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6 Deadly Mistakes That Media Buyers Make on Google

Top tips by Amin Siala, Digital Growth Consultant for Google

 

If you’re looking to squeeze as much as you can from this powerful search algorithm, then there are a few pitfalls you’ll need to avoid. Amin has seen it all, from smaller offer owners to large corporations. After seeing the same mistakes time and time again, he’s compiled a list of must-avoid tips that will help put you on the path to crushing your conversion goals.

 

Are you guilty of any of these? 👇

Impulsively Launching Campaigns

This means that you’re just jumping in, creating an ad, and letting it run. You need to study your competition and have a deep understanding of where your advantages lie compared to theirs. Make sure you have a plan of attack before you start.

Measuring Low-Level Micro Conversions (or None)

Measuring meaningless, low-value metrics will get you nowhere fast. The right measurement is everything in performance marketing. The best performance marketers out there optimize towards the best macro conversion. 

Low Effect or Basic Campaigns

This means you’re creating basic campaigns in terms of ad copy and keyword targeting. Make sure to spend some time and effort in making ads that are creative. Amin advises that if this isn’t your forte, hire a copywriter. Especially if you’re bidding in competitive spaces, you’ll need to stand out and do something different. 

Little or No A/B Testing

Amin has seen plenty of advertisers, even the biggest of them, leave opportunity on the table. If you’ve stumbled across an ad or a campaign that works well, let it run. But you need to keep experimenting. The top accounts he’s seen at Google are always running experiments. And it doesn’t have to be massive changes either.
Amin suggests changing your creative copy, the image on your display app, or the style of your YouTube video to start. These are bigger A/B tests that will get you bang for your buck. Focus on the big A/B tests and then work your way down. 

Little or No Financial Planning

Don’t think like a media buyer, think like a business owner and focus on the bigger picture. Not just revenue figures. Here are some business critical questions that you’ll want to ask yourself before creating an ad buying strategy:

  • What’s your overall budget?
  • What’s your testing budget?
  • How much are you willing to lose?
  • What are your targets?
  • How much do you want to to pay to generate leads?
  • How much do you want to generate a sale for?
  • What are your costs?
  • What are your margins?

You need to have these numbers written down and shared with your team before jumping in.

Giving Up Too Early

Last but not least, it’s pulling the plug and turning off campaigns too early. Chances are at the beginning, you might see a dip in performance. So become comfortable with that. Again, this is based on seeing hundreds of accounts. For the first couple of weeks, the algorithm is learning. But remember: the algorithm is only as smart as the data it has. So make sure to feed it good data to get optimal results.