Looking for the most effective way to improve Google AdWords performance? There are many different routes to optimising Google AdWords (PPC) campaigns; I normally offer a free review (2 hours) of a client’s AdWords account to identify the top items to change. I would certainly start with a review of your negative keywords. Too often have I seen Google AdWords accounts where negative keywords lists are short or sometimes non-existent!
Take for example the conversation I had last week with one of the most respected (and highest rated) B&Bs in the Wells, Somerset area. They were confident that their Google AdWords campaigns brought good value, but had never checked what percentage of traffic bounced due to irrelevancy of the location. A common challenge for any business based in Wells, Somerset is that searches for Tunbridge Wells, Kent (of which there are many!) can lead traffic to businesses in Wells, Somerset.
As Google AdWords are charged on a PPC basis (i.e. you pay for every click), it’s hugely important you prevent your adverts being displayed to the wrong audience.
So the best place to start to improve Google AdWords performance is going into each campaign, or ad group, and viewing what search terms resulted in clicks through to the adverts. You can also see which of these search terms resulted in conversions (assuming you have your Google Analytics goals set up correctly).
The next step is simply identifying those terms that come up and could potentially be confused with your offering but ultimately not be relevant – i.e. which terms do not lead to conversions (or assisted conversions)? Simply add these as negative keywords and future searches containing these will not yield your adverts – saving you from paying for irrelevant traffic.
Your negative keyword list(s) should grow over time until your AdWords campaigns are laser-targeted for specific, interested audiences.
If you’d like to see how to do this in more detail, or need a helping hand in managing your Google AdWords to become more profitable, get in touch.