Google Ads: Do’s and Don’ts for Beginners

Many first-time advertisers find it hard to understand and apply Google’s best practices. With so many options, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Are you using the right keywords? Did you pick the best bidding strategy? Why is your ad not showing at a certain time of day or for a certain search? We have asked ourselves these questions at one point or another. To get a better grasp of Google Ads, work through the do’s and don’ts below.

Don’ts for new Google Ads advertisers

Don’t frantically search Google for your own ad

You just launched your campaign and want to see your ad. You run a few searches but cannot find it, and you start to panic. Where is it?

Relax. Google has a tool for exactly this. The ad preview and diagnosis tool, found in your account’s tools menu under troubleshooting, lets you search for your ad by keyword, location, language and device without affecting your ad stats. Searching for your own ads over and over also lowers your impression share and click-through rate, which can hurt performance.

Note: you will need to be logged in to your account to troubleshoot. Google will explain why your ad is not being served, such as low budget, low ad rank or a policy issue.

Don’t get into a bidding war with a competitor

John Smith’s ad is at the very top of the page. Every. Single. Time. You want to be on top instead, so you raise your budget and bids to beat him. John Smith sees you are number one, so he raises his budget and bids too.

Now both of you are paying much more for each click. You could have had the same click at a fraction of the cost. It is also almost impossible to reverse this once it starts. Make bidding decisions based on what a lead is worth to your business, not on beating one competitor.

Don’t switch to automated bidding before you are tracking conversions

When you create a campaign, Google will usually suggest an automated bidding strategy such as Maximize Conversions, with or without a Target CPA (Target Cost Per Action). These are powerful strategies that use machine learning, but they need to be used at the right time.

First, make sure you are tracking conversions accurately, whether those are calls, form fills or purchases. Without conversion tracking, Google has nothing to learn from. Second, a target CPA tells Google to get as many conversions as possible at or below the cost you set. Third, Maximize Conversions aims to spend your entire budget and can raise your cost per click significantly, so monitor it closely. Give automated strategies enough conversion data to learn from, and review whether the leads they bring in are actually good ones.

Don’t set every keyword to broad match

Many advertisers think they have the perfect keyword list, then set every keyword to broad match. Broad match shows your ads to the widest group of searchers, which means you can pay for a lot of irrelevant traffic. Google now pairs broad match with automated bidding and recommends it for some advertisers, but it works best when you have strong conversion tracking, a solid negative keyword list and enough budget to learn.

If you are just starting, use phrase match and exact match for your most important terms. You will still see some unwanted search terms, but the traffic will be more relevant.

Don’t check results every day and change things constantly

You have put in the time to set up your campaigns, and now you are spending money on them. It is natural to want results immediately, but the best advice is to be patient. When you first turn on a campaign, Google needs time to learn from your settings, keywords and ads. Try not to make too many changes in that period, because every change makes Google readjust.

Checking results daily is a common beginner mistake, because daily traffic varies a lot. Weekends and holidays tend to be lower than a Monday or Tuesday, for example. Let data build up so you see an average picture and can spot true outliers. Depending on your budget and traffic, review 14 to 30 days at a time.

Do’s for new Google Ads advertisers

Add negative keywords before you launch

Negative keywords stop your ad from showing for searches that are not relevant to your business. For example, if you are a garage door company that only wants customers shopping for a new door, you can add “repair” as a negative keyword to filter out people who need repairs. Add your negative keywords before launch. Being proactive can save you a lot of wasted spend.

Make sure your budget matches your goals

However you cut it, marketing takes spending. How much to spend in Google Ads is your decision, but depending on your industry and location, you may be surprised at how much it takes to compete. A small test budget often will not get you far. The biggest misconception about Google Ads is that you can put in a small amount and see business take off right away. That is not always how it works.

Do competitive and keyword research before you start. Do you operate in a highly competitive location such as New York, Miami or Los Angeles? Is your industry, such as HVAC, legal services or real estate, expensive to advertise in? Research these questions before you go live. If you are still unsure, SmartSites can provide an ROI estimate based on your budget, average cost per click, conversion rates and your close rates and customer lifetime value.

Run more than one ad and let Google test them

Testing ad copy is important on any platform. You want to know which messages perform well and which do not.

Google now builds most search ads as responsive search ads (RSAs). An RSA lets you add multiple headlines (up to 15) and multiple descriptions (up to 4) in one ad, and Google tests different combinations to find what performs best for each search. Expanded text ads, which many older guides recommend, can no longer be created. You can pin headlines or descriptions if you need certain wording to appear, but pinning too many defeats the purpose of letting Google test variations. Check your ad strength rating and write headlines that cover different benefits, keywords and calls to action.

Add assets such as sitelinks, callouts and call buttons

Many first-time advertisers ignore assets, which Google used to call ad extensions. Assets give your ad more space on the results page and push competitors further down. They can also increase your click-through rate. Google chooses which ones to show based on factors that include your ad rank, so add as many relevant assets as you can, such as sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call buttons and location details.

Make sure the content is relevant. Do not add assets just to add them, because irrelevant ones can hurt your campaign.

Check your search terms regularly

The search terms report shows the actual searches that triggered your ads. You may find terms that have nothing to do with your business. Add those as negative keywords to keep them from coming through again.

You may also find relevant searches you never thought of that are performing well. Search terms are a great source of new keyword ideas, so check them on a regular schedule.

1299% Increase in revenueAutomotive A/C Parts Supplier Expands Revenue by 14xSee the case study →

A Google Ads expert can help you avoid costly mistakes

Google Ads can be your best friend or your worst enemy. There are many levers to pull, and it is hard to tell whether you pulled the right one. Perhaps you simply do not have time to watch your account closely. We can help. If you are not sure how well your Google Ads campaigns are performing, contact us today for a free audit. We will review your account and give you a few pointers.