How NOT to use Google AdWords – Mistake # 2

Mistake #2:  Running a Google AdWords Campaign without a clear call-to-action or the ability to track results.

When your Marketing resources are limited and you are focused on results, it is not wise to run a Google AdWords campaign or any other PPC campaign without a call-to-action* and a tracking mechanism built in.  You must understand the potential ROI (return on investment) prior to making that investment, or you are just wasting money!

Knowing the effectiveness of a Google AdWords campaign, both from an internal cost standpoint and a customer acquisition standpoint is absolutely necessary.  If you do not clearly understand both, you should not be spending dollars on digital advertising. PPC advertising is NOT a place to build brand awareness, there are much more effective ways to do this.

I have seen this scenario too many times…Organizations spending on PPC campaigns without a clear call to action and no ability to measure an ROI.  These companies are easy to find and likely waste thousands of dollars.

A solid AdWords campaign is focused on conversions (the act of converting a website visitor into a paying customer)! There are basically 2 key types of conversions:

1. Convert a web visitor directly into a buyer (like in the case of eCommerce)
2. Convert a web visitor into a lead to be converted to a buyer after a longer sales process

Regardless of the type of conversion your business is after, the rules remain the same.  Here are a few pointers to help you avoid wasting money on PPC campaigns:

• Make sure you focus on a clear call-to-action* which has the highest chance of converting a visitor (This may require you to try multiple approaches with multiple landing pages)
• Track what you are doing and make frequent adjustments (Daily at a minimum, hourly for high volume campaigns)
• Don’t be afraid to try new things, PPC is as much about trial and error as anything.
• Do not run campaigns and ignore them for a period of time.

Hope this helps you think about Google AdWords in a different way.

*Call-To-Action: An instruction to the audience to provoke an immediate response, usually using an imperative verb such as “call now”, “find out more” or “visit a store today”