There’s no denying it — Google Ads has completely revolutionized the way we promote our businesses, products and services online.
By targeting the right keywords, entrepreneurs can make sure they’re only paying for advertisements that reach and resonate with their target market.
However, I’ve found that many of my clients don’t really understand how Google Ads works. Although Google Ads promises to help you get your digital advertisements in front of the right people, that doesn’t always mean it’s cost-effective. In fact, it can become expensive rather quickly. So when a client comes to me with a minuscule budget and high expectations, I have to let them know that they might not get the results they’re hoping for.
To create successful Google Ads campaigns, you really need to understand how the system works, as well as how much it will realistically cost. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re not seeing the success you hoped for in your Google Ads campaigns.
How Google Ads Works — And Why It Can Be So Expensive
Google Ads works on an auction system where advertisers bid on specific keywords. The amount you pay depends on how relevant your website is to that keyword, as well as how in-demand that keyword is.
However, advertisers also only pay per click. Advertising on Google Ads will only cost you money when a potential customer or client engages with your ad.
In many cases, advertisers pay just a few dollars every time a customer clicks on their ad. But in others, advertisers may need to pay $50 or more to target their best Google Ads keywords.
This means your marketing budget can be spent rather quickly. If you’re not considering how much each click is really going to cost you, you may find that you’ve eaten away thousands of dollars without converting a single lead.
When advertising on Google Ads, it’s important to remember that each person who clicks isn’t necessarily going to convert. Many of my clients make the false assumption that because they’re only paying for clicks, they’re going to get high returns from their Google Ads campaigns. Unfortunately, this isn’t always true — especially if you’re not targeting the right keywords.
Improving Your Google Ads ROI
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear when talking to my clients about Google Ads targeting comes down to keywords. They know the search engine optimization keywords they’re targeting, and they believe they should be focusing on the same ideas when creating Google Ads campaigns. Unfortunately, to maintain a high return on investment, you need to think a bit deeper.
To improve your Google Ads ROI, you need to convince your customers to buy. This means you want to target individuals who are already close to making a purchasing decision. To do that, try focusing on keywords that are based on buyer intent. These keywords are mostly bottom-of-funnel search terms, such as “buy candles online.”
I see many marketers forgetting entirely about their customer’s intent, so when they’re not seeing high conversions, they take it as a sign that Google Ads doesn’t work. However, they’re not seeing the results they hoped for because they’re not using Google Ads correctly.
If you’re targeting the generic keywords you’re including in your SEO strategy, you’re not likely to see a lot of conversions from your ads. Generic keywords tend to be used for information gathering or research. A lot of times, those searches won’t yield any immediate results, as those searches attract visitors who are still early in the buying process and haven’t yet narrowed down their options or figured out what they want to buy. This doesn’t mean that some of those searchers won’t become buyers in the future, but if you’re looking for an immediate ROI, then you might be disappointed, as those search terms normally bring a large volume of traffic but have very low conversion rates.
I also see marketers going after cheap keywords because they believe their marketing budgets will go further. Rather than investing in ads that will truly help convert the best customers and clients, they develop a half-complete strategy and wonder why they’re not seeing any results. Because of this, they give up on Google Ads completely.
Making Google Ads Work For You
Google Ads is still a great way to market your business online. However, in order for it to work the way you want, you need to be realistic about what you’re willing to spend, as well as strategic about the keywords you’re targeting.
If you’re not seeing many conversions from your online ads, don’t immediately write off Google Ads as ineffective. Instead, take a closer look at your campaign. In order to improve your results, you may need to increase your budget, change your keyword strategy or shift your campaign to better target customers closer to making a purchasing decision. Try focusing on long-tail buyer-intent keywords, and make sure to refine your keywords over time as you collect more data from customer search trends and conversion history.
While Google Ads has changed the way we market online, it isn’t an automatic success story — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. If you want Google Ads to work for you, you need to be realistic about the budget you’re creating and the audience members you’re trying to attract.