Wait, what? 7.5? You must be thinking that I have gone nuts because there should be either 7 or 8 ways. Well, this article is about 7.5 handy ways to save money while setting up your Google Ads campaigns by playing smart moves and I want you to focus on them just like you have pinpointed this “.5”.

Let’s come to the point now. If you are on this page, most probably you already have some idea about Google Ads, its budgeting and flexibility. Still, you need to be more focused whilst working on your campaigns. In short, don’t work hard but work smart.

What if I tell you that you can “Spend Less and Gain More” by using some basic tools of Google Ads, and you’ll save a reasonable amount of money for sure. Sounds interesting? Let’s explore them.

1: Embrace Negative Keywords

I am sure this is the only place where we admire and embrace negativity. If you don’t know about it, a negative keyword is a phrase or a word for which your Ads won’t be shown as it is a sort of filter. By doing this, you save a lot of money because you are not going to pay for useless clicks.

2: Be creative with Keyword Match Types

Instead of selecting Broad Match Keywords only, go for a combination of broad, modified broad, phrase, and exact match types. Why so? Because in the broad match type, your ad is eligible to appear if even a single word matches a user’s search query. While, a combination of all the match types ensure versatility, control over your ads, and restrictions which makes your campaign more effective.

3: Automated Bidding or No Automated Bidding?

Automated bidding can be good in the sense that it takes charge of your campaigns and can let you sit relaxed. You can choose one or more of the several bid strategies such as Target ROAS, Target CPA, and Maximization of conversions.

But, what if I tell you it’s also like a maze where you could have been played blind, costing you a lot. The ‘Maximise Conversions’ automation only works well if you get at least 15 conversions a month for at least 3 months consecutively, which is unlikely unless you have experience or have been running your ads for a long time already.

So, just remember, Google is only a machine – it can’t read minds or see the future.  Save automation for when you have enough data to back that up.

4: Be more calculative while setting max CPC

Maximum cost-per-click (CPC) bid is the highest amount which you are willing to pay for every single click on your ad. To make that work, just do a little calculation in such a way that the cost of advertising is less than sales.

5: Look at your Target Audience Closely

Do you know your Target Audience and their interests? If your answer is “No” and you are still running ad campaigns, you’re just burning your money. You MUST know your audience, their needs, interests, and the way they search for the solutions online. Once you find them, you can easily convert them into a happy customer.

6: Try, Test, Analyse, Redo

You can never get the desired results in the first go. You need to make several strategies and try them accordingly. Then test and analyse your results, and repeat the process with other strategies. It will let you optimise your campaigns and you’ll come up with a better strategy to follow in the future.

7: Take benefit of Ad Scheduling and Locations

Once you spend some time running your ad campaigns, you’ll get a clear picture of your target audience, their behaviour, and popular trends. Plus, you’ll also have an idea about the demographics, time of the search, and the devices your potential customers use to search for solutions. So, you can pinpoint your targeted location, schedule the time of the visibility of your ad, and optimise your bids according to each device.

7.5: Don’t Give up

It’s all about your determination and smart work. I have seen many people who have spent tons of money and have failed to achieve their targets while many others spent a small amount wisely and took the full advantage of Google Ads.

So, keep testing new things, monitor your audience and results, learn from your mistakes, and if Plan A doesn’t work well, go for Plan B. Doing this, you’ll be able to save money, rock your Google Ads accounts and outrank your competitors.

Conclusion

Google Ads is an absolute minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing, and can end up being a very costly one, but with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning growing so rapidly it is getting a lot easier now for people to be able to manage their own campaigns.

Just remain diligent!  Don’t let Google do the thinking for you, and keep all the above points in mind, to save you money and stop you from falling into the same traps as so many do daily!