Avoid these 10 Google AdWords Mistakes :The Beginners Guide

Google AdWords is huge in itself and every mistake cost us money and lower ROI (Return on Investment). Campaigns in Google AdWords if not managed properly can cost more than the return, it's all about how much you know AdWords and how well you can manage the campaigns.

So, guys in this post we'll discuss the top 10 mistakes you should avoid for a highly successful AdWords campaign.

AdWords Mistake #1 : Focusing on wrong keywords, not grouping the keywords properly, and the match type used for these keywords.

Mostly, everyone thinks keywords with high search volumes are the best it is true but you should use these keywords as very targeted (not as broad match type) especially if you have limited budget as it will provide little to no conversions.

Your campaigns structure should be like campaigns then ad groups then ads and then keywords. Not using ad groups is one of the biggest mistake done. But it's recommend that the ad being shown should match the keyword being searched. The closer ad copy and keyword matches, more likely are people to click on the ad. The best thumb rule states that to not use more than 20 keywords per ad group. Let's look at this example:

Sony sells several different products. They sell laptops, tablets, mobiles etc. If they don't break up their products into different ad groups, they wouldn't be able to show the specific ads based on what people are searching for.

Use the right kind of mach types of keywords as it impacts your ads:

Match Type	Impressions	Conversions
Broad	High	Low
Phrase / Exact	Significantly Fewer	High

A good approach is to start with exact matches and then expand to phrase and broad as needed or start with broad and then expand to phrase and broad match type.

AdWords Mistake #2 : Not using Negative keywords.

Negative keywords are those keywords that are not a good match to your ads. They can be added at both the campaigns and ad group level. For example, if you sell men's round neck t-shirts but not men's v neck t-shirt, then you won't want your ads to show up on searches for " men's v neck t-shirt", but do want them to show up on searches for " men's t -shirt". Add, "v neck" as a negative keyword, then your ads won't be shown for any searches that include the word "v neck".

In order to find out the words that should be added as negative, you can use the search term report in Google AdWords or  dig into Google Analytics ( within analytics, click on "Acquisition", then "AdWords", and then "Matched Search Queries", next click on " Query Match Type" and then either "broad match" or "phrase match" to view the exact keyword phrases people are searching for.

AdWords Mistake #3 : Not bidding on your own brand keywords

Many people don't bid on their brand thinking they already are ranking for their own brand, so should they advertise. But if you don't advertise other companies will by creating an ad group and target your visitors. Therefore, bidding on your brand will help you to dominate Google SERPs which is great for building brand awareness and reputation.  

AdWords Mistake #4 : Keep testing your ad copy, bid price and landing pages.

You should keep testing  your ad copy, either try 2 different headline variations, with same body copy but with different call to action or adding various  ad extensions. Testing basically with different variations will help you to know what works best. Resulting into increase of click-through and/or conversions. You'll never know until you test.

AdWords Mistake #5 : Not doing proper research in order to know who your competitors are.

You need to know who you're competing against, what keywords they're using, and what their landing page looks like. Scan your competitors' ad copy to see what you can learn and apply. See their landing pages to see how you can improve your pages. Once this is done, test the new ad copy and landing pages with the old ones and see if their is any difference or not.

AdWords Mistake #6 : Not testing the optimal ad position.

Sometimes it is said that for brand awareness its good to be in top two ad positions, but for better results it's better to be in position 3-5. Therefore, without testing you can't decide which ad position is the best for your business. Test to find the optimal position by raising or lowering your bid on cost per click (CPC).

AdWords Mistake #7 : Not having a dedicated landing page.

One of the biggest mistakes that AdWords beginners make is driving paid traffic to their homepage. Homepage is great for explaining what your business is about, but not effective for a landing page at getting conversions. Each campaigns needs to have a specific campaign objective in mind before you set it up in order to get maximum return from your ad. Therefore, direct visitors to the appropriate product or category page.

AdWords Mistake #8 : Set up proper tracking

You need to set up conversion tracking or direct your AdWords traffic to dedicated purchase pages that allow you to track how much return is being generated by each of your Google AdWords campaigns. This included AdWords, Bing, Google Analytics etc. before paying for a single click.

AdWords Mistake #9 : Setting up Clear Goals

You need to know exactly what you want, from your advertising to accomplish before doing anything else. Many companies skip this step and just start spending therefore, their results never live up to their expectations. Always set your goals first and make decisions towards those goals.

AdWords Mistake #10 : Pay attention to your landing page experience.

As it is this page that will lead your customers to convert. Paid search won't fix a bad landing page or a shopping cart experience.It's better to take people to a landing page or a product or category page where people will see a direct match to the ad they clicked.

Conclusion

There is no specific process to being successful with Google AdWords, but there are number of tips, tricks and rules that help one to optimize your campaigns to maximize your returns.

Make a point to regularly check your campaigns and constantly look for places to make improvements and keep testing.Avoiding these mistakes can make your Google AdWords Campaigns run effectively and efficiently. 

That's all from my end...

If you have any queries, feel free to write in comments down below..
Stay tuned for more digital advertising!!

Thank You...