Used the right way, Google Ad Words can boost traffic and raise your conversion rate. If you are getting the
right ad in front of the right customer at the right time, you’ll see consistent results. Setting up all those “rights” takes some time, effort and tweaking – and you’ll need to avoid these common Ad Words errors, too:
Using too many keywords per landing page:Keyword stuffing is never good, but even using more than 3-5 keywords in your landing page is overdoing it. In most cases you’re better off creating multiple landing pages to really target your customers. Multiple landing pages do more than hone your focus and allow you to selectively campaign to the right targets, they offer you a way to test your ROI and really learn which methods work for you.
Including negative or non-productive keywords: If you are selling high end merchandise, including “cheap”, “affordable” or “inexpensive” might bring traffic but it won’t bring buyers. Similarly, if you’re selling theme park discount tickets, “Disney complaints” or “theme park injuries” won’t help you make sales, even if they attract visitors. You can adjust your campaigns to eliminate negatives, or you can use the Negative Keywords setting on your Ad words dash to ignore negatives that you indicate completely.
The only time negative keywords words really work is when you are selling a product or service that eliminates a negative – “get rid of fleas” or “eliminate fleas” are both negative, but one will work better for marketing a flea-repelling ointment.
Using Campaign Ad Groups incorrectly: Lumping all of your keywords into one group basically means all of your visitors will see the same ad. By grouping keywords together in a way that makes sense, you can rotate your ads more effectively and reach a wider audience. While it is tempting to dump all of your keywords into one group, separating them using this dashboard tool is both more effective and allows you to measure your results, too.
Misdirection: You’ve placed the right ad in front of the right customer – but it won’t matter at all if you don’t direct them to the correct product or service. Ecommerce businesses often make this costly mistake – directing customers to a home page instead of a product. Target your prospects and then send them to the product you’ve groomed them for, not a general home page or blog.
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