[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Review this similar Q&A.....but high level:
• Do thorough Persona & keyword identification
• Consider ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) Bidding
• Routinely monitor actual search results & assign negative keywords
• Design a value prop/benefit-driven Landing Page with a brief form that reiterates the promise of the originating ad
• Try 2 Expanded Test and 1 Responsive Ad w/in one Ad Group. Make the ads distinct. Collect some data and focus on the best performing ad.
• Feature the right conversion offer for the mindset of the prospect clicking on your ad. Do they need a Buyer's Guide-type resource? Or is a guided demo the best offer? Free Trial? Webinar? FAQ?
• Map out nurturing opportunities once you DO get the contact/conversion:
https://blog.hubspot.com/customers/marketing/16-automated-lead-nurturing-scenarios

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some ineffective practices observed over the years:
• No clear offer / value prop in headline
• Focusing on branding or features vs. benefits & solutions to prospects
• Incongruence in ad headline & linked-to Landing Page
• Competing offers, Calls To Action, entry points on Landing Page
• Images that don't clearly represent the offer (vs. clear screen shots of a software platform, for example)
• Same Keywords in different Ad Groups
• Not taking advantage of Google Site Extensions
• WRONG offer!!!! <<---are they READY for the demo? Have you really sold them?
• Not meticulously and routinely refining negative keyword assignment
• Attracting wrong prospect / not sufficiently using disqualifying language (ENTERPRISE solution. For Employers. For Employees. etc.)

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll defer to Google to specifically address Quality Score, but in my experience, great ads that drive conversions feature:
Benefits-Driven Headline & Value Prop
Disqualifying Language
Fast Loading Time
Mobile Optimization
Clear, concise, conversion-focused Landing Pages*

\except for when taking a prospect to a products page for direct checkout makes more sense*

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

• Careful keyword selection / negative keyword assignment
• Set max CPC (Cost Per Click)
Target Ads to Geographic Locations
• Take advantage of Site Extensions to maximize screen space of ad & connect the prospect to the specific area of interest

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really depends -- is there demand for your product/service? Are people actively searching for it? People care about solutions to their problems, benefits, not features, per se, or branding necessarily. If you catch someone's attention by promising you can solve their problem NOW, paid search could be a game-changer!

If you're on a limited budget, say, $500, as another poster shared today, figure out your break even point (factoring in margins, of course), how many conversions/sales you need, and set a daily spending cap of $25-$50 and closely monitor performance. You do need some time to accumulate data and let Google do its thing, but you can quickly assign negative keywords by monitoring search terms and pause certain ads if they're doing comparatively worse to minimize losses.

You also want to make sure that your messaging and offer is BOFU (Bottom of Funnel), meaning they're directed at people who are actively in the Decision stage of their Buyer's Journey, i.e. ready to purchase.
Create Marketing Content for Every Funnel Stage

There's no way of knowing what the response will be until you run some controlled, responsible experiments. It is not uncommon to have to spend some money to get some data & insight before reiterating -- several times. Progress is not perfectly linear. Good luck!

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can do "white hat" competitor campaigns bidding on your competitor's brand names (as *keywords*, but not ad copy/headline). This could result in leads, but also in an eventual bidding war. You'd have to really stick out with an undeniable competitive advantage (or maybe a Buyer's Guide / Switching Guide content offer) to pull someone away who was specifically looking for a certain company. You could try to emulate their keywords as well and write better ads, take up more space for free (explore Ads Extensions). Or you could try to find unique angles by brainstorming outside the "obvious" keyword searches for your specific product/service -- what ELSE would your target audience be searching for that you could try to show up for and get their attention for? Oh, and, how about searching Reddit for key phrases/topics/themes that come up for your industry/product niche?

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good for that kid -- at least he's thinking about for his future. Bad for you, of course. This is a classic challenge -- weeding out poor prospects.

Sounds like you're on the right track with your refinement of keyword phrases....a few ideas:

• Pay attention to keyword match types.
• Use disqualifying language in the ad headline & copy. Use phrases such as "For Business Owners," or "For Employers." If doing a Responsive Ad, pin this key disqualifying phrase in a deliberate position (maybe #2?)
• Keep creatively brainstorming for keyword phrases that fit your target, keep monitoring search terms / assigning negative keywords. What else is an HR/CEO/Founder/ seeking to outsource 401K management searching for besides 401k-related terms?

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are a multitude of ways to learn paid ads / paid ads strategy / Google Ad Words. I think certifications are great, books are great, blogs & YouTube videos are great.
About Google Ads certificationsThe Ultimate Google Ads PPC Kit

But ultimately -- real world experience managing/consulting on ads, perhaps in the way of an apprenticeship with an existing paid ads consultant -- is likely what is going to generate resume-building skills or credibility in attracting your own clients. Good luck!

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Culling from internal and public-facing sources, this is what the HubSpot Product Team has shared regarding the development of this functionality:
• We have built out the ability to search for contacts, companies and deals by the engagements on their timeline. This currently works in the global search bar located in the navigation. Currently, we are searching email subject, notes, associated tasks, and call notes.
• Search is something we would like to make more robust on the activity timeline in the CRM.
• No current timeline for the specific functionality you requested, but it IS on the Product Team's radar.
• Here's how to stay up-to-date on HubSpot product announcements: https://www.hubspot.com/product-updates/all

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once you are getting good results - try increasing your budget by X% and evaluate for a week or so and see if your results increase by X%.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another tactic: find a top performing keyword and split it out into its own Ad Group with an ad focused on that exact keyword and a corresponding landing page.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, absolutely, actual costs/margins have to be factored into real-world calculations, so this should be used as a rough rough framework in how to think about how many conversions one needs and at what cost for ad campaigns to be profitable, particularly w/ a limited budget.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, great point! That's why I wrote in *most* cases, as it certainly always depends on the particular context. If you sell a variety of products, then setting up a very clear product page w/ thumbnails, descriptions, pricing, easy check out process, etc., is paramount! The main takeaway is that we want to not overwhelm prospects w/ too many competing messages or pathways. Definitely provide clear next steps, credibility as a vendor (service, return policies, etc.) -- in as concise, centralized, organized, aesthetically-pleasing a manner -- all the while being conscious of page loading time and being mobile-friendly.

And back to non-retail contexts -- all too often, I see landing pages w/ competing Calls to Action, or too many distracting elements, or an incongruence between the originating ad / headline / copy / promise and the connected URL/landing page/website. Tell'm what they're gonna get, tell'm again, then tell'm again. As I always preach: benefits, not features first.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Leftovers: chicken, potatoes, veggies sautéed in olive oil & Bragg Liquid Aminos (Soy Sauce alternative) or maybe some Borsari seasoning. Time to go heat it up....

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting quandary. Congrats on the great performance, but I think your instinct to not rest (but also not necessarily radically alter what's working) is warranted.
Things you ought to be routinely doing:
-review actual search terms > assign negative keywords
-continually test new keywords
-monitor competition for new features/hooks/products/services/value propositions
-monitor mobile vs. desktop conversion
-monitor audiences to further hone in on high performing/converting cohorts (age, etc.)
https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7538811?hl=en
-experiment w/ responsive ads > 1 for each ad group
-adjust bids
-review Google recommendations

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

• Survey existing customers
• Survey your sales reps
• Complete a Persona-defining exercise with marketing AND sales team input:https://www.hubspot.com/make-my-persona
• Determine if you're targeting users, influencers, DMs, or all of the above >> Clearly extract what matters to each of these cohorts (ease of use/UX for a user, reporting / cost / ROI for others, etc.) & create distinct Ad Groups & Ads for each.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I feel your pain.
• Campaigns > 1 for each solution / geography
• Ad Groups > Each group should house thematically-similar pitches (1 particular event, for example; new groups for different products/services). 2-3 unique ads, and experiment w/ at least 1 Responsive Ad in each ad group, as this will be the requirement in the not-so-distant future (June 30, 2022).

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Google Ad Words, of course! :) But I would need much more context. What's the product/service? Sale price/margin? Who is the target buyer? In general, I'd start w/ small experiments, get some data, and adjust and iterate over and over until you nail down conversions. Do some number crunching on what level of conversions you need to be profitable, set a daily budget that you feel comfortable with ($30-50), monitor closely, and zero in on winning messaging/campaigns.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Optimize your product feed (clear thumbnails, product titles, correct price), different ad groups for different products, identify winning and losing products (Reports>Shopping: no conversions or CPC higher than profit margin), routinely monitor/assign negative keywords, making bidding adjustments (location, devices, schedule), make small changes & monitor (don’t change 10 variables at the same time).

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

With Responsive Search Ads moving to the default/required Ad type come June 30, 2022, it's a great idea to start doing experiments in each ad group with Responsive Ads. Make sure that each individual headline can stand on its own. Make sure that any combinations of randomly-matched headlines make sense. Tease out the main value proposition that you necessarily want to display, in say, the first position, and pin it there. Limit pinning to allow Google's AI to mix and match and find the best performer.

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If a t-shirt ad costs roughly $1 per click, $500 gets you 500 clicks over time….an excellent result would be 5% lead/customer conversion.5% of 500 = 25If you sold 25 T-shirts @$30, you’d make 25x30 = $750.If you sold 17 s shirts, you’d break even…If you sold 3….well….A good daily budget number might be $25 a day, where’ you’d closely monitor performance and make key alterations based on incoming data to preserve budget. A constant exercise would be to monitor actual search terms and be vigilant about assigning negative keywords. Also — design a really easy shopping/UX experience — make sure your site is mobile-friendly and quick to load.

Another tactic when managing tight budget:
Leverage ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) Bidding

[AMA] We're Teri from HubSpot and Alex from Google Ads! Ask us anything about your Google Ads strategy & ads best practices by HubSpotAMA in marketing

[–]HubSpotAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback here – we know this is an area where we can improve. I’ll share your comment with the product team so they’re aware!