5 top tips for successful Google Ads

Let’s be honest, Google is a pain in the neck sometimes. One small algorithm change can send your highest ranked website pages packing! But Google commands 84% of the online search market so you have to live with them and play by their rules if you want your business to be found online. 

There are 3 main areas of Google search that you can influence: Google Ads, Google Maps, and Google Organic Search. This article will give you my top tips for optimising your business in Google Ads and subsequent articles will focus on Google Maps and Google Organic Search.  

So, what are Ads?

Google Ads are paid for listings at the very top and very bottom of a Google search. They are distinguishable (only just) by a tiny black “Ad” sign next to a website listing. There is talk that this is changing to company logos but it doesn’t appear to have been rolled out globally yet.  

Let’s look at an example. When I search for “accountant Bristol” in Google, these businesses (including us at AIMS) are all paying Google to be shown first for this search term or very similar search terms.  

Whenever someone clicks on one of these listings, the advertiser pays Google a fee. So, is it worth it? 

It definitely is if you make more from these clicks than you spend on them once the prospect has become a client. That’s fairly obvious, but how do you know? As long as you put the right data in, Google will let you know how well you’re converting, or not. You can also employ a third-party digital marketing agency that specialises in Google Ads who will help you work out whether you’re making money or losing money.  

Top Tips for Google Ads 

• Sounds obvious by speak to someone who knows what they’re doing before you start 
• Look at geotargeting to spend your money in the right locations where you are converting better  
• Fill in your negative keywords. This tells Google what your ads are definitely not about do you don’t risk splashing the cash on unrelated stuff 
• Utilise things like call extensions so that searchers can call you without even having to look at your main ad 
• Use your competitors’ names as keywords in your campaigns to steal some of their traffic! They’re probably doing it too so don’t feel bad 

How AIMS Accountants use them

At AIMS, we deploy Google Ads locally. As you’ve seen from the example above, when someone is searching for “accountant Bristol” or “accountant near me” if they’re already in Bristol, Google will display an advert that points the searcher to our local accountants in the area. This is geotargeting! You wouldn’t want a business in Bristol finding an accountant in Glasgow, so geotargeting is especially important for franchises and local businesses. This is one of the ways that we generate new business for our local accountants, and business that they can serve properly as it’s in their area!