google adwords

Whether you are brand new to Google Ads or you’ve been relying on it for years to help you generate traffic, there’s a good chance that you aren’t getting as much from it as you could be. Below, you can learn more about seven mistakes that you should always avoid if you want to maximize your pay-per-click marketing investment and improve the quality and quantity of your website traffic. 

#1 – Never Forget about Scheduled Bid Modifiers

It’s common to see people setting up their ad schedule bid modifiers once and then forgetting them, and it can have a negative effect on relevance. For example, “prime time” in the middle of December may be a completely different time of day than “prime time” in August, and if you aren’t accounting for this by changing your modifiers, it can hurt your traffic. Pay-per-click marketing only works when you’re willing to adjust as needed. 

#2 – Never Avoid Checking for Duplicate Keywords

Getting the most out of your campaign involves checking the search query report often and adding new keywords as they become relevant. This leads to duplicate keywords over time, so make sure you’re heading to the Tools section in your Editor to check for them frequently. 

#3 – Never Fail to Use Experiments

To save money and make sure your campaigns are the way you want them, you can use the “Experiments” feature in Google Ads to your advantage. Without it, you’re dealing with educated guesses – and you’re also paying for things that aren’t driving traffic at all. 

#4 – Never Fail to Learn about Your Bidding Strategy Options

It can be complicated at first but learning more about bidding options is the key to optimizing your campaigns. There are numerous strategies available to you – cost per acquisition and cost per click – that can make bidding much simpler and far more profitable in the end. 

#5 – Never Run Ads without the Extensions

Missing ad extensions may not seem like a big deal, but it is – especially in competitive industries. Check to make sure you’re using your extensions to your advantage, then make sure none of your extensions have been disapproved, too. Not using extensions is like trying to sell your house without a real estate agency. It works, but it narrows your reach, and it’s likely going to cost you more for the results you want in the end. 

#6 – Never Fail to Bid on Your Own Brand

It’s borderline controversial, but bidding on your own brand is akin to voting for yourself in an election. What if your own vote is the reason you don’t get elected? What if you vote for the other guy, and the other guy votes for himself? That’s a lot like what happens when you don’t bid on your own brand name. Your competitors very well might bid on your brand and essentially take the traffic that would have otherwise become yours. 

#7 – Never Purposely Avoid Negative Keywords

A negative keyword is the opposite of a keyword. It’s a word or phrase that you do not want to pull up your ad, and it’s important that you utilize these as intended. Negative keywords help to siphon out irrelevant traffic and will ultimately save you money. 

If you’re new to Google Ads, you certainly aren’t alone. Be sure to take the time to learn as much as you can, then come back to this list of seven things you should never do to get the most out of your paid campaigns.