In the realm of plumbing, one can understand the importance of making sure things flow smoothly without any leaks or blockages. This same principle applies to online marketing, especially when dealing with Google Ads. With 20 years in the online marketing arena, we’ve seen countless businesses throw their hard-earned money down the virtual drain due to improperly set up campaigns. Let’s discuss how this happens and how you can avoid it.
1. Misunderstanding Keywords: The core of any Google Ads campaign lies in the choice of keywords. It’s not just about selecting high-volume search terms but choosing the ones most relevant to your plumbing services. Bidding on broad terms like “plumbing” might get you clicks, but will they convert? It’s better to focus on more specific terms or even localized ones like “emergency plumber in [city]” to reach your target audience.
2. Neglecting Negative Keywords: Not using negative keywords can be just as costly as choosing the wrong primary keywords. For instance, if you only provide residential plumbing services, you would want to use “commercial” as a negative keyword. This ensures you’re not spending money on clicks that will never convert.
3. Ignoring Ad Extensions: Ad extensions provide extra information about your business, such as phone numbers, additional links, or even testimonials. Ignoring these not only limits the information potential customers receive but also reduces the real estate your ad occupies on the search results page.
4. Poor Landing Page Experience: Even the best ad can fail if it leads to an irrelevant or poorly designed landing page. Your landing page should be a direct continuation of your ad, offering solutions to the user’s queries and having a clear call to action.
5. Forgetting About Mobile Users: Mobile searches have been on the rise for years. If your ad campaign doesn’t consider mobile users or leads to a non-mobile-friendly site, you’re missing out on a massive chunk of potential customers.
6. Not Utilizing Geo-Targeting: For local businesses, especially plumbers, geo-targeting is essential. There’s no point in showing your ad to someone three states away. Fine-tuning your ads to appear only in specific locations ensures you reach the customers you can serve.
7. Overlooking Analytics and Data: Not reviewing and adjusting your campaign according to analytics is akin to fixing a pipe leak without checking for water flow afterwards. Regularly review your campaign performance, see what’s working and what’s not, and adjust accordingly.
8. Setting and Forgetting: Google Ads require consistent monitoring and optimization. Markets change, customer behaviors shift, and competitors evolve. Regularly update your campaigns to reflect these changes.
Conclusion:
A Google Ads campaign can be a powerful tool for plumbers looking to grow their businesses. However, without the right setup and management, it can quickly become a money-draining ordeal. In fact about 65% of all plumbing companies are overpaying for ads. Treat your campaign as you would a complex plumbing project. Understand its intricacies, be patient, and most importantly, be ready to adapt. If you find it overwhelming, consider seeking professional help. After all, you wouldn’t advise someone with no plumbing experience to fix a major leak, would you?