Google Ads is an amazing tool when used properly. For many advertisers, however, it becomes a money pit that never stops giving. In a recent survey, just 33% of respondents said they were seeing positive ROI from Google Ads.

What does it take to ensure your display advertising dollars are working as hard for you as possible? Use the following ten easy tips to increase ROI with your next campaign or decrease wasted ad spend in your existing campaigns.

Tip 1: Track Your Conversions

The first step to improving your Google Ads campaign is to track it. You can’t determine if the money you are spending is working for you unless you know how much business you’re getting from Google Ads.

Use a third-party tool to accurately track clicks and conversions on your ad links so that you have a clear picture of how much business your campaigns are generating.

Tip 2: Optimize Your Images and Bid Amounts

If you’ve already started a campaign without tracking it, stop what you’re doing and track the clicks that come from Google Ads to see if they result in conversions. You can do that by using Google Analytics goals or by using third-party tools.

Once you have those numbers, compare the cost per conversion from your tracked clicks to the average quantity of conversions and click costs for a control group that isn’t running display ads. If you’re spending more per conversion or getting fewer conversions than a control group, your campaign needs optimization.

• Images: Use images with clear branding and messaging that match both Google’s image requirements and your business goals. Try to limit each ad to no more than four total URLs if possible so that people don’t get overwhelmed by too many options. In general, it’s best not to use Flash elements in ads because they overload some users’ browsers and decrease overall page loading time on display campaigns.
• Bid Amounts: The bid amount you choose for your ads is the most important factor. If you are paying too much, it’s incredibly difficult to turn a profit. If you are paying too little, Google Ads will deliver poor-quality traffic that won’t result in conversions.

Ideally, use several different ad groups with their specific budgets so that you can quickly adjust bids based on your campaign goals and what users are doing when they click on your ads.

Tip 3: Use Negative Keywords

Just because someone types of words into a search engine doesn’t mean he or she wants to see advertisements related to those words. For example, if someone searches for a sugar baby in the UK, Google Ads will probably show an ad for a dating site.

Negative keywords help you control what users see in their search results so that you can deliver them the content they are looking for instead of the content you are trying to sell them.

Tip 4: Take Advantage of Remarketing

Google Ads remarketing lets you display ads to people who have visited your site. Advertisers can set up these campaigns by using Google Analytics goals or by using a third-party service such as Perfect Audience.

You can also use remarketing to target users based on contextual keywords, demographics, and interests. For example, if your company sells products related to hiking, you might run a remarketing campaign using keywords like “hiking”, “climbing”, and “camping” so that your ads appear on search results pages for those terms.

Tip 5: Avoid Using Headlines That Are Too Long or Too Short

Headlines should be between 20-25 characters long. If they are longer, Google Ads may cut off your entire headline and replace it with ellipses (…). If you do not see the full headline in your account, decrease the length until ads display properly.

Short headlines can also cause problems, especially if Google Ads truncates them with ellipses as well. Likewise, you shouldn’t use an empty headline because it negates all benefits of having a headline at all!

Tip 6: Track Your Clicks to Make Sure That They’re Working for You

Google Ads click-tracking works by using cookies located on users’ computers so that they remain anonymous. This way, Google can provide accurate tracking numbers without compromising the data it collects.

However, there are times when Google Ads doesn’t track clicks correctly because users block cookies or click on ads from within a private browser window. If you notice that your numbers aren’t adding up and don’t correlate with your control group or other campaigns, check to make sure that you’re getting accurate tracking data before making any adjustments to your account.

Rule of thumb: if you spend more on Google Ads than on actual conversions, double-check your numbers! You don’t want to invest in useless advertisements just because they look good on paper.

Tip 7: Focus on Different Campaign Types for More Targeted Revenues

Google Ads has six different campaign types including search network only, search network with display selects, display network only, mobile search, video, and shopping.

• Search Network Only: This campaign type delivers ads based on text keywords in the Google search engine. The ads appear above or to the right of organic results when users enter queries related to your product/service.
• Search Network with Display Select: Google selects relevant websites within its partner network for you to advertise on, but you get to choose which sites you want your ad displayed on (the others will still get impressions). You can also opt-out of any site that doesn’t fit the niche of your company.
• Display Network Only: These campaigns work like AdSense because they display banner ads across relevant websites within Google’s partner network including sites like Blogger). It’s a great way to extend the reach of your Google Ads campaign and increase your ad impressions.
• Mobile Search: You can create ads that appear as native mobile apps or on mobile websites. These sites include places like YouTube, Reddit, and AOL (which now owns TechCrunch). If you sell products like phones, don’t forget to create separate campaigns for these rich media ads!
• Video: This is another form of targeted advertising that requires specific creative formats such as TrueView skip ads and bumper ads. Video is different than all other Google Ads campaign types because users need to click the play button before they can even see it! If you’re starting out with video marketing, just keep in mind that it’s also one of the most expensive forms of paid advertising, so be sure to allocate lots of time and/or budget before starting.
• Shopping: If you’d like your products and services to show up alongside Google Shopping or Product Listing Ads (PLAs), this is where you put those campaigns together. It’s important to note that you don’t have complete control over how your items appear on the SERP so make sure that all your titles and descriptions are as optimized as possible!

Tip 8: Use Extensions & Features for a More Engaging User Experience

Google Ad Extensions can help users see what products and services you offer by displaying them directly on top of the ad itself. They also work similarly to call extensions by showing phone numbers at the bottom of organic search results.

• Keyword & Website Extensions: These are useful because they place your website directly beside the ad so that users have direct access to it. If you don’t have a website, you can use landing pages instead.
• Location Extensions: This feature is especially helpful if you serve customers nationwide or around the globe. You just need to pick where you want your ads displayed and what areas you’d like them to target.
• Call Extensions: Increase CTR by displaying phone numbers at the bottom of Google Ads search results so users can contact your company immediately without having to visit your site first! You can set up multiple call extensions for different parts of your business (i.e., Contact us vs Get directions).
• App Extensions: This adds an “Install Now” button beside your ad so users can download it directly to their phone. It’s an easy way to increase mobile ads without having to build out separate landing pages for each one.
• Review Extensions: Display star ratings, customer reviews, and aggregate review scores so customers have more information about your business before clicking through!
• Structured Snippet Extensions: You can further customize the look of your ads by adding rich snippets that highlight products or services you offer in a tabular format. These are often used in paid search results because they’re great at showing long lists of items.
• Dynamic Structured Snippets: This extension is similar to structured snippets but uses machine learning tech to generate data on the fly! It has access to all your product data, so your items are automatically added to the snippets based on relevancy.
• Custom Extensions: Since you’re already paying for Google Ads, you might as well take advantage of everything it has to offer! For example, if you use dynamic callouts in organic search results, be sure to enable them here as well so your branded messaging appears alongside all ads. You can also create app extensions that only display when users click through from mobile devices.
• Signup Forms & Coupons: If you run a business like an e-commerce store or restaurant, this is one of the best ways to convert more paid traffic into loyal customers down the line. Instead of just sending people straight to your website after they click on your ad, show them product listings by adding coupons or even links to your newsletter.

Tip 10: Choose the Keywords That Power Your Google Ads Campaigns

We’ve already covered how important it is to do keyword research for organic SEO, so you should take that same approach when it comes to paid search! At a basic level, you just want to make sure your ads are relevant and optimized for the most valuable keywords in your industry.

When you’re trying to figure out which keywords apply best, look no further than these 3 things:

• Search Volume – The more traffic potential there is on a given keyword, the better! You can find monthly average volume data directly in the Keyword Planner.
• Search Intent – This means whether users are actively looking to buy something through Google right now. For example, if you’re selling shoes, look for keywords that include phrases like “buy shoes” or “where to find cheap shoes.”
• Relevancy – You want your ads (and landing pages) to show up in search results when users search for similar terms or phrases. This will boost the clickthrough rate and drive more conversions!

Google Ads Keyword Best Practices: 

• Don’t target too many keywords at once: If you spread yourself too thin with an extensive list of phrases, the quality of traffic will suffer because you’ll end up spending all your time optimizing instead of driving sales. Only choose the most valuable ones!
• Group related words into ad groups: Try to make your ads as relevant as possible by placing keywords together where they naturally fit. If you’re an e-commerce store, this means grouping items into categories like Men’s Clothing, Women’s Clothing, etc. You can also use broad match modifier keywords (i.e., +men’s shoes) which will trigger your ads for closely related terms that may have different word orders or phrasing.
• Always start with broad match keywords: These are the most popular terms people search for on Google, so they’ll get you the biggest reach! You can then easily narrow down these groups into more specific matches during the optimization phase of your campaign.
• Avoid modifiers unless necessary: Broad match modifier keywords are slightly riskier because you could end up showing up for irrelevant searches. On the other hand, it’s much easier to overexpose yourself with too many broad keywords so experiment carefully to see what works best for your business.

Conclusion

Seem like a lot? Rest assured, there are still tons left for you to learn about Google Ads. For now, the key is to take some time and start testing out different ideas. Eventually, you’ll find what works best for your unique business goals through trial and error.