Google ads 101: boost your google ads click-through rate in three steps

Your carefully crafted advertising campaign has finally been launched via Google Ads, but the results are not living up to your expectations — nor your efforts? Would you like to keep driving engagement with your ads? Don’t give up: the art of paid search is within everyone’s reach.

To capture your target audience’s attention and improve your click-through rate (CTR, or click-through rate in Google Ads jargon), take a close look at these three elements of your advertising campaign.

3 elements to check to improve your Google Ads CTR

Quick reminder: The CTR of an ad corresponds to the ratio between the number of users who see it and those who click on it: clicks ÷ impressions = click-through rate. It indicates the performance of your keywords and your ads. In B2B, the average CTR is 2.4% (in 2020).

1. Examine your keywords

We mentioned it a few weeks ago: keywords are the foundation of your Google Ads campaign. They are responsible for triggering your ad to appear on the search results page.

You could refine their match options, which influence the searches likely to display your ad: broad match modifier, phrase match, or exact match can be added to the default broad match setting.

Some tips:

• Review your keywords: they should respond to your target audience’s search intent and have a good probability of appearing for profitable queries (adequate search volume, keyword popularity, etc.).
• Add negative keywords. They prevent your ad from appearing in certain contexts to avoid displaying your ad to the wrong audience.
• If your industry has a lower search volume, you could cast a wider net, but only by excluding specific keywords so as not to dilute your CTR.

2. Review your ad content

Make sure your message reflects your brand and adequately represents your product or service. Remember that Google penalizes clickbait! Also, infuse some of your personality into your ad to help you stand out and attract clicks.

“Sticking to Google Ads’ basic campaign settings may seem more straightforward to manage, but it can harm your CTR and conversion rate.”

Adapt to Google’s format. The search engine now offers the option to include three headlines, two descriptions (up to 90 characters each), and several extensions: location or call (address, phone, opening hours), callout (“free quote,” “24/7 customer service”), site link, or lead form.

Other tips to refine your ads:

• Larger ads catch the eye more and generate more clicks on average. To maximize your ad’s visibility, consider adding a third headline and a second description to your existing ads, which will help occupy more space on the results page.
• Don’t forget your call to action: avoid repetition and choose terms that match the needs your offer addresses. Some prefer to put it in the first headline, others in the second: you could run an A/B test campaign to see which placement resonates more with your target audience!
• Take into account mobile vs desktop formats: on the former, Google doesn’t display the third headline, for example. That’s one reason why the combo of 2 headlines + 2 descriptions performs so well (just after the most popular 3 headlines + 2 descriptions).

3. Inspect your targeting and audience selection

Even if you mainly target search intent via keywords, you can refine your targeting in other ways. Specifying the pool of users to show your ad to is the first step toward greater success.

There are three categories of targeting, which can overlap:

• Audience types. You could target users who have already searched for products or services similar to yours with in-market audiences. You could also create similar audiences based on users in your remarketing lists (users who have already interacted with your ads or website). Regarding age, gender, geographic area, and device type, there is always demographic targeting — and many other options.
• Device types: among others, mobile, tablets, and computers.
• Content categories: this includes the well-known keywords, but also targeting by topic or placement. The first allows your ad to appear on the website pages you select. If you offer services related to the agri-food sector, for example, you could display your banner ad on websites your prospects frequently visit. Placement targeting (an entire site or a single page) does not require keywords, only your chosen placement bank.

Once you’ve checked off each reminder in our checklist, you’ll be able to celebrate the launch of your new web platform. However, quality assurance work doesn’t stop there: don’t forget to perform checks after going live!

If you need an external perspective to review certain aspects of your website before the big day or for other web design questions, give us a call!