Do These Things Before You Start Running Google Ads
We love running Google Ads for all Businesses. But there are some things we ask all prospective clients to have done/ complete prior to launching any campaigns.
One of the biggest pillars of our marketing agency is integrity.
We always tell our clients and prospective clients “It is not our job to just spend your money. It is our job to spend your money profitably”.
We want our clients to feel like they have a group of people joining their team, joining their business. Not just people working for them.
The best partnerships occur when both parties are working together to grow the revenue in the business. This is always our goal.
In saying all of that, we are always transparent with any prospective client we don’t feel is ready to start running ads. There are some key things that must be in place before it is a good idea to run ads.
We will never put a client in a situation where we do not think their campaigns will be successful due to external factors (website, budget etc).
Here are the things that need to be in place in order for your Google ads campaigns to run successfully.
Budget of $1,500 minimum per platform:
A budget of $1,500 minimum per platform is recommended as a starting point for your Google ad campaigns. With this budget, you can ensure that your campaigns receive sufficient exposure and reach a substantial number of users. Without a budget, your ads may not receive enough impressions, clicks, or conversions to meet your goals. It’s also important to note that the budget is a crucial factor in determining the competitiveness of your ad, as well as the geographic location you are targeting. A larger budget can lead to more exposure and higher click-through rates, making it easier to achieve your marketing goals.
Optimized Landing Pages for Your Users to Convert:
A well-optimized landing page is a key component in the success of your Google ad campaigns. A landing page is the first page that a user sees after clicking on your ad and should be designed with a clear and concise message. Your page should guide the user towards taking a specific action, ie a purchase. An optimized landing page should have a user-friendly design, easy navigation, and be optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. Emphasis on the mobile optimization!! Most consumers scroll and purchase on mobile today. The design and content of the landing page should be consistent with the messaging and imagery across your social platforms. It should have catchy, branded copy that we can easily use in ads as well.
Functional Tracking:
Proper tracking is critical to measure the success of your Google ad campaigns. This information allows you to make data-driven decisions to improve performance and optimize your ad spend. Once someone converts on your landing page, you need to know where the data goes, where it is stored, if it is accurate etc. This information can then be used to make informed decisions about ad spend and targeting to maximize performance. Without it, we will have no idea if your paid ads are successful.
Make Sure You Have All the Accounts You Need:
Google Ads Manager:
Google Ads Manager is the primary platform used to create and manage Google ad campaigns. This platform provides a comprehensive suite of tools to create, launch, and manage campaigns, set budgets, target specific audiences, and track performance. The platform offers detailed reporting and insights into the performance of your campaigns. It allows you to make informed decisions to improve performance and reach your goals. For example, you can view the number of impressions, clicks, and conversions generated from your campaigns, as well as the cost per click and the return on investment. This is the platform all Marketing Agencies use to run Google ads from. It is easy to set this account up, but necessary before you start running ads or working with an agency.
Google Tag Manager for Google Ads:
Google Tag Manager is a tool that makes it easier to manage and track marketing and analytics tags on your website. This tool eliminates the need for code changes on your website. Thus, making it easier to add and update tracking tags for your Google ad campaigns. For example, you can use Google Tag Manager to track conversion rates, page views, and other important metrics for your campaigns. This information is essential for tracking the success of your campaigns and making data-driven decisions to improve performance. Google Tag Manager is best for conversion tracking. We have had several clients who have come to us with hard coded tracking scripts on their websites. Even though this is often times successful in tracking conversions, we recommend GTM. This keeps everything organized and easy to implement.
Google Analytics GA4 Property:
Google Analytics GA4 property is the latest version of Google Analytics, offering enhanced tracking capabilities and better insights into your website’s performance. This tool provides detailed information on how users interact with your website, including bounce rate, conversion rate, and more. This information is critical to determining the success of your Google ad campaigns. For example, you can use Google Analytics GA4 to track the number of conversions generated from your campaigns, as well as the cost per conversion and return on investment. This information can then be used to optimize your ad spend and targeting for maximum performance. Additionally, the former version of Google Analytics will no longer be usable come July 2023. We are moving a lot of our clients over to GA4 currently. This is a top priority for anyone wanting to run Google ads.
All of these things must be in place before we deem you, as a client, someone we are willing to work with. We do not believe it would be integrous on our end if we work with you without all of these steps in place.
Please reach out to Murray Marketing Team if you have any questions about any of the steps listed here.