Would you like to double your Google Ads PPC conversion rate? That’s probably a silly question – of course, you would. Most smart Google Ads advertisers are concerned about two things:
- Increasing the conversion rate
- Reducing the cost per conversion
Everything else is secondary to these two main goals. And, without this goal completion, nothing else really matters to the marketer.
But you will need to wisely understand very technical sounding jargon to help track things: conversion code, conversion id or conversion pixel might all be new to you.
To avoid wasting your time and money on Google Ads, pay attention to the factors that determine long-term success.
If you’ve been skeptical about Google Ads because you’re scared of losing money, you can take solace in this fact: Based on the major marketing key performance indicators (KPIs), Google Ads still generates the highest conversion rate and ROI.
In this article, you’ll learn the best ways to improve your Google Ads conversion rate with conversion tracking tools. The items on the checklist below are proven to work. Let’s get started:
#1: Reverse-Engineer the Path of Purchase
Reverse engineering, also known as back engineering, is the process of extracting knowledge or design information from anything man-made and re-producing it or reproducing anything based on the extracted information. The process often involves disassembling something (a mechanical device, electronic component, computer program, or biological, chemical, or organic matter) and analyzing its components and workings in detail. – DEXA Engineering
As a beginner, when you find a particular concept, method or strategy that seems to be working, don’t just get excited about the end result. Instead, study the process, so you can implement it yourself.
Keep in mind that there is a shifting concern of needs for online consumers.
For example, when you understand how to build a list of 1,000 email subscribers in 30 days, it doesn’t matter what market you’re in – you can simply replicate what you already know and get the same conversion action results.
To be a smart PPC advertiser, you have to truly understand what you’re getting yourself involved with. Any marketing channel that involves spending significant amounts of time or money before results can be achieved needs to be studied, dissected and analyzed.
Google Ads conversion is no different and you must understand the conversion types you are achieving.
A good place to start is by reverse-engineering the path of purchase. This simply means that you consider your desired end result, then choose your keywords, write your ad copy and tweak your landing page to achieve the end goal of a conversion action.
Being able to understand how your customers are shopping will give you an edge in your Ads campaigns. For example, what happens when a customer visits your site or store for the first time? Do you have a clear path for them to follow?
There are five general phases of your funnel or customer buying cycle. In each stage, your customer is asking different questions. So, every search ad or display ad should contain elements that appeal to customers in each stage of the cycle. You’ll need conversion tracking codes to keep the data useful.
So, for example, if your customers don’t yet know which product would help them “establish great customer support effectively,” it’d be ineffective – if not outright self-defeating – to include your product name in your ad copy title.
On the other hand, if your brand is popular or your target audience already knows how a help desk system works, then it’s fine to use your product name in the ad title.
In order to motivate new customers and users to try your new software, don’t assume they know what your product does. You could offer them a discount or explain the benefit of your service, as in the example below:
The purpose of using the reverse-engineer conversion type is to get your visitors into email subscribers, leads and customers – even if that’s not their main purpose in clicking your ad. At least you have a positive conversion action.
If your customers are already aware of the solution that they want but are still too skeptical to buy, HubSpot recommends that you use product webinars, swipe files, case studies, FAQs, datasheets, demo videos and free trials to persuade people to sign up for your list and get to know your brand.
In your Google Analytics dashboard, you can use the “Behaviors” tab, as well as your acquisition and conversion flow to better understand how your prospect’s needs can change when they visit your site.
In the screenshot above, you can see that the number of new visitors exceeds the number of returning visitors. If your audience behavior follows a similar trend, it simply suggests that the majority of your visitors don’t know your brand or product before coming to your site. So, you’ve got to educate them.
It may be useful if the visitors came from Facebook to use a conversion pixel as your tracking code so you can fully understand where your click success is coming from.
A customer’s needs can change anytime. For example, a potential customer who’s never heard of your product may click your ad and, instead of just learning about your product, may decide to go ahead and buy it.
Of course you love the conversion action, but still need to crack the conversion code for consistent results.
So, how do you ensure that your funnel caters to these people? Will you send them the same email that every other subscriber receives? A better solution is to segment your list and only deliver targeted emails with a specific conversion id captured upon clicking.
#2: Use Remarketing as a CRO Tool
According to AdReady, retargeting is the most effective ad display strategy of all. Properly using a tracking code will help you go back to potential customers.
Remarketing is an effective way to improve your CRO and helps you persuade indecisive visitors to go back to your site. This is part of the goal completion and only achieved with a good conversion tracker tool.
Many PPC advertisers have never considered using remarketing as a conversion rate optimization tool. But, it’s going to save you time and money. After all, there is rarely conversion action on someone’s first visit to your site.
When you employ remarketing, you’re simply showing the same ads that people viewed earlier a few more times. That way, you can bring them back to your site and increase the odds that they’ll click your display ads and buy your product.
According to Larry Kim of WordStream, conversion is usually high when you’re consistent with retargeting. They advise you to be aggressive since the people you’re targeting have already shown interest in your ad or have at least visited your site before.
Most conversion tracker tools use conversion code embedded in the click to track how visitors got to the site. You may also include a conversion id such as a discount code to understand what ads led to a conversion action.
#3: Test Your Landing Page Design
Whether you’re using free methods to drive traffic or running an Ads campaign, you have to split-test your landing page.
Your ad copy controls your click-through rate, while your landing page influences your conversion rate. These are different conversion type metrics. The design of your landing page will make all the difference in your campaign’s conversion rate.
You’ve got to decide what lead magnet you’re going to use. Many marketers believe that webinars generate the most leads, but testing might show you that ebooks would yield more leads for you. This would be defined in the conversion id.
When your landing page is high-converting, you can maximize your clicks and traffic. Instead of wasting money, you’ll see continual improvement in Google Ads conversion.
Every element on your landing page can and should be tested. For example, you could test the CTA placement, shape and color.
Each of the changes you make will either lead to an improved conversion rate, like the example above, or a reduced one. So, there’s no one right or wrong color and definitely no universal rules to follow. Instead, test it out and go with what works best for you to your ultimate goal completion – sales.
#4: Align Ad Copy With Landing Pages
This is a no-brainer. If you want your Google ad copy to generate the most clicks possible, you have to align it with your landing page.
In her book, Unleash the Power of Paid Search, author Melanie Mitchell says that when your ad copy aligns with your landing pages, your clicks will make a meaningful impact on and improve your quality score.
Quality score is important, not only because it’s a key indicator of your past PPC campaign performance, but also because it’s a great way to predict the performance of your future campaigns. Change your conversion code when you change something in the campaign.
Your quality score is what Google uses to measure how effective and efficient your PPC campaigns are. A high quality score means that your ad copy is relevant and compelling.
More importantly, a higher quality score will reduce your advertising costs, give your ads increased exposure and lead to better ad positioning in both search and display networks. This increases Google Ads conversion.
Your job is to create a clear path to the sale. The copy on your landing page should mirror the copy in your ads.
Another aspect of alignment is your keyword theme. For example, if you’re advertising in Ads for “social media tracking tool,” then your landing page should be “social media tracking” or something similar to your ad copy.
If you send clicks to a landing page on “social media marketing tips,” there’s no alignment. Your CPC will keep increasing because the click traffic (potential leads) doesn’t land on a page that’s aligned with the conversion type.
Look beyond keywords, though, because in today’s search marketing, user optimization is the focus. You’ve got to give it adequate attention because quality score measures user experience on the landing page. This affects the search funnel.
#5: Implement Click-Through Rate Best Practices
According to Google, “click-through rate is a ratio that shows how often people see and click your ads.” The more people who click your ad and visit your landing page, the more people you’ll (hopefully) convert to purchasers. Therefore, improving your Google Ads conversion rate is more important than setting up multiple ads.
There are certain things that you’ve got to do if you want your ads to be clicked. We’ll review some of them in a second.
According to the Google Economic Impact Report, “businesses generate an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they invest in Google Ads.” But, how can you get this kind of result if your click rate is low?
You can make more money through advertising on Google Ads if you know what you’re doing, but you also have to distinguish between Google search ads and display networks. A solid understanding of that distinction will help you align your ads and create more compelling and clickable copy for your target audience.
“Search network” refers to Google’s ad platform that displays text-based ads above and to the right of organic results on search engine results pages (SERPs). The display network, on the other hand, delivers image-based ads, such as banners, to users.
It’s important to understand what differentiates search and display networks because click-through rates vary widely from one network to the other and must be tested using conversion code and conversion tracker tools.
A few of the click-through rate best practices that you can implement today to lower your cost per conversion and boost your sales are:
i). Use title capitalization in your ad copy: Instead of using all lowercase letters, capitalize your title and your click-through rate will improve. See how title capitalization has been applied to the second of these Google Ads:
ii). Consider the marketing search funnel: You have to target the right keywords to see the best results. You’ve got to ask yourself questions, such as “where are my target audience members in the buying cycle?”
If your target audience already knows about your product, there’s no need to target generic headline keywords that give an overview or introduction. It’s better for you to target keywords that’ll generate income.
For example, if your target audience consists of photographers looking for new gear, you could target keywords that have “commercial intent,” such as “buy digital cameras” or “where to buy camcorder digital camera.”
Your CTR can be improved by tweaking your ad copy, headline, and placement. In a nutshell, the things that affect CTR are directly connected to the ad copy, while conversions are linked to the landing page.
iii). Be mindful of your ad placement: People click Google ads no matter where they’re positioned. But, when your ad is placed in a premier position, you’ll get a higher CTR on your ads.
For keywords with high commercial intent, almost ⅔ of clicks go to sponsored results for higher Google Ads conversion rates.
If your brand keywords have decent search volumes, you may want to set up an Ads campaign for them as well.
Naturally, people who are searching for your brand keywords (e.g., “Moz SEO tool”) are ready to buy or at least try your software. Non-brand keywords will also yield higher click-through rates, as long as they’re highly targeted.
Don’t rely on intuition or assumptions when it comes to the right position for your ads. You have to test it out and use a conversion tracker to spend some time evaluating the ROI for your campaigns.
The frequency of the ads also matters. The more often people see the ads, the likelier they are to click them.
iv). Test different match types: It’s easier to improve your ad CTR when you test different keyword match types. For example, exact and phrase match keywords give you a leg up on the position that your ads will rank.
With broad match keywords types, you’ll reach more people than with the phrase and exact match keyword types. However, your click-through rate will be lower, because the quality of the ads (as it pertains to the keywords) are not closely-tied with the exact intent of the user.
#6: Effectively Group and Organize Your Keywords
It may seem like a difficult task to get your Google Ads PPC campaigns organized. But, it’s a necessity, if you want to increase your chances of getting a better conversion rate.
Here are some of the things that you can do to effectively group and organize your keywords:
i). Effective structure: Think of an effective structure when organizing your PPC campaigns. First and foremost, your campaigns have certain characteristics, like the budget and bidding strategy (e.g. cost per conversion), by which you can sort them.
The campaign can also be tracked by whether your ads will run on the display or search networks.
So, what about your ad groups? Think of them as containers for your campaigns. In other words, your campaigns should be organized and stored in groups ready to be launched. Your ad group manages your ads and related keywords.
The keywords that are organized in each ad group should all be relevant to each other and the ads should also be closely related to the keywords. Finally, there should be some congruence between the landing page and both the ads and the keywords that you’re targeting. This makes conversion tracking easier and relevant to conversion types based on keyword phrases.
However, in order to effectively track your results, it’s better to organize your accounts into separate campaigns. This is especially useful for beginners to Google Ads advertising.
ii). Aim for small ad groups: Ensure that your ad groups are small and focused.
Each of your ad groups should be focused on a particular product, offer, model, or service – e.g., an ad group for your webinar training. Simply Business UK provides a proven system for choosing a new ad group or a new campaign:
Smaller ad groups will likely result in a more relevant keyword list in the conversion tracker for each ad group.
This, in turn, makes it easier to develop the right ads for each ad group as you focus the search funnel. It’s easier to track results for a small ad group versus a large one. However, make sure that you’ve got at least 4 ads in each ad group:
That’s why it’s important to create ad groups that are tightly focused on a particular product or keyword list – it increases CTR and you can easily track keyword performance and other metrics.
iii). Experiment with different ad variations: It’s important to create different ad variations during setup.
These variations will ultimately reveal the best approach for your ad placement and conversion tracking.
Of course, if you want to view your conversions, you can simply click the conversions tab under the “tools and analysis” tab on your Google Ads dashboard.
#7: Integrate Negative Keywords
Each time that you’re running a Google ad for the search network, you’ve got to recognize that most search queries will not be relevant to your offer. Negative keywords, which exclude certain search terms from triggering the display of your ad, are a smart way to boost your Google Ads conversion rate and help overcome this challenge.
Emergency Restoration Specialists (ERS) integrated negative keywords into their Ads campaigns and within 3 months, they had generated more leads than they could handle. They even had to pause the ads from running, because they had their hands full with new business from targeted customers.
Several case studies and testimonials prove that using negative keywords is actually a smart step to increase your conversion rate and grow revenue. This is a unique conversion type.
These are some of the negative keywords to include in your campaign:
- free
- cheap
- Kijiji
- torrents
- Youtube
- Craigslist
- eBay
- torrent
Negative keywords don’t only apply to search network ads. They also apply to ads on display networks.
If you include “free” to your negative keyword list, your ad on display networks is less likely to appear on a site where the content matches the negative keyword. For example, if a blog post headline is “3 Simple Ways Get Nike Running Shoes For Free” your ad won’t show up on that page.
Many companies, marketers and digital marketers are benefiting from using negative keywords.
Basically, you benefit from negative keywords in three ways:
- Increased CTR
- Reduce CPC
- Boost ROI
#8: Use a Customer-Focused Approach
In Google Display Network, you can easily add audiences to your ad groups. You shouldn’t target everyone.
In content marketing, the #1 rule is to know your ideal customers and create content around their desires, needs, and challenges.
If you’re going to be running ads on the Google Display Networks, understand that you need 3 elements to ensure your success. Your ads need to have the right message and reach the right person in the search funnel at the right time. Ideally, this leads to a conversion action.
Conclusion
Google Ads is an effective way to get traffic to your site faster. If you don’t have a thick skin or just can’t wait for your web pages to pick up organic leads, you can set up an Ads PPC ad and use it to generate quality leads for your business.
Although there are many conversion tracker metrics that you can monitor to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns, conversion rate remains the most important. It affects not only the ad copy but the landing page as well.
Remember that creating ads for both search and display networks is important because both serve different purposes. One is not better than the other. Your goals should define which method is likelier to yield the result that you want.
The search networks are for direct response results, whereas the display network ads are more or less for brand building. When you use display networks, you need to locate in-market buyers, as this will lead to a higher click-through rate for your ads.
How long have you been using Google Ads to generate leads for your business? Share your experiences so far.
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