As you may know, the potential for Google Ads is unbelievable–greater leads, more traffic, and higher conversions. But, apart from these benefits, there’s also great potential for one’s ad performance to go south rather quickly, especially if your campaign was not planned or set up properly.
If you’ve been left pondering why your Google Ads are producing less than favorable results, this might be why.
1. Your keywords need work.
Keywords are the meat of your campaign, and if your Google Ads are less than shout worthy, it could mean you need to go back to the drawing board. While you may think you already know which terms and phrases your prospects are using to search for their next rental, it is always best to confirm. For starters, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner tool to discover new keywords related to your property and even view cost estimates of the searches these words receive as well as the cost to target them. So, if this piece was not a part of your initial planning process, you may need to reel things back in for a bit and start here.
2. You need to increase your bids.
If your click-through rate is less than impressive, you may want to consider evaluating your campaign costs. Assuming you are tracking conversions, you’ll know exactly how to calculate your actual return on investment. Your performance reports will inform you as to which keywords, devices, etc. are producing (or not) in your campaign. In the event your cost-per-click is less than ideal but your conversions are rocking, you may want to increase your maximum cost-per-click bid. On the contrary, if your cost-per-click is high but your conversions are low, then you may want to try lowering your cost-per-click bids.
When altering your bids, it’s important to remember to do so in small increments, then monitor your performance prior to making subsequent adjustments. And, if you’re not already taking advantage of Google’s Bid Simulator, First-page bid estimates or Recommendations tools to help guide your bidding, now’s the time.
3. You’re not using negative keywords.
Perhaps your ads are underperforming because they’re being presented to those who are not and will not be interested in your property anytime soon. Negative keywords stop your ads from appearing when a user types certain words or phrases into a search. You have the ability to exclude those keywords that are not the best match for your property. Many advertisers unfortunately miss this piece and lose out on lower costs and increased revenue. If you need some assistance determining which negative keywords to incorporate into your campaign, you can recruit the Google Ads Keyword Planner, and, on the results page, note those words that are not as relevant to your business. Or, you can use your search terms report. Whichever method you use, just make sure you get as creative and thorough as possible, as the performance of your campaign could depend on it.
4. Your website needs work.
The location that you send your Google Ads traffic is perhaps one of the most essential pieces of your campaign. By ensuring your website or landing page is properly optimized, you are directly impacting your ROI. If your website design is appealing, loading speed is low, call-to-action is clear, and it includes relevant keywords within the copy and is organized then you’re one step closer to higher performing ads. If your site is missing one of these elements, then you’ll need to do a site overhaul and sift through the content, design and other intricacies of to restore it to higher performing standards.
5. It’s just too soon.
Unfortunately, with Google Ads, it’s not likely that as soon as your keywords go live, the conversions will come rolling in. It will take some time for your campaign to build momentum. So, resist the urge to adjust or tweak after only a few days or even weeks of no action. Your type of business, keywords and competition all play a part in how quickly your Ads take off. While you do want to constantly monitor and analyze your campaign’s performance over a period of time, on average, it may take a couple of months before you can actually start witnessing trends. So, in the interim, hold tight and keep those fingertips at bay. Remember, you need data to guide your marketing decisions, so when your campaign does begin producing, make sure you’re always using the actual data to drive your optimization.
Rentbot can help.
It’s no secret. With targeted Google Ads, multifamily properties have the potential to advertise directly to high-quality, move-in ready leads. So, if you’re interested in creating a results-driven Google Ads campaign as a complement to your website, we can help. Rentbot is a proud member of Google Partners. And, most importantly, we’ve been trained and certified by Google to help businesses like yours manage their search advertising with great results.
We create a customized keyword strategy based on your location, features, service line, competition, and target demographic and an entire campaign of optimized ads, just for you. We’ll even continuously monitor and adjust your ads to deliver the most cost-effective leads. Ready to turn your website into a lead generator? Get started with our Google Ads package today.
About the Author
Jonsette Calloway joined the Rentbot team in 2015. With a background in public relations, advertising and copywriting, she has helped a multitude of clients achieve their marketing and communications goals within various fields, but she particularly enjoys working with the apartment industry.