I’ve been there. Was there. Today. A new ad group I created in my Google AdWords account was going nowhere. Forget conversions…I couldn’t even get clicks and the clicks I did get were costing me a fortune. I didn’t even use my own advice. I threw the ad group up quickly to coincide with the launch of a new product in a vertical in which I had not done paid search ads. Not one of my brightest moves.

But, this is why I love paid search. I can change, improve, modify, and win on the fly. Here are some simple steps I took and saw almost instantaneous results.

  1. Add Negative Keywords: Using Google’s keyword tool, I searched for possible negative keywords. Wow, if I’d only done my research ahead of time! Many highly searched keywords were variations of my keywords, but had nothing to do with my products. I found tons of words for which I’m now not showing my ads.
  2. Add Site-Related Keywords: I threw my landing page url into the Keyword tool and…bingo…there were a handful of terms I hadn’t thought to put in my ad group. Google scans the page and offers up suggestions on keywords.
  3. Try Different Matching Options: If you’re using too many broad matches, try exact or phrase matches. Costs will be lower on keywords in which you are buying the exact or phrase match.
  4. Try Another Keyword Tool: In this case I didn’t need to because there were so many obvious changes, but there are a ton of keyword research tools available that can help you discover applicable keywords.
  5. Lower or Raise Your Maximum Bid: Do you really need that top spot? Perhaps you can get clicks at the 3 or 4 spot and pay considerably less per click. I actually raised my bid on a couple keywords and lowered my bids on a few others. I wasn’t willing to pay what was needed for the top spot on a couple very competitive keywords. Prices were being driven up too high. That’s okay….there are conversions to be had a little lower down. With a good quality score I may get near the top again without paying top dollar.

Even the experts have to go back and revamp or optimize after the launch of an ad group. You’re not alone if you’re not finding the results you expected right off the bat. PPC takes time and effort. But beware…especially small business marketers who are strapped for time and budget….paid search can be an endless pit of spending if you don’t keep an eye on your campaigns!

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