How to Gain New Customers with Google Search Ads

Are you unsatisfied with your current Google Ads PPC conversion rateA conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that take a desired action on your site.? If yes, then you have come to the right place. 

Although Google search ads can be a highly effective form of digital marketing, all too often, businesses and marketers do not know how to make the most out of their paid search campaigns. 

Fortunately, we know exactly how to both increase your conversionA conversion is a desirable result on a website that leads to an action such as completing an order, filling out a form, or simply clicking on a link. rate and reduce the cost per conversion, and we are willing to share this top-secret information with you!

From how to use remarketing to win over indecisive customers to the importance of testing your landing page design, keep reading to find out seven top tips that guarantee to help you gain new customers with Google search ads and enjoy long-term success in your paid search endeavors. 

What are Google Search Ads?

If you are new to the exciting and potentially lucrative world of Google Ads, then you and your business are in for a treat. With over 2.3 million searches performed on Google every second, and the vast majority of these search results pages including Google Ads, this form of Paid Search can transform your digital marketing strategy by driving relevant and qualified traffic to your site. 

Google currently offers paid advertisements that appear in search results on Google.com, as well as ads that feature on other websites through the Display Network and Google’s AdSense program. 

The cost of Google Ads varies greatly depending on a number of factors including the competitiveness of your chosen keywords, your geographic location and the quality of your campaign. 

Recently there has been an iOS update on Apple products that has the potential to affect how paid ads operate and work on those devices. Essentially a security update, it now gives users a choice to opt-out of data tracking when using applications on their devices. This means that developers will have to ask for permission to obtain information from other apps and websites for advertising purposes and if this is declined there will be less data available about what a user looks at and uses. This update gives users more control over how their data is used which is great for users, however it also means less targeted adverts and less visibility regarding conversions for advertisers. However, thankfully, there are still ways you can use Google search ads to find new customers. If you do have any further concerns or questions regarding the latest iOS update, you can book a free strategy call to discuss this further with one of our team members. 

How You Can Improve Your Google Ads Conversion Rate 

Whether you have yet to use Google Search Ads as you are worried about losing your precious digital marketing budget or you are fed up with throwing good money and only get bad outcomes, the below top tips can help to ensure you make the most out of your next Google Ads campaign.

• Start with your end goal

If you struggle to get started with your Google Ads and don’t know what keywords to choose or how to write the perfect ad copy, it can be a good idea to consider what it is that you want to achieve from your campaign, as well as how you can do this. 

Do you need to inform new customers about what your product or service offers? 

Or are you trying to win over shoppers that know your brand but are sitting on the fence? 

By identifying your customers’ needs, you can tailor your ad campaign more effectively and enjoy better results. 

• Use remarketing to convert undecisive searchers

When it comes to display ad strategies, the use of remarketing is arguably one of the most effective ones. Shockingly, only 3% of first-time site visitors will make a purchase on an e-commerce site. This means that you are losing out on 97% of potential customers unless you are taking steps to re-engage with them. 

Retargeting can save you both time and money in your paid search efforts, as you are simply showing the same ads to people that have already shown an interest in your ad or visited your site before, which in turn, increases the odds of them clicking on your ad and making a purchase. 

Interestingly, retargeting shows much lower rates of ad fatigue than comparable display ads, so you don’t need to worry about alienating your target audience with this slightly more aggressive marketing technique.

• Split-test your landing page

If you are spending a lot of money on your Google ads campaigns but still not getting the results you need, this could be because your landing page design is not working for you. 

Although you may be focusing the majority of your efforts on the design of your ad copy, this only controls your click-through rate, whereas the design of your landing page is what matters if you want to increase your conversion rate. 

For optimum results, you need to test every element of your landing page, from the CTA placement to the use of images and the inclusion of social proof. 

Each time you make a change to your landing page, make sure that you monitor whether or not you experienced an improved or reduced conversion rate. Sadly, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to landing pages; it is simply a case of trial and error to see what your target audience responds best to. 

Now is also a good time to carry out a full PPC Audit of your current paid search efforts so that you can see what is working for you and what isn’t. 

• Correlate your ad copy and your landing page 

This may seem obvious, but you will be surprised at just how many marketers do not align their ad copy with their intended landing page. Not only is this misleading for potential customers, but it can also lead to confusion that will drive them into the open arms of your competitors.  

Furthermore, when your ad copy directly correlates with your landing pages, your clicks will be more meaningful, and this will improve your quality score, the metric used by Google to measure how effective and efficient your PPC campaigns are. The higher your quality score, the more relevant your ad copy which will result in better ad positioning and a higher conversion rate. 

To ensure your ad copy and landing page are aligned, you need to make sure that you use the same keywords and phrases and that you optimize each with the user experience at the forefront of your mind. 

• Monitor your keywords 

Unfortunately, the process of keyword researchKeyword research helps websites unearth the best keywords to drive traffic and visibility. This research is supported by a number of powerful web-based tools, the best of which we’ve listed here. for both organic and paid search campaigns is an ongoing one. You cannot simply find the perfect keywords and then forget about them. 

Instead, if you want to gain new customers and enjoy a high conversion rate from your Google Search Ads campaigns, you need to be paying close attention to which keywords are working for you and which are simply a waste of money. 

If you notice keywords in your campaign that are bringing in high-quality traffic and leading to conversions, you should think about expanding how you use them. For example, rather than just targeting the exact match keywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business., why not try changing to phrase match?

On the flip side, any keywords that are underperforming or that are not producing the end result that you want should be removed. For example, if a keyword is driving traffic to your site but is resulting in a high bounce rateBounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a website who visit only one page. A high bounce rate indicates that visitors are not satisfied with your website., this keyword might not be as relevant and useful as you thought. 

When it comes to keywords, remember that you want to be spending money on ones that not only drive traffic but that actively convert into sales or leads. 

• Set up Smart Bidding

If you need a little bit of a helping hand when choosing and bidding on keywords for your next Google Search Ads campaign, you may want to consider using Google’s smart bidding tool. 

Smart Bidding is a set of automated bidding strategies in Google Ads that use machine learningMachine Learning is the branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. to maximize your conversion rate. By looking at historical search behavior and contextual data to predict the likelihood of a conversion, Smart Bidding will increase your bids when a conversion seems more likely. 

Although this is not a fool-proof PPC strategy, it can save you time, allow you to set a campaign, and then forget about it; this makes Google Ads more accessible to inexperienced marketers. 

That being said, there are a few downsides to this option, such as you have less control over your budget, and it can take time for Google to learn about your campaigns. 

• Use negative keywords

A negative keyword is a PPC match type, or keyword targeting option, that is offered by most search engines, including Google AdWords. Using a negative keyword allows you to ensure that your ad doesn’t show up for a particular word. This prevents you from wasting your campaign budget on irrelevant searches that are highly unlikely to lead to conversions. 

There are three different negative keyword match types including:

• Negative phrase match. Your ad will not be shown on searches that contain the exact order of the words in your negative keyword phrase. 
• Negative exact match. Your ad will not be shown when someone searches that exact query and nothing else. 

Some of the negative keywords that you may want to include in your next Google Ads campaign are:

• Free
• Cheap 
• YouTube
• Craigslist
• eBay
• torrent 

Conclusion 

When done correctly, Google Search Ads can drive high-quality traffic to your site and increase your conversion rates. That being said, as with most elements of digital marketing, it takes time and money to get the results you want. 

Whether you are a local business or you have your sights set on global domination, we can help you to make the most out of your next Google Search Ads campaign. 

Get in touch with our friendly and knowledgeable team here to find out exactly what we can do for your business.