Top 5 Paid Advertising Mistakes: Part 2

Mistake # 5: Not using ad extensions

The reason why ad extensions are so underrated is simple - a lot of advertisers believe that no one clicks on ad extensions.  Google Ad campaigns have very limited character counts, however, so the ability to add more content and increase the information you can show in your ad is incredibly valuable.

The extensions add more real estate to your ad campaign, which is key to increasing click-through and conversion rates. Your ad will stand out more in the feed and have more helpful info that can show users what they’re looking for quickly and encourage them to click. According to a Google study, a new Site Link extension can increase CTR by up to 15%.  You can also use them to drive different consumer behavior.  If phone calls are just as important to your business as website visits, as they are for several of our clients, a call extension allows you to add a phone number to your ad, which is clickable on mobile for easy access making the ad even more effective.

Mistake # 4: Not using video ads

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is one video worth to your target audience? One thing is for sure: a properly created video ad may cost you less and bring you more clients than a dozen fancy images combined. Video ads allow you to access the YouTube network as well as Facebook, Instagram, and many other popular networks. 

Some incredible stats are starting to come out showing the prevalence and effectiveness of video as part of your marketing efforts:

• By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than in 2017. (Cisco)
• 50% of consumers prefer video content over other forms of content such as emails, social, and blogs. (HubSpot)
• TechJury tells us that embedding videos on landing pages can improve conversions by 86%. 
• Video ads are clicked up to  73% more often than display banners.
• According to Moz, blog posts with video content can attract  3 times more inbound links than posts without video.

Inbound video marketing is a very powerful mechanism that is rarely used due to the perceived high cost of video production.  But don’t give up just yet, video production can be easy and cost less than you think.  At Meticulosity, we have streamlined our inbound video production process, so it costs less but the videos often look better than some video ads produced by high-end production studios.  Check out our Inbound Video page here.

Mistake # 3: Not tracking conversions

This mistake seems to be too obvious to ignore, but according to PPC Hero, 70% of all PPC traffic is not tracked properly.  If you don't track conversions and cost per conversion, how do you know what's working and what's not?  How do you know which activities to invest more into and which to pull back on?  There are so many issues that arise from improper conversion tracking setup. It can be as simple as an incorrect tracking code implementation or a broken/modified URL after a website update. So, paying close attention to conversions and how they are set, and then regularly troubleshooting them is one of your most important activities, because, without it, you’ll be playing the PPC game blindfolded. 

Mistake # 2: Not paying attention to demographics

Unless you’re selling something that sparks the same level of interest in a teenager and a senior citizen, why would you include people of all ages in your ad campaign? The same applies to your customer's gender and level of income. If you know that people of a certain age, gender, and income bracket will not be interested in your product/service or seeing your ads and becoming customers, you should exclude these demographic groups from your campaign or at least lower their bids.

Mistake # 1: Not optimizing your ad campaigns

While ad campaign optimization may seem to be a boring and useless process, it is a necessary evil that every online marketer needs to go through pretty much every other day.  This way, your ad campaign will always be up and running and in great shape! Just come at your keywords and ad copy from a new perspective. Pause low-quality keywords raise the bids for converting ad groups, age groups, devices, days of the week, etc. The sky is the limit regarding what you can do with your ad campaign optimization, so don’t let your budget go to waste and optimize your ad campaigns more frequently.

For more information on optimizing your PPC campaigns, contact us now for a free consultation.