Transforming Google Ads Campaigns for Better Conversion Rates
Are you tired of pouring money into Google Ads campaigns with poor conversion rates? You’re not alone. Many businesses struggle to convert ad clicks into meaningful actions like purchases, sign-ups, or leads. But fear not, because in this article, we’re diving into real-life tips and tactics that can make a tangible difference to your conversion rates. From refining your keyword selection to crafting compelling ad copies and optimizing your landing pages, we’ll explore practical, actionable tips that have proven to help improve Google Ads conversion rates. Read on to understand how these strategies will help you turn your clicks into conversions.
Implement Proper Conversion Tracking
This first one seems like a no-brainer, but it’s often overlooked by many accounts. The only way to understand whether your Google Ads campaigns are performing or not performing is to properly set up conversion tracking. The most common ways Google Ads conversion tracking is implemented is through:
- Google Ads conversion tracking tag.
- Importing goals from Google Analytics.
The other key component to proper conversion tracking is identifying what conversions make sense to track. Oftentimes, brands have one big conversion in mind. For ecommerce, that is likely a purchase or a sale. For B2B companies, it’s likely a lead or a demo signup. But what about all the other available touchpoints before a customer makes that leap? Consider tracking “micro” conversions on your sites to really identify the positive impact your PPC campaigns have.
Optimize Keyword Lists
The second way to help increase Google Ads conversion rates is continuous optimization of keyword lists. The Google Ads search terms report is a perfect tool for this. Not only can you see what users are searching for, in their own words, that leads to conversions, but you can see what is not converting. Keep in mind which match types you’re using throughout the keyword optimization process.
Match Ad Copy To Landing Pages
Alright, so you’ve gotten a user to click on your ad. Great! But you’re finding that not a lot of people are actually purchasing. What gives? Surely, it must be a problem with the PPC campaigns. Not always. Typically, one of the most common reasons users leave a website right after clicking on an ad has to do with a mismatch of expectations. A great way to optimize conversion rates is to ensure the landing page copy is tailored to match your PPC ad copy.
Use Clear Call-To-Actions
If a user isn’t performing the actions you’d expect to after clicking on an ad, it may be time to review your ad copy. Since the emergence of responsive search ads (RSAs), I’ve seen many redundant headlines and generic call-to-actions (CTAs). No wonder a user doesn’t know what you want them to do! When creating CTAs either in ad copy or on the landing page, keep these principles in mind.
Optimize For Mobile
With mobile phones so prevalent in our society, it’s shocking how many websites are still not optimizing their mobile experience! Creating a landing page with desktop top-of-mind should really be revisited, given that mobile traffic has overtaken desktop. So, what can you do to help increase your conversion rates on mobile?
Experiment With Ad Copy Testing
Ad copy is one of the biggest levers you can control in your PPC campaigns. Even slight changes or tweaks to a headline or description can have a big impact on CTR and conversion rates. Having multiple ad copy variants is crucial when trying to understand what resonates most with users.
Utilize Ad Assets
Ad assets are a great way to help influence a click to your website, which can help improve conversion rates. Assets like callouts, structured snippets, and sitelinks can provide additional detail that couldn’t be shown in headlines or descriptions. When your Ad Rank is higher, you have a better likelihood of showing ad assets, which helps increase the overall visibility of your ad.
Don’t Be Shy With Negative Keywords
A sound negative keyword strategy is one of the best ways to improve Google Ads conversion rates. You may be wasting your paid search budget on keywords that aren’t producing conversions. You may also notice that some broad keywords have gone rogue and are triggering your ads for terms they definitely shouldn’t be showing up for!
Set Proper Bid Strategies
The type of bid strategy you choose for your Google Ads campaigns can make or break performance. In recent years, Google has moved towards its fully automated bidding strategies, using machine learning to align performance with the chosen goal and bid strategy. Currently, Google has five Smart Bidding strategies focused on conversion-based goals:
Add Audience Segmentation
As keyword match types tend to get looser, there is more emphasis on leveraging audience segmentation to reach the right people. Using audience segments allows you to tailor your ads towards specific groups or utilize audiences as exclusions so your ads aren’t triggered.
Create A Retargeting Strategy
On average, average e-commerce conversion rates range from 2.5 – 3%. That means 97% of people leave a website without purchasing. Talk about a missed opportunity! With a retargeting strategy in place, you have the opportunity to win back those missed customers and turn them into your brand champions.
Offer Incentives
These days, shoppers are more accustomed to expecting a discount whenever they purchase. There’s certainly an argument that programming people to buy only during a sale can diminish a product’s value perception. However, there are strategies that can boost sales and conversion rates without devaluing the product.
Choose The Right Location Settings
One of the easiest ways to waste precious PPC dollars is to set up location targeting wrong. Google Ads offers multiple ways to geo-target locations within the campaign settings to help reach your goals. Location targeting allows you to set specific locations for your ads to show, including:
Use Social Proof To Build Trust
Brands can leverage social proof in their Google Ads campaigns to help boost conversion rates. The goal of using social proof is to incorporate elements that demonstrate positive sentiment from customers, endorsements, or validation that the customer’s needs will be met.
Schedule Your Ads Based on Performance
Ad scheduling is an underestimated tool in Google Ads that helps improve conversion rates. The beauty of ad scheduling is that you can control when your ad will or will not show. Make sure to have ample budget and schedule ads when potential customers are most actively searching and are more engaged.
In Summary
There’s no magic bullet in Google Ads that will guarantee high conversion rates. There are many variables that can add up to the overall performance of a campaign. Small tweaks and optimizations like the 15 examples above can go a long way in increasing your Google Ads conversion rates. From refining keyword selections and testing ad copy to improving your landing pages for optimal user experience, these strategies can help maximize the effectiveness of your PPC efforts.
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