WHAT ARE THE 5 STEPS TO GOOGLE AD SUCCESS?
Are you an e-commerce business owner who wants to advertise on Google, but doesn’t know how? From store inventory to marketing and sales, you know how to do it all, but that doesn’t make you the Google expert. But don’t let that worry you, we want to help you learn how to advertise on Google successfully with our 5 steps to Google success.
Most businesses turn their focus to Facebook when discussing Advertising for their e-commerce store, but we’re here to tell you that Facebook and Google go hand in hand when it comes to advertising. We promise you don’t have to choose between one or the other and by using both platforms you are actually creating a stronger marketing strategy for your e-commerce business.
When it comes to the primary difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads, you can think of it this way: Google Ads help you find new customers, while Facebook helps new customers find you (Wordstream.com).
Now that you know the difference between the two, you can now stop pitting them with each other and actually loving them both as your allies for your e-commerce store.
- Step 1 – Set up your Google Merchant Centre.
- Step 2 – Use a manual feed or a feed app so you can optimise your product titles for Google Shopping.
- Step 3 – Create audiences to target using customised interests or purchase intentions.
- Step 4 – For search ads, use only keywords with purchase intent.
- Step 5 – Use display ads if your product is visual and retarget people who’ve clicked.
Step 1 – Set up your Google Merchant Centre.
One of the first things to consider when creating your first Google Ad campaign is to set up your Merchant Centre. This is a mandatory step for you to be able to run Google Shopping ads for your e-commerce store and should most definitely be set up to ensure Google has what it needs to get you successful results.
Step 2 – Use a manual feed or a feed app so you can optimise your product titles for Google Shopping.
In layman’s terms, a feed is a file that contains a list of products you want to advertise through the Merchant Center. When you add your products, you’ll assign attributes to each one. Your product feeds will use these attributes to group your products together. Once you’ve created a feed, it can be used multiple times across as many Merchant Center features as you need.
There are multiple types of feeds in the Merchant Center. The types of feeds you use will depend on your needs as a retailer. The product attributes you use to describe your products to Merchant Center are the same across all types of feeds.
For a more detailed approach check out Google’s instructions here.
Step 3 – Create audiences to target using customised interests or purchase intentions.
If you have been doing your Facebook ads for a while, knowing the interests of your customers you have obtained through these ads will give you the insight to set up a strategy on how you can target them across Google. Research and data is the key to success. What makes your customers interested in your product? How old are they? What similar products are they interested in? What do they usually search for? Knowing these characteristics can help you achieve the results you would want for the ads you will be running.
Step 4 – For search ads, use only keywords with purchase intent.
Although general keywords are useful, you would want to be hyper-specific in running your Google Search Ads. Search for long-tail or short-tail keywords that have lower competition and these are the ones you are going to want to focus on. Negating out general enquiry words will help you to specifically target people who are in the ‘ready to buy’ stage.
Step 5 – Use display ads if your product is visual and retarget people who’ve clicked.
Just like Facebook ads, the first visual impression of your ads depict the success of your campaigns. You need to create visually appealing advertisements with beautiful product imagery to show your potential customers the best possible version of your product. Avoid using too much text on the creative of the ad and make sure it is clear what you are offering them.
Remember, the key to success is research and preparation. Before putting all your product ads up for the world to see, you need to ensure that your website is optimised for Google and then you can continue to create superb customer experiences for your customers.
If you find you need further help implementing your Google Ads online, follow us on social media @bidpixel where we post best practices and updates for business online. Or want to hear our resident Google Expert talk more about Google Bidding Strategies for e-commerce? Watch our Podcast Here.
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