Google Ads – they’re something that almost every marketer and business owner uses at some point. While Google Ads are easy to implement, they’re much harder to master. If you want to get the most out of your Google campaigns, then you need to be willing to go beyond the basics and start exploring the advanced side of Google Ads.
By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll know all the advanced Google ads tips and tricks for making your campaigns count.
Google owns more than 71% of the search marketplace. If you’re hoping to create organic traffic for your brand, it’s safe to say that Google is where you need to be. But there’s more to a good Ads campaign than setting up parameters and watching the metrics change.
The truth is that more insights are available from Google Ads than most people realize.
Fortunately, if you haven’t optimized your Ad spend yet, you’ve come to the right place.
1. Unlock the Power of Search Query Reports
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One of the easiest ways to upgrade your Google Ads campaigns is with search query reports. When creating advanced Google Ads, the search query report is one of the most valuable tools in your arsenal. It allows you to uncover the words and phrases people are typing into Google to find your business. This reveals “user intent,” which is crucial to the success of your PPC campaigns.
The more you know about what your customers are searching for when they’re trying to find you, the easier it will be to figure out why your campaigns aren’t performing at their best. Dive into the details of your search terms by selecting a single keyword or multiple keywords, and determine whether your search queries line up with the focus words in your product pages, landing pages, and so on.
You may discover that the people who are clicking through to your ads don’t fit with your user persona, which means that you’re wasting money on the wrong traffic and the wrong terms. If your search query report tells you that people are searching for your product, but you don’t get a lot of conversions, then you’ll know you need to work on optimizing your landing page.
2. Work with In-Market Audiences
By this point, almost everyone knows that Google has a lot of information on its users. As creepy as it sounds, Google knows exactly what you’re searching for, what you’re clicking on, and what you’re buying. There are so many tools out there, from Ads to Analytics, that are continually keeping Google fed with new data. It’s no surprise it’s the most popular search engine out there.
Part of what Google does with all the data it collects is offer insights to marketing teams who want to get to know their customers better. This means that instead of being disturbed by Google playing “Big Brother,” you should be taking advantage of what they know. A more recent feature to be added to Google Ads is the “In Market Audiences” option. This allows you to search beyond the standard demographic options and start targeting groups in the market for a specific service or product.
Each in-market audience group is determined based on their behavior when browsing, which is tracked by Google daily. Combine the in-market audience targeting solutions with the keywords you’re already using to refine your campaigns, and you’ll have a more focused reach for your promotions.
3. Strategic Scheduling: Location and Time Settings
When it comes to Advanced Google Ads tips and tricks, this is a handy way to make sure that you’re not spending an unnecessary budget. Setting up your time and location might sound basic enough, but you’d be surprised how many companies neglect this option. As far as location settings go, you’ll need to ensure that your ads only appear in the regions you can sell in. There’s no point paying for ads in countries you can’t ship to.
Head to the Location options on Google Ads and select “People in my targeted location.” If a specific physical location does not restrict you because you’re selling a service or download, you’ll have more freedom here. You can simply select “People in, searching for, or who show interested in my targeted location.”
Ensure that your ads run at the times that make the most sense for the zones you’re selling to. There’s no point running ads between 6 and 7 pm GMT on a Sunday if you’re selling to people in the US.
4. Using Dynamic Ads
Dynamic ads are an impressive way to improve sales and connect with your audience. 65% of marketers say that dynamic content in email marketing effectively increases their sales. The good news is that dynamic ads aren’t just something you can deliver in email – you can also add some dynamism to your PPC campaigns.
The fantastic thing about Google is that it allows you to deliver your dynamic marketing explicitly based on the products and services your customers are interested in. To add “dynamic prospecting,” as Google calls it, to your re-marketing campaigns:
- Sign into your Google Ads profile
- Click on the Additional Settings option
- Click on the drop-down menu under Dynamic Ads
- Click the checkbox that says Use a data feed for personalized ads
- Select your data feed from the drop-down menu and click Save
You’ll need to create a feed of products and services available for this to work, but in the end, you’ll have more dynamic and engaging advertisements to serve your audience.
5. Try IP Exclusions and negative keywords
Most marketers know that if they want to be successful with their ad campaigns, they can’t focus on appealing to “everyone.”
While it always seems like a good idea to cast a wide net at first, the result is that you end up wasting your marketing budget on people who aren’t interested in your products or services.
Some of the best advanced Google Ads tricks focus on refining your targeting methods by adding negative keywords to your account, so Google knows what not to show your content for or introducing IP exclusions. To add a negative keyword to your Ads campaign, you must go to the Shared Library tab and create a negative keyword list under the segment entitled Campaign Negative Keywords.
Negative keywords stop you from serving your ads to the wrong customers. IP exclusions ensure that your competitors can’t deliberately mess up your Google Ads results by clicking on your ads. You’d be surprised how many companies will maliciously click on the campaigns of their competitors to drive their CPC (Cost per click) up and their conversions down.
Add IP exclusions; you’ll need to find the company’s IP address, then paste it into the IP Addresses Exclusion box in your Google Ads settings.
6. Don’t Neglect Display Network Campaigns
Finally, when it comes to advanced Google ads tricks, most people assume that display ads are old and outdated. However, the truth is that display campaigns still drive traffic and conversions in the right circumstances. For instance, display ads deliver exceptional brand awareness when used as part of a retargeted ad campaign. Retargeting ads lead to a 1046% increase in brand search after ad exposure.
If you decide to continue using Display ads, you’ll need to ensure that you’re targeting the right topics to make your ads appear in the right places. Context is crucial for display ads, as people will simply ignore anything that isn’t relevant to them. Fortunately, Google can help in this regard. The Placement report ensures that you can see the web pages on which your ads will appear and determine how well they perform.
With the Google Ads placement report, you can determine which display ads are making the right impression and which you might need to re-think. The information you gather can even help you to decide whether it’s time to switch out your display advertising strategy for native advertising or something else.
Make the most of your ads budget
As the most popular search platform in the world, Google is an incredible place to start building your advertising strategy. However, it’s essential to ensure that you know the tricks and tips of the trade if you want to make the most out of your advertising budget.
While some Google Ads users know how to make their campaigns work for them, many business owners simply set up their accounts and forget to take full advantage of them. However, if you follow the advanced Google ads tips above, you can rest assured that you’ll soon be on your way to eliminating wasted ad dollars and driving more attention to your website.
How do you enhance your Google Ads experience? Let us know in the comments below.
