7 Common Mistakes When Running Google Ads
Reading Time: ~3 Mins | Written By: Cheryl Goeres
If you’re new to running Google Ads, getting started can be quite overwhelming. We’ve put together a list of 7 common mistakes people make when they run Google Ads and how you can avoid them.
1. Campaign in Smart Mode
When you first set up your Google Ads account, it’ll default to Smart Mode. This limits what you’re able to see in your ads manager. Make sure you select Expert Mode to get all the Google Ads platform has to offer.
2. Smart Campaigns
Don’t be deceived by its name, Smart Campaigns aren’t that smart. You have limited control over your ads (such as no keyword targeting) with this campaign type. It can be tempting to utilize this campaign type if you’re new to Google Ads, but we highly recommend you do your best to avoid it.
3. Choosing a Marketing Goal
While it sounds counterintuitive, when Google asks you to choose your campaign objective, you want to select ‘Create a campaign with a goal’s guidance’. Many people will select the objective closest to their campaign's goal, but this actually narrows your choices when you move onto ad selection. By selecting without a goal’s guidance, you have all ad options available to you.
4. Showing Ads on Google Partners
While it may expand the reach of your ads, having the ‘Show on Google Partners’ option selected typically doesn’t help increase the performance of your ads. More often than not there is a big difference in CTR and CVR from the Google platform compared to the stats from Google Partners. To see how your ads have performed on each Network, at the campaign level, select Segment and select Network. Here you will be able to see the difference in performance.
5. Presence or interest in Location Targeting
By default, when you select your location targeting, Google automatically targets people who are in, regularly in, or who’ve shown interest in your targeted locations. This can end up showing your ads to people in cities or countries that your business doesn’t service. Make sure you’ve selected ‘Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations’ under Location options.
6. Auto-applying Recommendations
In your Recommendations, Google generates a campaign optimization score. This number is completely made up and does not affect your campaigns performance. These recommendations are designed for the companies/clients who have large budgets and not necessarily for those with small budgets. Make sure you don’t auto-apply these recommendations as they may not be relevant to your business goals. Manually go through them and apply or dismiss them at your discretion.
7. No Negative Keywords
Not utilizing negative keywords can cause your ads to show for search terms that aren’t relevant to your ads. Check your Search terms report on a weekly basis to ensure your ads aren’t appearing for terms you don’t want to show for.
Avoid these 7 common mistakes and you’re on your way to set your ad campaigns up for success
To learn more about Google Ads and other advertising platforms, check out our 6-Week Digital Marketing Bootcamp.
