Full disclosure – top part is a quick rant, skip down to #1 for the meat & potatoes.

Google Adwords is a great way to drive targeted traffic to your business. Unfortunately, there are a few different problems that I see businesses making every day (literally I see these every day). See, the problem with Adwords is that it LOOKS simple, and easy. That’s why most business owners opt to manage their own accounts.

Business owner: “Why do I need an Adwords management agency?”

Me: “Why do you need a mechanic?”

Okay, I get it. It looks simple, and it looks easy; unfortunately, neither of those is true. If you fix your car the wrong way, you can usually tell… “uh, what was that grinding noise?!” If you setup your Adwords account the wrong way, it’s tough to know that there is a problem, as the only symptom is a draining banking account and a quiet phone.

Here’s the thing: you don’t NEED a mechanic just like you don’t NEED an Adwords agency. Ever heard of YouTube? You can learn almost anything on their, from fixing your car to Adwords. And while I don’t NEED a mechanic, you bet your ass I am still going to take my car to one, because I know my time is more valuable spent on my business, than it is on learning how to fix my car.

But I digress, onto what you’re here for—the top 2 biggest mistakes I see most often.

 

#1 – OVERUSE OF BROAD MATCH KEYWORDS

Okay, guys (and gals)… PLEASE, and I mean PLEASE STOP USING BROAD MATCH KEYWORDS (unless you know what you’re doing). Sorry for all of the caps, but I’m serious on this. It is the NUMERO UNO reason that Google is so damn rich. Sergey Brin and Larry Page are laughing all the way to the bank, and Broad Match keywords are the reason why.

Let’s do a quick review of what a Broad match keyword is.

Broad Match: red boots

Modified Broad Match: +red +boots

Phrase Match: “red boots”

Exact Match: [red boots]

Please only use the bottom three. In this example, say you sell red boots and therefore are using it as a Broad match keyword. Well, sorry to say I have bad news for you. Your ad will show for blue flip flops, pink Uggs, neon pumps, etc. My point is Google takes a TON of liberty in deciding what your ad should show for, which leads to a TON of irrelevant clicks. All bad.

 

#2 NOT CHECKING YOUR SEARCH TERM REPORT (also known as “Search Query Report” or “SQR”)

WARNING: It is recommended that you have a strong drink nearby, as you will very likely need one after reading this report.

Google will actually show you how they are burning through your cash! When you go into your campaign, click on the “Keywords” tab, and under it you will see:

Now, be sure you’ve set your dates correctly so you actually have some data in here. What you will see is a portion of the search terms that actually triggered your ads. Hopefully, the data doesn’t make you want to put a gun to your head. I have seen far too many of these that were littered with completely irrelevant terms. Like this one:

Okay this one is horrible, and the worse one I have seen to date. In just 2016 alone, they have spent over $1800 on the name of the airport in their city! People were searching for “<<Airport Name>> Airport” and clicking on his ad! All because he was overusing Broad Match keywords. I’m not joking y’all, these things are dangerous!

And that’s it! I could have made a longer list, but these two mistakes pale in comparison to any others, and can end up costing you the most money. Stop filling Google’s pockets and start filling your own!

Curious about SEO? Make sure the agency you hire isn’t making these mistakes.

Shameless Plug: Oh, and if by chance you find this all too overwhelming, I am here to help! You can contact me at 714-369-2477 or Mark@limoagency.net to find out more.