It’s no secret that Google Ads are a powerful digital marketing tool. But, creating successful campaigns is about so much more than just throwing together some ad copy and hoping for the best. For your Google Ads campaigns to truly succeed, you need a well-thought-out strategy that encompasses your customer’s journey, ad copy and landing pages.Â
So, to help you create campaigns that succeed, today we’ll explore the importance of strong strategies and how you can create a strategy that helps you get the most out of your Google Ads campaigns.
The importance of strategy
When it comes to digital marketing, your strategy is all about who you are selling what product or service to. You need to get this proposition right before going any further. Once you know exactly who you are selling what to, then you can evolve your Google Ads campaigns to be more strategic. Build your focus, messaging and journey around that foundation and you’re sure to find success.
Get a crystal clear idea of your target audience and how to target them by focusing on the:
- Who: Your clearly defined target audience groups (the more and the more specific the better).
- What: What value are you providing to your target audience, what are they ‘hiring’ you to do?
Keyword research from your target audience’s perspective
If you want to truly and fully engage with your target audience, you first need to understand what they’re searching for. What do they want from you and your business? To find this out, you’ll need to complete in-depth keyword research.
Keyword research is about more than just finding a few main buzzwords, it involves diving deep into every potential, possible subject that your target audience could search for. Once you have a significant list of all these relevant topics, you can analyse the search volume to get a clear indication of how many people are actually searching for each of those keywords or topics.Â
High-quality, in-depth keyword research analysis will take anywhere between 10-20 hours.
Focus on the most profitable keywords first
- Create Themes: Format your list of keywords into a few common topics and themesÂ
- Prioritise keywords based on priority: start with the high-intent words that are going to convert better, and that we have a strong competitive advantage on, versus the low priority longer term words
By focusing on your competitive advantage and the core USPs, you can create keyword sets that will give you the highest results.
Creating a customer-centric Google Ads strategy
Once you have a clear understanding of your foundational keywords and your target audience through comprehensive keyword research you can start building out your strategy. A good Google Ads strategy will be customer-centric, focusing on what your customers want. It’s all about getting them to click after all. So, think about what is going to stand out to them, what will grab their attention and keep it.
Here are some tips to get you started:
Write ad copy with purpose
Your ad copy is the first touchpoint between your potential customers and your brand. It’s the first thing they see and often your only chance to get a click. So, it’s not just about writing the first thing that comes to your head. It’s about writing copy that will resonate with your target audience and make them want to learn more.
To create ad copy that resonates, consider:Â
- Segmented messaging: Tailor your ad copy to each audience segment. Speak to their specific needs and desires.
- Clarity is key: Ensure your ad copy clearly conveys what you’re offering and why it’s valuable.
- Compelling Calls to Action: Encourage desired actions with strong, relevant and clear calls to action (CTAs).
- Include keywords strategically: This improves your ad relevance by indicating to users and Google that your ad is relevant to the search term. Â
Create landing pages that convert
Next, focus on your landing page. If your ad copy worked then you’ve got another chance to engage with your target audience. Your landing page needs to continue to hold their attention and stop them from clicking away and continuing their search.
So, they should be designed for conversion:
- Keep them clear and focused: Remove distractions and keep the landing page focused on the intended action with clear messaging and CTAs.
- Mobile Optimisation: Many people search on their phones now so it’s important to ensure your landing page is fully functional and visually appealing on mobile devices.
- A/B Testing: Continuously test and optimise your landing pages for improved performance and results.
If your ad copy is strong and your landing pages keep your audience engaged, that’s great, but it’s not the end of the line. You need to map out your entire customer journey from the initial search query to the final conversion and continually optimise each step of the journey for:
- Relevance: Make sure your landing page directly addresses and answers the search query and ad copy.
- Consistency: Maintain a consistent message from the ad to the landing page to avoid confusing or losing potential customers.
- Quality Content: Provide valuable, informative content that provides answers to the user’s search query and guides them toward the desired action.
Drive results with a customer-centric ad strategy
Your Google Ads success hinges on the strength of your overall strategy. If your strategy is weak, your ads won’t convert, but with a well-thought-out strategy that focuses on what your audience wants, what resonates with them and what will keep them engaged, you will be well on your way to generating significant returns from your Google Ads campaigns.
Optimise the Customer Journey