Paid advertising campaigns are key in e-commerce. The Google Ads platform offers a lot of opportunities for micro and small businesses, but only if used correctly. Let’s look at the basic mistakes that can be costly!
Why is Google Ads important for a small e-commerce business?
In the age of e-commerce, people usually start their search on Google. This is not surprising, given that Google is the dominant player in the search market. According to the latest figures, Google’s market share in Hungary is close to 95%, which means that almost all internet users turn to Google for information first. It also shows that if your business is not showing up in search results or paid ads, you could potentially lose a lot of traffic.
But it’s not just high market share that makes Google Ads important. Google Ads allows businesses to show precisely targeted ads to the people most likely to be interested in their products or services.
Furthermore, Google Ads allows businesses to maximise their marketing budget, optimise their conversion rates and increase their ROI. So if you don’t take advantage of Google Ads, you could be left behind and not be able to take full advantage of the online market.
Error 1: Not setting clear objectives
The basis of any marketing strategy is the objective. But why are targets so important? Without clearly defined goals, you can’t measure how effective your ads are, which is like driving a car without a map or GPS – you don’t know where you’re going or how long it will take you to get there.
For example, if the goal of one campaign is to increase the number of page views and the other is to increase conversions, both campaigns should follow a different strategy and budget. If you don’t set clear goals, it’s easy to confuse strategies, which can waste time as well as money.
In addition, without clear objectives, you will have no metrics against which to judge the success of your campaigns. And if you can’t measure success, you don’t know which parts need fine-tuning or deeper changes.
Error 2: Not dealing with negative keywords
Negative keywords are one of the most important but least used tools in Google Ads. Negative keywords allow you to exclude certain phrases or words that you don’t want your ad to include. This allows you to exclude searches that are not relevant to your ad, so you don’t waste money on irrelevant impressions or clicks. Just think how frustrating it can be when your ad is shown to people who are not actually interested in what you have to offer, and only increases the number of clicks unnecessarily, without leading to conversions.
For example, if you are selling a high quality product, you could add the terms “cheap” or “discount” to your list of negative keywords. This way you can avoid people clicking on your ad who are only looking for the cheapest offers, and save on costs.
But it’s not only important to address negative keywords to reduce costs. Properly targeted negative keywords increase the relevance of the ad, which positively influences the ad position and the click-through rate (CPC). Ads that are more relevant to search engines tend to rank better and have a lower click-through cost.
By regularly reviewing and expanding your list of negative keywords, you can ensure that your advertising budget is used as efficiently as possible and maximise ROI. Continually refining and optimising your Google Ads campaigns is essential to ensure your ads get the best possible results.
Error 3: Your landing page is not good enough
The landing page is the place where the people reached by your ad arrive. Think about it: if you pay for every click, every visitor has to have value. The landing page is therefore a kind of “front page” that should work as well as possible to turn interested parties into customers.
The first step is to make sure the page loads quickly. Slow pages often discourage visitors, as in today’s fast-paced world people are not willing to wait long for a page to load. Every tenth of a second counts! Research has shown that if a web page takes just one second longer to load than expected, this can result in a drop in conversion rates of up to 7%.
Secondly, the landing page should be mobile-friendly. An increasing proportion of people are browsing the internet on mobile devices(58.33% of global internet traffic came from mobile devices in Q1 2023). If your site doesn’t display well on mobile devices, you could lose potential customers.
Thirdly, the content of the site must be relevant and user-friendly. When visitors reach a landing page, they should immediately see what you have to offer and why it’s good for them. Visual elements should be clear and attractive, and the text should be short and to the point.
Don’t forget that the user experience on the landing page is essential. Visitors should be guided by clear and easy-to-understand instructions on how to make a purchase or carry out a desired action. In addition, the CTA buttons (e.g. “Buy now”, “Read more”, etc.) should be clearly visible and easy to understand.
Last but not least, trust must be built. Certificates, reviews or security tokens on the landing page can help visitors feel safe and ultimately make a purchase.
In summary, your landing page should not only be beautiful, but also functional and effective. If you don’t put enough effort and time into optimising your landing page, you could be wasting money on your Google Ads ads without getting real results.
Error 4: Not measuring performance or not evaluating data
In the world of digital marketing, data is king. You may have heard the expression “What cannot be measured cannot be managed”. The Google Ads platform is like a sophisticated instrument that allows you to accurately measure advertising performance. However, many small businesses do not make full use of this tool.
First of all, metrics in Google Ads, such as click-through rate (CTR), average cost per click (CPC) or conversion rate, are there to help you understand how your ads are performing. If you don’t look at these figures regularly, you won’t be aware of which ad campaigns are generating the most return and which ones need to change.
Secondly, the data gives you immediate feedback. If, for example, an ad is not delivering the expected results, you can use the data to change the ad text, targeting or even the budget. The ability to react immediately and apply lessons learned from the data will sharpen your advertising strategy.
Third, the measured data allow long-term planning and strategy refinement. For example, if you see a trend that a particular ad campaign or keyword brings in the most conversions, you can focus on that in the future. In the same way, if the data shows that a campaign is not performing well, you can adjust or reassess it.
Finally, a review of Google Ads reports provides information on more than just ad performance. They also often highlight which products or services are most popular with customers or which trends are emerging in the market. This information can be a valuable input for product development or new marketing strategies.
We therefore recommend that you invest time and energy in an in-depth analysis of the data. The wealth of information Google Ads offers can be the key to success, but only if you’re prepared to use and interpret it.
Error 5: Still looking for Google Adwords tips and help instead of Google Ads tips and help
It is now 5 years since 2018. On 24 July 2011, Google rebranded its advertising system and renamed Adwords to Ads. But what’s wrong with calling him by his old name, or using his old name to Google for help and tips? This is because it’s easy to find old, outdated information by searching for Adwords on Google or YouTube, and consequently choosing the wrong campaign type or running your ads with incorrect settings. It’s time to note that Google’s advertising system is no longer called Adwords, but Ads.
Summary
Managing Google Ads campaigns effectively takes time and attention, but if you make the mistakes above, you can easily burn money. If you follow these tips carefully and avoid these pitfalls, you can increase the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns and your ROI.
