Top Tips on Improving Your ROI When Using Google Ads

Are you using Google Ads and would love some tips on how to save money and get more from your campaign? Google Ads can be a minefield when you first start out but the tips below will help you work out whether the platform is right for your business and help you optimise your campaign to boost website traffic, attract the right customers and maximise your returns.

If you haven’t started with Google Ads using Google Ads, then you need to know how they work.

Tips for Using Google Ads to Improve Your ROI

Google Ads put your ad at the top of the Google search page or Google Maps at the exact moment that someone looks online for products or services like yours using highly targeted, specific keywords.  A searcher searches.  Your ad pops up.  Click, convert, cha-ching! OK, so it may not be as easy as that every time, but the stats do show that if a Google Ads campaign is managed optimally, the ROI can be significant so have a read of some of the tips below and start optimising your account.

Keyword Research

First up, it’s important to do thorough keyword research to ascertain whether the keywords you have chosen are actually used by searchers.  You’ll be surprised at how far off the mark some people are. Choosing the right keywords are fundamental to the success of you Google Ads campaign so choose carefully and look for keywords that really do describe the products or services you offer. 

• Choose two or three-phrase keywords that accurately describe your niche business
• What is the keyword intent behind searches? Think about what someone is really searching when they use these keywords. Type them into Google and see if similar businesses to yours come up. You might also find our post “Using Google Search For Keyword Research” very useful!
• Are people actually searching for your chosen keyword phrases? Make sure you do some keyword research, I recommend the low-cost Keywords Everywhere or a free trial of SEMRush to get you started.

Keyword Match Types

I would highly recommend not using broad match keywords, the challenge is that Google will often serve your ads for keywords that aren’t closely related to your business when you use broad match keywords. I would focus on phrase match and exact match keywords in your ads to ensure that Google generally serve your ads for the most relevant keywords that really describe your business. 

Choose Your Network Carefully

 Another important consideration is your network choice. Choose Search Network if you only want people to find your business when they’re using a search engine and typing in keywords, but if you want a broader reach and show your ads to customers as they browse sites, videos and apps, then consider the Display Network.  If you go down this road, remember to run your ad in a new campaign.

Check Your Search Terms Report to Find New Keywords

If you’re running Google Ads but aren’t using Google’s Search Terms Report, now is the time to start. This report is one of the most valuable and versatile tools for keyword research and it is really easy to use.  It tells you what keywords people are using to find your ad plus it tells you which terms generate the most traffic.  You can also customise the data by date range and use the information to focus on those keywords which matter to your customers.

Check You Search Terms Report to Add Negative Keywords

You can also use the search terms report to identify the keywords you don’t want your business to show up for. The search terms report will show a list of all the keywords being used in your campaign and you will see keywords in this list that aren’t relevant to your business, you can then add keywords that aren’t relevant to your negative keyword list.  The negative keyword list tells Google not to show your ad when they’re used by a searcher (ie when the audience isn’t interested in your business) which means they can save you money on clicks that you don’t want.  

Structure Your Google Ads Account Properly

Remember to group very similar keywords into the same adgroup, create different adgroups for different keywords so that you can personalise the messaging in the ad so that it’s appropriate to the keywords in that particular adgroup. Where possible use the keywords your are targeting in the ad text wherever possible. Your number one priority is the user, however, always be mindful of what they want rather than what you want when creating your ads.

Use Ad Extensions

Another of my tips for optimising your Google Ads campaign is to make use of ad extensions.  These extensions add more information to your Google Ads, making the ad larger and increasing the chances of someone clicking on your ad, which also helps improve your quality score which helps to lower your cost per click. Sitelink Extensions, Callout Extensions, Call Extensions, Location Extensions and Structured Snippet Extensions are among the most popular sitelinks, but it’s worthwhile exploring all available opportunities.

Measure Your Results

Lastly, I always urge anyone running Google Ads to measure their results.  If you don’t know how your campaign is going, it’s likely you’re missing out on conversions and wasting money.

Your starting point is setting up Google Analytics, linking it to your Google Ads account and then importing your goals into Google Ads.  Once your campaign is up and running, you should evaluate its performance against the following important metrics:

• Click-through rate
• Bounce rate
• Average pages per visit
• Variations between ad groups (check the CTR between adgroups so you can see which keywords ae generating the most interest).

A click-through rate of less than 1% usually indicates that your keywords are too broad or your average position is too low and a bounce rate above 60% should alert you to make sure you keywords are sufficiently targeted and to check your search terms report.   As mentioned earlier, Google’s Search Terms Report is an excellent source of information – and you should use it regularly to make sure you’re on the right track with your keyword match types.

When it comes to identifying the best quality traffic, the average pages per visit and the variations between the adgroups will give you a good idea of how your keywords are performing.

Check out my new online, self-managed course, The SEO School, which takes you through all the key tools and techniques of a successful SEO strategy.  The course is great for business owners, website managers and anyone who wants hands-on learning about all the essentials of SEO from an industry expert.  Find out more about The SEO School here.

If you found this post useful then you might also like “Keyword Research Tips And Tricks“

Karen Dauncey

Karen Dauncey has been working in SEO since 2003. She specialises in helping businesses get found online through Google using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) She is the founder and creator of The SEO School an online SEO Course to help teach business owners how to do their own SEO. She regularly delivers educational programs for both Local, State and Federal Government and is an advisor for the ASBAS Digital Solutions Program. Karen’s passion and commitment to help small business owners get found online is the driving force behind her online school, making SEO advice accessible to all with free resources and online courses.

Karen's wealth of SEO knowledge and practical digital marketing experience comes from running her own SEO and Google Ads agency, Blue Cherry Online Marketing since 2008. Karen has optimised over 1000 websites, managed millions of dollars' worth of spend on Google Ads and has a solid understanding of the constantly shifting industry of digital marketing and SEO. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. She was recently recognised as an SEO Expert for the popular course creation platform, Kajabi as well as appearing on ABC Radio
for her expert opinion on the ACCC's investigation into search engines.

Karen has attended search engine conferences in London, Stockholm, Adelaide and Sydney, and was also invited to attend a pilot Business Coaching Course at Google’s Head Office. She has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.

She is also the co-owner of the Digital Experts Directory, an online directory for female serviced-based businesses to promote their business (with a great backlink for SEO).

To keep up to date with the latest in SEO, join her Facebook group The SEO School Community or follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn.