If you don't yet know Google Ads like the back of the toilet door, this resource will help you get the perfect set up before you hit 'enable' and start burning the cash.
Even if you're already familiar with Ads, you might find some tips and tools in here which you haven't yet tried or set up.
Taking the time to set the right foundations will not only improve performance, it'll also ensure you have all the right things in place to measure your campaigns and get the biggest bang for your buck! Go forth and conquer your campaigns using this Google Ads checklist.
Learn How the Ad Auction Works
First things first, it's important you understand how Google decides which ads to place where in the bidding war. Despite what some folks think, it's more complex than simply awarding the highest bidder with the top spot.
Manager Account
If you manage multiple Ads accounts, set up a Manager Account (formerly My Client Centre). This allows you to set up multiple accounts all under one roof. Why would you want to do that? No need for multiple sign-ins for different accounts, easily switch between accounts and campaigns, capture and analyse your data all in one place, and remarketing across all of your accounts.
Don't get fooled by the dodgy user experience on the sign-up page. Make sure you click the 'Start using manager accounts' link lower down the page, rather than the 'Start now' button. The latter will open a standard Ads account and mean you have to jump through a few hoops to switch to a Manager Account.
Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager is a digital marketer's best friend. Or one of them at least. Your developers will welcome it more than the office ping pong table. Gone are the days when you needed to pester your dev to implement yet another pixel on the website.
Once you have implemented the Google Tag Manager Pixel and published the 'Container', you can set up Triggers and Tags which will allow you to track whatever you want, without depending on developers. A Container is the name Google gives to the place where you can store tags and rules related to your website.
From setting up simple Pageview tracking to Remarketing Pixels and Events for specific actions on the site, you can do it all with GTM, even if you're not that technical. That said, it does take a bit of time to get your head around the more complex tags and triggers, but for simple Pixel implementations, you should be fine.
GTM Checklist: Setup Container and implement on your website, add relevant Tags and Triggers, preview and debug, publish your Container, test again with Real Time Analytics, remove old Pixels.
Ads Pixel
This goes hand in hand with the point above. Once you've set up Google Tag Manager, get your Ads pixel in there and test it's firing. In some cases, you won't need to use the Ads Pixel. For example, if you've already linked Google Ads with Google Analytics and imported your Goals, or set up Audiences for remarketing, you don't need to worry about this step.
Link Google Analytics and Ads
If you haven't done it already, make sure you link Google Analytics with Google Ads. Once you've done that, you'll get Ads campaign data in Google Analytics and you can set up Audience lists in Analytics which you then use as targeting methods in Ads. As part of this step, make sure you also turn on auto-tagging. Google says "Auto-tagging automatically imports Ads data into Analytics. Combining Ads data with the rich post-click information provided by Analytics allows you to see what happened on your site after people clicked on your ads."
Get Your Keyword Research On
Stating the obvious here, but doing Google Ads without keyword research is like becoming President without knowing anything about the world. Other than potential search volume, find out: What kind of average cost per click can you expect? Is there a lot of competition for the keywords you want to bid on? What kind of search terms match user intent? What kind of words should you use to craft ad copy? Is there any low-hanging fruit (high volume / low competition)? How can you improve the landing page experience?
Bear in mind that if you haven't been spending on Ads before, you'll get limited data from their Keyword Planner tool. Once you start spending, they'll start giving you more specific search volumes. Another thing to consider is that if you choose keywords which don't have any search volume, Google won't always show your ads. So in some cases, you may need to broaden your research to make your ads eligible.
Experiment With Different Match Types
As you probably know, Google Ads has 4 different keyword match types: Broad Match, +Broad +Match +Modifier, "Phrase Match", and [Exact Match]. By testing different match types, you can check which set up gives you the best performance. Keep an eye on which match types give you the best CTR, lowest cost, and highest conversion rate. Be careful with Broad Match as you may get irrelevant traffic if not managed well.
Improve Your Landing Page Experience
You can take the horse to the water all day long, but if the water is dirty, it won't drink. Meaning? Even if you're getting super relevant, high-quality traffic from Ads, if your landing pages don't provide good user experience and a smooth transition to the end goal, you're not likely to get the return you want. Make sure your landing page correlates to your keywords and ad copy, ensure the page loads fast, test how the page works on mobile devices and optimise where needed, provide a clear call to action, and ensure your goal flow works and is super intuitive.
Consider How Your Keywords, Ad Copy and Landing Page Tie Together
Correlating your keywords, ad copy and landing page will give you a better quality score, which will lead to a better Ad Rank, higher positions and better performance. Once you've selected the keywords you want to start with, batch them into specific Ad Groups which have ads that only focus closely on the keywords in that group. Make sure the landing page exactly reflects what you're talking about in the ad copy and uses the keywords you have assigned. Segmentation is key here. Don't try to stuff too much into one Ad Group. It's much better to set up lots of different Ad Groups which focus strictly on one topic/set of keywords.
Test Your Conversion Funnel
Throwing paid traffic at a page which doesn't have a slick sales funnel or fully working contact form is like spending cash on fireworks. Without the pretty lights and dogs hiding under chairs! Check your sales funnel and contact forms are working, sending notifications to the right place and are easy to complete. Make sure your conversion goals are clear and measurable.
Set Conservative Daily Budgets
Set conservative daily budgets for the first fortnight so you can read the data before it spends you into a corner. You can always increase budgets once you have a clearer picture of what's working and what's not.
Build a Negative Keyword List
Build a negative keyword list from real search-term data, not guesswork. This is one of the most important and ongoing tasks in Ads management. Negatives stop your ads showing for irrelevant queries, saving you money and improving your overall click-through rate and quality scores.
Populate Ad Extensions Fully
Ad extensions (now called ad assets) are unglamorous but essential: sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call extensions, and location extensions all increase your ad's real estate and click-through rate. Get them fully populated before launch.
Review Mobile Bid Adjustments
Mobile bid adjustments should be reviewed and set based on device performance. Don't just leave them at default - segment your data by device and adjust bids accordingly.
Segment Geo and Device Performance
Geo and device performance should be segmented and analysed separately. What works in one location or on one device may not work on another. Use this data to refine your targeting and bid adjustments.
Define What a Conversion Actually Is
Get a clear definition of what a conversion actually is for this account. Is it a form fill, a phone call, a purchase, a download? Without a clear, agreed definition, you can't measure success or optimise towards it.
The tips that matter most are unglamorous: ad extensions fully populated, mobile bid adjustments reviewed, geo and device performance segmented, and a clear definition of what a conversion actually is for this account. Get those right and the rest compounds.