More leads, same costs, increasing sales
If you don't appear on the first page of Google search results, you don't exist. And you're wasting the opportunity to generate sales - to competitors who have done their homework. More and more small and medium-sized B2B companies (SMEs) are taking advantage of the benefits of advertising via Google Ads.
In times of pandemics, home offices and teleworking, B2B companies are reaching even more potential customers via search engines because they spend more time on the screen as part of virtual collaboration. The company that takes advantage of this opportunity is well advised.
With ads via Google Ads, which appear in the first positions of the Google search results page, companies can draw attention to themselves for the relevant keywords in their market segment. Advertisers determine the search terms for which their ad will be displayed. Costs only arise when the ad is clicked and the interested party is redirected to the stored target page (landing page).
A Google Ads campaign is set up quickly. But companies also quickly find that their ad is not being displayed, that there is no increase in enquiries, or that the significantly increased marketing budget is not being matched by the hoped-for increase in leads. Campaigns must be continuously maintained and optimized. You can find out what this means in concrete terms in this article.
The following applies to Google Ads:
• Use as many ad extensions as possible!
• Set up conversion tracking!
• Create at least three ads per ad group!
• Make sure you have a high quality score!
Become aware of your goals!
At the beginning of campaign optimization, it must be clear which goals should be the focus. This way you can ensure that the measures are implemented in a way that suits your requirements.
Typical goals include:
• acquiring new customers,
• customer loyalty,
• generating conversions,
• increasing awareness and
• website visits or
• keyword optimization.
Optimize your quality factor!
Keywords are central to optimizing your Google Ads campaigns. Google rewards a good keyword strategy with a high quality factor. And this, together with the maximum cost per click (CPC), is the key factor in determining whether or not an ad is displayed in the competition for the best ad positions. Good ad quality catapults your ad to rank 1 on the search results page, even with a small budget - until the daily budget is used up.
Important for determining the quality factor are, among others:
• The click-through rate (CTR)
• The relevance of the landing page for searchers
• The keyword relevance for ads and users
Optimize your keywords regularly!
Google can also tell whether a term is relevant by whether a keyword appears prominently, for example in headlines, in the ad text and on the landing page.
The performance of your keywords plays a key role in campaign optimization. One indicator of this is the click-through rate: it should be at least 1 percent.
When selecting the keywords for your Google Ads campaign, you can use the Google Keyword Planner, for example. In addition to related search queries, the tool also shows the monthly search volume for certain keywords. It offers a search query report that shows which search terms led to your site. This provides interesting clues for new keywords that can be used to optimize campaigns. The report can also be sorted by clicks and conversions: Keywords that have a particularly high click rate of over 2 percent should be added to your campaign.
Important questions about keyword optimization
• Is the quality score of individual keywords below 5?
• Is the keyword in the ad headline and on the landing page?
• Focus your keywords on those with a high quality score: a low average increases costs and thus lowers the return on investment (ROI).
• Are keywords with a CTR of 0 percent generating impressions? If not, you should remove them.
• If the CTR for individual keywords is between 1.5 - 2.5%, you should check whether the terms are in the ad and whether the ad content matches the keyword.
• Are the costs in proportion to the conversions? How high is the CPA (cost per acquisition)?
Make sure your ads are relevant!
Good keywords are only really good if they are integrated into good ads. The Google Ads ad is the gateway to your website, to your products and services and ultimately to the specific query. It should arouse interest and offer added value so that searchers with a real intention to buy click on your website. The ad is in fierce competition with other advertisers for the same search term. It must both convince the Google algorithm in terms of quality and appeal to potential buyers.
This is what makes good Google Ads:
• The keyword must appear in the ad text and headline.
• The target group should be addressed directly and feel addressed.
• The ad must answer the most important questions at a glance.
• The unique selling points (USPs) should resonate.
• The ad should contain a call to action.
• The ad should contain as many ad extensions as possible. These are free and offer searchers additional information that can be used to further narrow down purchasing interest and to make clicks more targeted.
Conclusion
The criteria for good Google Ads campaigns are complex, the evaluation options are comprehensive and the algorithm, like the competition, is constantly evolving.
• Therefore, keep an eye on your campaigns on an ongoing basis!
• Test the keywords and ad performance over a period of around 30 days!
• Compare the indicators over set periods of time!
• Maintain regular correspondence with Google regarding optimization potential.
Since this is difficult to manage in terms of time and personnel, especially in the day-to-day business of SMEs, it is often advisable to place Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in professional hands.