Our ongoing exploration of marketing health has so far given us some insights into mobile search and the ways you can cope with the aches and pains commonly associated with it. It goes without saying, however, that maintaining a strong marketing program is a many-sided endeavor.
Think of your marketing strategy the same way you think of your physical health. Diet, exercise, consistency, etc. — it all matters. And if you are lacking any of these key factors, something is going to suffer.
The same rules apply if you want to achieve strong campaign results. Ad clicks, conversions, lead tracking, etc. — once again, it all matters.
But if you’re not seeing the results you want, and you’re not sure why, you’re in good company. It happens to us all. Since there’s no single aspect of digital advertising that you can “thank” or blame, it takes a lot of creativity and testing to figure out what makes your medicine go down.
To help you get started, these are some of the most common over-the-counter remedies that my team and I have prescribed time and time again.
Symptom: Low Ad Clicks On Google Ads
You’re spending plenty of money on Google Ads, but you’re not getting nearly enough clicks.
Prescription: Boost Your Google Quality Score
The relative placement of your Google ads depends largely on your Quality Score. This score, a simple 1-10 scale, is based on several factors like your expected click-through rate (CTR) and the relevance of your keywords.
But when it comes down to it, it’s all about delivering a good user experience. You want people to click on ads that catch their interest and bring them to a page that can provide them with what they want.
One small but effective Quality Score trick is optimizing your display URL. Google Ads allows you to insert a display URL that isn’t identical to the destination URL; only the root domain must be the same. This gives you an opportunity to plant a few attention-grabbing keywords into your URL.
For example, a display URL that reads “[companyname].com/baseball-caps” should attract people looking for sportswear. It doesn’t matter if the actual URL on your site doesn’t have that specific subdomain. Your display URL is really another element of your ad, so treat it like one by making it SEO-friendly.
Your Quality Score is also dependent on your landing page — the design, content, calls to action, etc. Here’s where some people get into major trouble: They don’t have a custom landing page. Instead, they send customers to the site’s homepage, which is a big no-no in Advertising 101. You must have a dedicated landing page with content that is directly relevant to the ad that your prospective customers clicked on. If they read it in your ad, address it on your landing page in a big way.
These are the first steps toward checking (and improving) the vitals on your quality score.
Symptom: Low PPC Campaign Conversions
You’ve succeeded in getting people to click on your ads, but you’re not getting conversions.
Prescription: Upgrade Your Landing Page
Attracting people to your landing page is only half the battle. If it’s not up to speed (literally), your potential customers will bounce right off. When it comes to landing page design, your best bet is to keep it simple. You want your layout, content and opt-in form all to be clean and uncluttered.
When site visitors fill out your contact form it’s hopefully the first step (of many) in a long-lasting business relationship. However, an excessively long form that demands a lot of personal information upfront might scare them away. Don’t ask for data you don’t really need. No more than five fields is ideal.
One example of unnecessary info is that all-too-common phone number field, which kills a lot of conversions for small-to-midsize businesses every single day. In fact, one study has shown that a phone number field can decrease your conversions by 52%! It’s likely that a lot of people are wary of giving out their phone numbers for fear of inviting bothersome sales calls. That’s why you shouldn’t ask for this info unless it’s critical to your business operations.
Other common examples of the “too much information” approach include asking for the customer’s age (how many people even answer truthfully?) and home address (are they coming over for dinner or something?).
Symptom: Failure To Get A Good Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
You’re getting clicks and conversions, but you’re not convinced you’re getting a return.
Prescription: Track Your Leads
Seeing leads come in is exciting, but do you really know the true value of your leads? Are you categorizing your various leads properly? If the answer to the second question is “no,” then that’s also your answer to the first.
Fortunately, Google Ads comes with a conversion tracking feature that gives you access to all kinds of useful lead tracking tools. With this feature, you can track when a customer converts on your website (e.g., signs up for an email newsletter), installs your mobile app or clicks on your phone number, to mention just a few trackable actions. All you need to do is add a conversion tracking tag to your website. In due time, you’ll have a wealth of data that will enable you to make better-informed decisions about your ad spending tactics.
Paid ads aren’t a set-it-and-forget-it solution. You need to monitor your campaigns, making adjustments here and there when necessary. This is how you maintain campaign wellness while the other guys are looking for the next miracle pill.
