5 Mistakes KILLING Your Google Ads Budget
As a business owner, you’re probably no stranger to people trying to turn you into a believer in Google Ads.
And the well-intentioned folks singing the praises of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) do have a point. After all, on average, businesses make $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.
So, why not jump at the opportunity? Who wouldn’t go for a 100% return on your investment?
Well, I’m willing to guess the savvy business owner in you isn’t ready to take that vague stat at face value…and you’re right to be a bit skeptical.
When things sound too good to be true, you know there’s got to be more to the story.
Let’s get serious.
The Truth Is, Google Ads Are Not Automatically Profitable.
The “$2-revenue-per-$1-spend” statistic we just mentioned up above is an average.
Meaning, some companies who use Google Ads actually see results that eclipse that 100% return on their investmentby a long shot…while other completely miss the mark.
In fact, there are horror stories of businesses losing thousands upon thousands of dollars due to inefficiencies or ill-fated campaigns. A few beginner mistakes can result in:
- Visitors landing on entirely the wrong page on your website and immediately losing interest.
- Paying for search queries that have absolutely nothing to do with your business.
- Shovelling more and more money into ads that aren’t moving the needle in the slightest.
- Getting tons of traffic from visitors that have zero intention of ever buying from you.
- Churning out ads with no hope of ever gaining ground on your competitors.
All the above will decimate your Google Ads budget faster than you can say, “Broke.”
I hate seeing hardworking business owners throwing good money after bad. So, today, I’m going to tell you exactly where companies like yours most often go wrong with Google Ads.
Then, I’ll explain how you can avoid falling into a Google Ads money pit yourself.
1. Sending Visitors to Irrelevant Landing Pages
Right off the top, I need to make one very integral point: your home page and a landing page are not the same thing.
Sadly, there is a wealth of inexperienced, unseasoned people running ads that send their audience directly to the company homepage.
People who click PPC ads are generally looking for a particular product or service. If someone clicks your paid search result expecting something specific, and is taken to a homepage instead, they’ll likely navigate elsewhere.
People want the most hassle-free navigational experience possible. They should be able to transact on the landing page, removing any barriers from the scenario.
This practice leads to bad quality scores and paltry conversion rates, which both increases your cost per click and takes a chunk out of your ROI.
2. Having Keywords That Are Too Broad
With keywords, specification is everything.
Running with overly generalized, broad-match keywords will put you on wrong end of irrelevant search results fast.
For instance, say you’re running a plumbing service. You’d think using “plumbing” as your keyword might seem like it makes sense, right?
But think about all the different intentions someone might have if they type “plumbing” as their search term.
They might be looking for a plumbing job, a do-it-yourself plumbing blog, a general definition, plumbing tools…anything else that falls under the plumber umbrella. Meaning, you’re drastically reducing your chances for click-throughs and conversions.
From there, you’ll see a significant increase in your costs per click and a decrease in your quality scores.
Then, your ads will sink to newer and more troubling depths in the rankings.
None of this is good.
3. No Trial and Error Process
Earlier, I mentioned how some companies manage to blow the industry average $2 revenue per $1 spend out of the water.
This kind of success doesn’t happen by accident. There’s a rigorous testing period involved in order to learn what really does and doesn’t work for your audience.
In Google Ad language, this is known as A/B testing.
If you start your Ads initiative expecting results right out of the gate, you’re setting yourself up for immediate failure.
Without taking the time to figure out what connects with your audience, it’ll all-but guarantee low click-throughs and conversion rates.
If you haven’t noticed a pattern here, the next part of that process is a higher cost per click and lower quality scores!
4. Neglecting Negative Keywords
As vital as it is to let Google know what exact keywords for which your ad should pop up, you also need to indicate words for which you don’t want your ad to show.
Those search terms you’re looking to avoid are called negative keywords.
For instance, say you’re an electrician who provides more expensive services because you cater to a high-income clientele.
Imagine you add “electrical services” is added as a keyword. Google’s default searching algorithm will show your ad for a range of phrases and broad match keywords, including “cheap electrical services” and “electrical services for cheap.”
All your search traffic will reach your site and be turned off by your prices because they were looking for bargain-basement pricing! Thus, leading to the cycle that drains your budget so substantially.
A skilled Google Ads partner will have a knack for these negative keywords and will ensure you receive the correct kind of traffic on your landing page.
5. Putting Bids Over Quality
When has throwing money at a problem ever helped anybody?
Yet, that’s what many individuals – in over their heads – working on Ads campaigns try to do.
To win out valuable Google Ad space, people will throw their budget away without focusing on quality score.
No matter how much you spend on outbidding competitors, it means nothing if your quality score stinks.
Google Ads Are a Professional Discipline
You know how you’ve spent years upon years honing your craft, whether you’re an electrician, mechanic, or HVAC specialist, etc.?
There are people out there who’ve invested just as much time learning the endless intricacies of Google Ads…and still haven’t mastered this highly technical art/science/math hybrid.
All mistakes highlighted in this blog are only scratching the surface—and they’re a lot to digest on their own. Learning all the ins and outs of Google’s advertising platform at the same time you’re running a business is a tall order.
However, that doesn’t mean you should turn up your nose at Google Ads.
Google Ads provides too many lucrative opportunities for you to ignore. There are many companies like yours who’ve seen a massive uptick in revenue thanks to Google’s PPC services.
What’s essential is finding a digital marketer who’s equipped with the know-how, dedication, and savvy to generate a sizeable return on your Google Ads spending.
An expert with a proven track record who gets the concepts discussed in this blog like the back of their hand – and knows how to generate a significant return on your investment.
