Maximizing the effectiveness of your Google Ads campaigns starts with avoiding common pitfalls. From improper conversion tracking to overlooking vital ad assets, each step can significantly impact your campaign’s success. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore five critical mistakes to steer clear of and provide actionable tips to ensure your ads drive results. Let’s dive in and optimize your advertising strategy for maximum impact and ROI.

1. Improper Conversion Tracking

One of the most important things when first setting up Google ads is to make sure you have proper conversion tracking set up. Without conversions tracking a couple of things will happen. First, Google won’t know what to optimize. Secondly, the absence of accurate data hinders your ability to assess the effectiveness of your strategies.

So, let’s jump into a few things to check when setting up conversion tracking:

1. Primary Vs. secondary conversions. Google will automatically track and optimize to your primary conversion and only track your secondary conversions. So, if submitting a lead or a sale are the most important conversion actions for you, then make sure these are set as primary and not secondary conversions. 
2. Don’t over clutter your conversion actions. We like to say “if everything is important then nothing is important”. We recommend choosing the most important conversion actions and tracking those. This might seem simple, however, sometimes Google will recommend many conversion events, including individual page views and link clicks which most likely are less valuable to you than a purchase, call or lead form submission.
3. Tracking conversion value. Once a user has landed on your website and made a purchase or closed a deal, it’s important to send that purchase value back into google. This way you can track your return on investment instead of just the number of conversions.  

2. Not Setting an Ad Schedule 

Google allows you to set an ad schedule based on the day or the hour. You could hypothetically run ads at a different time every day, though we can think of many reasons you’d need to do that. 

Creating an ad schedule that suits your company is key. This can be done right off the bat or once you have more data. 

For instance if you are a B2B organization, running ads Mon-Fri is most likely the way to go. Why waste your money on the weekends when people aren’t at work. In the same vine you might run ads from 9am-5pm to coincide with the average work schedule. 

When you are setting up your campaigns you might have no idea when your consumers are most active. No worries! You can always run your campaigns 24/7, and after a couple of weeks and enough data, you can assess when conversions are coming in, and cost/conversion then adjust accordingly. 

Running ads on a schedule doesn’t have to be an all or nothing either! You might notice that for some reason on Wednesdays, your conversions and ROI are down but you still want ads to appear on Wednesdays. If you are setting manual bids you can adjust the maximum bid based on the time and day. So on Wednesdays you can set your max bid to 50% of what your normal max bid is to lower spend. 

3. Blindly Accepting All of Google’s Recommendations

Don’t get us wrong, Google can have great recommendations but sometimes they can be overzealous and it can lead you down a path you definitely don’t want to go down. For instance, Google will often make recommendations that include a budget increase, which you might not have. It’s okay to tell Google no even if your optimization score goes down a bit. 

Another recommendation you should keep an eye on is the key word changes. Google will frequently recommend broad match keywords and we have noticed sometimes they aren’t afraid to add +150 broad match keywords to one ad group. For some, this may be okay, but for others this can lead to irrelevant search terms and messy keyword data. 

Not all of Google’s Recommendations are bad, some can be very helpful but make sure to not blindly accept all of their suggestions without thinking about how it will affect your business. 

4. Not setting up location targeting

Don’t forget to set up Location targeting for your ads based on your company’s needs. Google allows advertisers to select what countries, states, or zip codes their ads appear in. Google also allows you to set areas that you don’t want to advertise in. 

No one likes wasted ad spend and the quickest way to lose money is to advertise in areas where your business is less or not relevant. For instance, if you run a brick and mortar store you should set up location targeting based on the area around your store. No need to be advertising in Texas if your store front is in Chicago, IL. 

Location targeting is relevant if you have an online store too. Let’s say your company sells snow blowers. Well, once again advertising in Texas might not be the biggest bang for your buck.

Sure over 5 years I’m sure someone will buy a snowblower in Texas for some reason or another but you’d be better off concentrating your ad spend on places like Wisconsin, Michigan or New Hampshire. 

5. Lack of Ad Assets

Our final mistake we see advertisers make is not utilizing assets! Advertisers should use assets in Google Ads because they play a crucial role in creating compelling and effective advertisements that increase ad relevance and increase ad quality score. 

When creating an ad it’s hard to miss the basics like headlines and descriptions because they are required, but don’t forget about the optional ones. You used to have to add the optional assets to an ad after the ad was created in the asset tab.

Now Google has made it easier and gives advertisers the option of adding assets and extensions to the ad while making the ad itself. Some of these assets are:

• Sitelink extensions
• Call outs
• Structured snippets
• Photos
• Location extension
• Lead form extension
• Call extension
• Price extensions
• Image extensions

These different assets allow you to link to relevant  pages on your site, highlight important details about your company, and provide contact information up front. Overall assets can be used to provide more information and make your ad more attractive to potential customers. 

That being said, not all assets are relevant to every business. For example, you might not take calls or you might sell products solely online and not have a location. That’s okay! Use all that pertains to your business to maximize ad quality score. 

Wrapping Up 

In conclusion, mastering Google Ads requires diligence and strategic planning to avoid common pitfalls that can hinder your campaign’s performance.

By ensuring proper conversion tracking, setting up ad schedules tailored to your target audience’s behavior, critically evaluating Google’s recommendations, implementing precise location targeting, and leveraging ad assets effectively, you can maximize the effectiveness of your advertising strategy.

With these insights and actionable tips, you’re equipped to optimize your campaigns for maximum impact and ROI. Here’s to your success in the dynamic world of digital advertising!

The post 5 Common Mistakes in Google Ads appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

Starting a business is no easy feat and includes a lot of steps. Two of which are making a website and getting said website in front of customers to promote your product or services.

If you have ever thought about setting up a website before, we are sure most of you have heard of a little platform called Wix, an easy to use, code free website developer. However did you know that Wix also allows you to set up Google ads directly from their platform? 

We know that when starting a business there is also a LOT of research that needs to be done. Scouring the internet, bouncing from page to page, trying to decide which path is best, and not everyone has time for that.

Today we are going to keep it all in one place! Everything you need to know about using Google Ads through Wix and if it’s better than setting up a Google Ads account directly through Google. 

How To Set Up Google Ads on Wix

Before we go through the pros and cons of using Wix to set up Google Ads, let’s walk through the steps to set it up. Wix keeps things pretty simple so there are only 5 main steps we are going to touch on.

1) Set up location targeting

Advertisers are able to enter up to ten locations based on country, state, city, zip code, and region, or advertisers can enter a street address that they want to advertise near.

2) Set Up Ad Schedule

Choose if you want to run your ads all the time or at specific times. If you opt for specific times you can then choose which days and which hours your ads run.  

3) Select Keyword Themes

You can then select up to 10 keyword themes that you think are relevant to how people might be searching for products and services like yours. You can enter in your own keywords or pull from Wix’s suggestions. You only get 10, so choose your themes carefully to encompass everything that you want your campaign to target. 

4) Assets

Advertisers enter in 3 headlines and 2 descriptions about their company and landing page. This is what will appear when your ad shows to users.

5) Set Budget

For Wix, you must first purchase a monthly subscription starting as low as $150 a month. This will then pool as the ad credit acting as the money that your campaigns can then pull from when you set your daily spend on the campaign level. It’s important to keep in mind that your campaigns also have a minimum daily spend so if you have a second campaign you will need to purchase more ad credit via a one time purchase or an increase in the monthly subscription. 

Pros of Running Google Ads Through Wix:

And just like that, in five easy steps, you have yourself a Google Ads campaign set up through Wix, which leads us to our first pro for using the Wix platform to run Google Ads.

Pro 1) It’s Easy

Wix uses a simplified version of Google Ads that allows you to run search ads, as opposed to the Google Ads platform which has a number of different ad types, complex targeting, and more nuanced ad set up.

Though some people like the bells and whistles of Google Ads, not every company has the band-with to set up and manage complex campaigns.

Wix’s easy to use pared down platform is efficient. Plus it comes with step by step tutorials to walk you through how to set up Google Ads in Wix.  

Pro 2) Integration

Using the same platform cuts down a lot of time. Right off the jump, you don’t need to create a Google Ads account, become a verified advertiser, or enter credit card information into a new platform.

In fact, You don’t need to learn another platform at all, because it’s all right in Wix, so you are already familiar with their tools.

Pro 3) Singular Platform (part one)

The pro of a singular platform in terms of integration is great but there is a lot to be said for its simplicity of a singular platform in the long term.

Let’s be honest, as a business owner there is a lot to manage and that includes the 101 tabs open on your computer that you need to check on.

Well advertising through the Wix platform instead of the Google Ads platform cuts down on one extra tab that you have to remember to check.

Instead of bouncing around between Wix and Google Ads you are able to view your advertising data alongside your organic data on one platform.

Time is money and there is a lot of time being saved by having one less platform to pay attention to.

Cons of running Google Ads Through Wix

There are a lot of pros to using the Wix platform to run Google Ads but some of those very things that are pros can quickly become cons for advertisers.

Con 1) Limited Data

Having one platform is great when you don’t have time to learn or set up a Google Ads account, however it also means that Wix is not built to report the same way the Google Ads platform reports.

Wix has very limited data compared to Google Ads.

In Google Ads, advertisers have the ability to do detailed audience reports, gather data on individual keywords, and track many metrics such as impression share that Wix does not report.

This lack of reporting prevents advertisers from gathering insights on their target market and limits ad optimization. 

Con 2) Limited Ad Control

Again another pro that can quickly become a con. Wix has a simplified ad set up, which makes ads easy to build, but easy doesn’t necessarily mean better. Here are a few ways Wix is limiting:

The biggest drawbacks of ads on Wix is that you can only run search ads, so any display or video advertising is out of the question from the jump. 

Wix also doesn’t allow for more than 3 headlines and 2 descriptions. In Google, Advertisers are able to enter up to 10 headlines and 4 descriptions that then get optimized based on performance.

On Wix, advertisers can’t add extensions to their ads, meaning they are missing out on images, pricing, and call outs that can help an ad stand out, be competitive and attract users.

Finally, Wix has advertisers pick out keyword themes and not specific keywords, meaning that the search terms your ads are showing up for are more broad and might not be relevant. Thus, there is also less data on the success of a keyword/keyword theme.

Con 3) Campaign = Ad

Right now every ad that is created in Wix is its own campaign. In Google Ads there are campaigns, ad groups and then ads.

There can be more than one ad group in a campaign and more than one ad in an ad group, allowing advertisers to organize ad content and gather data on different markets in a concise manner. 

Con 4) Google Ads and Wix Don’t Connect

Though you are able to advertise with Google Ads through Wix they are separate platforms.

This means, if you start advertising through Wix and then decide you want to switch to using the Google Ads platform for all the tools and data that Google provides, you aren’t able to retroactively pull your data from Wix into Google Ads.

As far as Google Ads is concerned you have not been running ads through them. Thus you won’t have all your data in one place.

Is Using Wix to run Google Ads Worth It

Truthfully this is going to depend on your business.

As an agency, we wouldn’t use Wix to advertise for our clients because it does not provide near enough data for us to work with and make intelligent observations on campaigns.

However, advertising is our world and we have the time, means and knowledge, to quickly and effectively set up Google Ads campaigns.

 A small business owner looking for a way to easily advertise their business might benefit from having a simple platform that is in the same place as where their website is being hosted.

In conclusion, if you have the time, Google Ads is more worthwhile, however if you don’t have the time or desire to learn Google Ads, then setting up ads through Wix is a good resource to get you started in advertising. 

The post A Guide To Google Ads With Wix appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

In the fast-paced world of online advertising, capturing and retaining the attention of potential customers is crucial for success. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is an effective way to reach targeted audiences, but what happens when those initial clicks don’t immediately lead to conversions? This is where remarketing comes into play. In this article, we’ll explore the pivotal role of remarketing in PPC campaigns and provide strategies for effectively targeting and converting prospects.

Understanding Remarketing:

Remarketing, also known as retargeting, is a digital marketing strategy that involves targeting users who have previously interacted with your website or mobile app but haven’t completed a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form. By tracking user behavior and displaying targeted ads to these individuals as they browse other websites or social media platforms, remarketing aims to re-engage them and encourage them to take the desired action.

The Importance of Remarketing in PPC:

Remarketing plays a crucial role in PPC campaigns for several reasons:

• Re-Engagement: Remarketing allows advertisers to re-engage with users who have already shown interest in their products or services. By keeping your brand top-of-mind, remarketing helps nurture leads and encourages them to return to your website to complete a conversion.
• Increased Conversions: Studies have shown that remarketing can significantly increase conversion rates by targeting users who are already familiar with your brand and are more likely to convert. By delivering personalized ads based on users’ previous interactions, remarketing helps create a more tailored and compelling user experience.
• Enhanced ROI: Remarketing campaigns often yield higher returns on investment (ROI) compared to traditional display advertising. Since remarketing targets users who are further along the sales funnel, the likelihood of conversion is higher, resulting in a more efficient use of advertising budget.

Strategies for Remarketing Success:

When launching a remarketing strategy, it is important to not think of it as a one size fits all campaign. Not all people who have been to your site are the same. In fact they aren’t even all at the same place on the conversion path. The plus side of a remarketing campaign is that advertisers already have information on the users, so use it! Cater your ads to the segment.  

Remarketing segmentations can get pretty niche depending on your previous campaigns and website, but today we are going to focus on two of the most common remarketing segmentations: landing pages and abandoned carts.

Landing Page Remarketing

Users who bounced off your landing page without taking action may still be in the early stages of the buying journey and may need more nurturing before they’re ready to convert. In this case, remarketing ads can focus on providing valuable content or showcasing other products or services that may be of interest to them.

Abandoned Cart Remarketing

For users who abandoned their carts, they have already expressed a strong intent to purchase, making them prime targets for remarketing efforts.

By creating remarketing campaigns specifically targeted at cart abandoners, you can remind them of the items they left behind and provide additional incentives to encourage them to complete their purchase. This could include offering a discount or promotion, highlighting free shipping or returns, or emphasizing limited-time offers to create a sense of urgency.

Wrapping Up

By creating distinct remarketing segments, advertisers are able to tailor messaging, assets, and landing pages to their target audience to increase click through rate and ROI. By delivering relevant and personalized content that resonates with each segment, advertisers can optimize campaign performance and achieve better results from their remarketing efforts.

The post How to Use Remarketing in PPC appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

Google Ads has ruled the roost for years when it comes to paid advertising, and for good reason. They have a wide breadth of ad types, such as search ads, display ads, and shopping ads. Their expansive targeting and audience options also allows advertisers to successfully reach their desired consumer. Let’s not forget that Google Ads also has relatively reliable measuring tools and solid user experience. That being said, like all platforms, Google isn’t without its flaws. 

Some advertisers prefer more control over where their ads are showing, who their ads are showing to, how the copy is displayed and even how assets are paired. As Google is growing and branching into more AI driven features, sometimes this control is getting more limited to the advertiser. 

But don’t be afraid, because there is a wide range of platforms that advertisers have at their disposal. Some might even be more suited for your business than Google. I always say that every company is different and thus each company’s advertising needs are going to be different. It’s important to assess what is best for your business in order to have the most successful campaign growth. 

Today we are going to dive into five other platforms that can boost your reach!

1. Facebook/ instagram
2. Geofencing
3. Bing
4. Yelp
5. Linkedin

1. Facebook and Instagram Ads

Alright, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that this is on the list. If you are in the advertising game at all or even just on social media you know that Facebook and Instagram ads are extremely popular among advertisers and for good reason. Google and Facebook have a lot of similar features. For instance, Facebook allows for remarketing, targeting based on audiences and similar geographical targeting to Google, but what makes it stand out.

For one, pretty obviously, the ads aren’t showing up on the side of a blog article or in a random app, they are showing up alongside organic content in social media feeds. What does this mean for advertisers? Well it’s an entirely different kind of engagement. Users are able to not only click on your site but they can like, comment and share creating opportunities for meaningful interactions with potential customers. Advertisers are granted useful insight into how consumers are feeling about the product or promotion in real time.

We would argue that no platform is better than Meta for the visual appeal of ads. Instagram, in particular, is a highly visual platform, making it ideal for showcasing products and services through eye-catching images and videos. Facebook also supports visual content, ensuring your ads stand out. Luckily with Facebook and instagram you have almost complete control over what your ads look like and how they will appear to consumers.

Facebook and Instagram are an ideal platform for businesses who value community engagement and greater artistic control over their ads.

2. Geofencing

Geofencing ads appear similar to how Google’s Display ads appear, as banner ads and as in app ads. So why would someone look for a geofencing platform over Google Ads? 

Choosing a geofencing advertising platform over Google Ads can be a strategic decision for businesses looking to target their audience with precision and relevance. Geofencing has  hyper-local targeting by allowing  you to draw virtual boundaries around specific physical locations, such as stores, events, or competitors’ locations. This level of granularity ensures your ads are seen by the right people in the right place at the right time.

These Geofencing platforms are also able to easily track foot traffic to your store. For instance if you are a restaurant targeting the office building next door to come in for happy hour, geofencing platforms can see who came from the office to your restaurant’s location. Instead of targeting a whole town or zip code, you can target a singular relevant location and track the success of the foot traffic along with the online metrics. This kind of precision may be key for your business.

3. Bing

The concept of bing ads is not that far off from Google Ads. The two are similar, so why might bing ads be better suited for you. Well it’s pretty common knowledge that google is more widely used then bing. In fact, according to impression digital “Google retains an 83.84% share of the global market” with bing only at 8.88%, but that 8.88% is still 1.1 billion users every month. Those bing users aren’t any less valuable than the google users, and surprise surprise, just like there are more people on google, there are more advertisers on google driving the competition up!

Due to its smaller market share, Bing often has lower competition for keywords and ad placements. This can result in lower advertising costs and a better return on investment (ROI) for some businesses.

Bing also attracts a different user demographic compared to Google. It tends to have a slightly older and more affluent user base, making it a valuable platform for reaching specific customer segments. Now if you are trying to target Gen Z this probably isn’t the platform for you, but if you are selling orthopedic shoes geared towards +55 community bing is worth considering!

4. Yelp

If you are a B2C company, Yelp can be a strong contender for you. There are thousands of businesses on yelp, but remember claiming your business on yelp and having a business page is different from running ads on yelp. When advertising on yelp ads can show in a few places. One of which is pretty standard, at the top of  someone’s search results. On Google sometimes the intention of a search is unclear. A consumer could be searching for a product or just simply asking a question. However when people are searching on yelp they are more likely than not looking for a relevant business, thus more active engagement.

Another ad placement is on competitors’ pages! Yes that’s right, you can have your ad appear on a competitor’s profile while a consumer is researching your industry. Having your ad featured on a competitor’s Yelp profile can offer a strategic advantage in the competitive landscape. It provides an opportunity for targeted exposure to an audience actively exploring products or services within your industry. By positioning your ad alongside a competitor’s listing, you engage with potential customers who are already in the decision-making process. 

5. LinkedIn

Advertising on a LinkedIn profile can offer distinct advantages over Google Ads, particularly when targeting a professional and business-oriented audience. LinkedIn provides a platform where users showcase their career profiles and interests, making it an ideal space for B2B and professional services marketing. Unlike Google Ads, which primarily relies on keyword targeting, LinkedIn allows precise targeting based on job title, company size, industry, and more. This specificity ensures your ads reach decision-makers and professionals with a genuine interest in your products or services. 

Moreover, LinkedIn’s context is professional, making it suitable for industries where trust, credibility, and networking are paramount. In contrast, Google Ads may cast a wider net and include unrelated or less qualified traffic. For businesses looking to connect with a niche B2B audience or establish themselves as industry leaders, LinkedIn advertising often offers a more focused and effective approach.

Wrapping up

In conclusion, Google Ads undoubtedly holds a prominent position in the digital advertising landscape, offering an expansive reach and diverse opportunities for businesses. However, it’s crucial to recognize that no single advertising platform is a one-size-fits-all solution. 

Different businesses have unique goals, target audiences, and marketing needs. Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, geofencing, and Bing each bring their own strengths to the table, whether it’s precise audience targeting, local focus, professional networking, or competitive edge. Therefore, it is imperative for businesses to assess their specific requirements and objectives carefully. By evaluating the nature of their products or services, their audience’s preferences, and their budget constraints, businesses can strategically choose the advertising platforms that align most closely with their goals, ultimately maximizing their marketing efforts and ROI. 

In today’s dynamic digital landscape, flexibility and adaptability in choosing the right platform can make all the difference in achieving advertising success.

The post 5 Alternatives to Google Ads appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

As Google Ads grows and expands its capabilities one of their big focuses has been to create automatic systems so that advertisers don’t have to spend as much time making decisions and monitoring. We have seen automatic bidding and smart campaigns, now comes automatic asset creation. 

What are Automatically Created Assets?

These new automatically created assets are headlines and descriptions developed by Google’s AI for advertisers’ responsive search ads. 

 According to Google, “These new assets are generated based on your ad’s unique context, which includes your landing page, existing ads, and keywords in your ad group.” 

This is an opt-in feature that many advertisers have a lot of thoughts on. Though not all of the thoughts are positive, let’s start with the pro’s of Google’s automatically created Assets. 

Pros of Google’s Automatically Created Assets

Google believes that it will cut back the manual labor for advertisers, increase performance of responsive search ads by running more copy, and create a cohesive user experience across campaigns and landing pages. 

Ads perform best when they have keywords in their headlines and descriptions. When setting up ad groups and ads, ideally the keywords will correspond with each other within an ad group allowing advertisers to add those keywords into the headlines. However, sometimes keywords can be contradictory, preventing advertisers from adding that keyword to a headline. 

Let’s take a look at a simple example. Sally sets up an ad group to sell t-shirts. She adds keywords, “pink t-shirt” and “blue-tshirt”, but she is hesitant to add these keywords as headlines because she doesnt want someone searching for a blue t-shirt to be fed an ad with the headline “Pink T-shirts for Sale”. 

When using automatically created assets, if an ad is triggered by the keyword “blue t-shirt” then a headline using that keyword like “Best Blue T-Shirt Deal”  can appear. Google will use your provided headlines, descriptions, and keywords to create the best assets for the searchers so you don’t have to.

Furthermore, as campaigns evolve and keywords and landing pages change, Google’s automatically created assets will adjust to match the new content. This will cut back the time advertisers spend adjusting their creative as campaigns take on new life. 

As the campaigns optimize, google will automatically show the best performing assets and remove underperforming assets so you don’t have to. 

All that being said, not everyone views google’s automatically created assets as sunshine and rainbow. Some advertisers are even strongly against it.  

Cons of Google’s Automatically Created Assets

Right off the bat, when using Google’s automatically created assets, advertisers have less control over what creative is being shown and when. 

One of the arguments for using automatically created assets is that it cuts back on the time advertisers have to spend on optimizing their campaign. Ironically, unless you are someone who wholeheartedly trusts Google, (we are not), the time that is saved upfront in creating assets is then lost when you have to monitor the creative that Google is showing. Advertisers are able to remove individual assets that are created but this process can take time.

In that same vein, how frequently are you going to be removing assets? How accurate are the assets that google is creating?

Some advertisers have gone so far as to say the assets created are nonsensical and the tool has a long way to go before it becomes reliable. 

Thus it is important for any account manager to add “go through automatically created assets” to their weekly checklist. 

If you are thinking about running automatically created assets, some questions to ask yourself include:

• Am I okay with having headlines and descriptions run that I don’t fully approve of, even if it’s for a short period of time?
• Do I have the bandwidth to add “go through automatically created assets” to my weekly checklist?

Even if you are confident in Google’s AI capabilities it is always a good idea to run a couple of tests to make sure that this feature works for you and your campaigns. Best to use a test budget instead of your full campaign budget, incase the results aren’t everything that you are hoping for. 

Summary

Google’s automatically created assets are headlines and descriptions generated based off of a campaigns landing pages, keywords and already created copy. These assets are meant to optimize themselves, provide relevant content for searchers, and reduce the amount of time advertisers spend on an account.

However, Google’s AI capabilities don’t quite reach many advertisers standards, thus requiring involved maintenance and upkeep of the assets. Many Advertisers have instead decided to not opt-in to automatically created assets all together. 

If these new tools worked flawlessly we would be all on board, but it seems there are still hiccups that google needs to work through. That being said, it is up to each advertiser to test it out for themselves and decide if it is a good fit for their company!

The post <strong>Google Ads: Automatically Created Assets</strong> appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

Google ads can be a great tool to drive traffic and awareness for your brand. However it is important to ensure that your ads aren’t just appearing in front of people but appearing in front of potential customers. We have laid out 5 key ways advertisers can make sure they aren’t wasting budget on impressions and clicks that aren’t valuable.

Limit Broad Match Keywords

Managing keywords effectively in Google Ads is crucial for maximizing your advertising budget and driving relevant traffic to your campaigns. Keywords play a pivotal role in determining when and where your ads will appear on the search engine results page.

While broad match keywords might seem like a quick way to capture a wide range of search queries, they can also lead to wastage of your budget if not managed carefully. Google tends to really push broad match keywords. If you haven’t noticed already, changing your keywords to broad match will likely come up repeatedly as a Google Ads recommendation. It’s okay to reject this recommendation because, while this can expand your reach, it can also bring in clicks from users who aren’t truly interested in your offerings.

Right off the bat some may be drawn to the broad match keywords because they tend to have a lower Cost Per Click (CPC). Clicks are great and clicks with a low cost are great, but if you are paying for clicks that are bouncing then the click has no value.

We recommend using Broad match keywords sparingly. For instance ​​Using broad match keywords at the start of a campaign can be a valuable strategy to gain insights into the diverse array of search terms that potential customers are using to discover your business. However if you think you have a good handle on what potential customers are searching for, then jumping straight to exact match and phrase match keywords is the way to go!

Use Negative Keywords and Negative Keyword Lists

When managing a google ads campaign one of the most crucial things you can do to make sure you aren’t wasting money is to regularly review search term reports to identify new negative keyword opportunities. By analyzing the actual search terms that trigger your ads, you can spot terms that are consistently leading to irrelevant clicks or impressions. These terms can then be added to your negative keyword list, further refining your campaign’s targeting and preventing future wastage of budget on unproductive clicks.

The first method of negative keyword management is to add negative keywords directly to the campaign or add group. The second method is to add negative keywords to a negative keyword list that can be applied to multiple campaigns.

For example if you are running ads for your local restaurant and don’t want to appear when people search for competitor restaurants, we recommend creating a competitor negative keyword list. This way when you add a negative keyword to the list it will automatically apply to all campaigns that the negative keyword list is assigned to.

Same goes for when you start a new campaign. Instead of doing more work and adding negative keywords individually to that campaign, you merely add the negative keyword list! Boom, no money wasted on unwanted search terms!

Leveraging Ad Schedules

When starting off with google ads keywords and search terms are going to come in to play right from the jump but now let’s dive into more specifics.
Google ads allows users to control when their ads are displayed throughout the day and week.
Leveraging ad scheduling strategically can significantly contribute to preventing a waste of budget on clicks that don’t deliver value. By tailoring your ad schedule to align with your target audience’s most active and relevant periods, you can ensure that your ads are shown to users when they are more likely to convert.

Understanding your audience’s behavior and preferences is key to effective ad scheduling. If your business offers products or services that are more in demand during specific hours or days, adjusting your ad schedule to match those patterns can be highly beneficial.

For instance, a restaurant might want to increase ad visibility during lunch and dinner hours, while an online retailer might focus more on evenings and weekends when users have more time to browse and make purchases. Another example would be only running ads during business hours if your company primarily provides B2B services.

If you don’t know when your customers are most active don’t fret! You can always run your campaigns with no ad schedule and then after a few weeks assess the data and build out an ad schedule based on click through and conversion rates.

In the ads scheduling You are also able to make bid adjustments. Let’s say you don’t want to be bidding your full bid during off hours but you also don’t want to go completely dark. This would be the perfect case to decrease your bid by 50% or whatever feels comfortable for you.

Use Big Modifiers

Speaking of bid modifying, there is so much more than time based bid modifying that can be done in a campaign.

Utilizing bid modifiers in Google Ads can significantly enhance targeting precision, leading to more effective campaigns. Bid modifiers empower advertisers to adjust their bids based on specific criteria, allowing them to tailor their ad delivery to audiences that are more likely to convert. This approach maximizes the impact of your budget by focusing on high-potential segments while minimizing exposure to less valuable traffic.

Geographic bid modifiers, for instance, enable you to increase or decrease bids for users in specific locations. If your business has higher value in certain geographic regions, you can allocate more budget to those areas, ensuring that your ads are prominently displayed to audiences with stronger conversion potential.

Similarly, device bid modifiers help cater to users’ preferred devices. If your data shows that conversions are more likely to occur on mobile devices compared to desktops, adjusting your bids accordingly can optimize your ad delivery for higher-converting platforms. By prioritizing the devices that align with your audience’s behaviors, you channel your budget more effectively and reduce the risk of wasting it on less productive channels.

Separate Your Search and Display Campaigns

Alright folks this one is so simple but so tricky many veteran advertisers fall trap to it. All you have to do for this tip is Opt out of the google display network when setting up a search campaign.

Google is great when it comes to guiding advertisers through setting up a campaign. They have that step by step process down pat. Google asks you questions and most of the time you as the advertiser have to input information, ie budget, keywords, copy.

However when setting up a search campaign you will eventually hit the “Network” section. Google will automatically have the display network checked meaning that in your search campaign “ads can also appear on relevant sites, videos and apps across google”. This would essentially make your search campaign, not just a search campaign.

On the surface, this might seem advantageous – an automatic expansion of your reach! However, our strong suggestion is to consistently split your search and display campaigns, providing you with greater authority over:

Budget Allocation:
Dividing your campaigns allows for more precise budget management. You can allocate funds to each network according to their individual performance and importance.

Ad Placement Control:
With separate campaigns, you can have a say in where your ads appear. You can target specific placements on the Display network and maintain precision in your search placements.

Bid Adjustments for Search and Display:
Individual campaigns let you fine-tune your bidding strategies based on the differing user behaviors on the search and display networks. An actively engaged searcher has distinct conversion potential compared to someone casually browsing content.

It’s vital to distinguish between individuals actively seeking your offerings on Google searches and those who see your ad by chance on a blog post. By keeping these visitor categories apart, you ensure more effective targeting and a better return on your advertising investment, thus not wasting money.

Wrapping Up

Google ads has a plethora of features at advertisers disposal. So many features in fact, that it can be overwhelming for new advertisers when first starting out. But no worries! Leverage Google ad’s tools by following our key steps to best optimize your campaigns and budget. Remember that every campaign and company is different so what works for one might not work for the next! Take our tips as a jumping off point and see if they are the best fit for your business or decide if optimizing your campaigns looks different.

The post 5 Ways to Prevent Budget Waste in Google Ads appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

The line between geotargeting and geofencing can get blurred pretty quickly in the marketing world, and depending on who you talk to the two are used interchangeably. 

For instance Google ads offers geotargeting but not geofencing. When looking closely at google’s site you’ll notice that never once does it mention geofencing. Instead it uses words like “Google Ads location targeting”, yet if you search “Google ads Geofencing” you will get article after article on all of Google ad’s geofencing capabilities. Yikes! 

So why do these terms get used interchangeably and what is the difference between google ads location targeting and geofencing platforms.

BREAKING DOWN THE TERMS

Let’s start by outlining what geotargeting and geofencing are.

Geotargeting uses IP addresses, GPS coordinates, user interest, and proximity marketing to target consumers in an advertiser’s desired geographic location. 

Geofencing Uses GPS or RFID signals to set a customizable virtual boundary that will trigger ads when a person enters the location.

Okay we know, we know. These still sound very similar, so we are going to break down Google ads geotargeting capabilities and other platforms’ geofencing capabilities to hopefully create a bigger more defined picture of the differences between geotargeting and geofencing. 

In general, I like to think of Google ads location targeting, as being a wider net then geofencing. It’s important to keep in mind that a wider net has both its pros and cons, so let’s look closer.

GOOGLE ADS’ TARGETING METHODS

Google ads has two forms of targeting, location and radius. First, location based, allows you to target the following areas:

• Countries
• Cities
• Regions
• Postal codes

For one campaign, multiple locations can be selected at a time, i.e. a campaign can target California, Florida, and North Carolina at the same time. You could even target 1,000 zip codes if you wanted to.

That being said, no one wants to spend the better part of an afternoon entering 1,000 zip codes manually! Luckily the google ads platform allows you to upload a list in bulk for an easier experience or enter locations manually if you just have a few. 

On the flip side, Google Ads also allows you to exclude locations in the same fashion that you would target. This would be helpful if you are promoting a product in the United States but aren’t able to ship to Alaska or Hawaii. Instead of entering in the 48 states that you can ship to, you would instead target the United States and exclude Alaska and Hawaii.

The second kind of targeting is radius targeting. This can be found under advanced search options in the locations setting. In Google ads radius targeting allows an advertiser to enter their business profile location or an address. From there a radius size of your choosing will appear around that location. The radius around that location can be anywhere between 1 and 500 miles. 

A one mile radius is the closest you can get to your location. In Google ads if you want to target Grand Central Station the most precise targeting would be Grand Central Station plus a 1 mile radius. Some advertisers may want to hone in on the station itself and not the surrounding area. That would be a task for Geofencing, but more on that later.

GOOGLE LOCATION VS INTEREST TARGETING

Something else to keep an eye on when setting up location targeting for Google ads is their question on presence or interest. You will have the option to target not only people who are physically in your designated location but also people who show interest in your designated area. 

For example, let’s say you want to run ads for your tour bus company in Chicago. You don’t want to only target those who live in the city because that might not be your sole target demographic. Instead you want to reach tourists who are interested in and planning a trip to Chicago but don’t live there. This is a scenario when using presence and interest is your best option.

HOW DOES GOOGLE DECIDE WHO TO SHOW ADS TO

Ideally when you set a target location, you will be sending ads to that location specifically, but with Google that isn’t always the case. Google uses GPS signals, IP Addresses and interests to target people and therefore will sometimes hit people outside of your set location. 

For example, people use IP addresses that don’t match their actual location. We are seeing a rise in VPN usage, whether it be for watching Netflix shows in a different country or for protecting data online. Nevertheless, Google will still target IP addresses that are set for your location even if that person is not physically there.  

GEOFENCING PLATFORMS

Before we dive into Geofencing, let’s clear something up. In the first section we talked about Google ads’ geotargeting because people will likely interact with google ads at some point in their Marketing career. When it comes to Geofencing there are many platforms with geofencing capabilities. Today we are going to go over some of the main components frequently seen on geofencing platforms. It’s important to note that not all platforms are created equal and some have more capabilities than others. 

So, Let’s jump into geofencing and what makes it different from Google ads location targeting.

GEOFENCING TARGETING METHODS

Unlike google ads, Geofencing allows you to get super specific with where you are targeting. How specific, you may ask. Well not only can you target a single building but you can separate that building from its parking lot. You can even select the front part of the building if you know that the back of the building is all storage and your target group of people isn’t there. 

This is done by setting up “fences”. You provide the geofencing platform with locations you want to target, and they will set up a virtual fence around the area. Then, using GPS signals when someone enters that location they will be eligible for your ads. Frequently these locations can be edited to fit exactly what you need. You can also target more than one place at a time.

The post Geo Targeting Vs Geo Fencing appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

We have all been there. Going through our campaign recommendations and being told once again to change all our phrase and exact match keywords to broad match. Moving people to Broad Match Keywords seems to be one of google’s biggest goals as of late.

Don’t worry, you are not the only one receiving this recommendation again and again. In fact, we manage a number of accounts and about 90% of them receive this recommendation repeatedly. 

But is changing your keywords to broad match always the best move?

Our short answer is no, switching all your keywords to broad match without analyzing them is not the best move, and here is why.

Match Types Looking Different Nowadays

If you’ve not managed the day-to-day of a campaign in a few years you may be out of the game and may have missed the memo that keyword match types are not what they were five years ago. In fact they are not even what they were a year ago.

Google still has the core match types: broad match, phrase match, and exact match. However, their definitions have changed in the past few years and google completely went away with broad match modifiers in July 2021. We would argue that the new definitions for the match types have actually blurred the lines between them. 

Let’s take a look at the new definitions for each match type and what that means for the search terms google pulls. 

KEYWORD MATCH TYPE DEFINITIONS

This is how google now defines each term: 

Broad Match Keywords: The search term has to be related to the keyword but does not need to have the same meaning.

Phrase Match Keywords: The Search Term has to include the same meaning as the keyword.

Exact Match Keywords: The search term has to have the same meaning as the keyword.

SOME EXAMPLES

These rules make sense and are pretty straight forward, but here is where the waters get really muddied. Google has also introduced “close variants”. What does close variant mean? Well, it means that exact match keywords are no longer just exact match and phrase match Keywords are no longer just phrase match. Close variants are not a setting like phrase or exact match, rather if you set a keyword to exact match google might show search terms that are exact match “close variant”. Same goes for phrase match. Here are some examples of close variants for the same keyword “Auto Shop”.

As you can see some of the phrase match “close variant” examples start to look similar to the broad match search terms. We have even seen the same search term appear as both a phrase match “close variant” and an exact match “close variant” for the same keyword. 

Right about now is when you might be asking the same question that we were asking: Can you turn close variant matches off? Nope. Truly there is no off switch. There have been a handful of articles written about stopping google ads from showing close variants, but these articles all include tips on negative matching and account organization. Sadly none of them include a magic answer about where a hidden off switch button is. That being said, if you are interested in these other tactics Browser Media goes into detail on close variants and ways to prevent them.

What Keyword Match Type Is Best For You?

Now that we have looked at the match type definitions, let’s get into what this looks like in practice and assess if changing your exact match keywords to broad or phrase match is the best fit for your company. 

Our biggest observation that companies need to look out for is the difference in search terms when using exact match vs phrase match for general industry keywords, like “automotive shop” or “Restaurants in Chicago”. The difference being that exact match will get you search terms with the same meaning as your keywords but phrase match will get you names of other companies.

Let’s use “Restaurants in Chicago” as our example. Some exact match search terms would be “best chicago restaurants”, “chicago restaurant” and “must try restaurants in chicago”. Whereas, Phrase match search terms that include competitor names would include “portillos in chicago” and “cooper hawks Chicago”. 

 If your company doesn’t want to bid on competitor search terms, you will need to monitor the search terms closely and frequently negative match when using phrase match. If you don’t have the bandwidth for negative matching, then using more specific keywords or sticking to exact match keywords is the way to go.

Don’t get us wrong, phrase match keywords will bring in non-competitor search terms as well which may in fact be helpful for your company, but you will need to be thorough in your negative keyword build-out. 

So those are observations on the actual search terms that appear but what about numbers? How do the match types perform compared to one another? 

Our campaigns, that span across industries, show consistently that exact match keywords out perform broad match and phrase match keywords in terms of CTR and Conversion rate. However exact match keywords also have a higher Cost Per Click. 

Thus if your goal is number of ad impressions and brand awareness, broad match is the way to go. However, most of the time companies value conversions over impressions in which case the exact match keywords are your friend. 

Our Recommendation

Our biggest recommendation is to not switch all your keywords to broad match at once without doing your research and being prepared that your metrics might take a turn. Understand that making the switch from exact match to phrase match or phrase match to broad match is going to bring in search terms that your campaigns haven’t seen yet. 

One option we recommend is to take it slow and try a few keywords at a time to see if you like the results of broad match keywords. From there, you can make the call if your other keywords should follow suit. 

That being said, here are some questions to ask yourself before making the switch:

Do I have the time to sort through search terms and build out negative keyword lists?

What are my KPIs? Do I value conversion rates or impressions?

Do I want to bid on competitor terms?

Do I have the time to do deep dives into individual keyword performances?

Final Take Away

Don’t be pressured by Google recommendations to change all your keywords to broad match without understanding what that is going to do to your campaigns.  Remember, you know your account. You know your keywords and your metrics. You can make the best decision for your campaigns, whether it is taking Google’s recommendation or once again hitting that pesky dismiss button and keeping your exact match keywords.

The post Google Ads Phrase Match Types Compared in 2023 appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

In the year 2023, we have all experienced ad overload from a company. That’s right, you viewed a product one time on Nike’s website, now, every time you open up Facebook, BOOM Nike ad. Okay open up Instagram, BOOM an in-feed Nike ad. Surely there won’t be a Nike ad while reading your local morning news website. Wrong. There, on the side, is a Nike banner ad. These ads even find their way onto your solitaire app. 

 While some people do actually find these ads helpful, others of us feel like we are being bombarded or even stalked by these companies. Why are they showing up everywhere? Are they invasive or helpful?

So, is ALL paid advertising Evil? 

Truthfully our answer is no, paid advertising isn’t usually evil and in fact can be used for a lot of good.  And yes this is coming from someone who makes a living running these ads but bear with us here. 

We understand that companies have their own view on paid advertising. Some love it and will pour all their money into running +50 campaigns and other companies fear that paid advertising comes off as sleazy and inauthentic to consumers. 

But with paid advertising there are so many forms of targeting and placements, that labeling them all the same way isn’t the best route. We have created an Authenticity scale that uses two metrics, control and helpfulness. The Goal of the Authenticity scale is to help advertisers determine what their comfort zone is when it comes to paid advertising. 

First we are going to do a brief recap of search ads and display ads. Next we will outline what the Authenticity Scale is and how to use it. Finally, we will break down a handful of examples and place them on the scale to help you get the hang of it. 

SEARCH vs. DISPLAY ADS

Let’s quickly layout 2  kinds of Google ads, search and display ads, before we dive into the Authenticity of advertising tactics. 

1. First, Search ads. Search Ads appear alongside organic results when a consumer enters a query in the search engine. Advertisers bid on search terms and if those terms are queried then their ad may appear. For example, if Nike bid on “Running shoes” and someone searches “Best tennis shoes for running” then they will be met with a Nike ad like the one below:
   

2. Display ads. Display ads can appear in apps, in video, or as banner ads on websites. They will look something like this: 

Now that we have nailed down two ad types, let’s jump into our Authenticity Scale.

ADVERTISING AUTHENTICITY SCALE

Paid advertising comes in many forms. In order to determine an ad’s Authenticity, we are going to utilize two different scales.

1. Control: The control an advertiser has over who, where, how a consumer is receiving ads. 
2. Helpfulness: The extent to which an ad is helpful to the consumer. 

When using this two point scale ads are going to fall into a Green Zone, Blue Zone, and Orange Zone. 

Ads that are high on both control and helpfulness are going to be in the Green Zone. The Green Zone consists of ads that will almost always be beneficial for both company and consumer.  

Next are our Blue Zone ads, which are ads that will be in the middle of either control or helpfulness. These ads are usually still beneficial for company and consumer, though seeing as they fall in the middle of one or both of the scales we can’t be certain about either customers intent or placement of ads. 

Now for our Orange Zone ads. Orange Zone ads will fall low on one or both of the scales. Just because ads are in the Orange Zone doesn’t mean they are evil, however, we understand there is a time and a place for them. We recommend using Orange Zone ads when the primary focus is for brand awareness rather than high conversion rates. 

Let’s look at this on a graph.

Advertising Authenticity Score

PUTTING THE GRAPH TO WORK

Now let’s put this graph to work and plot where different advertising strategies fall.

SEARCH ADS IN THE ORANGE ZONE:

I am going to play devil’s advocate right off the bat, and give an example of advertising that is closer to the ~evil~ side, or inauthentic side, of advertising.

Competitor Search ads. For a company like Nike, this would be bidding on terms like “Adidas Shoes”. On our first scale, Control, competitor search ads actually rank very high. We would know where these ads are showing and for the exact search terms they are showing for. 

On our second scale, Helpfulness, Competitors Search ads rank very low placing them in the Orange Zone. If a consumer searches, Adidas shoes, chances are they know what they want and it’s not Nike Shoes. With this method of advertising, the goal is less about being helpful and more about disrupting a consumer’s actions. Getting Nike’s name in their last minute, one, probably won’t have a high return on investment, and two, is disregarding the consumers preferences and is thus more invasive.   

Therefore, Competitor Search ads are in our bottom right corner in the Orange Zone.

Advertising Authenticity Score

SEARCH ADS IN THE GREEN ZONE:

Now let’s look at Search ads that are on the flip side of the Helpful scale in our Green Zone.

Branded Search Ads. Pretty self explanatory, but Branded Search ads re when a company bids on its own name. For example Nike bidding on  “Nike” or “Nike Shoes”.  

• Control: These ads like Competitor Search ads rank high on control. When bidding on branded terms you have a narrow and controlled pool of search terms your ads are showing up for. 
• Helpfulness: Unlike Competitor Search ads, Branded Search ads are high on Helpfulness. When a consumer is searching for your company, they are point blank looking for you and exactly you. Therefore you want to be front and center for them when they search. 

Non-Brand Search Ads. Some examples of Non-Brand Search keywords for Nike are “Athletic shoes”, “gym shoes”, or “best sneakers for running”. 

• Control:In terms of control Non Brand Search ads rank just below Branded Search Ads. The only reason there is a little less control is because there is a wider pool of search terms.
• Helpfulness: Believe it or not, non brand search ads we still classify as high on the helpfulness scale. If a consumer is searching for a product and just doesn’t know the name of a company that supplies said product they are still information gathering. 

Let’s go back to Nike but pretend that this consumer who is searching for running shoes does not know any of the big brands. The consumer searches for “running shoes”. They are looking for a high quality product, so why not Nike. Whether Nike is bidding on these terms or not other people will be. Therefore, even if Nike is the first organic result, they won’t be the first company that consumers see because there will be ads at the top. If Nike is the best option for the consumer and they simply don’t see them because their organic result is buried under ads then both consumer and company are missing out. Thus you want to be there as an option in their search for information.

Since both our Brand and Non-Brand Search ads ranked high on Control and Helpfulness, that places them right in our Green zone. 

Advertising Authenticity Score

DISPLAY ADS IN THE BLUE ZONE

Let’s dive into which Google Display ads fall into our Blue Zone. 

Consumer Renegament Display ads: targeting previous consumers based on email lists. This is not people who have simply visited the site but people who have actually purchased the product or service.

• Control: Medium High. Since this ad type is based on email lists from the company we know exactly who we are targeting. The only reason it is bumped down a few points is because of the nature of display ads. In this scenario we aren’t picking specific placements on the google display network so the ads could be running on a variety of sites and apps.
• Helpfulness: Medium. Truthfully this one depends on the product being sold. For instance if the product being sold is a Refrigerator, consumers probably aren’t going to be in the market for a new refrigerator for many more years. Therefore hitting them with a display ad 3 months after purchase isn’t helpful.ing.  

However if the product being sold is a face wash, hitting the consumer with an ad 3 months after initial purchase to remind them to place a new order before they run out can be very helpful. We know these people have used the company’s product or service, and assuming a positive experience, they most likely like the company and would purchase again. 

Site Remarketing Display Ads: targeting those who have visited the companies site without purchase.

• Control: Medium. We know for the most part who is being hit with the ads but it’s a wider pool than consumer re-engagement and it’s on the Display network.
• Helpfulness: Medium. Hopefully the consumer is at least interested in the company, hence spending time on the site. However we don’t fully know their motives for being on the site or their impressions of the company after the visit. 

Blue Zone ads tend to be reconnecting with people who are at least aware of the company’s name. 

Advertising Authenticity Score

DISPLAY ADS IN THE ORANGE ZONE

We talked about Competitor Search ads being in the Orange Zone but let’s finish filling this zone out. 

In Market Display: Using Google’s AI, we are targeting those who are in the market for a product. For example Nike’s In Market Display ads would be targeted at people who are “in the market” or looking to purchase running shoes. Again, who is in the market for new running shoes is determined by google not the advertiser. 

• Control: Low. The nature of display ads already knocks it down a few pegs, but the second reason it loses points is because we are relying on google’s targeting metrics. What exactly makes someone “in market” for new running shoes? We as advertisers have less control over who sees the ads when google is at the wheel. 
• Helpfulness: Medium high. Since we are targeting people who are in-market or actively looking for a new pair of running shoes, showing Nike’s name is hopefully beneficial. 

Interest Display Ads: Using Google’s AI to target people who have interests that would align with a company’s target market. Using Nike again as an example, they could target people with interests in playing sports, running marathons, or even coaching.  

• Control: Medium low. We have an idea of who is getting targeted but again it’s a very wide pool that google has created. Also, as stated before, the display network naturally has less control than search ads.
• Helpfulness: Low. Honestly with this group we truly don’t know if they are interested in running shoes at the moment, they might be swimmers or love their new balances. The positives for running ads like this would be more for brand recognition. Getting your company’s name out there so that they are remembered when the consumer is looking for your product even if they aren’t in need of it at the moment. 

Look Alike Display Ads: Target people who match a profile (lookalike) of those who have purchased a product or used your service. Lookalikes are again determined by google’s AI.

• Control: Low. Again, this is reliant on what google demes a lookalike. Maybe Because we don’t know what metrics google uses to compare, we deem these pretty low on control.
• Helpfulness: Medium low. Going on the idea that google is in fact showing us to quality consumers we rank this medium low. Ideally they will be similar to previous consumers but that’s not to say they are in the market for your service right now. 

As we state early, just because an ad is in the Orange Zone doesn’t mean it is evil and invasive by nature. For our Green and Blue Zones we are looking for conversions and a lower cost./conversion. For these Orange Zones ads on the other hand it’s best to have a totally different goal. That goal being brand awareness. Many of these ad types tend to have high impressions which is a great metric to use when trying to measure the success of a brand awareness campaign. 

Advertising Authenticity Score

WRAPPING UP

We went over a lot of ad types and tactics today and, let’s be honest, that’s just breaking the surface, since we didn’t even touch on Social media advertising. With all the different kinds of targeting and placements out there, it can get overwhelming for a company to decide what direction they want to take and what kind of advertising aligns with the values of their company. By looking at each tactic individually and using this two point scale companies can better understand if said tactic fits within their comfort zone. 

Now what about our very first example of one person getting bombarded with every ad on every network for Nike Tennis Shoes? Yeah….we would consider this the closest thing to invasive evil advertising. Though we would also be lying if we said these ads have never worked on us.  

The post Is Paid Advertising Evil? appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

Here we are going to break down a few ways to set up and measure a brand awareness campaign. 

Why Display Campaigns for Brand Awareness?

Using a display campaign alongside a search campaign is a great tactic for a brand awareness objective. 

These two campaign types will work side by side to support one another. When solely using search campaigns you are only getting in front of people who are actively searching for your product or service. 

However, when using display campaigns and curated audiences your ads will appear in front of potential customers who might not even know your product or service exists. Thus expanding your potential and actual reach exponentially. 

Here is where your search ads come in handy to support your display ads. 

A potential customer who viewed your display ad may click directly on your ad and be taken straight to your sight. Great! 

However, they might not be ready to buy just yet. Then a few days, weeks, or even months later, when they are ready to buy or looking for more information, they can search for your company and be met with a search ad. 

Perfect! The tag team ad types did their job. Now, your search ads may come into play much quicker. 

Those who are distrusting of display ads may pop over and do a quick google search right away for your company. Again being met with your search ads. So don’t be surprised if you see an increase in your search campaign impression and make sure to budget accordingly to pick up the new traffic.    

Measuring the Success of a Brand Awareness Campaign

Being on the same page regarding Key Performance Indicators is crucial for any campaign, especially for a brand awareness campaign. 

That’s because usually, brand awareness campaigns aren’t using conversion rate or cost per conversion as their success metrics, instead oftentimes using impressions, clicks, and CPM. 

This can be a tricky adjustment if your team isn’t used to using these KPIs. 

If your goal is to see an increase in impressions and clicks for a brand awareness campaign there is also a good chance that conversion rates will go down and cost per conversion will go up, which can make people uneasy. 

We get that. 

Usually, you want a higher conversion rate and a lower cost per conversion, which is why your KPIs need to be straightened out ahead of time. 

So, why is a display campaign with a brand awareness objective worth it? 

Well, it’s true, display ads, unlike search ads, aren’t necessarily reaching people who are actively searching for your product or service thus your click-through rate and conversion rate are logically going to decrease. 

That being said, brand awareness campaigns are all about the long term pay off. Display ads aren’t reaching people actively searching for your product or service, no, but hopefully when people are in need of your product or service your company will come to mind or at least be a recognizable name when they search. 

Keep in mind this need could be in 2 weeks, 2 months or even 2 years. Therefore you want to increase your impressions and clicks so you are getting in front of as many new customers as possible.

This leads us to another good indicator of a successful brand awareness campaign. 

Rather than zeroing in and looking at the impressions and clicks of one individual campaign try zooming out and looking at branded queries as a whole. This is relevant for both paid ads and organic searches. Are more people searching for your company name? 

For example, when running a Brand Awareness Campaign for 10 weeks we saw an 88% increase in paid branded search term queries and a 110% increase in organic branded search queries. 

We saw that our increase in branded awareness spend strongly correlated with the increase in branded search queries. This benefit would not have been something that was noticed if we isolated ourselves to only looking at the display ad metrics. Thus, once again it is important to take a step back and look at the whole picture when running a brand awareness campaign.  

All companies and campaigns are different. Running ads and goals can be very nuanced. It is crucial to have the important conversations about ad types and KPIs right off the bat to ensure that your campaign runs smoothly towards your team’s goals.

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