Google advertising is an excellent tool for promoting and growing your business. Reports show that advertisers get back $2 for each $1 invested, which is a pretty advantageous return on investment. But, here’s the thing: Google advertising can also cost you a lot of time and resources if you don’t know how to set it correctly. Here’s everything you need to know about how to improve your ad relevance, provide visitors with a better landing page experience, and increase your click-through rate.
How to Improve Ad Relevance in Google AdWords
1. Check and Re-check the Ad Copy
Revise your ad copy before launching your campaign. Make sure you’re using relevant keywords and that the content highlights your unique value proposition. Keep the copy short, sweet, and to the point.
2. Measure Your Ad Relevance
Here’s a quick and simple way to ensure your ads are relevant. Go to the Keywords tab in your Google AdWords account and place your mouse above the bubble next to the keyword. You will see there that each keyword has an associated status. Aim for “average” or “above average” since that’s a strong indication your keywords and ads match to a great extent.
3. Incorporate Keywords in Your Ads
You’ve done your research and now know what your prospects are looking for online and what keywords they are using. Make sure to include those keywords in your ad title, the body text and, if possible, the URL.
4. Ensure the Landing Page Content Matches Your Ad
Assure your prospects that they’ve landed on the right page by using your target keywords throughout your content. For instance, if your target keyword is “cold-pressed olive oil,” you should use it in this exact form in the ad and on the landing page. “Olive oil” is not enough and neither is “cold-pressed oil,” because these categories are too large. There’s a major difference between olive oil and cold-pressed oil, and a wide variety of products under each category.
5. Provide Clear Instructions
It doesn’t matter how effective your Google AdWords strategy is. If once they click on your ad, prospects land on a page that is cluttered and confusing, then they’ll most probably bounce. Provide prospects with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. If there is a form on the page, explain to your visitors what they need to do. It is critical for prospects to understand what is expected of them and what they should do next.
6. Unclutter Your Landing Page
A lot of businesses assume – falsely – that the more information they provide, the greater the chance for conversion. In reality, a crowded landing page is tiring, confusing and can do more harm than good. Keep your content relevant and useful. Your prospects aren’t interested in learning about your business’ history or how your products are made. What they want to know is if you can help them solve their problems.
7. Build Your Landing Page Based on Performance
Google studies have shown that more than 50% of mobile site visitors leave a page if it takes more than three seconds to load. However, the average loading time for most mobile sites is about 19 seconds. Use tools to check the speed of your landing page. Ask your developer to improve it by minifying your code or compressing image sizes.
8. Take a Look at Your Click-Through Rates (CTRs)
A variety of reasons can lead to a lower or a below average CTR. Maybe your copy is not as closely related to the target keyword as it should be. For example, someone looking for “cold-pressed olive oil” most probably won’t click on an ad for “best olive oil.” For starters, it’s not specific enough; secondly, they may perceive it as misleading.
9. Don’t Forget to Include Negative Keywords
By using negative keywords, you tell AdWords not to show your ads for certain keywords. For example, if you sell high-end electronics, you don’t want your ads to show for searches such as “cheap smartphone” or “computer for sale.” If your ads show for these keywords and the prospects that land on your page find out that you sell, in fact, luxury products, they will bounce. But, those clicks will cost you time and valuable resources.
Conclusion
Google advertising isn’t as easy as setting up a few ads and watching the money roll in. There is a lot of science behind what makes a campaign effective. Check your keywords, create magnetic copy, make sure to provide a seamless user experience, and try to understand your prospects’ searching habits. And, most importantly, don’t forget to revisit your campaigns regularly and change what doesn’t seem to work.
