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Google Ads Mistakes to Avoid

There are many advantages of Google Ads. They are scalable, flexible, measurable, and allow you to tap into a huge potential audience in a controlled environment. Google Ads can help raise awareness and visibility, drive traffic, and increase conversion rates. No wonder digital marketers around the world use Google Ads to grow their client’s businesses.

To get the most out of your Google Ads, you need to avoid these common mistakes many businesses make with Google Ads. If your business is trying to drive additional leads through Google Ads, be sure to partner with reputable digital marketing companies in Sonoma County with a history of success.

Failing to Customize Settings

Google Ads accounts have a number of default settings and formatting. To get the best value for your money, you need to customize settings for your specific needs. If, for instance, you want to target buyers in a particular geography, configure your campaign’s settings to ensure only the geographies you want are being targeted.

Beware of auto-applied ad settings. If you do not review, edit, or turn off ad adjustment recommendations by Google within 14 days of receiving them, Google will automatically apply these settings to your account and they could run counter to your strategy.

Not Conducting Audits Regularly

A Google Ads audit involves evaluating the effectiveness of the Google Ad account. A Google Ads audit can reveal issues hiding in plain sight. Many businesses perform just an initial audit after setting up their Google Ads account. This is not enough. Companies who partner with agencies who conduct continuous audits will always benefit the most from Google Ads.

Before conducting an audit, make a list of things you want to review. Review and document the status of each item. Note down your observations. Use them when creating a post-audit action plan.

If done correctly, a Google Ads audit can help identify new opportunities to expand, address areas of wasteful spending, and gain valuable audience insights.

Failing to Use Negative Keywords

15 percent of keywords that Google processes everyday are new. Some of these keywords are high-quality, while others won’t be a good match for your products or services. To exclude these keywords, use negative keywords.

Use online tools and Google’s suggestions to build a list of negative keywords. Negative keywords will help you save a ton of money and boost your ROI by targeting qualified leads. Negative keywords can also help increase your Google Ads quality score by ensuring only users with relevant searches see your ads.

Do not overuse negative keywords. Instead of copy-pasting your negative keywords across your entire campaign, customize them per ad group. Keep track of your keywords and their corresponding negative keywords.

Lack of Ad Extensions

Make optimizing ad extensions a priority. Ad extensions increase the click rate and include extra pieces of information in your ads. Use callout extensions and sitelink extensions. Use call extensions or message extensions to target mobile users more effectively. Use the extensions that convert better and pause the ones that don’t.

WSI Smart Marketing is a leading digital marketing company in Sonoma County. Whether you want to build a new digital marketing strategy from scratch or are planning to streamline an existing one, our team has got you covered. To discuss your requirement with us, call (707) 843-3714.

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How Page Speed Affects SEO & Google Rankings

Page speed can be defined as the speed at which an individual page loads on a website. It has a direct impact on both user experience (UX) and website conversion rate, and is one of the most important factors for website success. Page speed is a direct ranking factor for SEO and also affects rankings indirectly. Ask any SEO company in Santa Rosa and you’ll hear the same thing, page speed is an integral part of a strategic SEO campaign.

First Impression is Everything

The Internet is becoming increasingly congested with every passing year. There are more than 400 million active websites on the web. Website owners have seconds to make a good first impression on website visitors.

Page Speed and UX

One of the first things your website visitors notice is how fast the page takes to load. Google’s recommended page load time is less than three seconds. No matter how stellar your content or how user-friendly your website is, if the content on your page takes more than three seconds to load, your website is likely losing traffic.

Users leaving your website in less than three seconds is an indication that it provides a bad user experience. If you do not address the problem quickly, your rankings can suffer.

Google has, time and again, stressed on the importance of good page speed. In 2018, the search engine giant launched a ranking algorithm, Speed Update. It made site speed a ranking factor for mobile searches.

Page Speed Affects Crawling

Loading time also affects crawling. Google and other search engines have an easier time crawling websites when pages load fast. If your website pages take ages to load, Google may miss some of your important content.

How Page Speed Affects Conversion Rate and Bounce Rate

Page speed affects conversion rates and bounce rates. Lightning-fast websites typically have higher conversion rates and lower bounce rates; and most digital marketers will tell you that Google loves websites with low bounce rates and high conversion rates.

A fast site can help build trust and credibility. Speeding up your website is one of the most effective ways of showing your target audience that you care.

What is PageSpeed Insights?

PageSpeed Insights is a page speed measurement tool by Google. It is one of the most used performance tools by SEO companies in Santa Rosa and elsewhere.

PageSpeed Insights can measure the performance of a page on both desktops and mobile devices. Once the tool analyzes a page, it generates recommendations to improve it.

WSI Smart Marketing is one of the most trusted SEO companies in Santa Rosa. No matter how unique your requirements, we will come up with a custom solution built to your needs. To talk to one of our SEO experts, call us at (707) 843-3714.