Today I had a missed call from a London phone number, and I thought, “who the heck do I know that would be calling me from London?” A few hours later my phone was ringing again, and it was the same London phone number, so I picked it up˳ It was Google˳
More specifically, it was a call centre employee dubbed a “Google Account Strategist”, and they were calling me about a new small business AdWords account I had just started managing˳ I receive so many calls from overseas people about Google and SEO, and how I “can be number 1 in Google for a fee” blah blah blah, so my first instinct was to say “no thank you” and hang up, but I knew the client would be told if I didn’t at least hear what the account strategist had to say˳
Fast forward 30 minutes to when the call finished˳ I was actually impressed with the level of knowledge and step-by-step detail the account strategist provided for features that don’t cost extra to implement˳ Google AdWords has so many options that setting up a new account can easily take two days, so it was nice to get a refresher on a few strategies I hadn’t got to yet˳
I thought it would be helpful to share these tips with you as well, whether it’s a refresher or you’re still exploring everything that AdWords can offer˳ I also have a step-by-step guide for starting AdWords, Get Started with Google AdWords, which you should take a look at first if you’re new to AdWords˳ The foundation needs to be right before exploring the advanced features˳
Here are the 5 Google AdWords strategies that are definitely worth experimenting with˳
Ad Extensions
Firstly, I’m a big fan of ad extensions because they allow you to include additional information beyond the character limit of the ad copy, giving way more prominence to your ad˳
My go-to ad extensions are always:
- Location Extension: Showing your physical address for hyper-local marketing˳
- Call-Out Extension: A good spot for value proposition text such as “friendly team”˳
- Sitelinks Extension: As you’re only allowed one URL per ad, this type of extension enables you to add other links to cross-sell within the same ad˳ For example, if you’re advertising a painting category, then within the extensions you can also have links to ladders, paint brushes, and even paint services˳ Highlighting more of your offering positions you as an attractive one-stop option˳
- Call Extension: Make it very easy for people to click while on their mobile and instantly calls your business˳
Ad extensions can be applied:
- At the Account level: This option will add the extensions to every ad within the whole account˳
- For Specific Campaigns: This option allows you to tailor the extensions based on the Campaign theme˳
- For Specific AdGroups: This option allows you get even more specific with the extensions based on the AdGroup theme˳
The more relevant your ad is to what a searcher is looking for, the better it will perform˳ Using the paint example again, it’s not a good use of space to also advertise that you sell plants within the same ad˳ Sure, it’ll be interesting to some people, but you should have a separate AdGroup for plants with ads written specifically for people searching for plants˳
The next two ad extensions have evolved, and I will definitely be using them wherever possible˳
1˳ Structured Snippets
Structured snippets is an ad extension that allows you to insert another line of words, which adds more depth to your ad message˳
a) Click on the Ad extensions tab
b) Click on the drop-down and select Structured snippets
c) Click the red button ‘+extension’
d) Click on New structured snippet
You’re restricted to fixed categories, but most will allow up to 10 items˳ The categories to choose from are: amenities, brands, courses, degree programs, destinations, featured hotels, insurance coverage, models, neighbourhoods, service catalogue, shows, styles and types˳
Adding the additional information can make your ad more enticing and is very useful if your offering is broad˳
2˳ Price Extensions
The price extension is a must-have if you have a sale or promotion˳ I don’t think I need to explain why, have a look at the screenshot to see how prominent the ad is˳ It will certainly stand out!
a) Click on the Ad extensions tab
b) Click on the drop-down and select price extension
c) Click the red button ‘+extension’
d) Click on New price extension
I like that it allows you to choose whether to be specific with prices or keep it general˳
a) Choose the type; brands, events, locations, neighbourhoods, product categories, product tiers, service categories, service tiers or services
b) Currency
c) Price qualifier; none, from or up to
d) Header
e) Description
f) Price
g) Units; none, per hour, per day, per week, per month or year
h) Final URL
3˳ Phone Call Conversion Tracking
If you are using the call extension, there are additional steps you need to take to enable calls to be tracked within the account˳ It’s a must-have measurement to judge the performance of your ads˳ Especially if you don’t have Google Analytics linked (but you really should link to Analytics – so that you can monitor the behaviour once people are on the website˳ If people click and then leave, you’re wasting your money on those keywords without knowing it)˳
a) Click on Tools in the top menu, click on Conversions and then Phone calls
b) Select the 1st option ‘Calls from ads using call extensions or call-only ads’, fill in the options (change call length to 5 seconds and count to ‘every’), and save
c) Then go to call extensions and click the red button’+ extension’
d) Select Campaigns or AdGroups, add your phone number and click the edit pencil on the right
e) Turn call reporting ON, expand the advanced option – tick the report phone call conversion and select the phone conversion from the list we set up earlier and save˳
4˳ Shared Library: Bid Strategies
Shared bid strategies are located in the AdWords shared library; you’ll find this in the left-hand menu˳ Here you’ll find the option to choose from six different flexible bid strategies: Enhanced CPC, Target Search Page Location, Target CPA, Target Outranking Share and Maximize Clicks˳
However, we’re going to focus on the Target Search Page Location˳
It’s a reality that the top 1 or 2 ads will get the most clicks, and if that’s your goal, then this is an ideal strategy to test out˳ This option will automatically adjust the bids required to get your ads to the top of the page, or the first page of search results˳
Here’s a look at the options you can set: Target search page location
a) Select ‘Top of first page’ and ‘automatically’
b) I recommended that you set a bid limit˳ Otherwise you can easily blow out your budget˳ This may defeat the purpose of the strategy, but if you aren’t willing to spend $20 per click to get to the top, you need to fill this in˳
5˳ Use 3 Variations of Ad Copy
And finally, it’s always best practice to write 2 to 3 variations of ad copy and based on the result, the ad that generates the most activity will automatically be shown more˳ The account strategist recommended this particular structure for each AdGroup, as the combination has apparently gained good results from tests Google have done:
- Ad Copy 1: Use your business name in the headline
- Ad Copy 2: Use keyword insert in the headline to match the keywords that the user has typed into Google search˳ E˳g˳ AdWords automatically replaces the code with the keyword that triggered your ad: {KeyWord:House Paint}˳
- Ad Copy 3: A strong call to action in the headline, e˳g˳ Claim Your Free Paint Sample
So, there you have it, 5 handy tips straight from a Google Account Strategist that you can implement in your Google AdWords account straight away˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?5-Insider-Tips-From-a-Google-AdWords-Strategist&id=9658446
