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We’ve all been guilty of using Google to search mundane questions, like “How many ounces are in a pound?” or “Can I use bacon grease as oil?” However, Google has also led many of us to information and news that has become critical to our lives and businesses. Perhaps you even used Google to find this article.
With so many questions to ask Google, it’s no surprise that Google ad placements are a vital asset for companies of all sizes. According to Hubspot, “Google is the most used search engine, receiving over 5 billion search queries a day. Not to mention, the Google Ads platform has been around for nearly two decades, giving it some seniority in the area of paid advertising. And, according to Google, advertisers make $8 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.”
Learning to harness the power of Google Ads will cause your business to stand out amongst your competitors. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Optimize Your Website
Google has a complex algorithm that requires ad creators to consider more than the ingenuity of their product or service offering. According to Google, “Ad Rank is recalculated each time your ad is eligible to appear and competes in an auction, so your ad position can fluctuate each time depending on your competition, the context of the person’s search, and your quality at that moment.”
VP of Strategic Partners at SEO Werkz, Chris Siebeneck, said, “[In 2021, website] usability became a large piece of Google’s search algorithm. People should be able to use your website easily and do either what they want or what you want them to do. Google realized that and looked at ways to judge it and make it part of the algorithm. If your site is hard to use, then Google doesn’t want to send people there just for them to be frustrated.”
There are multiple ways to optimize your website, including making your site more usable through mobile devices. According to Statistica, “In the fourth quarter of 2021, smartphones accounted for 71 percent of retail site visits in the United States and generated 58 percent of online shopping orders.” In contrast, users on desktops only generated 27 percent of website traffic on retail sites.
Use Crucial Keywords
Strategic SEO requires that you also identify the keywords your target market is using in their search engines. Once you’ve identified these keywords, you can use them throughout your content and draw more relevant traffic to your site.
“SEO keyword research is a method used by businesses and SEO professionals around the world to identify what their audiences are interested in,” said Jae Bae, founder and head of growth at Hedley Digital. “Companies use this to find out what phrases or words are popular with their target audiences to be able to rank higher in search engines, therefore making their websites more visible to potential clients.”
Founded by Chris Fawcett, Third Marble Marketing has worked with various clients to create effective Google Ads strategies for highly-targeted keyword searches.
“One client that exemplifies highly-targeted keywords is a female rabbi that specialized in officiating gay weddings,” said Fawcett. “Clients like her are providing consumers with an extremely niche service, meaning that the people who are looking for these services have to search using very specific keywords on Google.”
Google Search Console (GSC) is a great place to start your keyword research. GSC provides free information regarding the words driving the most traffic to various websites and other SEO metrics. This information will be helpful as you build out your “seed keywords” list and use those words throughout your content.
Create Valuable Content
Using keywords that are relevant to your audience is essential. Nevertheless, remember that your customers consume mountains of content all day long and crave new and informative content.
One study revealed that 77 percent of individuals will use Google search at least three times each day and will see about 10,000 ads on average. If your Google Ads stand a chance against those 9,999 other ads, they must contain a substantial value only you can provide.
Jessica Wong is the founder and CEO of Valux Digital, a full-service marketing and public relations firm. She has over 20 years of experience and reminds leaders and content creators that their content is meant to provide significant value, not simply to fill space.
“Meaningful content is what drives engagement and can help capture the ‘hand-raisers,’” said Wong. “If your brand manages to gain a reputation for providing unique, quality content, then you’ll be in a prime position to accrue loyal followers. In general, I’ve found that blog posts should contain a minimum of 300 words in order to rank well in search engines, and HubSpot estimates that the ideal length for SEO is between 2,100 and 2,400 words.”
Paying attention to the number of words your target audience prefers may sound tedious but can pay you back great dividends.