Let’s tell a story, shall we? It’s the story of a young hero, building a life for himself and those around him in a kingdom where life is short, brutish, and cruel. But our hero has found a means to escape these dark times, thanks to his ability to produce and sell a small widget.
But how will he get this widget to those who need it? Pulling a cart through ankle-deep mud and hawking the gadget in town squares has proven tedious.
So, full of hope and optimism, our hero turns to Google Ads.
This is where it’s important to understand what to expect when you run Google Ads. Managing expectations is a crucial aspect of a successful Google Ads campaign. It’s easy to get excited about the potential for quick results and high returns on investment (ROI), but it’s important to understand that there are several factors that can impact the success of a Google Ads campaign, and that results may not always be immediate or as high as you would like.
Below are some tips for managing expectations when running Google Ads, so that you can set realistic goals and avoid disappointment.
Setting Google Ads Up for Success
1. Get Specific On Your Audience
Before you launch a Google Ads campaign, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? With what specific service or product? Too many advertisers want to market every aspect of their business at once. It’s better to market a specific aspect of your business, to a specific market segment. A lack of focus can result in a diluted campaign–which will provide diluted results. Without separation and specificity, it is difficult to identify what portion of the campaign is suffering.
So when you begin, identify the keywords and ad groups that are most relevant to your audience, and create ads that will resonate with them. Focus on a specific market segment and tailor your ad groups narrowly. By doing this, you can ensure that your ads are reaching the right people, and that you are maximizing the chances of generating leads and sales.
2. You Get What You Pay For: Set Realistic Goals for Your Budget
Set realistic (long term) goals: When running a Google Ads campaign, it’s important to set realistic goals that are aligned with your target audience and budget. For example, if you have a small budget, it may not be feasible to expect to generate a large volume of leads or sales in a short period of time. A small budget can also take a longer time to generate algorithmic data and test different keywords and ads. On the other hand, if you have a large budget, while you may be able to achieve significant results more quickly, it will still take time to increase the campaign’s efficiency.
It’s important to set achievable goals, (again, think long term – set 3 month goals, 6 month goals, 1 year goals), that are in line with your resources and expectations.
3. Commit to Ads for At Least 3 Months
Many advertisers might expect results in days or weeks – however, a realistic expectation is to be prepared to commit to a minimum of three months of advertising. The lesson is to set those realistic long term goals and stay patient: running a Google Ads campaign takes time, effort, and patience. It’s important to remember that results may not be immediate, and that it may take a while to see the results that you are hoping for. Keep working at it. If you stay focused and committed, you’ll eventually see the results that you are looking for.
4. Let the Market Choose Your Keywords
Often as an advertiser you may think you know exactly what search terms your customers will use. And while some of those keywords may be relevant, without meaningful keyword research, a true picture of the market is incomplete. It’s important to let go of keyword assumptions and let the market determine your keywords.
Testing and optimization are critical to the success of any Google Ads campaign. By testing different ad variations, keywords, and targeting options, you can find out what works best for your target audience and adjust your campaigns accordingly. This will help you to get the most out of your budget, and to avoid wasting money on ineffective ads.
5. Monitor, Test, Optimize
Next, monitor performance regularly. Regular monitoring of your Google Ads campaign performance is key to managing expectations. By keeping an eye on your metrics such as clicks, conversions, and ROI, you can see what’s working and what’s not, and make adjustments to your campaigns as needed. This will help you to stay on track and achieve your goals, and to avoid disappointment if your results aren’t what you expected.
Google Is Smarter Than You Think
Our hero is finally running a Google Ads campaign. He knows his audience, has set realistic long term goals, has committed to 3 months of ads, and is testing, optimizing and monitoring like a pro. Now he’s excited to see what his carefully crafted ad that is bound to bring riches and success looks like on Google’s front page.
He types the keywords into Google and… the ad doesn’t show up. He tries again, and it does. After multiple tries, he can’t nail down a consistent pattern for when the ad appears or doesn’t. So he sets his assistant and meager staff to do the same thing at random times, in an attempt to prove that Google Ads is not working.
Here’s what’s actually happening. Google is smart enough to know when the same searches are carried out with the same keywords by the same people. Google will filter IPs when users don’t show intention to buy or if Google suspects fraud.
Instead of a random keyword search for monitoring effectiveness, use the Ad Preview tool and review monthly reports to see if your ads are meeting ROI and conversion goals.
Do Google Ads Like A Pro
Managing expectations is a crucial aspect of running a successful Google Ads campaign. By understanding your target audience, setting realistic goals, monitoring performance regularly, testing and optimizing, and staying patient throughout the process, you can ensure that you are on track to achieve the results that you are hoping for.
But while Google Ads campaigns, ad groups, keywords, audience segments, metrics and reports can be useful tools for your small business, it does take time and effort to utilize them well. If Google Ads management and optimization are a marketing task you’d rather outsource, we have a team of experts ready to help your company grow with data driven analytics.
Are you ready to grow your business with tools like Google Ads?