The danger of ignoring your AdWords campaign

If you're not careful, you can easily misconfigure your Google AdWords campaign and waste a lot of money. One way to do this is by failing to add negative keywords to your campaign. This can cause your ads to be shown to people not interested in what you're selling, resulting in wasted spending and lower quality scores.

Misconfigurations

Another way to misconfigure your campaign is by failing to properly target your ads. This can also lead to wasted spending and lower quality scores. To avoid these problems, it's important to understand the role of negative keywords in your advertising campaigns. By using negative keywords, you can ensure that your ads are seen by people interested in what you're selling.

Why set it and forget it is a bad idea

Many advertisers make the mistake of setting up their campaigns and then forgetting about them. This is a bad idea for several reasons. First, your campaigns need to be constantly monitored and tweaked to ensure that they are effective. Second, if you're not actively monitoring your campaigns, you may miss improvement opportunities. And third, if you're not paying attention to your campaigns, you could be wasting money on ads that aren't relevant to your target audience.

Avoiding these problems

To avoid these problems, it's important to understand the role of negative keywords in your advertising campaigns. By using negative keywords, you can ensure that your ads are seen by people interested in what you're selling. This will help you save money and improve the quality of your campaigns.

Common mistakes people make with AdWords campaigns:

1. Not using negative keywords: If you're not using negative keywords, you're likely wasting a lot of money on your ad campaigns. Make sure to add negative keywords so that your ads are only shown to people interested in what you're selling.
2. Not adding negative keywords at the campaign level: You should add negative keywords at the campaign level so that your ads are only shown to people interested in what you're selling.
3. Not negative keyword matching: When you're adding negative keywords, make sure to match them exactly so that your ads are only shown to people who are interested in what you're selling.
4. Not using negative keywords in ad groups: Make sure to use negative keywords in ad groups so that your ads are only shown to people interested in what you're selling.
5. Not monitoring your campaigns: It's important to monitor your campaigns so that you can make changes if necessary. If you're not monitoring your campaigns, you could be wasting a lot of money on ads that aren't relevant to the people you're trying to reach.
6. Not pausing or removing underperforming keywords: If a keyword is underperforming, it's important to pause or remove it so that you're not wasting money on ads that aren't working.
7. Not optimizing your campaigns: You should regularly optimize your campaigns to be as effective as possible. If you're not optimizing your campaigns, you could miss out on potential customers.
8. Not testing your ads: Make sure to test your ads before you launch them. This will help ensure that they are effective and relevant to the people you're trying to reach.
9. Not using negative keywords in ad copy: You should use negative keywords in your ad copy so that your ads are only shown to people who are interested in what you're selling.
10. Not using the right keyword match types: When you're adding keywords to your campaigns, make sure to use the right match type so that your ads are only shown to people who are interested in what you're selling.
11. Not tracking conversions: It's important to track conversions to see how well your ads perform. If you're not tracking conversions, you won't be able to determine whether or not your ads are successful.
12. Not bid adjustments: Make sure to adjust your bids so that you're getting the most out of your ad campaigns. If you're not making bid adjustments, you could be wasting a lot of money on ads that aren't performing well.
13. Not using ad extensions: Ad extensions can help improve your ad campaigns by making them more relevant and effective. If you're not using ad extensions, you could miss out on potential customers.
14. Not testing different ad formats: It's important to test different ad formats to determine which ones are most effective. If you're not testing different ad formats, you could be wasting money on ads that aren't working.
15. Not using negative keywords in dynamic search ads: You should use negative keywords in dynamic search ads so that your ads are only shown to people interested in what you're selling.
16. Not excluding irrelevant searches: When creating your ad campaigns, make sure to exclude irrelevant searches so that your ads are only shown to people interested in what you're selling.
17. Not adding relevant keywords: Make sure to add relevant keywords to your ad campaigns so that your ads are more likely to be seen by people interested in what you're selling.
18. 18. Not monitoring your quality score: It's important to monitor your quality score to improve your ad campaigns. If you're not monitoring your quality score, you could be wasting money on ads that aren't as effective as they could be.
19. Not using negative keywords in display campaigns: You should use negative keywords in display campaigns so that your ads are only shown to people who are interested in what you're selling.
20. Not using negative keywords in remarketing campaigns: You should use negative keywords in remarketing campaigns so that your ads are only shown to people who are interested in what you're selling.

If you're not monitoring your ad campaigns, you could be wasting a lot of money on ads that aren't relevant to the people you're trying to reach. Make sure to use negative keywords in your ad copy so that your ads are only shown to people interested in what you're selling.

Terry Rajaram

Terry’s cauldron of knowledge in the digital world is the result of a background in advertising, graphic design, web and multimedia development… 25 years in this business.