{"id":1494,"date":"2021-12-02T14:12:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T14:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brontobytes.com\/blog\/?p=1494"},"modified":"2021-12-02T14:12:30","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T14:12:30","slug":"are-you-wasting-your-google-ads-budget-4-things-you-should-pay-attention-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brontobytes.com\/blog\/are-you-wasting-your-google-ads-budget-4-things-you-should-pay-attention-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Wasting Your Google Ads Budget? – 4 Things You Should Pay Attention To"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that your business is likely to be wasting around a quarter of its total paid search<\/a> budget? It is a huge problem, particularly if you do not know that it is happening. Luckily, you can check whether it is affecting your pay-per-click campaign by following a few easy steps!<\/p>\n

First, it is important that you check what type of match you set your keywords to. Second, it is recommended that you target a few negative keywords. Lastly, you should be wary of using stacked bid adjustments and avoid poor location targeting.<\/p>\n

Would you like to learn more about each of the things listed here? If so, you should keep reading! Here, you will find a list of four things that you should pay attention to in order not to waste your Google Ads budget.<\/p>\n

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Match Type<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having the majority of your keywords set to broad match can wreck your pay-per-click campaign, as it allows Google to show your advertisement anytime a query is mildly related to a keyword\/contains a part of that keyword. It does expose you to a large number of searchers, but few tend to be qualified leads.<\/p>\n

For instance, if you wanted to learn something about public relations, you would type public relations<\/em> into your search bar. However, it does not mean that you are interested in hiring a firm that specializes in public relations.<\/p>\n

If a public relations firm like Bravo Group was to set a keyword like public relations<\/em> to broad match, their ad would be likely to show up in your search. However, you probably wouldn\u2019t end up using Bravo Group PR services<\/a>, due to different search intent.<\/p>\n

That being said, you can use broad match keywords from time to time, but you need to do it wisely. First, bid lower for broad match keywords. Second, treat broad match keywords as a means to conduct keyword research, not as a source of qualified leads.<\/p>\n

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Negative Keywords<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Do you know what a negative keyword is? In short, it is a type of keyword that can prevent your advertisement from being triggered by a certain phrase\/word. It can come in handy whenever your search query report shows that your advertisement showed up when searchers were looking for things that you do not offer.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, you can predict what negative keywords you should be using. For example, imagine that you are a car salesman that specializes in selling brand new cars. You do not sell used cars. In such a scenario, it is a no-brainer to set used<\/em> as a negative keyword.<\/p>\n

If you find it hard to make such a prediction, do not worry! Instead, check your search query report and mine it for useful data. It might be time-consuming and boring, but it is definitely worth the hassle!<\/p>\n

To sum up, if you do not use negative keywords, you should start doing it as soon as possible. It will help limit your Google Ads spending and save you hundreds of dollars, giving you the resources you need to bid on keywords that can bring you qualified leads.<\/p>\n

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Stacked Bid Adjustments<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bid adjustments<\/a> allow you to adjust the bids that you placed on specific keywords based on the location of the searcher, the device that the searcher is using, and the time of day when a search occurs, among other things. It can help you target people who are likely to want to use your services\/buy your products and stop you from wasting your hard-earned money on unqualified leads.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, bid adjustments can cause you to overbid. Whenever a search fits the criteria for a few bid adjustments, each adjustment is stacked on the base bid, which can result in high cost-per-click. What does it look like in practice?<\/p>\n

Imagine that the base bid of a keyword that you chose is one dollar. You set your geographic adjustment to increase bids by 100% for searches made in London and your time of day adjustment to increase bids by 50% for searches made from 9 to 11 in the morning. Lastly, you set your device adjustment to increase bids by 100% for searches made on smartphones.<\/p>\n

In such a situation, if someone who is walking around London searches for your chosen keyword on a smartphone at 10 in the morning, your bid will automatically be bumped to six dollars! Here is the breakdown.<\/p>\n