You know what would be nice? If customers messaged you and said, “If you offered this thing, at this price, at the right time, I’d buy it.”
Of course, business isn’t that easy but what if you could get pretty close with a few readily available tools? Let’s take a look.
How to Position Your Ads to Be Successful Out of the Gate
Advertising isn’t cheap. And if you’re not getting a return on your investment, then you’re just lighting money on fire to watch it burn.
(There are much more fun ways you could be spending that money.)
So your goal is to spend your advertising dollars in the most effective way possible. Ideally, for every dollar spent, you’d get a dollar or more back.
I’m partial to Google Search Ads because they have an inherent (hidden in plain sight) underlying truth. Namely…
The person seeing your ad has demonstrated some interest in your topic. How do I know? They took a moment to type your keyword into the search bar. Hence the name, search ads.
I know it’s not much but compare it to other advertising platforms that are based on audience.
Did that audience search for your keyword? Maybe, maybe not.
All we know for sure is that the person fits the demographic of the audience you chose.
So what’s the big deal? If you think about it in terms of a marketing funnel, “I fit the demographic” and “I’m actively searching for info on this topic” are light years apart.
But of course, it would be nice to know something about the people searching for your topic so you can create compelling ads.
So Who are These Active Searchers Anyway?
Here are a few tips to help you get to know the active searchers, so you can run ads they’ll respond to.
Step 1: Keywords and Intent
I’m assuming you’ve already got a handful of keywords you want to target and you’ve done some research to see the number of people searching that topic every month.
If you’ve done this step, then we know they have enough interest (read: intent) to spend a moment doing a Google search. That’s a good sign.
Step 2: Behavior Insights
Use a resource like Think with Google. You’ll see market trends, consumer insights, and ideas for marketing campaigns.
When I went to Think with Google today, I learned that retail holiday shopping is commanding 4 out of the top 5 spots, even though the leaves are just beginning to fall in my neck of the woods. That’s an interesting insight into where my customer’s head might be at.
Step 3: Strategic Targeting
Once you have an understanding of your customers’ preferences, habits, and traits, you can tailor the campaign settings within Google Ads Manager.
Generally, it’s good to start new campaigns with looser constraints so you can get data about how your prospects behave. From there, you can strategically target your ads based on data that’s unique to your offer.
Steps 4 and 5: Great Copy and Powerful Follow-up (You knew I was going to say this.)
This is my background in direct response copywriting showing, but since you went to the trouble to target people interested in your keyword at their ideal buying stage, why not create the best ads and follow-up possible?
These are huge topics for another day but you can check out 20+ incredible Google ad examples to inspire you in 2022 & beyond here.
Conclusion
The better you understand your target audience, the easier it will be to reach them with your Google Ads campaign. Take time to study their behaviors and preferences, so you can make sure your ads reach the right people at the right time. That’s how you’ll see the biggest return on investment for your advertising dollars.