Wondering how and why Google Ads has been showing you a low PPC campaign Google Quality Score–no matter how many times you try to redefine your marketing efforts?
Fortunately, there are a lot of black and white practices that go into achieving a great campaign Quality Score. For new marketers who are just learning the ropes of digital marketing, read on below to learn more about the different metrics that contribute to the overall effectiveness and ROI of a PPC campaign–and how a Quality Score is just one of the pieces to the puzzle.
Further to that, marketers at every stage in their career can read through a refresher course on the best practices that Google currently prefers all marketers follow when launching a new PPC campaign. Read on to learn more about ins and outs that drive a successful Ads project and how you can boost your overall ROI by following industry best trends.
Why Use Google Ads for Your PPC Campaigns?
Among the most popular and (effective reasons) why you should should consider using Google Ads to create PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, we like that you’ll gain:
1. Large audience reach:
Google is the most widely used search engine, and Google Ads can help you reach a large audience. By using Google Ads, you can create ads that appear on Google search results pages, as well as on other websites that display Google Ads.
2. Targeted advertising:
Google Ads offers a variety of targeting options, which can help you reach the right audience. You can target ads based on relevant keywords, location, interests, and more. This means that your ads are more likely to be seen by people who are interested in your product or service.
3. It’s cost-effective:
With Google Ads, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, which means you’re not paying for ad impressions that don’t result in clicks. This makes Google Ads a cost-effective way to reach a large audience.
4. You’ll be able to measure and track results:
Google Ads provides detailed analytics that allow you to track the performance of your campaigns. You can see how many clicks your ads are getting, how much you’re spending, and what your return on investment (ROI) is. This information can help you make data-driven decisions to optimise your campaigns.
5. Google Ads gives you flexibility:
Google Ads allows you to create campaigns that fit your budget and goals. You can set a daily budget for your campaigns, and you can adjust your bids based on how much you’re willing to pay for clicks.
Now that you know why you should be using Google Ads to create and execute PPC campaigns, we’ll quickly summarise what a PPC score is and how you can follow best practices to give it a boost.
What is a Google Ads or PPC Quality Score?
In short, a PPC Quality Score refers to one of the key metrics the assesses the quality and design of your campaign that will directly influence the impact, ROI, and effectiveness of your Google Ads.While there are a few metrics that should be tracked and measured to assess the impact of every one of your Google Ads campaigns (including Quality Score, CTR, CPC, and Conversion rates), a Quality Score is:
Quality Score:
The metric that Google uses to rate the quality and relevance of your ads, keywords, and landing pages.
While it may seem like one of many you can focus on (or not!), a higher quality score can result in lower per ad costs and better ad positioning across the entire Google Display Network.
Now that we have your attention, let’s dive into which practices will help you increase for QS. (Google Ads Quality Score!)
Best Practices to Boost Your Google Ads Quality Score
Improving your Quality Score in PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns is important because a higher Quality Score affects better ad positioning and lower costs. Here are some practices that can help increase your Quality Score:
1. Ad Relevance:
Make sure your ads, keywords, and landing pages are relevant to each other and to the search query. Use specific keywords and tailor your ad copy to match your ad groups’ likely search intent. Why? It’s important to remember that Google is in the business of serving its users the most relevant content according to their search queries, interests, and other online behaviour. By matching your ad to relevant user tastes, you’re more likely to be shown to the appropriate target market–and Google likes it when you make their job of identifying and delivering relevant content easier. (Thus, a higher ad rank and QS score!)
2. Click-through rate (and expected Click through rate):
We always recommended including a clear, direct, and easy-to-follow ‘Call to Action’ on every one of your PPC ads–in other words, make sure the viewer will know exactly how, why, and where to ‘click through’. Even the CTR rates are only tracked and measured ‘after’ you go live, clearly identifying ‘what’ you want your viewer to do and making it easy for them to click through will boost your QS score.
3. Double Check Your Landing Page UX and UI:
If a viewer were to click on your Google Ad and be redirected through to your landing page, what would their experience be like? What would it look like? We always suggest double checking that your linked PPC campaign landing page experience is easy to navigate, load quickly, and provide information relevant to the user, your website, and your campaign.
4. Avoid ‘Spammy’ Content (or Bait and Switch Tactics!):
One thing that Google hates more than anything (and it will definitely show in a low QS score) is when a marketer tries to gain clicks and attention from viewers by posting irrelevant content to their brand, offer, or landing page in an effort to simply gain more click throughs. Sometimes called ‘Bait and Switch’ tactics, it’s paramount that you avoid trying to leverage trendy topics or packing your ad with images and copy what the ad group wants to see only to lead them through to a landing page that’s not relevant to your ad at all. (In short–follow through on what your Google Ads or PPC ad ‘promises’ to be talking about to avoid a low Quality Score.)
5. Historical performance:
This one is tricky because we appreciate that you can’t change mistakes made in the past (whether intention or not!) overnight. That said, it is good to point out that if you have tried to ‘dupe’ Google Ads in the past (with Bait and Switch tactics) or made a genuine error while learning the ropes of Google Ads campaigns, Google can and may affect your overall Quality Score based on previous campaign steps taken, a past low Quality Score, and ad performance.
Fortunately, ongoing campaign refinement and continuously working to optimise your ad campaigns will improve your performance and QS in time. (So make sure to stay on top of best practices now that you know!)
By following each (if not at least 3-4) of these industry best practices, you can improve your PPC Quality Score and increase the effectiveness, impact, and ROI of your next Google Ads campaign.
Boost your PPC Campaign Performance with Edge Marketing
Our Edge Marketing experts are some of Australia’s best when it comes to all things to do with paid advertising opportunities, PPC campaigns, digital marketing, website development, and content marketing. Whether you’re ready to outsource your marketing efforts to an experienced team, or need to work with a zero dollar budget and hack your campaigns alone, we have something available for you.
Connect with our friendly front-of-house team today to see how our agency can work with you to position your business as an industry leader or follow our blog to learn how you can go it alone. With weekly blog posts and articles deep diving into best PPC practices, how to design an effective landing page, how to avoid negative keywords, and how to boost your Click through Rate (CTR), our team is making it easier than ever for every brand, marketer, and business owner to develop, anchor, and position their presence online.
