5 Best Practices for Google AdWords in 2018

Search engine marketing (SEM) is among the most valuable inbound marketing methods available today.  While organic search and SEO is incredibly important, when coupled with other SEM methods like pay-per-click (PPC) through Google AdWords, you can substantially increase the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns online.

The problem with Google AdWords is that many brands simply don’t know where to get started or what to do with the platform once they get the marketing ball rolling.  Below are our 5 best practice tips for using AdWords, both taken straight from the Google handbook and from our very own experience here at Small Screen Producer:

1. Profile Your Target Market

Arguably the biggest problem brands have with AdWords are keywords.  This is a multi-faceted issue, but it stems from brands not conducting an in-depth profile of their customer.

Customer profiles bring a number of valuable insights, including:

• The keywords your customers are using online
• The location of your customers (important information for those long-tail keywords!)
• Which keywords should be “negative” keywords (keywords you don’t want associated with your product, service or brand)
• Which keywords best align with your current marketing strategy

Google’s Keyword Tool is a great place to start your keyword search.  Through this tool you can scan a competitor’s website for keyword inspiration, create ad group sets, and build text ads.

2. Understand The Bidding Process

Bidding on Google AdWords takes time and experience.  But the more you learn about the in’s and out’s of the bidding process, the better you will be able to place lucrative bids based on a number of factors like your marketing campaign goals and keyword competition.

3. Test Your Google AdWords Campaign

Regular testing of your Google AdWords strategy is critical for measuring the effectiveness of a marketing campaign.  To make the most out of a test, you should:

• Run tests only when you won’t be changing your marketing campaign so that results won’t be skewed
• Focus on a single variable for each test
• Create tests that will produce results as quickly as possible
• Choose only one metric to measure the “success” of a test

4. Take All Devices Into Account

Another layer to AdWords is considering which devices your customers are using to find you and make purchases online.  You may discover, for example, that certain keywords are more effective on a desktop than on a mobile device and you will change your keyword bids and priorities based on that information.

Knowing which device “type” you’re targeting will also help with ad design.  How your ad will display on a mobile device will differ from that on a desktop, which means you may have a whole new and unique set of opportunities to consider.

5. Stay Up to Date with Program Updates

Google regularly updates AdWords so that remains current and innovative.  Keeping up with these updates means that you will be able to best optimize your marketing efforts while continually fine tuning your strategy to match Google AdWords’ latest conditions and offerings.

At the end of the day, there are two things brands can do to maximize their Google AdWords efforts:  

• Dive in and learn as you go; and
• Don’t be afraid to check out what others are doing (use what you love and hate about their campaigns as inspiration for your own!)

Interested in getting started with AdWords but don’t know where to begin?  Schedule a free consultation with a digital marketing expert at Small Screen Producer today by contacting us online or giving us a call at (281) 569-4370.