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Simplify Your Strategy with This Google Ads Checklist

Welcome to our Google Ads Checklist! If you’re looking for a way to easily promote your business, then Google Ads is a perfect choice. With its wide reach and advanced targeting options, it’s a powerful tool for reaching your target audience and increasing your sales.

However, setting up and optimizing Google Ads campaigns can be a complex and time-consuming process.

That’s why we’ve written this comprehensive Google Ads optimization checklist, to help you navigate this process at best and succeed in your business!

google ads checklist

Your Google Ads Checklist ✅

Creating a Google Ads campaign can be a daunting task, but by following a checklist, you can ensure that you’ve covered all the necessary steps.

Here is a comprehensive Google Ads checklist:

Set your budget

After you’ve created your account, it’s time to set the budget for the campaign and allocate it accordingly.

Your budget impacts:

  • How much you’ll spend on advertising.
  • The number of clicks you can expect.
  • The number of impressions you’re likely to receive.

Here are some steps to set your budget for a Google Ads campaign:

Before you set your budget, you need to determine your advertising goals. Do you want to increase website traffic, generate leads, or drive sales? These goals will guide you in making a more conscious choice about your spending.

advertising goal - google ads checklist
Google Ads will ask you what is your advertising goal when you’re setting up your campaign.

Google Ads allows you to set a daily budget for your campaigns. The daily budget is the maximum amount you’re willing to spend each day on your ads.

In addition, you can set a campaign budget, which is the maximum amount you’re willing to spend on your campaign over its lifetime.

You could have more than one campaign online, so you may want to invest more in the one that is performing better. If you’re just getting started, then you could split your budget equally on all your campaigns and re-allocate it once you get the first results.

While the budget is the amount you intend to spend on your campaigns, the bid is the amount you’re willing to spend on a keyword if someone searches for that term and then clicks your ad.

Google Ads offers several bidding strategies, including manual bidding, automated bidding, and enhanced cost-per-click (ECPC).

Your bidding strategy will affect how your ads are shown and how much traffic they’ll potentially get. For example, with higher bids, you’ll likely get more traffic, but you’ll also spend more money.

Once your campaign is live, it’s essential to monitor your spending regularly. You can view your ad spend and performance metrics in the Google Ads dashboard. This will help you adjust your spending based on your results.

google ads - budget
If you’re just starting out, Google will automatically recommend a budget. You can choose that, or add your own.

Pick your keywords

Your keywords determine when and where your ads are displayed to potential customers. It’s important to choose keywords that match your business activity, but that are also specific and targeted. A broad set of keywords can make your efforts useless.

Here are some steps to pick the right keywords for your Google Ads campaign:

Start by brainstorming a list of relevant keywords related to your business, products, or services. Focus on your activities and your niche. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to help you generate new ideas.

Once you have a list of potential keywords, analyze the competition for each keyword. Look at the number of advertisers bidding on each keyword, the cost-per-click (CPC), and the estimated search volume.

Choose high-quality, relevant keywords that are likely to attract your target audience. As we already mentioned, you should focus on long-tail keywords that are more specific and have lower competition. Broad keywords are often too general and may attract unqualified traffic.

Group your keywords into ad groups based on their relevance and similarity. This will help you create targeted ads and landing pages that match your keywords and improve your Quality Score.

suggested keywords - google ads checklist
Google’s suggested keywords

Set your keyword match types

Once you’ve selected your keywords, you need to set your keyword match types. Keyword match types determine how closely a user’s search query must match your keyword for your ad to appear.

There are five types: broad match, broad match modifier, phrase match, exact match and negative match.

  1. Broad match: This is the default match type for keywords. Your ads will show for searches that include your keywords in any order, as well as searches that Google considers relevant. For example, if your keyword is “running shoes,” your ad might appear for searches like “best shoes for running” or “athletic footwear.”
  2. Broad match modifier: This match type allows you to specify which words in your keyword must appear in the user’s search query. For example, if your keyword is “+running +shoes,” your ad might appear for searches like “running shoes for beginners” or “trail running shoes.”
  3. Phrase match: Your ads will show for searches that include your keyword in the exact order you specify, as well as additional words before or after your keyword. For example, if your keyword is “running shoes,” your ad might appear for searches like “best running shoes for women” or “buy running shoes online.”
  4. Exact match: Your ads will show for searches that include your keyword exactly as you specify it. For example, if your keyword is “running shoes,” your ad will only appear for searches that include the exact phrase “running shoes.”
  5. Negative match: Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant search terms from triggering your ads. This will help you save money and improve the relevance of your ads.
💡 To set your keyword match types, simply add the appropriate symbols to your keywords when creating your campaign:

  • Broad match keywords don’t require any symbols.
  • Broad match modifier keywords use a plus sign (+keyword).
  • Phrase match keywords use quotation marks (“keyword”).
  • Exact match keywords use brackets ([keyword]).
  • Negative keywords use a minus sign (-keyword).

By setting your keyword match types correctly, you can ensure that your ads are shown to the right audience and increase your chances of conversions. Consider using a mix of keyword match types to maximize your reach and relevance.

Create landing pages

Creating landing pages is a critical step in our Google Ads checklist.

A landing page is a web page that users are directed to when they click on your ad. A well-designed landing page should convert visitors into customers by providing relevant and compelling information about your product or service.

iubenda landing page - google ad
An example of a Google ad redirecting to a landing page

When creating your landing pages, you should:

  • Identify your landing page goal: Determine what you want users to do after they arrive on your landing page. Do you want them to make a purchase, fill out a form, or call your business? Your landing page should be designed to achieve this goal.
  • Keep it simple: Your landing page should be simple, clean, and easy to navigate.
  • Make it relevant: Your landing page should be relevant to your ad and your target audience. Use the same language, imagery, and messaging in your ad.
  • Provide engaging content: Your landing page should provide engaging content that encourages users to take action. Use clear and concise language, compelling headlines, and persuasive calls to action.
  • Use a form: If your goal is to get user information, use a form on your landing page to collect their name, email, and other relevant details.
  • Test and optimize: Once your landing page is live, test and optimize it to improve its performance. Use A/B testing to compare different versions of your landing page and determine which one performs better.

👋 Avoid looking unprofessional!

Check for these 10 mistakes in your landing page

Write the ads

Writing effective ads is a critical step in creating an effective Google Ads campaign. Your ads should be engaging, relevant, and persuasive to convince users to click on your ad and visit your landing page.

Moreover, you need to make sure that your ad copy follows Google’s advertising policies, so your ads are approved and shown to users. This means that you should avoid using misleading or deceptive language, making false claims, or promoting prohibited products or services.

The copy for your Google ad should include:

  • A headline (maximum 30 characters). The headline will grab the users’ attention. You can add up three headlines, to help you boost the performance of your ads.
  • A description (maximum 90 characters). Here you can highlight the details of your product or service and add a call to action. You can include two different descriptions.
write your ad - google ad checklist
You can easily preview your ad and make all the necessary edits.

🤔 But how do you actually write an ad?

You can check here for a breakdown: How to write an ad

Set up analytics

Analytics tools allow you to track and analyze the performance of your ads, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your campaign to achieve your business objectives.

Make sure to set up conversion tracking, and constantly monitor your metrics. You could also use remarketing, to show targeted ads to users who have already visited your website.

⚠️ If you’re planning on using Google Analytics, you should be careful!

Several European Data Protection Authorities have found that Google Analytics could be illegally transfer data outside of the EU and they’ve advised companies to stop using it.

You can learn more about this topic here 👉 Google Analytics illegal in Europe? What you need to know

Now you’re ready to launch your ads! But there is one last thing before you go.

What are the main KPIs for Google Ads?

One of the essential steps of your Google Ads campaigns is measuring how they’re performing. This is crucial for determining your return on investment (ROI) and making data-driven decisions.

So here are the main Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you should be tracking:

  • Click-through rate (CTR): CTR measures the number of clicks your ad receives divided by the number of times it is shown. It’s a good indicator of the relevance and appeal of your ad to your target audience.
  • Cost per click (CPC): CPC measures the average cost per click on your ad. It’s an important metric for determining the overall cost of your campaign.
  • Conversion rate: Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.
  • Cost per acquisition (CPA): CPA measures the average cost per conversion, or the cost of acquiring a customer. It’s an important metric for determining the overall effectiveness of your campaign.
  • Return on investment (ROI): ROI measures the revenue generated from your campaign divided by the cost of the campaign. It’s a good metric for determining the overall success of your campaign.

Let’s recap our Google Ads Checklist

I’ve set my budget
I’ve picked my keywords
I’ve set keyword match types
I’ve created one or more landing pages
I’ve written my ads
I’ve set up analytics

💡
If you’re a beginner, the world of advertising can seem hard to navigate!

For example, did you know that if you’re using Google Ads, you may need to comply with privacy laws such as the GDPR?

Don’t worry, we got you covered.

Find out how here 👉 Google Ad Manager and the GDPR – How to be compliant

Read also

About us

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www.iubenda.com