10 advises to start your Google Ads campaign

best Google ads practices

When you start with Google Ads, there are a lot of things you need to know about. Understanding the functioning of this machine, quite complex, is difficult when you launch alone in this adventure.

To help you get started with your next Ads campaign, here’s a list of tips:

As much as you can tell, all these tips are not necessarily oriented “novice”, but they are good to know, and will come the day you will be happy to know them.

1- Never focus on a single metric

When you optimize your Ads ads, it might be dangerous to dwell on a single metric.

For example, if you focus only on the CTR (Click Through Rate), you’ll be interested in the ads that have the most clicks. However, a good CTR is not synonymous with a good conversion rate. You can improve your conversion rate, avoiding attracting unnecessary clicks. (Improve your targeting, set your time slots, etc.)

The watchword: Consider all the essential metrics, in order to get a good balance between the clicks and the number of conversions.

2- Relevance!

The CTR is the main metric that determines whether your ad is relevant or not. This is the ratio between the number of people who see your ad and those who click on it.

Increasing the relevance of its ads definitely has several advantages: aspire to a lower CPC (Cost per click), increase its CTR, get a better location for a lower price.

The keyword: Working with Ads is a matter of relevance.

3- Do not forget the call to action

The call to action is something you ask the user to do. This is a term that you will encounter a lot in the world of advertising, and especially in online advertising.

The keyword, the call to action must fulfill two functions:

  • The user knows exactly what to do on your site.
  • The user knows exactly what he can do on your site.

If a user is looking for information, he will not necessarily click on the button “Buy by clicking here”.

4- Create an appropriate landing page

Ensuring the relevance between the search terms and your Ads ads is only part of your work.

Once the user clicks on your ad, you need to make sure they are directed to the most relevant page, and that best meets their expectations. He must quickly find the information he has come for.

5- Ad Sitelink is mandatory

The ad extensions were introduced for the first time in 2009 and since then they have become a must.

Having a Sitelink allows 100% growth in the visibility of Google results, as opposed to not having one.

The watchword: Always include Ad Sitelinks.

6- Do not use large queries

Large queries are the most frequently used queries in Google Ads, but also the most volatile queries.

You have very little control over the results that will result from your keywords to “wide query”. Example: If you try to position yourself broadly on the keyword “chicken diet”, you can highlight results such as “chicken-free meals”

The watchword: Use large queries with great caution, because you risk raking very wide.

7. Use negative keyword lists if you have more than one campaign

Using negative keywords is mandatory; This will keep you out of queries that you do not want. Also, using negative keyword lists is synonymous with applying a wide range of negative keywords in one shot at a time.

The watchword: Have the reflex to use keywords and negative keyword lists

8- Structure your account in the same way as your site

When you structure your Ads account, try to do it the same way as your site, especially when it comes to a transactional site. You are familiar with the way your site is organized, you can find products there almost intuitively. By using the same structure for your Ads campaign, you’ll be able to better organize your AdGroups, so you’ll find it easier.

9- Quality Score is volatile

Your Quality Score may change several times without you realizing it. The Quality Score that you see in your dashboard is not necessarily equivalent to the one used by Google to calculate your positioning.

Be aware that even the slightest change, however small, will affect your positioning and will allow you to pay less or more for your current ad.

The watchword: Never stop optimizing your ads in search of a better Quality Score.

10- For location, prefer location to radius

When you use Ads to promote an activity in a small geographic area, you can limit the results within an 80 km radius of your business. Even if this method is faster, it is not the best in the majority of cases.

Be aware that the radius function is not as accurate as the location selection, see the map in Google Ads.

Conclusion

Proper management of an Ads campaign is far more complex than knowing simple facts, or being just able to fix XX Dollar auctions.

The best Ads managers develop their campaigns by following the trends of the market, and especially through optimization and advertising strategies.

Consider these tips to get started on your first campaigns; You will discover many other things during your research and you will surely develop your own list later.

Picture of Xavier Cloitre
Xavier Cloitre

Passionate digital strategist and content creator, specializing in innovative solutions to drive online growth and engagement.