We are regularly asked by business owners to review their current ads and advise them on ways to improve the results of their campaigns.  We always come across the same issues. In this short blog post, we will be discussing the most common issues we see with Google Ads, and how you can fix them to get a ROI.

• Demand

Are there enough people looking for your service or product? You can’t just assume that people will need your product/service, you need to do your research.

Some ad campaigns are created to test certain ideas, which is great, but without doing any research you won’t know:

• What keywords to use
• What search volume similar products have
• How many competitors you will have

Before we begin any campaign, we look at the broader business and its goals, and your target customer.

We work out the value of each client/customer and if it’s over, say £50, and people are looking for the solution, we go deeper. To get a review from our Expert Team, schedule a call here.

• Keyword Research

Most people use broad match type within their targeting, but we will always look at Phrase or Exact Match.

This means that people will need to type those exact words into a search engine in order for your ad to appear, so you can target your ideal customers more effectively.

• Bidding

Are you bidding enough for your ad to show? Don’t be afraid to spend your money in order to get potential enquiries.

• Landing Pages

What website are you sending people to after they click your ad? Are you sending them to your home page?

It would be far more beneficial to send people to a designated web page that is separate to the normal website, or a subpage on the site. This page should allow you to get their contact information or, alternatively, drive them to call you.

Essentially, you need to control the flow of traffic; you do not want someone to get lost or distracted on your website after you have paid for them to visit it.

• Remarketing

Are you running remarketing? Without remarketing you only get one bite of the cherry.

All you need to do is put a remarketing code on to your site, which enables you to follow people around the internet, for free. You will only pay if that person clicks back to your website, giving you the second, third or fourth bite of the cherry.

• Multi-Step Approach

We often see a disconnect between an ad and the website; not just visually but in the tone of the text. You need to have a multi-step approach to your ads.

If you’re getting 0 clicks, then you need to have another look at the ad text. If you are getting clicks but no enquiries, then you need to have another look at the website experience.

If you have any further question or would like help from our team of experts then schedule a free 15 minute call with us today.

By now you should understand Google Ads- if not, click here to watch the video explaining those Search and Display Ads.

What Are Native Ads?

Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are Native Ad Networks that provide social interaction and connections.

Native Ad Networks like Taboola and Outbrain offer geotargeting of your potential customers, based on the content they are consuming, like pet blogs, or fashion content, or home and garden sites.

These networks do not allow Google Ads to run on their platforms, meaning your Google Ad campaigns cannot be viewed by the users who are looking at content on these networks.

If you have a product or service where your target audience is not searching directly, or they are reading blogs and content on the interests they have, i.e. fashion blogs, business blogs, then Native Ad Networks will provide an opportunity to place adverts in front of a massive audience.

As you can see below, these Ads don’t look like ads. From the image, the headlines are different to what you see on GDN (Google Display Network).

Native Ads allow you to target content that is relevant to the viewer, to drive awareness of your brand, products and services and push towards consideration and action.

Search Vs Native Ad Network

It’s like asking which one works best, Facebook or Google?

If you sell a service or a product that people look for online, then it would be crazy not to use Google Search as that is the number one for search.

Then, use Facebook and other Native Ad Networks to remarket over the 21 day cycle to the sale.

They are different networks and must be viewed in context of what you are looking to achieve in your marketing and advertising campaigns.

If you sell a service and/or product where people aren’t searching directly, or you wish to extend the reach and opportunities to sell, you can target people when they aren’t searching but just consuming content online that is relevant to your offering.

To discover more then arrange a strategy session here or call the office on 01543 387047

Since Covid-19, the world has moved online: face-to-face meetings have transformed into Zoom meetings and Skype calls. In this short blog we are going to be discussing Zoom and how you can make the most out of this software in your business.

The best thing about Zoom is that it is extremely easy to use and completely free. Follow these three simple steps to get yourself setup:

Step 1: Create a Zoom account here.
Step 2: Download Zoom onto your desktop or mobile here.
Step 3: Sign in.

And that’s it, you’re all set up and ready to go!

With Zoom you are able to talk either 1-2-1 in private meetings or in a group/webinar session with multiple people at the same time, letting them see the whites of your eyes as they would in a traditional face-to-face meeting. You can also record sessions, allowing you to play them back at a later date if needed.

Working from home has its ups and downs as we are all familiar with by now. Zoom has multiple features that can make working from home a little easier.

Here are just a few of our favourites:

Virtual Backgrounds

By using a virtual background, you can make your background less distracting and more professional if you are contacting clients. Since you have the ability to upload your own images, you could use a branded image instead of a generic on.

Please feel free to get in touch if you would like more information on this.

Easily mute and unmute your microphone

If you are in a group meeting or webinar session you may prefer to keep your microphone muted, in case of background noise from children, pets etc. By holding down the spacebar you can quickly and easily unmute your microphone which is such an easy and simple way of controlling your audio.

Sharing your screen

Gone are the days of holding your phone up to your screen whilst trying to explain what you’re seeing. With Zoom you can easily share your screen with anyone in the call, meaning you can still present reports and presentations to clients.

Free vs Paid Version

We have been using this tool for a few months now and believe it is a great way to keep in contact with your clients when you cannot see them face-to-face.

Zoom do offer a paid version for up to £15.99 a month. It allows you to add more participants, have longer meetings, include company branding, etc. We would suggest getting comfortable using the free version first and then investing in a paid version once you and your clients are comfortable using Zoom.

So, if you would like any help setting up your Zoom account or have any questions please feel free to get in touch on 01543 387047.

There are many simple mistakes that business owners make with their Google Ads. It prevents them from getting clicks and can cost them big money. This blog will discuss the 8 most common mistakes that are made with Google Ads.

Read on or watch our short video to find out if you’re making these mistakes with your Google Ads…

 

 

1.    Using only one Ad

Google is an auction site. Every time someone carries out a Google search for a product or service, it carries out an auction in milliseconds by looking for relevant website pages and ads.

If you only have one ad in your campaign then you only have a small chance of winning the competition. Giving Google a choice of ads will increase your chances of winning the auctions and getting page clicks.

 

2.    Not structuring your ads into themed Ad Groups

If you have different services or products, then they shouldn’t be in a single Ad Group. Separating them into different Ad Groups helps Google have clarity on who it is that you want to click on your ads.

This process can be quite complicated and you should click here to schedule a free 15 minute call with our Google Ads expert to go over this in more detail.

 

3.    Not including a problem and solution in your Ads

The majority of ads we come across talk about you, the business, which is totally wrong. Yes, your brand is important and you need to establish who you are, but you need to give the problem and solution you provide in less than 30 characters.

The person that comes across your ads will be looking to fix an issue or seek a solution. If you show the problem and solution in your ads then you will receive more clicks at a lower price as Google will reward you.

 

4.    Sending clicks to your homepage

In any campaign you need to be sending clicks to a relevant page: this is called the landing page. It should include the keywords the person is looking for and be relevant to the solution you are trying to provide. Need help? Click here.

 

5.    Running your ads 24/7

Chances are, you have specific opening hours. Your ads should be altered so they run during your opening times rather than having them run constantly. This way, if a potential customer clicks on your ad and phones your business, they will be greeted with a friendly staff member rather than an answering machine. If they were to click the ad when you’re not open, you are not only in danger of losing that potential business but you will also be wasting a lot of money.

Now, if you are a 24/7 service or business then this may not be a major issue for you, however we can still help to optimise your campaign to refine your results even more to squeeze extra juice out of your ads, so click here to get in touch for a free ads review.

 

6.    Not tracking inbound calls

Not only should you be tracking your inbound calls, you also need to be running remarketing campaigns and make sure you understand how your ads are performing.

We can help you do all of this with 360 tracking, so you can improve your performance.

 

7.    Not running remarketing campaigns

The chance of a customer buying on their first visit to your website is less than 2%. You need to understand that potential customers need to do their research before they make a purchase.

The only instance where a customer will buy off their first visit is if you offer an emergency service such as an electrician or locksmith etc., where the intent is high. If you’re in service or retail your customer has an average 21 days from consideration to buying.

If you are interested in learning more about this click here to watch our video on the average customer journey.

 

8.    Not focusing on your negative keywords

If you are not focusing on your negative keywords, your ads will show up when people look for slightly similar services or products. This could cost you money but also relevant clicks will increase your true campaign fee too. This is a biggy!

Since you’ve made it this far, here is a bonus mistake…

 

9.    Not recording inbound calls

All of our clients get call recording as standard. This allows you to listen back to conversations and evaluate your process.

You may find that your staff need more training, or you may decide your process needs to improve to get more sales and be more convenient for potential customers. Overall, it helps you to fully understand your customers’ needs.

 

Talk to our expert team about how we can help you to reach your business goals. You can reach out to us by clicking here and making an appointment via our website or by calling the office on 01543 387047.

In business, knowing your numbers is almost as important as cashflow. If you don’t know your numbers, you’re essentially flying blind. You’ll have no knowledge of what is happening when users visit, buy or make an appointment on your website. Therefore, you need these four tools in order to remarket in the future, track your current website visits and evaluate if your ads are converting.

Read on or watch our 90 second video below to discover which 4 tools you must start using on your website:

Tool One – Facebook and Google Remarketing Codes

Remarketing is essential. Many of your website views will be from users who are not yet ready to buy. Every user is going to be at a different stage of the buying cycle so you need to remarket to your users to stick in their minds and make sure they return to your site when they are ready to buy.

Facebook and Google Remarketing codes allow you to build a list of people who have previously visited pages on your website. This enables you to remarket to them across the internet, reminding them to return to your website when they are ready to buy.

Tool Two – Call Metrics Tracking Code

If your business requires new inbound enquiries, then this tool is essential. Call Metrics tracking allows you to know if your Google Ads are working from a telephone call point of view. Without this you cannot track new enquiries from your Adspend.

Tool Three – Google Conversion Tracking

This tool helps you to assess how well your ads are performing. It allows you to evaluate your ad campaign and see whether or not it is generating leads, downloads, sales etc. It is a vital tool as it allows you to optimise your campaign and make any necessary changes to get them performing better.

Tool Four – Google Analytics

Most website companies will install Google Analytics into your website when they build it but they typically will not teach you how to utilise it effectively. Google Analytics can provide you with heaps of information and with the right provider (The Marketing People *cough cough*) you can get endless benefits using it!

Google Analytics can inform you of how many visitors came to your website, what pages they clicked on, how long they stayed on a page for and so much more…

If you have come this far, you may benefit from talking to our expert team about how we can help you to reach your business goals. You can reach out to us by clicking here and making an appointment via our website or by calling the office on 01543 387047.

YouTube Advertising gives you the opportunity to get your product, service or brand in front of people who are in the “considering stage” of investing or buying your product.

YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, with billions of hours of video being uploaded every day. It’s where 68% of consumers will go to look for product/service reviews before making the purchase decision.

Watch our short video now to find out how to target people based on their interests and online behaviour:

YouTube Advertising is a win-win situation. It’s cheaper than advertising on other social media sites and its targeting options are much more powerful too.

Here are just a few of the benefits:

• You can start advertising from just £5 per day and get sales
• There are B2B targeting options, not just products
• The first 29 seconds of your video are completely free!

Many other social media sites will charge you per impression, whereas YouTube only charge you if the viewer watches over 29 seconds of your video, or if they click the link to go to your landing page.

Here are a few examples of ways that you can market within YouTube, along with some of the sniper targeting options. Bear in mind that there are many things to consider so if you are thinking of running a trial campaign contact our expert team.

Ways of Advertising on YouTube

Search Ads

The image above shows three search ads that appear after searching for the term ‘Xero bookkeeping review’. These adverts have been pulled from businesses who want to offer their services.

YouTube Advertising has allowed them to get in front of their competition and advertise their product, service or brand to people who are using search terms that are relevant to their business.

This is free advertising up until the advert is clicked on – just like Google Ads.

If you are unsure how Google Ads work then see our blog post here.

Targeted Ads

This numbered image above displays a targeted ad that played before a fitness video. This video is perfectly targeting people who want to keep fit with a promotion for two pairs of leggings for £24.

After the first five seconds of the ad playing, a ‘Skip Ad’ button appears on the right-hand side (1). If this advert didn’t appeal to the viewer then they can skip it; if that happens it wouldn’t cost you a penny. The advert on the right (3) will remain there even if the advert is skipped.

There are two call to actions (2 & 3) which both take you through to a landing page where you can purchase a pair of leggings. Once again, unless someone was to click these call to actions (CTAs) these adverts will not cost you anything.

The company running this advert gets free advertising unless someone watches past 29 seconds (4) or clicks on one of the links (2 & 3). If this advert was on traditional TV it would cost the company thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, but on YouTube they will pay pennies for someone to watch the same length of content. Which one would you prefer?

How to Target Your Next Client in YouTube

Below is an image displaying the range of options you have at your fingertips:

This image shows you just how targeted your adverts can be. You can specifically target people who are looking at these categories and essentially get in front of your competition’s video too- pretty clever stuff.
If you select, as an example, Baby & Children’s Products, your adverts will only show up for people looking for those specific products. It’s so simple but works so effectively.

What’s next?

Since you’ve come this far, it may be suitable to take the next step and jump on a discovery call with our in-house YouTube Ads expert.

Click here to schedule your FREE 15-minute discovery call where we will show you how simple it is to script, plan and deliver your YouTube Ads.

Or call us on 01543 387047 and see how we can help your business.

 

 

 

Does your business require phone calls to make sales? If so, then you need to be using Google Call Ads.

Watch our 3 minute video now to find out how to increase calls from potential customers through your Google Ad campaigns:

Google Call Ads make the process of phoning your business a lot easier for customers. The adverts appear in Google’s search results as any standard advert normally would, but they are purposefully designed to encourage phone calls as opposed to clicks.

Top tip: Call Ads only appear on devices that can actually make phone calls!

So how do Google Call Ads make the process of phoning your business easier for clients?

This is the customer journey for phoning your business if you are NOT using Google Call Ads.

Customer Journey WITHOUT Google Call Ads:

Step 1

Your potential customers would see your advert appear in Google search whilst using either their phone or desktop.

Step 2

They would click on your advert which would take them to your website.

Top tip: Send these potential customers to a landing page specific for their needs. DO NOT send them to the homepage of your website.

Step 3

The potential customer would fill out a form submission or eventually call your business, providing that your phone number is clearly displayed and easy to locate.

Now let’s take a look at the steps they would take if your business used Google Call Ads.

Customer Journey WITH Google Call Ads:

Step 1

Your potential customer/client would see your advert displayed on Google search.

The main difference between this first step in each customer journey is the platform that the ads are displayed on.

In this customer journey the adverts are only displayed on devices that can make phone calls, ensuring that the potential customer can make a phone call as soon as they see the ad.

Step 2

Once they have seen your Google Call Ad, they will click it and call your business straightaway.

As you can see, with Google Call Ads the process becomes much simpler and shorter. Call Ads remove any potential obstacle that the customer could face; if they are seeing your advert, then they are able to call you straight away.

If you have any questions or need any help with your Google Ads, then give the marketing people a call on 01543 387047.