7 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid When Setting up Google Ads

No matter your industry, Google ads can do wonders for your marketing goals. You can use them to target the right people at the right times. As long as they’re set up correctly, Google ads have the power to build brand awareness and increase more leads and customers. Best of all, you can measure their success and change your campaigns as needed.

Whether you’re new to Google ads or consider yourself a veteran, there are certain mistakes you must avoid to ensure the best results and the greatest return on your investment. Let’s dive deeper into what they are.

1. Choosing Keywords That Aren’t Aligned with Your Goals

It’s essential that you select keywords that are relevant to your business and have the right intent. Let’s say you sell clothing. While you can bid on the keyword “clothing,” doing so is unlikely to yield the results you’re hoping for. This is because it doesn’t contain any qualifiers that show purchase intent. A better keyword would be “buy clothing online” or “buy cheap clothing online” if you’re catering to budget-friendly customers. 

2. Using Broad Match Alone

Whenever you add new keywords, they’ll automatically be placed in the broad match category. Broad match keywords are the lowest cost per click and reach the widest audience. But they often lead to poor click-through and conversion rates. While broad match keywords may make sense if you’re just starting out with your Google Ad journey and want to see what specific searches will work for you, you shouldn’t rely on them forever. Ideally, your campaigns would include phrase match and exact match keywords. 

3. Not Proactively Adding Negative Keywords

Negative keywords prevent your ads from being triggered by certain words or phrases. By being proactive and regularly adding negative keywords, you can improve click-through rates, create more relevant ad groups, increase conversion rates, and save money. While the negative keywords you add will depend on your particular business and industry, they’ll likely be terms that relate to unrelated products and services, terms that include large competitors, and very generic terms. 

4. Not Taking Advantage of Extensions

Google extensions extend your Google ads so you can claim more real estate on search engine results pages. You can use extensions to provide more information about your products and services. Even though ad extensions can be an extremely effective way to increase clicks, they’re often overlooked. If you’d like to improve your lead quality and make better use of your budget, extensions are not an option. They’re a necessity. 

5. Sticking With Default Network Options

Google ads help new advertisers set up their accounts and create their first campaigns with an easy onboarding sequence. But if you take advantage of it, your campaign will be set to Google’s default setting with absolutely no customization. To avoid this use, create campaigns, ad groups, and ads once you’ve played around with Google ads, performed some testing, and understand all the options at your disposal. 

6. Forgetting about your landing pages

The quality of your landing pages is just as important as the quality of your Google ads. To increase your quality score and boost your chances of converting the most qualified visitors, continually tweak and improve your landing pages. Your landing pages should be trustworthy, relevant, and easy to navigate. Be sure they highlight what makes you different from your competitors and include strong calls to action. 

7. Not Defining Your Target Audience

One of the key benefits of Google ads is the ability to target your audience. But it’s up to you to define it properly. Your target audience should include the right age, gender, and device when relevant. It’s also crucial to target suitable geographic locations and customer intent. If you’re a startup or a newer business, you might have to perform market research to hone in on your ideal customers. 

Make the Most Out of Your Google Ad Campaigns

Even one mistake can eat up your budget and deter you from your goals. If you’d like to reduce wasted spending and optimize your Google ad campaigns, keep these common mistakes in mind. Hiring a digital marketing agency or consultant specializing in Google Ads management may also be worth ensuring you’re on the right track.