3 “Mistakes” Made With Do-It-Yourself PPC

Google has a great reputation of making its products user friendly and easy enough so that even the most non tech savvy users can navigate. Just think…Gmail seems to have taken control of the email market, Google Business is a go-to for hours and directions, and google+ for business reviews.

But there are also many other products, more geared towards business owners, that while sure they SEEM super easy, but ultimately partaking on your own wouldn’t be the best idea – PPC (pay per click) being one of them. But just because you can and are able to take on this venture yourself, doesn’t always mean that’s the best approach. Business owners and marketers have the best of intentions when they take on PPC without the help of a professional. And why wouldn’t they have high hopes when Google makes it look so easy and is usually accompanied with fun, upbeat videos?

Now, I’m sure there are a lot of smart, self-taught business owners and in-house marketers who have found some success with PPC. But they also have their day jobs, and that’s where it gets tricky to stay on top of all the newest paid search features, trends and strategies that are essential for staying ahead, not to mention trying to monitor and optimize the account daily in between everything else.

Not surprisingly, many do-it-yourselfers end up seeking the help of a professional at some point, and here at FMDi, we are working with a number of those types of clients. From those, we typically see three common mistakes that those who take on PPC themselves make.

Let’s look at those now, and if you’re a DIYer, be sure you’re not making these all too common “mistakes”.

 

1) Bidding too low

You’ll know if your bid is too low in Google AdWords if 1) your maximum cost per click (max CPC) bid is lower than what Google shows as the average cost per click (average CPC) for your keywords, and 2) Google shows that your keywords are below the first page bid estimate.

It can be quite frustrating to create an entire Google AdWords campaign only to discover your ads are not running because your bid is too low. So it’s essential for you to find out when your bid is too low in Google AdWords.

 

2) Trying to do too much in one ad group

Each ad group should have one job to do, with one focus. A common mistake is to try to make one ad group do too many things by including keyword phrases that are too dissimilar.

If you’re a DIY PPC person, this intro video from Google illustrates how to organize your account conceptually.

Having focused ad groups helps you better tailor the message of the ads that are served for those key terms to make them more relevant to your audience and your business.

 

3) Not keeping up with innovations

One of the hardest parts of AdWords management is keeping up with all the new features and strategies. It truly is a full-time job. So when you already have a full-time job, it’s nearly impossible to do. This means you can miss out on big opportunities. Opportunities like call-only ads.

If you dabble in PPC internally and take a few days or sometimes even weeks off, you might come back many new AdWords features you now have to learn in addition to your regular workload. It’s just not worth it!

In the end (even though I’m sure Google would beg to differ), businesses that want to remain competitive with their search ranking — and make good money from PPC — should always consider hiring a professional to manage their accounts full time.

If you’re a DIYer, make sure you at least look into some of the pitfalls I outlined here to see if you can make immediate improvements to your PPC account. Need help? Don’t hesitate to contact FMDi today to see what changes we can make for you!