your competitors’ ads, websites, and marketing materials, and find your opportunity to stand out. I recommend you use a spreadsheet to organize all of your competitors’ ads and websites, so you can more easily find the commonalities. As you’re doing this, look for an opening to say something unique and superior.
To get you started, here’s a powerful USP I’m sure you’ll recognize: “Seasoned hot BBQ delivered in 60 minutes or less, guaranteed.”
Where have you heard that line before? That’s a BBQ restaurant USP, and they used it to build a billion-dollar empire. They don’t claim to be all things to everybody. They don’t even mention quality ingredients, price, or taste. They focused their entire business on the one thing their customers care about most – fast, on-time delivery. Picture some college students late Saturday night with the munchies, and you’re looking at BBQ’s ideal customer avatar.)
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Pinterest