1. Thou shalt not neglect to combine Ads and Analytics
Google Ads and Google Analytics each provide valuable information, but the interplay between the two is indispensable if you want a complete picture of your customers' journey.
Admittedly, Google Ads lets you see which keywords and ads lead to a conversion. But Ads only tells you a little about the user journey. And that's where Analytics comes in. Because Analytics can tell you what your users do after they've interacted with your ads.
In Analytics, you get data that can help you optimise your Google Ads campaigns, and that data can give you valuable insight into how your ads perform.
You can use that insight when you later optimise your Google Ads account. I go into this in more depth in the ninth commandment. Finally, Analytics is indispensable for remarketing, which you can read more about in the eighth commandment.
2. Thou shalt not ignore tracking
Of course it's important that your website or webshop gets visits through Ads. But a visit doesn't necessarily equal a conversion. So don't neglect to set up tracking of purchases and leads, so you can keep an eye on whether your visitors convert into paying customers.
Without tracking, you might see traffic coming to your website, but not who is actually creating value. Advertising on Google Ads while ignoring the need for tracking is a bit like throwing a wad of cash at a random crowd of people without knowing who spends their money in your shop.
So set up tracking of both micro and macro conversions. That way, you get valuable insight into individual search terms and your ads' performance.
A micro conversion is an action that leads to a primary conversion goal (a macro conversion). Micro conversions are, for example, actions such as signing up to a newsletter, registering for an event or adding products to the basket.
A macro conversion is the conversion goal itself, the action you ultimately want the user to take on your website. For a webshop owner, that will typically be a purchase, while for a service business it will be filling in the contact form, making a phone call or another type of enquiry.
3. Thou shalt know thy target audience, and choose keywords accordingly
Know your target audience and their online behaviour, for that knowledge can save you from wasted ad spend.
Of course you know your core target audience. But it pays to dig a little deeper into your audience: what do they search for, and how long does it take them to convert into a lead or sale from their first click on the website? Because by knowing your target audience and their behaviour, you avoid spending ad money on the wrong segment.
Once you know your target audience, you can start identifying the keywords your audience uses, and not least those that are relevant to your company's advertising. Google Keyword Planner is a brilliant tool for this.
When you choose a keyword, however, it's important to consider the competition for that keyword, but also whether it's actually profitable to be visible for it.
For example, it might seem worthwhile to choose a keyword like “cross-country skis for pensioners with a fondness for bridge”, because competition is low. But since virtually nobody will ever use that exact keyword, it's hardly profitable. So it's about striking a balance between search volume and competition.
Finally, it's a good idea to use negative keywords. By using negative keywords, you make sure your ads aren't shown for irrelevant searches. Those lead to a low click-through rate, as the ads are shown to users who may be looking for something else. And that results in a low Quality Score for the keyword and the ad, and therefore a higher cost per click.
4. Thou shalt honour thy campaign structure
There's a wealth of advertising options in Google Ads, from classic advertising in Google Search to Youtube advertising. And it can be tempting to throw yourself at all of them. But it doesn't always pay to back every horse.
Instead, you should honour your campaign structure and consider which channels, settings and options are relevant to your advertising.
And that can be easier said than done with the many channels in Google Ads, which include:
Google Search
The text ads that appear above or below the organic search results and at the side. Ads in Google Search are advantageous because they're often the first thing a user sees when searching on Google.
RLSA, Remarketing List for Search Ads
Ads that target a group of users who have previously interacted with your website, for example through a micro conversion. Remarketing is advantageous because it lets you stay in touch with visitors who haven't converted into paying customers, and potentially turn their next visit into a sale or a lead.
PLA, Product Listing Ads (shopping Ads)
Ads that show both an image and text in the search results. This type of ad will typically be relevant if you run a webshop. However, be aware of Google's guidelines for Shopping campaigns if you use this channel.
Display advertising
Banner/text ads in Google's partner network. There are several options within this campaign type. For example, you can use “search intent”, where you reach users who have shown interest in a particular topic or in your competitors.
Display advertising is advantageous because you reach customers at every stage of the customer journey, and the banner format lets you express your company's visual identity.
Youtube advertising
Youtube advertising can consist of display ads, but can also be:
- In video ads, ads that appear as a layover in a video.
- In-stream ads, video ads shown before a video starts. People typically wait to be able to skip the ad here. So your message, logo etc. must appear within the first 5-10 seconds!
- In-display ads, ads shown at the top right, just above the list of related videos.
- Non-skippable ads, video ads before a video starts that the user can't skip. They can be annoying for the user, but on the other hand you're guaranteed they'll be seen.
So there are many types of advertising in Google Ads. That's why it's about choosing the right one for your budget, your campaign and your target audience.
5. Thou shalt not underestimate the call to action
A call to action is crucial if you want clicks on your ads and visitors to your website.
In short, a call to action is text that tells your target audience what to do to get their needs met. A good call to action encourages potential visitors to click on your ads.
That's why you should write informative ads that explicitly explain what the user can expect by clicking, ads that encourage action. That increases the likelihood of clicks.
If a user is looking for blue Goretex safety shoes, for example, your ad should explicitly explain that you sell blue Goretex safety shoes.
The more information you can give your users before they actually click on the ad, the better. Put crudely, you have to take the horse by the harness and lead it to the trough. Or, to put it a little more nicely: show the user the easiest route to the next step.
It's a good idea to be visible and helpful at every stage, from start to finish. But if you don't have the resources for that, you have to prioritise. Read much more about how to do keyword research based on the customer journey here.
6. Thou shalt not break thy users' expectations
A call to action is crucial. But your call to action also has to deliver on its promise. When your users click on an ad, they expect to have a need met. And you must never break that expectation.
So there needs to be a match between what the ad promises and the landing page the user lands on when they click your ad.
If a user clicks on an ad promoting blue Goretex safety shoes, they should of course be able to see all the blue Goretex safety shoes in your range, not red sandals with bows.
In other words, there needs to be consistency between ad and landing page. The keyword is relevance.
Consistency between ad and landing page also gives your keyword a higher Quality Score, which means a lower cost per click and a stronger competitive position against your competitors.
In short, you create a win-win situation by making relevant landing pages, where both you and your users win.
7. Thou shalt not stray from ad extensions
Now that we're using biblical terminology, it would be natural to warn against falling into the seven deadly sins. But in Google Ads, it's actually perfectly fine to give in to a little greed. By greed, I mean that you should simply pack as much information as you can into your ads.
And the best way to do that is with ad extensions. Ad extensions are pieces of information that expand your ads to make them more useful to users. They typically include phone numbers, sitelinks from your website and reviews, for example from Google or Trustpilot.
Ad extensions also ensure that your ads take up more space on the results page, they “steal more of the spotlight”. And that's a good way to make your ads stand out from your competitors'.
8. Thou shalt not give up on lost users, remarketing is the key
Forgiveness is the alpha and omega of Christianity, but it's very much the case in Google Ads too. You shouldn't condemn your lost users, those who visited your website, or those who put an item in the basket, but never completed the purchase or filled in your contact form.
Instead, you should forgive them, and then re-engage them. And that's where remarketing comes in. Remarketing lets you reach users who have previously visited your website.
When a customer visits your website without converting, you can advertise to them afterwards on Google partner websites. That means you get a new chance to convert them into a sale.
In practice, remarketing works by Google Ads storing a so-called cookie ID on the user's device. Each cookie then has a unique ID, which Google Ads automatically adds to a so-called remarketing list, which in short is an overview of the visitors you've collected data on. When a user then meets the criteria you've set, they'll see your ads on selected platforms.
Micro conversions are a good place to start here. If a user has added items to the basket without completing a purchase, for example, you can later reach that person with a message like “have you forgotten the items in your basket?” on other websites.
That way, you get a new chance to convert passive users into paying customers.
9) Thou shalt not avoid optimisation
I've already encouraged greed. But sloth is a deadly sin you must never fall into in Google Ads.
It may be tempting to rest on your laurels, sit back and wait for the conversions to come in, if you've otherwise followed the eight commandments above to the letter.
Because if you have, you do have the best foundation for optimising your account for the best ROAS (Return On Ad Spend). But you should always keep a watchful eye on your campaigns so you don't waste ad spend unnecessarily, for example on a search term that isn't profitable or an ad that doesn't convert.
So make sure you optimise your advertising on an ongoing basis. For example, you can:
- Split test your ads: try new messages or landing pages and see if your users respond better to the alternative. Does it lead to more conversions?
- Go through the search history for new relevant search terms you hadn't thought of yourself, or for negative search terms that are wasting ad spend.
- Optimise by demographics and timing: is it women aged 25 to 35 living in North Jutland, who are online on Tuesdays between 14.00 and 15.00, who convert the most? Or a completely different segment at completely different times?
By optimising on an ongoing basis, you get valuable insight that can strengthen your Google Ads strategy. And this is where the interplay between Google Analytics and Google Ads that I mentioned in the first commandment really comes into its own.
10. Thou shalt not forget reporting
The tenth and final commandment for your Google Ads strategy is perhaps not so much a commandment as a piece of good advice. I'm thinking of the importance of reporting.
With a daily, monthly, quarterly or annual Google Ads report, you get an overview of your advertising. Where should you focus more, for example? Where should you optimise? What works?
With reporting, you ensure a continued strong foundation for your Google Ads advertising.
