How to create highly effective Google Ads.

Know your objectives

Do yourself a favour and write up a business plan. Before you start nailing down the intricacies of Google Ads it's good to get a handle on your overall advertising goals - because everyone’s approach will be different. 

Say you’re selling a waterproof bag made from recycled materials and you plan on selling 150 units per year.

You’re going to want to target google searches that relate directly to your product: waterproof bag, wet bag, why is my bag is wet, and base your campaign around the most common keywords.

Get personal with your target audience

Understand your target audience inside out. The better you know your audience the easier it is to convert them into paying customers.

Sticking with the bag example, let’s say you're targeting university students who want a handsome bag that will fit all their uni books and won’t look out of place on a hike. You’re going to want to tailor your ads to entice this group of people. Everything counts here - from the choice of keywords to the vocabulary, even the spelling. Steer clear use outdated words like ‘knapsack’ or ‘rucksack’ because no one’s searching for a ‘dope as rucksack’. (If they are, do let us know).

Location, Location, Location

Choose your location carefully. Are the people buying your product in the immediate surroundings - or are they all over the word? You might want to target metro areas with greater traffic or university towns specifically. Put simply - no one living in the desert is going to be complaining about their uni bag getting soaked in the rain.

Boost your ad quality

Advertising has always been a cutthroat game of rankings, winners, and losers. To be a winner and to rank high on the google search engine search results page (SERPS) you need to have a quality ad campaign. Whether you like it or not, Google will rank your ads, your keywords, and the quality of your landing page. Their ranking system will determine how many people your ad is exposed to - which will impact your conversion rate.

Target the right keywords

A successful Google ads campaign depends on your choice of keywords. Your target audience and your product itself should guide you towards the right keywords. It might be tempting to use broad keywords like 'bags for sale', but competition for this will be tough - and your click-through rate (CTR) won’t be as high as keywords targeting a person’s intent. Honing in on keywords that match your audience’s search intent will drive more traffic and conversions.

Exclude the wrong keywords

While you may want to target one set of keywords - there might be certain words you don’t want to rank for. If you’re selling the best waterproof bags for hiking you don't want to appear in the SERPs for the best waterproof rubbish bags. 

Remember, it’s all about targeting the right people with the right search intent. Someone searching for waterproof bags for their hiking trip doesn’t want to be hit with irrelevant ads for rubbish bags - and vice versa. Make sure to use Google's negative keywords function to exclude irrelevant keywords.

Create a compelling landing page

Google ads are useless if your landing page can’t drag your leads over the line. A compelling landing page that’s optimised for conversion is essential to get that ROI you’re dreaming of. You don’t want someone who’s clicked on your ad to arrive at a webpage that doesn’t offer them the value and excitement that you’ve hinted at in your ad. Ensure your landing page is fast, smooth, and delivers on what your ad promises (and more).

Close the deal with a strong call to action (CTA).

Strong CTAs are the driving force behind someone’s decision to take the next step - click, subscribe, get a quote, or buy now. It’s the closing phrase that will convince ad traffic to become paying customers or users. Make sure your CTA is short, simple, convincing, and something that your target audience will act on.

Monitor your campaign

If you’re chasing real results - you’re going to want to monitor and analyse your campaign over time. Going handsfree, so to speak, won't give you an insight into what keywords are performing well - and those that aren’t. Keeping an eye on your CTR and conversions will help you tweak your copy until they give you the ROI you’re happy with.

Your Google Ads launch checklist

Think you’re ready to start driving traffic? Here’s a checklist to make sure your ad campaign launches successfully:

1. Control your budget - you can set a maximum amount you want to spend on keywords and spreading your money across your campaign will give you room to optimise down the line. 
2. Pick the right keywords - use google’s ‘keyword match type’ settings to hone in on keywords that reflect your target audience’s search intent. 
3. Optimise your landing page for conversion. This is where the magic happens. 
4. Choose where your ads will show. Is your target audience wielding movie phones, iPads, sitting at their desks on a PC? 
5. Design and write up your ads using targeted copy and strong CTAs. 
6. Link up Google analytics for more insight into how your campaign is performing. 
7. Don’t leave your campaign alone!

Summary: how to be successful with google ads

Knowing how to be successful with google ads can take time and effort. If you’re wondering how to create effective google ads for our business - why not call on the experts. Here at Dilate Digital, we can help you write and run your campaign from start to finish. Get your google ads campaign off the ground today - simply give us a buzz or reach out online.