Fixing Common Keyword Mistakes in Google Ads for Better Audience Targeting

Google Ads and Keywords

Keywords are words and phrases that internet users generally apply to search on search engines. Most people associated with the internet and websites know the significance of Keywords for search traffic. However, their importance is not limited to search engine traffic. Google Ad campaigns rely on relevant keywords to remain successful, and keyword mistakes in Google Ads reduce your chances of getting full advantage from your effort. 

Google Ads is one of the most famous online advertising platforms, which allows businesses to promote their products and services. Its system shows only advertisements that use relevant and quality keywords in their campaigns. By effectively using keywords, you can enable your ads to show in front of potential customers on all devices that show online content, such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs. 

Therefore, it is mandatory to avoid common keyword mistakes, as they can hinder your Google Ads campaign and prevent you from reaching your target audiences. 

Common Keyword Mistakes in Google Ads

The following are the common keyword mistakes that can fail your Google Ads campaign. We will also guide you on common Google ads mistakes to avoid and fix these mistakes after committing them. 

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the excessive use of keywords that look unnatural and unattractive. It is a common bad practice in blogging and other online content and has the same place for Ad campaigns. Google penalizes such ads by considering them spammy and prefers those that provide value to customers. Avoid keyword stuffing by incorporating keywords naturally and provide value to your readers by summarizing all key details of your message in as few words as possible. 

Ignoring Keyword Research

You cannot find relevant and productive keywords just by guessing. It is mandatory to find the most searched keywords related to your business through proper keyword research. Without this research, you may end up using irrelevant or less-searched keywords in your ads. This will result in targeting irrelevant audiences or getting few ads shown on Google ads. It will ultimately cause a low click-through rate. 

There are several tools available online that assist you in researching relevant and high-searched keywords. You can get free services, such as Google Keyword Planner and Semrush, to search relevant keywords. You should focus on long-tailed keywords during the research as they have low competition and are easier to rank. You can also improve your ads by researching ads of your competitors that are performing well. 

Negative Keywords

Google Ads provide an option to customers to prevent their ads from showing on specific search queries, known as negative keywords. The purpose of these keywords is to block your ads from showing to irrelevant audiences and thus prevent irrelevant clicks that cause a loss of money without gaining new customers. Ignoring them is one of the keyword mistakes in Google Ads. 

Therefore, it is necessary to add these negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing to irrelevant customers. You can add somewhat similar words to your list of negative keywords. For example, if you sell fresh food items, you should include baked or cooked items in this list. Negative keywords work differently than positive keywords. Their functions and processes differ according to the campaign type. 

Search Campaigns

Negative keywords during search campaigns include exact match, broad match, and phrase match. Google automatically adds close variations in positive keywords, but this option is unavailable for negative keywords. For these keywords, you need to add all these variations manually. These include synonyms, misspellings, singular/plural, and other similarities you want to exclude from your search. 

Display and Video Campaigns

Negative keywords in these campaigns are completely different and far easier than search campaigns. The exclusion of these keywords in video campaigns does not depend only on specific words but is based on the topic of the video content. In these campaigns, your ads will not be shown on pages related to the negative keywords. These include variations of these keywords even if they are not mentioned separately. 

Branded Keywords

Branded keywords are search terms that include the name of a company or its products. These keywords have lower competition and searches but are more relevant. They also cost less than generic keywords as they are specifically intended for target audiences. Going for generic keywords and ignoring them is one of the top keyword mistakes in Google Ads. 

These keywords are for those customers who are already aware of your brand and their click-through rates are higher than common keywords. However, these keywords generally work well for well-established and famous companies and may not work well for new companies due to limited awareness in the masses. 

In this situation, new brands can use another tested technique to use branded keywords effectively. They can do so by using the brand name of their competitors if they are famous. It looks odd, but it is an accepted technique in digital marketing. You can use this strategy by presenting your company as a better alternative to your popular competitor. This can divert some targeted traffic from your competitor to your website. 

Search Term Reports

Another common mistake for Google Ads keywords is ignoring search term reports. These reports are different from search term insights which inform about general patterns and trends. Search term reports provide specific information related to the queries that activate your ads. These reports help you understand searches of your potential customers and the performance of your ads related to these searches. 

This report is available in your Google Ads account, making it easier to find and understand. Just move to the “Keywords” tab and you will find the “Search terms” option inside this tab. The report provides data on various search terms that resulted in ad impressions and clicks. 

You can use Search Term Report to improve your keywords and avoid keyword mistakes in Google Ads by applying these tips:

• Adding negative keywords for terms that do not perform well with targeted search queries 
• You can find exact, broad, or phrase variations of your keywords and adjust them accordingly.

Conclusion

Using relevant keywords is necessary for effective and successful Google Ads campaigns. Keywords have a primary significance for ad campaigns, and keyword mistakes in Google Ads can ruin your ads as they result in showing ads to irrelevant customers and getting clicks that do not convert. Therefore, avoiding such errors (keyword stuffing, negative keywords, branded keywords, etc.) can produce desirable results and enhance your chances of reaching targeted audiences.