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Today I had a missed call from a London phone number and I thought, “Who the hell do I know who would call me from London?” A few hours later my phone rang again and it was the same London number so I picked it up. It was Google.
More specifically, I was a call center employee named “Google Account Strategist” and I was being called about a new AdWords account for a small business that I had just started managing. I get so many calls from people overseas about Google and SEO and how “can I be number 1 on Google for a fee” blah blah blah so my first instinct was to say “no thanks” and hang up but he knew the client would be told if he didn’t at least listen to what the account strategist had to say.
Fast-forward 30 minutes until the call ends. In fact, I was impressed with the level of knowledge and step-by-step detail that the account strategist provided for features that cost no more to implement. Google AdWords has so many options that setting up a new account can easily take two days, so it was good to brush up on some strategies I hadn’t learned yet.
I thought it would be helpful to share these tips with you as well, whether it’s to refresh yourself or to explore all that AdWords has to offer. I also have a step-by-step guide to getting started with AdWords, Getting Started with Google AdWords, which you should check out first if you’re new to AdWords. The foundation must be correct before exploring the advanced features.
These are the 5 Google AdWords strategies that are definitely worth experimenting with.
ad extensions
First of all, I’m a big fan of ad extensions because they allow you to include additional information beyond the character limit of your ad text, giving your ad more prominence.
My favorite ad extensions are always:
- rental extension: Display your physical address for hyperlocal marketing.
- call extension: A good place for value proposition text like “friendly team.”
- Sitelink Extension: Since you are only allowed one URL per ad, this type of extension allows you to add other cross-sell links within the same ad. For example, if you advertise a painting category, within the extensions you can also have links to ladders, brushes, and even painting services. Highlighting more of your offering positions you as an attractive one-stop-shop option.
- call extension– Make it super easy for people to click while on their mobile phone and instantly call your business.
Ad extensions can be applied:
- At account level: This option will add the extensions to each ad within the entire account.
- For specific campaigns: This option allows you to customize the extensions according to the theme of the campaign.
- For specific ad groups: This option allows you to be even more specific with extensions based on the theme of the ad group.
The more relevant your ad is to what a search engine is looking for, the better it will perform. Going back to the painting example, it is not a good use of space to also advertise that you sell plants within the same ad. Sure, it will be interesting to some people, but you should have a separate ad group for plants with ads written specifically for people looking for plants.
The next two ad extensions have evolved and I will definitely use them whenever possible.
1. Structured snippets
Structured Snippets is an ad extension that allows you to insert another line of words, adding more depth to your ad’s message.
a) Click the Ad Extensions tab
b) Click the dropdown menu and select Structured Snippets
c) Click the red ‘+extension’ button
d) Click New Structured Snippet
you are restricted to fixed categories, but most will allow up to 10 items. The categories to choose from are: amenities, brands, courses, careers, destinations, featured hotels, insurance coverage, models, neighborhoods, service catalog, shows, styles and types.
Adding additional information can make your ad more attractive and is very helpful if your offer is wide.
2. Price extensions
Price extension is a must if you have a sale or promotion. I don’t think I need to explain why, take a look at the screenshot to see how prominent the ad is. It will certainly stand out!
a) Click the Ad Extensions tab
b) Click the dropdown menu and select the price extension
c) Click the red ‘+extension’ button
d) Click New Price Extension
I like that it allows you to choose whether you want to be specific with pricing or stick to it in general.
a) Choose the type; brands, events, locations, neighborhoods, product categories, third party products, service categories, third party service(s)
b) Currency
c) Price qualifier; none, from or to
d) header
e) Description
f) Price
g) Units; none, per hour, per day, per week, per month or year
h) Final URL
3. Phone Call Conversion Tracking
If you’re using the call extension, there are additional steps you need to take to enable call tracking within your account. It is an essential measure to judge the performance of your ads. Especially if you don’t have Google Analytics linked (but you really should link to Analytics, so you can monitor behavior once people are on the website. If people click and then leave, you’re wasting your money on those keywords without knowing it).
a) Click Tools on the top menu, click Conversions, then Phone Calls
b) Select the first option ‘Calls from ads using call extensions or call-only ads’, fill in the options (change the call duration to 5 seconds and count to ‘every’) and save
c) Then go to call extensions and click on the red ‘+ extension’ button
d) Select Campaigns or Ad groups, add your phone number and click the edit pencil on the right
e) Turn on call reporting, expand the advanced option: check phone call conversion reporting and select phone conversion from the list we set up earlier and save.
4. Shared library: offer strategies
Shared bidding strategies are found in the AdWords Shared Library; You will find it in the menu on the left. Here you’ll find the option to choose from six different flexible bidding strategies: Enhanced CPC, Target Search Page Placement, Target CPA, Target Outranking Rate, and Maximize Clicks.
However, we are going to focus on the location of the target search page.
It is a reality that the first 1 or 2 ads will get the most clicks, and if that is your goal, then this is an ideal strategy to try. This option will automatically adjust the bids necessary for your ads to appear at the top of the page or on the first page of search results.
Here’s a look at the options you can set: Destination search page location
a) Select ‘Top of First Page’ and ‘Automatically’
b) I recommended that you set a bid limit. Otherwise, you can easily blow your budget. This may defeat the purpose of the strategy, but if you’re not willing to spend $20 per click to get to the top, you need to complete this.
5. Use 3 ad copy variations
And finally, it’s always a good practice to write 2-3 variations of your ad copy and depending on the result, the ad that generates the most activity will automatically show the most. The account strategist recommended this particular structure for each ad group, as the combination seemed to perform well in Google’s tests:
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Ad Copy 1 – Use your business name in the headline
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Ad text 2: Use keyword insertion in the title to match the keywords that the user has typed into Google search. For example, AdWords automatically replaces the code with the keyword that triggered your ad: {KeyWord:House Paint}.
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Ad copy 3: A strong call-to-action in the headline, e.g. claim your free paint sample
So there you have it, 5 helpful tips straight from a Google Account Strategist that you can implement in your Google AdWords account right away.