In today’s highly competitive digital world, businesses need to be visible online to attract and retain customers. Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, provides an excellent opportunity to achieve this visibility through targeted online advertising. Whether you’re looking to increase website traffic, drive conversions, or enhance brand awareness, Google Ads for business can help you achieve your goals.
At 1702 Digital, we understand the complexities of online paid advertising and the power of Google Ads. Our Google Ads tools and expert strategies can ensure that your campaigns deliver the best results. In this blog, we will explore 7 strategies for Google Ads that can help boost your business and drive meaningful results.
1. Create a Google My Business Account
Before diving into the intricacies of Google Ads, it’s essential to set up a Google My Business (GMB) account. This free tool allows businesses to manage their online presence on Google, including Search and Maps. Having a well-optimized GMB profile can significantly improve your local search rankings and make your business more visible to nearby customers.
Why is Google My Business Important for Google Ads?
A Google My Business listing enhances the effectiveness of your online advertising campaigns by providing essential information such as your business address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and customer reviews. When your GMB profile is linked to your Google Ads for business, it enables the following benefits:
- Local Ad Visibility: Ads can appear more prominently in local search results, making your business easier to find by customers in your area.
- Increased Trust: A complete and accurate GMB profile increases consumer trust and can lead to higher engagement rates.
- Direct Calls & Directions: With the GMB integration, potential customers can easily call your business or get directions directly from the search results.
Having a solid Google My Business account lays the foundation for successful online advertising, ensuring your business stands out in local searches and drives more targeted traffic to your website.
2. Utilize “Call-Only” Campaigns
When you’re targeting customers with immediate purchasing intent, a Call-Only campaign is an effective strategy. These campaigns are designed to drive phone calls rather than website visits, making them an excellent choice for businesses that rely on phone-based sales or customer service, such as real estate agents, healthcare providers, or service-based companies.
Why Use Call-Only Campaigns?
Call-Only campaigns allow you to drive high-quality leads directly to your business by targeting mobile users with a clickable phone number in your ad. This method is particularly useful for businesses that offer services that require direct communication with the customer.
Key Benefits:
- Instant Connection: Customers can immediately call your business from the ad without having to navigate to your website.
- Targeted Reach: With the Google Ads tools, you can target users specifically searching for services that require immediate action, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
- Cost-Effective: Since these campaigns are designed to drive calls, they can be more cost-effective for businesses that benefit from phone interactions.
When using Google Ads for business, integrating Call-Only campaigns helps bridge the gap between online ads and offline conversions, delivering valuable customer interactions.
3. Highlight Your Contact Information with Location and Call Extensions
Another effective Google Ads strategy is utilizing ad extensions to provide potential customers with more ways to connect with your business. Location extensions and call extensions allow you to display additional information directly within your ads, making it easier for users to contact you or find your business.
What Are Location and Call Extensions?
- Location Extensions: These show your business address and can direct users to your physical location via Google Maps. They are especially useful for businesses with physical storefronts, such as retail stores or restaurants.
- Call Extensions: These display a clickable phone number in your ad, allowing users to call your business directly with just one tap.
Benefits:
- Improved Click-Through Rates (CTR): By providing more ways for users to interact with your ad, these extensions can improve your ad’s visibility and CTR.
- Enhanced Local Targeting: If your business has a physical location, location extensions help ensure that users can easily find your store.
- Increased Conversions: With call extensions, you’re encouraging direct calls, which can lead to higher conversion rates, especially for businesses with a phone-based sales process.
1702 Digital, as a leading Google Ads agency, helps businesses make the most of these extensions to increase ad visibility and customer interaction.
4. Ensure Correct Location Targeting
For local businesses, location targeting is a critical component of your Google Ads strategy. With Google Ads for business, you can target users based on their geographic location, ensuring that your ads are seen by the right audience at the right time.
Why is Location Targeting Important?
Accurate location targeting allows you to:
- Reach Local Audiences: Ensure that your ads are shown to users within a specific radius around your business or in a particular city, state, or country.
- Optimize Budgets: By focusing your ads on the locations that matter most, you can allocate your budget more efficiently, avoiding wastage on irrelevant audiences.
- Local Relevance: When people search for local services, they’re more likely to make a purchase if the business is within a reasonable distance. Location targeting increases the chances of attracting customers who are more likely to convert.
Best Practices for Location Targeting
- Use Proximity Targeting: Focus on people who are close to your physical store or service area.
- Use Multiple Locations: If you have several locations, create separate campaigns for each one to tailor your ads and offers to each market.
- Leverage Location-Based Keywords: Incorporate city or neighborhood names in your ad copy to further increase local relevance.
By ensuring correct location targeting, you can maximize the effectiveness of your online advertising efforts and connect with local customers who are most likely to convert.
5. Remove Negative Keywords
One of the most overlooked strategies for Google Ads is the use of negative keywords. These are terms that prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches, helping you avoid wasting money on clicks that aren’t likely to lead to conversions.
Why Remove Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords allow you to refine your targeting by excluding searches that are unlikely to bring value to your business. For example, if you sell premium shoes, you may want to exclude terms like “cheap shoes” or “discount shoes” from triggering your ads.
Benefits:
- Reduced Wastage: Negative keywords prevent your ads from being shown to irrelevant users, ensuring that you only pay for clicks that are more likely to convert.
- Higher ROI: By focusing your budget on high-intent keywords, you can improve your ad performance and return on investment (ROI).
- Better Ad Relevance: Removing irrelevant keywords increases the overall relevance of your campaigns, leading to higher Quality Scores and improved ad rankings.
At 1702 Digital, our team of experts continuously monitors and optimizes negative keywords to ensure the most effective online advertising strategies for your business.
6. Utilize Location-Specific Ad Extensions
Location-specific ad extensions are a powerful tool to help you attract more relevant local customers. These extensions add even more localized information to your ads, such as distance from your business or location-specific promotions.
What Are Location-Specific Ad Extensions?
These extensions display information tailored to users based on their geographic location. For example, if you have multiple store locations, Google Ads will show the nearest store’s address or contact details to the user, increasing the chances of them clicking on your ad.
Benefits:
- Increased Local Relevance: By showing users information about nearby locations or local offers, you increase the likelihood of a click and conversion.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: Location-specific details like “store hours” or “near you” help users make quicker decisions and act on the ad more efficiently.
1702 Digital can help you integrate location-specific extensions into your campaigns, driving more local traffic and boosting sales.
7. Optimize Your Landing Page
The effectiveness of your Google Ads campaign is closely tied to the quality of your landing page. Once a user clicks on your ad, the landing page is the final step in converting them into a customer.
Why Optimize Your Landing Page?
A well-optimized landing page increases your chances of converting visitors into paying customers. Key elements to focus on include:
- Fast Load Time: A slow website can lead to a higher bounce rate, reducing your conversion rate.
- Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Ensure that your landing page clearly communicates the desired action you want visitors to take (e.g., sign up, make a purchase, contact you).
- Mobile Optimization: Since many users click on ads through their mobile devices, ensure that your landing page is responsive and easy to navigate on mobile.
- Relevant Content: Make sure that the landing page matches the messaging of your ad and provides a seamless user experience.
By optimizing your landing page, you can improve your Google Ads Quality Score, lower cost-per-click (CPC), and ultimately drive better results.
Conclusion
Implementing the right strategies for Google Ads can significantly boost your business by driving targeted traffic and increasing conversions. Whether you’re new to online paid advertising or looking to improve your existing campaigns, these 7 strategies for Google Ads will help you maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns and improve your ROI.
At 1702 Digital, we specialize in providing comprehensive Google Ads for business solutions. From optimizing your Google My Business account to ensuring your landing pages are conversion-friendly, our team of experts can help you achieve your business goals through online advertising.
Contact us today to learn more about how our Google Ads tools and performance marketing strategies can grow your business.