At the 2017 SLC|SEM Digital Marketing Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, Michelle Roberts offered 5 AdWords mistakes, and how to avoid them. Michelle started with 3 startup questions to get everyone thinking:
The first mistake Michelle pointed out was poor metric measurement. She explained the need to make goal metrics align with business objectives. One business may benefit from the cost per acquisition model, while another might find more insight in the cost per value model. For ecommerce businesses, Michelle recommends optimizing for profit. This is more advanced because it is based on individual products.
The second common mistake was not having proper attribution. Michelle advocated that marketers avoid guessing, and select an attribution model that makes sense.
While CPA can be helpful, Google recommends focusing on lifetime value. A perfect customer might cost double to acquire, but have a much higher lifetime value.
AdWords Mistake #3: Letting Google Completely Take Over
Third, Michelle warned against letting google completely take over. She recommended a proper campaign structure, and suggested the use of single keyword ad groups based on historical keywords that have converted. This will help to improve click-through-rates, and achieve a better quality score resulting in a cheaper cost-per-click.
Fourth, we were advised against mishandling remarketing. Michelle urged the audience to use the 3 pillars of success from Google:
AdWords Mistake #5: Dismissing Mobile
Fifth, attendees were cautioned to not dismiss mobile search and mobile devices. Michelle enlightened us on a study that shows 66% of the population suffers from a condition called Nomophobia (a fear of being out of cellular phone contact). She also educated the audience that 91% of smartphone owners make a decision to purchase something after seeing it first on their phone. It was also added that 40% of people research on their phone, and purchase later using a desktop/laptop. Data suggests that the average person checks their phone 150 times per day, and spends 170 minutes on their phone.
What do we learn from this? You need a mobile specific strategy. To view or download Michelle's slides, head to the SLC | SEM SlideShare account!