Are your Google ads not converting?
If your Google ads are not working, or converting well, you've come to the right place.
In this guide, you'll learn the 7 most common and important reasons why Google ads don't convert.
We'll also teach you how to fix your Google ads so they start working, and converting into customers.
Did you know that Google Chrome is currently the primary browser of more than 2.65 billion internet users? Therefore, it's crucial you make sure your Google ads are converting as much traffic as possible into high-paying customers!
So, keep reading.
1. You’re not using the right keywords
To get conversions from keywords, you need to first understand what keywords are.
Keywords are words placed on websites for the use of search engine optimization, also known as SEO, to drive traffic.
They update frequently according to topics that are trending, events in the news, and the things users type in when searching for content online.
However, some keywords are common among particular niches. One example of this is football merchandise.
Keywords related to the sport could include stadiums, mascots, or the name of a team or player. Basically, any words that drive traffic on a website are potential keywords.
If you're not sure why your Google ads aren't being seen, it could be from a lack of keywords.
People with experience in implementing keywords can easily spot when an ad campaign isn't using them, or wrongly implementing them in their ads.
It's easy to do this, especially for people that are new to marketing and using ads on Google and other platforms.
How to fix:
Research as much as you can from the beginning, and continue to do so as your ad campaign ramps up. Try to look for new ways to say something in a way that hasn't been done before, or rarely.
At the same time, use phrases that are known in your niche. You don't have to be a literary scholar to achieve this and many third-party websites can assist you in the creation of keywords.
In addition, check what the trending topics are on Google, searches that are rising in popularity. This can give you some indication as to what keywords you should use for people to find your ads.
As a result, the traffic to your ads will increase, likely from people with an interest in the content you're marketing. This is an important part of successfully building your marketing strategy.
2. You aren’t addressing searcher intent
You should look into some of the ads that you see on Google. Can you guess a common theme among them?
Unlike many social media platforms with their own advertising services, Google has a clientele that caters to people searching for many goods, not the latest controversies on television. The people using it are sophisticated and know what they're looking for.
Because of the way that Google is structured, there's no reason to stress yourself over potential conversions being aware of what you're selling, also referred to as brand awareness.
However, there does exist an issue with ad campaigners not comprehending the intentions of people within the web traffic that comes and goes on Google.
You want to create ads that people will click on and buy from. To do that, take a look at some of the ways to better understand your customers, how they search, and what you can do for them to gravitate to your ads.
How to fix:
When people use Google to shop for items, they're already on the verge of buying. This means that shoppers tend to make great conversions when the right ad is placed in front of them.
This is the traffic that you want, and the traffic you should focus your attention on converting the most. Streamline your ads to factor in the intent of your customers. However, you must understand the intent of shoppers to do this.
For instance, if a shopper says that they're looking for the "highest quality" of something, it could mean they're actually shopping for an item that's not placed in a position in Google's ad space at the top of the listings. And the "highest quality" is quite oversaturated, to begin with.
Customers understand that many items are advertised in this manner. What they're actually looking for is the one that stands out. Ads that are optimized with this in mind are successful, no matter if running with pay-per-click or not.
3. Your budget is too low
You could ask anyone that's marketing on Google, Facebook, or Instagram how important budgeting is in having successful ad campaigns. All will say that budgeting in the right way will churn out great conversions.
Think about the number of businesses using Google Ads. There are lots of them, some big and small.
Whether it's the startups, the long-established corporations, or the individuals testing the water to see where it leads them, you'll be competing with everyone.
This means your work must bypass the ads of companies that have the funds to push out thousands of dollars a day in ads. That's a lot of budgeting.
On paper, it might seem a bit overwhelming but there are solutions for you to generate clicks and conversations, regardless of what you're selling.
But you must understand how budgeting on Google Ads works, a topic that can't be fully understood within the confines of an article. Instead, focus on the main tips provided below.
How to fix:
The first tip is to set realistic goals for yourself. You're not going to see success overnight with Google Ads, possibly not even after several weeks have passed of you running your ads. Be realistic about the limitations of your budget as well.
Pay-per-click ads aren't cheap in abundance, so anyone starting up a campaign using this method should try to put lots of emphasis on the keywords fitted to the ads.
This way, the people you target will be within better reach of seeing your content and trying to find out more about it.
In the first several weeks, you want to build up as much optimization as possible around your ads. At this point, your preliminary goal is to find out the results of your ads, increase their performance, and implement changes in the following months.
People with very specific niches and others implementing lots of keywords will benefit the most from not rushing in this step.
During this time, there could be days where you hardly generate any clicks at all. But your patience and the knowledge picked up from this first month will help optimize your ads later on.
4. You aren’t geotargeting
Let's say that you own a business and want to use Google Ads to boost local interest in the merchandise that you sell. How would you go about achieving this?
The logical answer would be to implement an ad campaign centered on a specific region, in this case, the region where your business is located.
You set up your ad campaign and use pay-per-click. To your surprise, you find out that the people you want to reach have not accessed your site, and conversions are few and far between.
Simultaneously, you notice a large number of people outside of your region have clicked on the ads, yet aren't convertible due to the distances associated with the times in your inventory, and them being too far away from your location.
The error made in this hypothetical is incorrectly using geotargeting. Geotargeting can be very costly when done wrong since more ads are used for people with almost no chances of converting. If this happens to someone, they'll end up spending more to correct the problem, lowering the funds you have kept aside for ad spending.
How to fix:
Getting geotargeting in order is done by understanding what it is before starting your ad campaign.
Costly mistakes are possible with this, so have an idea of who you want viewing your ads beforehand. Don't run ads for the entirety of the country if your conversions are expected to come from your local area.
However, the opposite can sometimes help a business. Some niches operate nationally but are at a higher chance of getting great conversions in particular cities.
Think of cookware that's meant for seafood. During the seasonal periods of different species of fish and crustaceans, a large company selling niche seafood items in the catching period could boost sales around a coastal metro area more than they would for the same product in a locality that's landlocked.
Demographics are also important with some products featured on ads. If your ads reflect something more popular with groups that form a majority of the demographic in a city, more conversions will come from such an area.
5. You’re not using ad extensions
Many ads are geared toward mobile browsers. When users on their smartphones click on Google Ads, they're usually shown contact information that's based around a product. If campaigns allow users to get contact information for a product, the intent is usually within the area where they stay.
These are the people interested in something close to where they live. This is done with ad extensions. When ad extensions aren't used, you may create a situation where people click the ads, view them, but never follow up on conversions.
How to fix:
Ad extensions are only good for providing numbers for users to call, but links to websites can be placed in them. They're operated by Google, though the company usually puts them on ads seen in mobile browsers.
Approximately half of Google searches are looking for products that are in their local area, so phone numbers and links to localized businesses relating to the niche are recommended.
6. Your landing page isn’t designed to convert
Conversions take knowledge of Google Ads, and that doesn't happen in a week of most people using the platform. Marketers running ads through Google rely on landing pages to get the conversions they want.
Without a landing page, there's no way for you to market the destination for your conversion, at least outside of the ads you create within Google itself.
By definition, landing pages are websites built for marketing. They're lead-ins to motivate customers to look further into a product, service, or offer.
Some of them contain discounts or deals that aren't available anywhere else. Such offers can drive traffic to landing pages and increase the potential for those visitors to buy a product on the website they're intended for.
Yet some landing pages simply won't convert well. Taking a look at one that's too rudimentary in design, navigational options, and information that interests customers can lead to this.
How to fix:
Having a converting landing page is the part of your marketing that holds it all together. Use these tips to increase conversions when you don't see as many as you would like:
- Make sure that your messaging is concise - Clear and straight to the point is what you should be aiming for. Customers love it when the items being shown on landing pages are in front of them. Use photos of products on the site and describe how they can benefit them, but with phrases that allow you to boil it down to a list of keywords.
- Engage website visitors with live video chat - You can engage and help website visitors with the help of on-demand live video chat and screen takeover technology. By talking with customers directly on your website, you'll convert website traffic into more revenue and paying customers. Sign up for ServiceBell today, and start converting your Google ads into more revenue.
- Have a call-to-action - A call-to-action is when a business showcases a request for shoppers to buy a product or service. On landing pages, they're usually placed in buttons that are clicked to bring them to a page that shortens up the checkout process.
- Show testimonials from other customers - Customers will trust businesses that have authentic buyers. Encourage buyers to leave remarks about the service or product that was sold to them, then show their favorable take about it on your landing page. Neutral options could sometimes work as well, letting them know that what's being sold and the people behind it are trustworthy.
- Showcase reviews from buyers of your products - This is similar to testimonials but utilizes a ranking system made for people that have reviewed your product. Be sure to differentiate verified customers from the unverified by appending a graphic or customer-created design next to their review. Again, this is to build trust and make visitors feel confident in purchasing goods from a service.
- Use a design that conforms to modern browsers - With Google Ads, you can build advertisements that are made for either desktop browsing or smartphones. However, since smartphones are a major source for visitors to Google, you'll want to tailor many of your ads to look well on a mobile browser.
- No spelling or punctuation errors - Prevalent spelling and punctuation errors on a landing page will hurt your overall presentation. Make sure that you read over any text that's on the landing page, checking that all punctuation and capitalization are correct.
7. Your landing page doesn’t match the ad
This happens more often than some may think. It's when the ad is unrelated to what's being presented on the landing page.
Keep in mind that this can occur even when the products that are being listed in both ad and landing page are the same.
How to fix:
First, ensure that your value propositions are the same in both landing pages and ads. If something is claimed in the ads, the claim should be no different when a customer views the landing page.
Don't change the colors, borders, logos, or designs radically different from your ads. You don't want visitors to feel like they're looking at something unrelated to what was initially shown to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do Google ads take to be profitable?
Begin by setting a timeline for your Google Ads campaign. Start on the months that you begin to run ads and end next year in the same month. For the first two months, allow your ads to pick up steam, letting Google optimize them slowly in that time.
Once that's done, you can begin to focus your attention on narrowing down your niche, building locally-specific keywords if they're relevant, and increasing your budget for running ads.
How do I know if my Google ad is working?
On your opened Google Ads account, go to the Click Ads and extensions option on the main page. You'll notice a briefing of the ads that are being run are displayed.
From here, you can confirm whether or not they're working by clicking the Status tab. Move your cursor over the search of the tabs to find out information relating to each ad.
How do I increase conversion rates on Google ads?
Don't forget about the importance of keywords. They'll help you drive a steady stream of traffic to the ads, even in hours where you're not running them too frequently. Research new keywords that you could use, and find out trending topics related to the keywords that users are searching for.
Do Google Ads improve over time?
If you budget your ads accordingly, have a realistic outlook, and possess the knowledge to know when they run your ads and the right times, you'll likely see great results within a year of using Google Ads. In that time, Google could add more features to benefit you and how you use their service.