The document outlines the 9 most common and expensive mistakes found in Google AdWords audits. These include: 1) not tracking campaign results, 2) lacking a clear value proposition in ads, 3) not using targeted landing pages, 4) not writing targeted ad headlines, 5) bidding too high to be in the top spot without optimizing quality score, 6) not using negative keywords, 7) not using dayparting techniques, 8) not using geographic targeting, and 9) not doing A/B testing of ads and landing pages. The author recommends having an audit done to identify any issues and optimize the campaign.

1. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes
Found in AdWords Audits
By: Jeff Mette
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

2. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
The biggest advantage to Google AdWords also seems to be
its biggest challenge for advertisers: learning how to track and
report the data you gather so you can optimize your campaign
without spending hours reading reports.
Many account holders think that whoever offers to pay the most
for ads is automatically displayed at the top of the list; however,
this is not true and is the main reason you should have an optimized Google AdWords campaign. When searchers tell Google
that certain ads improve their experience and are relevant to
their search (resulting in higher click-through-rates), Google
rewards these accounts by charging less and giving favorable
treatment to these ads. This is done through a ranking called
“Quality Score”
Here is a list of the most common and expensive mistakes we
find that may prevent you from achieving optimal success in
Google AdWords.
1. Not Tracking Your Results
Most people put this at the end of the to-do list; however, this is
the most important element of a successful AdWords campaign.
If you aren’t tracking your results, you won’t understand whether
your strategies are successful or not, and this is the only thing
worse than a campaign that doesn’t work.
In today’s world, if you are spending more than $1,000/month
for online marketing, you should be able to track exactly how
much business you are closing, not only from the campaign, but
from every single keyword in the campaign. (Please note: this
report is not in regard to e-commerce companies; rather, it is intended for companies that generate leads, and not sales, online.)
For less than $100 a month, you can not only track which keywords caused someone to fill out a form on your website, but
also how many of those visitors called you after clicking on your
ad! This allows you to stop spending money on keywords that
don’t drive sales and to spend more money on those that do maximizing your monthly spend.
You should be
able to track
exactly how
much business
you are closing.
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

3. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
2. No Value Proposition
When a potential client finds your ad, what does the ad say? Are
you using language that makes him/her want to choose your
business over your competition?
When someone performs a Google search for a term such as
“Bankruptcy Attorney,” they will have access to hundreds of
thousands of choices. We can assure you that, although they
won’t view the majority of these results, the searcher will visit
several websites – so your company had better stand out!
This is a problem that has been at the top of the list since the
beginning of advertising; however, it’s really not an advertising
problem, it’s a business problem. If you cannot provide a searcher with a reason(s) why they should do business with you, then it
will be very difficult for your business to expand from any other
source than referrals.
However, one of the great things about AdWords is that it helps
you target an audience that relates to your value proposition.
If you provide low-cost services, for example, advertise your
services with a term such as “Cheap Bankruptcy Attorney,” and
you’ll attract an audience seeking exactly that differentiator. This
will result in a higher number of visitors not only willing to click
through the ad and read more, but it makes these leads more
qualified and better prepared to follow through with a desired
point-of-action (e.g. calling your company, filling out a web form
or more). Of course if price is not a big part of your value proposition you will want to list “cheap” as a negative keyword, but we
will get into that later.
3. Lack of Landing Pages
Target an
audience
that relates
to your value
proposition
Even if you don’t learn anything else from this report, follow
this important piece of advice: Do not send your hard-earned
AdWords traffic to your homepage! If all of your ads direct your
traffic to your homepage, stop reading right now and pause your
campaign.
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

4. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
If the client’s search query (the service/product they’re seeking)
is not listed in the title of the page they are directed to, then you
may be paying three times more than your competitors and obtaining lower-quality leads. In fact, many studies show that ads
that direct to a page with the product/service listed in the title
of the page generate from three times more leads for the same
budget.
By customizing ads related to a searcher’s query, you will create
very relevant ads for the searcher. These ads will contain exact
terms used by the visitor, which results in higher click-throughrates and higher-qualified leads.
4. Targeted Headlines
If a searcher performs a query for “blue roofing canopy” and
there are 35 companies on the homepage trying to sell canopies
but only one company selling “blue canopies,” then which ad do
you think that searcher will click on?
In an AdWords campaign, you should have thousands of keywords in your portfolio, and numerous variations of ad copy
written specifically to that user’s search. The stats are overwhelming. For example, if you’re in the insurance business and a
searcher performs a query for “key man insurance,” you’d better
have the words “key man” in your ad – and on your landing page.
5. Bidding High to be # 1
Many AdWords account holders think that having the top position on Google means that they will get the most business. They
also think that in order to get that position, they need to outbid
the competition. This is simply not true.
These ads should
contain exact terms
used by the visitor,
which results in higher
click-through-rates
and higher
qualified leads
As stated before, the top position is NOT given to the account
holder that pays the most. It is given to the ad that generates
the most money for Google while also serving the needs of the
searcher. For starters, if your ad copy is written in a way that
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

5. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
causes three times more searchers to click on your ad than an
average ad, then Google will charge you less per click. They are
able to do this because they still make money by obtaining more
clicks; however, while that’s good for Google, it may or may not
be good for you.
For instance, if you run an ad for “Free Six Sigma Consulting ,”
you may obtain a lot more clicks, which will cost you more money. However, unless you are a charity, you will not make much
money if this is a “bait and switch” ad. Another interesting thing
to note is that many people find being in the number three spot
produces more traffic because it is closer to the organic search
terms below the ads that most people view.
Finally, you have to learn the value of a lead. We have some
clients that would lose money by paying $5 per click to be placed
in the top ad spots; however, these clients could obtain a great
return by paying $2 and being placed lower on the page.
6. Negative Keywords
We find that many clients use highly-competitive keywords such
as “commercial insurance,” and choose to have their ads displayed for all variations of this phrase. This is not necessarily a
bad campaign strategy; however, you should know that one of
the most popular searches on the internet is for a potential job.
If you’re not seeking new employees, this can utilize your advertising budget very quickly, as your ads will be displayed to job
seekers instead of your targeted audience.
Therefore, if you use “commercial insurance” as a broad term, a
searcher performing a query for “jobs in commercial insurance”
will be able to see your company’s ad. Upon clicking your ad,
they’ll use some of your monthly spend. To combat this, set up
your account so that any non-relevant searches, including jobs
and careers, are eliminated from your campaign, thus allowing
your budget to be spent on more productive keywords.
The top position
is NOT given to
the account
holder that pays
the most
And don’t forget – if a visitor is searching for “cheap commercial
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

6. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
insurance,” and you’re not actually offering the lowest prices in
the market, then you’ll obtain low-quality leads – an ineffective
way to utilize your monthly spend.
7. Dayparting Technique
Another technique that clients don’t often use in their AdWords
campaigns is the dayparting technique. This technique allows
you to manage the time-of-day as well as the day-of-the-week
that ads are displayed, allowing you to display ads at a specific
time in which they will be most profitable.
With the dayparting technique, you are also able to increase or
decrease bids at certain times-of-the-day or days-of-the-week.
For example, if you notice that a certain campaign has a high
conversion rate on Thursdays between noon and 5 p.m., you can
increase bids by 10%, 20%, or even 100% during this time range
in an attempt to produce more leads or sales. Dayparting helps
us analyze the progress of your AdWords campaign, and more
importantly, allows you to better utilize your spend.
8. Geographic Targeting
Geo-targeting is a technique that allows you to choose specific areas in which to run your ads. This is an ideal strategy for a
company that does not offer services or products nationwide.
For instance, you may be a mortgage company that only offers
coverage to one city, such as Atlanta, Georgia. There are several great techniques you can use in Google AdWords to help you
compete online with a big national mortgage company. First,
you can choose to run your ads only in Atlanta, so that you will
not waste your budget in areas you do not serve. Second, many
people may not want to do their mortgage online, so those
searchers will ignore many of the Lending Tree-type ads and
click on your ad, because your copy tells them you have an office
in Atlanta, which is relevant to that searcher, as you have a physical location nearby.
If a visitor is searching
for “cheap lawn care,”
and you’re not actually offering the lowest
prices in the market,
then you’ll obtain
low-quality leads
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

7. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
This strategy can also work in favor of larger companies. For
example, a large bank with nationwide locations can also run
different ads for every city in which they are located. They can
even target audiences in individual zip codes!
9. A/B Testing
A/B testing, or split testing, enables you to test various elements
of your campaign (such as ad copy and landing pages) against
single-variable test samples to determine which variations best
“convert” searchers into following your predefined point-of-action (e.g. filling out web forms, calling your company, or purchasing a product).
How does this work? In regard to ad copy, you should always test
at least two versions (or more on a large budget) against each
other. For example, a lawn care company providing over seeding
services in the fall might want to try the following ad headlines:
“Free Estimate for Over Seeding” and “Keep Grass Green with
Over Seeding.” Google allows us to run the ads in a perfect 50/50
random mix, and after a month, you can compare the data to
determine which headline provided you with the best return for
your ad dollars.
You can also perform A/B tests on your landing page(s) by sending half of the traffic to one landing page and the other half to
another. We have many case studies that have increased leads by
as much as 300% with very minor tweaks in these areas. There
are studies online in which individuals run a campaign that spends
hundreds of thousands of dollars every month. These AdWords
users generate $1,000,000 in revenue originally, increasing to
almost $3,000,000 in revenue from changes such as perfecting
landing page elements. These changes only cost the company
several hundred dollars to make - how about that for ROI?
We have many case
studies that have
increased leads by
as much as 300%
with very minor tweaks
in these areas.
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com

8. The 9 Most Expensive Mistakes Found in AdWords Audits
Your Next Steps
While Google AdWords is one of the more complex advertising
mediums, it is also one of the most effective. Fun fact: it took
the Yellow Pages over 100 years to earn $25 billion while it took
Google only 10 years.
Additionally, Google makes 96% of its revenue from search
advertising. Google has no choice but to make AdWords continue to benefit advertisers, therefore, they have given you all the
tools to understand whether or not your campaign is effective
or not. If you want to put your money on a winning team, when
it comes to the advertising world, comparing Google to the New
York Yankees of baseball would be a total understatement of the
advantages Google has in talent and money.
If you have taken the time to read this report, please give us a call
at 404-624-6645, and we will do a complete assessment of your
AdWords campaign for free – it’s our way of saying thanks. If we’re
a good fit, we hope that you will be our client in the near future.
404.624.6645
4030 Inverness Crossing
Roswell, GA 30075
: @jeffmette
: in/jeffmette
mettemedia.com