Sick of getting a heap of clicks from your Adwords campaign but not getting conversions? Chances are – from what I’ve seen when look at other people’s accounts – ad groups are not setup properly and you’re paying for traffic that will never leads to sales and leads.
Let’s get your ad groups sorted so you can start taking control over your traffic.
Having control over the keywords you’re bidding on is key to creating an Adwords Search Network campaign that will produce a strong return-on-investment. This starts well structured Ad Groups and is actually quite simple to do. This is the process I follow to create well structured ad groups that prevent bad traffic.
Quickly, how do Ad Groups fit-in?
Your campaign is made up of a series of ad groups. Each ad group is made up of a series of similar keywords and relevant ads. It looks like this:
When someone does a search for your product or service it should neatly trigger just one of your Ad Groups. This is done so you can both control the bids based on the quality of the ad group but also to write ads that directly represent the keywords being searched for.
Start by creating a list of all your desired search terms
The first thing I do is write down a list of all the search terms (what a person enters when conducting a search) that come to mind that I’d like to target in my campaign. Don’t worry about trying to make them fit into the right ad group yet – just make a list of what you think people will search for. I’ll continue with the Brisbane based mobile truck mechanic I used the other week.
- Mobile truck mechanic
- Mobile truck mechanics
- Truck mechanic for urgent repairs
- Mechanic to fix broken down truck
- Mobile truck repairs
- Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic
- Mobile diesel mechanic
- Urgent truck mechanic
- Mobile truck mechanic to fix truck in Logan
- Truck repairs
- Mobile truck mechanic to come to site
- Truck mechanic
- Heavy vehicle mechanic
- Mobile truck mechanic Brisbane
- Best truck mechanic in Brisbane
- Mobile truck repairs Brisbane
- Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic Brisbane
- Mobile diesel mechanic Brisbane
- Urgent truck mechanic Brisbane
- Truck repairs Brisbane
- Best mobile truck repair service
- Truck mechanic Brisbane
- Heavy vehicle mechanic Brisbane
- Mobile truck mechanic Logan
- I need a same-day mobile truck mechanic
- Mobile truck mechanic Rocklea
- Mobile truck repairs Logan
- Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic Logan
- Mobile diesel mechanic Logan
- Urgent truck mechanic Logan
- Truck repairs Logan
- Truck mechanic Logan
- Heavy vehicle mechanic Logan
- Etc…
This list is relatively small due to the specific market the business is focused on. Your list may be a lot longer.
Sort the search terms from most specific to least specific
Go through the list of search terms and sort them so the search terms that best represent your business go first and the least specific go last. For this example even though they are a diesel mechanic, they are actually a Brisbane based mobile truck mechanic so those search terms should go first. It’s easier to sell to someone looking for exactly what you offer, especially if you have a unique selling point, rather than trying to convince them you can do everything. Focus on those unique selling points as that’s what will get you above the competition. Yes, you can do the work that a mechanic can do at a fixed location but so can a heap of other businesses; you’re mobile so you want to exhaust those opportunities first.
- Mobile truck mechanic Brisbane
- Mobile truck repairs Brisbane
- Mobile truck mechanic Logan
- Mobile truck mechanic to fix truck in Logan
- Mobile truck repairs Logan
- Mobile truck mechanic to come to site
- I need a same-day mobile truck mechanic
- Mobile truck mechanic Rocklea
- Mobile truck mechanic
- Mobile truck mechanics
- Mobile truck repairs
- Best mobile truck repair service
- Mobile diesel mechanic Brisbane
- Mobile diesel mechanic Logan
- Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic Brisbane
- Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic Logan
- Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic
- Mobile diesel mechanic
- Urgent truck mechanic Brisbane
- Urgent truck mechanic Logan
- Urgent truck mechanic
- Truck mechanic for urgent repairs
- Truck mechanic Brisbane
- Best truck mechanic in Brisbane
- Truck mechanic Logan
- Truck repairs Brisbane
- Truck repairs Logan
- Truck mechanic
- Mechanic to fix broken down truck
- Truck repairs
- Heavy vehicle mechanic Brisbane
- Heavy vehicle mechanic Logan
Consolidate this sorted search terms list into Ad Groups and Create Adwords Keywords.
Now we have to consolidate this list of search terms into their own ad groups. To do this you need to find the common words between each phrase but also take into account the words that also make them unique.
Ad Group: Mobile truck mechanic Brisbane
This is one of our ideal search terms – we deliver exactly what this person is searching for. People use “mechanic” instead of “repairs” so the issue will be something we should be able to fix. They include the city name so they are looking for a business and experience shows that searches that include the city name are more likely to convert to a lead.
When I create my initial ad groups I like to use two types of keywords: broad modifiers and exact searches. A broad modifier is a keyword that includes a preceding + symbol and it means that the search must include that keyword but it can be in any order. So +mobile +truck +mechanic +Brisbane will trigger for searches such as “best Brisbane mobile truck mechanic” or “I need a mobile truck mechanic in Brisbane”. Due to the nuances with Google, a phrase match may not be triggered and as long as you use the broad modifier you capture a lot more long tail traffic.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +truck +mechanic +Brisbane; [mobile truck repairs Brisbane]
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck repairs Brisbane
Ad Group: Mobile truck mechanic Logan
Same as above but for another major city we do a lot of business in. Another reason you create separate ones for the major cities you service is so that you can accurately include the city name in the ad’s copy. This will give you a higher click-through rate and also give the searcher confidence you do service the area. There are a lot of businesses who advertise outside their area and this just frustrates the searcher when trying to give them business.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +truck +mechanic +Logan; [mobile truck repairs Logan]
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck repairs Logan; Mobile truck mechanic to fix truck in Logan
Ad Group: Mobile truck repairs Brisbane
Repairs may not be specific enough so it’s been moved into its own group. The ad would ideally mention truck repairs but also that you’re a mechanic to give the searcher a heads-up.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +truck +repairs +Brisbane; [mobile truck repairs Brisbane]
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck repairs Brisbane
Ad Group: Mobile truck repairs Logan
As above but for Logan…
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +truck +repairs +Logan; [mobile truck repairs Logan]
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck repairs Logan
Ad Group: Mobile truck mechanic
These search terms don’t mention one of our major cities but may still include a location. The campaigns location settings which make sure the searcher is still within the service area so that will prevent most traffic we can’t service.
This ad group introduces an issue though – if someone searches for “mobile truck mechanic Brisbane”, what’s stopping this ad group from being triggered instead of the one we want above made specifically for that search term? If a control isn’t put into place then your search terms are going to go wherever Google thinks is best, and Google isn’t always right. What you need to do is start using negative keywords to make sure someone searching for a Brisbane or Logan service does not end up in these ad groups. An ad group negative of +Brisbane and +Logan will do the trick.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +truck +mechanic; [mobile truck mechanic]
Ad Group Negatives: +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck mechanic to come to site; Mobile truck mechanic Rocklea; I need a same-day mobile truck mechanic; Mobile truck mechanic; Mobile truck mechanics
Ad Group: Mobile truck repairs
As above but for the less ideal “repairs”.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +truck +repairs; [mobile truck repairs]
Ad Group Negatives: +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck repairs; Best mobile truck repair service
Ad Group: Mobile Diesel Mechanic Brisbane
We’re now getting further away from the businesses core focus. Yes, you are a mobile diesel mechanic but your focus is on trucks. Someone chasing a diesel mechanic may be looking at other machinery or 4WDs etc. You place this in its own ad group so you can see whether the leads are worthwhile. You would mention you’re a truck mechanic in the ad to prevent unwanted calls.
Now if a person searches for “mobile diesel truck mechanic” then that’s actually right on target and we don’t want that search term to trigger this ad group. Anything with “truck mechanic” or “truck repairs” should be triggering the higher focused ad groups above. Once again some negatives and keep everything going where we want. If you ad a negative of +truck to this ad group then the truck ad groups above will get triggered instead.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +diesel +mechanic +Brisbane; [Mobile Diesel Mechanic Brisbane]
Ad Group Negatives: +truck
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile diesel mechanic Brisbane
Ad Group: Mobile Diesel Mechanic Logan
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +diesel +mechanic; [mobile truck repairs]
Ad Group Negatives: +truck
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile truck repairs; Best mobile truck repair service
Ad Group: Mobile Heavy Vehicle Mechanic Brisbane
Same points as for the diesel mechanic – not all this traffic will be suitable but some may be. This ad group can be copied and modified for Logan.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +heavy +vehicle +mechanic +Brisbane; [Mobile Heavy Vehicle Mechanic Brisbane]
Ad Group Negatives: +truck
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic Brisbane
Ad Group: Mobile Diesel Mechanic
This one doesn’t mention a city we target so we have to add them to the negatives list to keep them from triggering this ad group.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +diesel +mechanic; [Mobile Diesel Mechanic]
Ad Group Negatives: +truck; +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile diesel mechanic, best mobile diesel mechanic
Ad Group: Mobile Heavy Vehicle Mechanic
As above.
Adwords Keywords: +mobile +heavy +vehicle +mechanic; [Mobile Heavy Vehicle Mechanic]
Ad Group Negatives: +truck; +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Mobile heavy vehicle mechanic
Ad Group: Urgent Truck Mechanic Brisbane
This is the first of our ad groups that doesn’t mention the need for a mobile service. They have stressed urgency though so this is still a high potential lead as a mobile service might be able to sort this issue faster than a workshop.
We want to keep the mobile search terms in the groups above though so include a negative keyword of +mobile to keep them filtered.
This ad group can be copied and modified for Logan.
Adwords Keywords: +urgent +truck +mechanic +Brisbane; [Urgent truck mechanic Brisbane]
Ad Group Negatives: +mobile
Covered Search Terms from List: Urgent truck mechanic Brisbane
Ad Group: Urgent Truck Mechanic
No city so this ad group will filter them out…
Adwords Keywords: +urgent +truck +mechanic +Brisbane; [Urgent truck mechanic Brisbane]
Ad Group Negatives: +mobile; +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Urgent truck mechanic Brisbane, Truck mechanic for urgent repairs
Ad Group: Truck Mechanic Brisbane
We’ve now moved away from mobile and urgent repairs so we’ll be competing with workshops and larger mechanics. These searchers may have more time for a fix and happy to wait to save costs. These ad groups are here to get more traffic but they’re expected to have lower conversion rates.
Negatives need to be added to filter out the mobile and urgent search terms.
This ad group can be copied and modified for Logan.
Adwords Keywords: +truck +mechanic +Brisbane; [truck mechanic Brisbane]
Ad Group Negatives: +mobile; +urgent;
Covered Search Terms from List: Truck mechanic Brisbane; Best truck mechanic in Brisbane;
Ad Group: Truck Mechanic Repairs Brisbane
This is just following the same ad groups we had for mobile – but with mobile removed.
Negatives need to be added to filter out the mobile and urgent search terms.
This ad group can be copied and modified for Logan.
Adwords Keywords: +truck +repairs +Brisbane; [truck repairs Brisbane]
Ad Group Negatives: +mobile; +urgent;
Covered Search Terms from List: Truck repairs Brisbane; where to go for truck repairs in Brisbane;
Ad Group: Truck Mechanic
No city included for this ad group so make sure to include them as negatives.
Adwords Keywords: +truck +mechanic; [truck mechanic]
Ad Group Negatives: +mobile; +urgent; +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Truck mechanic; Best truck mechanic;
Ad Group: Truck Repairs
As above.
Adwords Keywords: +truck +repairs; [truck repairs]
Ad Group Negatives: +mobile; +urgent; +Brisbane; +Logan
Covered Search Terms from List: Truck repairs; Best place for truck repairs;
Test Your New Ad Groups
Your ad groups are now set up so you can create ads and bids based on the quality of the search terms being used. If the traffic is sufficient then you might even want to keep the less focused ad groups paused while spending your budget on the good ones. You will at least have your ad groups structured in a way to get a good idea of the performance of different search terms.
To make sure everything is working as planned then make use of the Adwords Preview Tool to see which Ad Group is being triggered.
Even if your campaign isn’t running it will tell you the ad group that should have run.
Just make sure you set the location and search engine to .com.au
Hopefully that helps you understand how your ad groups should be structured to split different levels of search terms into something that is manageable and more predictable.
I understand this might be a bit confusing if you aren’t familiar with the process so please let me know if you have any questions or would like some help working through it.
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