Last Update Nov 26, 2024 @ 11:23 pm

What is a Google Ads Custom Audience?

The Google Ads custom audience feature can be a game-changer if you want to target your competitor’s traffic or better engage with your ideal customer.

This tool allows you to create tailored audiences for your campaigns across Google Display Ads, Discovery Ads, and YouTube Ads.

How Does It Work?

Think of it this way: custom audiences let you be specific instead of casting a wide net with generic targeting.

You can build an audience based on particular keywords, websites, or apps related to your competitor’s traffic or interests.

This precision can give your ads the edge by showing up in front of people who are already interested in your industry or services.

A real-life example?

Let’s say you’re a small clothing brand.

Using Google Ads custom audience, you can target users who have visited the websites of bigger brands in your niche.

That means, even though you’re smaller, you’re getting visibility where your competition is.

This targeting might help you level the playing field.

Building Custom Audiences with Google Ads

Creating custom audiences is straightforward but powerful.

Start by navigating to your Google Ads account, selecting “Audience Manager,” and clicking “Custom Audiences.”

You’ll enter keywords, URLs, or apps related to your competitors or niche from there.

For instance, imagine you own a fitness studio.

You might input keywords like “fitness classes,” “yoga,” or even your competitors’ names.

Next, include popular fitness apps or websites that your target audience frequents.

By targeting people who engage with those apps, you’re not just getting random traffic—you’re drawing in potential customers who are likely to convert.

This approach is incredibly useful when used for Google Display Ads, Discovery Ads, and YouTube Ads.

Why?

Because you’re getting in front of people while they browse, search, or watch content related to your business.

How to Use Competitors’ Traffic for Your Benefit

One of the most exciting ways to use Google Ads custom audiences is by leveraging your competitor’s traffic.

By identifying popular websites or keywords that your competitors dominate, you can target users who have already shown interest in those areas.

Essentially, you’re positioning your ads where your competitors are strong—giving you a competitive advantage.

Take YouTube Ads as an example.

If your competitor has a strong presence on YouTube, you can use custom audiences to display your ads in front of their viewers.

Imagine the impact of having your product showcased in the same space where potential customers are already engaging with similar content.

A digital marketing agency I worked with recently had huge success with this strategy.

They were competing with larger agencies for PPC clients.

By using custom audiences, they targeted users who frequently visited the websites of bigger agencies, offering similar services but with a more personalized approach.

The result?

Their click-through rates shot up, and they started landing clients who initially weren’t aware of their brand.

Tailoring Ads for Maximum Impact

A key advantage of using Google Ads for custom audiences is the ability to tailor your messaging.

Since you already have insight into the type of content your audience engages with, you can create ads that resonate with their specific needs or desires.

For example, if you’re targeting users from competitor websites, your ad copy could highlight the benefits you offer that they don’t.

The more relevant your ad feels to the audience, the higher the chances they’ll click through and explore your business.

In a campaign I ran for a client in the travel industry, we targeted users who had recently visited competitor travel sites.

We knew they were looking for holiday deals, so we emphasized our client’s unique offers.

Not only did this boost traffic, but it also increased conversions since the audience was already in a travel-planning mindset.

Use Custom Audiences Across Google Platforms

The beauty of Google Ads’ custom audiences is that they’re not limited to just one platform.

You can extend your audience across Google Display Ads, YouTube, and Discovery Ads seamlessly.

Imagine this:

You target potential customers by browsing their favorite blogs or apps (Google Display Ads), watching industry-related videos (YouTube Ads), and scrolling through personalized content recommendations (Discovery Ads).

Each platform serves as another touchpoint to engage your ideal audience and drive them closer to conversion.

In a real-world example, I once ran a campaign for an e-commerce brand.

We used custom audiences to target users across both YouTube Ads and Google Display Ads.

While YouTube Ads focused on showcasing product features, Google Display Ads highlighted customer reviews.

The combination of both boosted brand recall and led to an uptick in sales within weeks.

The Power of First-Party Data

Another powerful aspect of Google Ads’ custom audiences is the ability to integrate your first-party data.

This means you can use data from your website visitors or email subscribers to create even more tailored ads.

For example, you can upload email lists of people who’ve visited your site but haven’t purchased yet and target them with specific offers across Google’s ad platforms.

If you’ve ever received an ad for a product after abandoning your cart, you’ve experienced this tactic in action.

It’s highly effective and keeps your brand top of mind.

Best Practices for Using Google Ads Custom Audiences

To maximize the potential of Google Ads custom audiences, keep these best practices in mind:

• Refine Your Audience: Don’t just include broad keywords or interests.
  Think carefully about your ideal customer and the specific websites, apps, and search terms they engage with.
• Experiment with Different Audiences: Test out different custom audiences to see which performs best.
  Sometimes a slight tweak, like focusing on niche keywords, can make a big difference.
• Tailor Your Ad Messaging: Customize your ad copy for each audience.
  The more relevant your message, the more likely people are to click.

Final Thoughts

Google Ads custom audiences provide a powerful way to target competitors’ traffic and reach highly specific audiences.

Whether you’re running Google Display Ads, Discovery Ads, or YouTube Ads, the ability to tailor your campaigns based on user behavior and interests gives you a competitive edge.

From personal experience, businesses that leverage this tool often see a noticeable improvement in ad performance, especially when competing against larger brands.

So if you’re looking for a way to get more out of your ad spend and target the right audience, it’s time to start experimenting with custom audiences.

The post Target Competitors Audience On Google Ads To Increase ROAS first appeared on SEO Optimizers.

Last Update Nov 26, 2024 @ 11:24 pm

How Mentors and SEO Can Skyrocket Your Business Success

Starting or growing a business can be daunting, but with the right mentor and a solid SEO strategy, the journey becomes much smoother. In a recent podcast, Brandon Leibowitz, an SEO expert, dives deep into the essential strategies business owners need to succeed, including how mentors can provide invaluable guidance and how SEO is the key to gaining visibility and credibility online.

Why Every Business Owner Needs a Mentor

One of the most significant takeaways from the podcast was the importance of having a mentor. Brandon emphasizes how mentors can help business owners avoid costly mistakes and speed up growth. Mentors offer valuable insights from their own experiences, helping entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of business.

“A mentor helps guide you in the right direction and saves you a lot of time and headaches because they’ll help you learn from their mistakes,” says Brandon.

Mentors can help with:

• Setting clear goals
• Offering industry-specific advice
• Providing networking opportunities
• Supporting decision-making during tough times

Introduction to SEO: The Foundation of Online Success

Moving into the main topic of the podcast, Brandon explains the value of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in any business strategy. He defines SEO as optimizing your website to rank higher on search engines like Google.

SEO plays a critical role because it:

• Drives free, organic traffic to your website
• Enhances credibility by ranking on the first page of search results
• Improves brand visibility

“Who doesn’t want free traffic?” Brandon quips. He shares that SEO is the most sustainable way to get targeted visitors without spending money on ads.

How Google Ranks Websites: Cracking the Code

Understanding Google’s ranking algorithm is vital for any SEO strategy. While Google’s algorithm is ever-changing and complex, Brandon shares some fundamental elements that remain constant. He breaks down the components that help websites rank, focusing on:

1. Relevancy: How closely your content matches the search query.
2. Keywords: Targeting specific, high-volume keywords that your audience is searching for.
3. Backlinks: The more high-quality websites link to your content, the more authority you gain in Google’s eyes.

“Google’s whole algorithm is based on backlinks,” Brandon says. Backlinks are essentially votes of confidence from other websites, signaling to Google that your site is trustworthy and relevant.

Keyword Research: The Backbone of SEO

Brandon underscores the importance of thorough keyword research. He suggests using tools like Google Keyword Planner to identify the right keywords for your business. He explains that you should target keywords that:

• Have a high search volume
• Are relevant to your audience
• Have low competition

Actionable Steps for Keyword Research:

1. Brainstorm keywords related to your business.
2. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to analyze search volume and competition.
3. Focus on long-tail keywords (3-5 words) to target niche audiences.
4. Regularly update and refine your keyword list based on data and trends.

Optimizing Your Website for SEO Success

To effectively implement SEO, your website needs to be optimized in various ways. Brandon breaks down the steps for on-page optimization:

• Content: Each page on your site should focus on 3-5 target keywords. If you want to rank for more keywords, create more pages.
• Headings and Structure: Use clear headings (H2, H3) to organize your content and make it easy for search engines to understand.
• Mobile Optimization: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, as Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing.
• Images and Videos: Optimize images by including alt text, and host videos on platforms like YouTube, which Google favors.

“The more text you put on your website, the easier it will be for search engines to read and understand what your page is about,” Brandon advises.

The Power of Backlinks

Building backlinks is essential, but it’s more about quality than quantity. Brandon advises focusing on gaining backlinks from reputable, niche-related sites.

How to Build Quality Backlinks:

1. Guest Blogging: Reach out to industry blogs and offer to write guest posts in exchange for a backlink.
2. Content Sharing: Promote your content on social media and industry forums to increase visibility and the chance of others linking to it.
3. Building Relationships: Network with other site owners and build relationships to gain more backlinks over time.

“Without backlinks, it is not possible to rank on Google,” Brandon emphasizes, reminding listeners that backlinks are a vote of trust.

Tracking Your SEO Progress

Tracking your SEO efforts is crucial. If you’re not measuring your progress, you won’t know what’s working and what needs improvement. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console allow you to track:

• Traffic sources
• Keyword rankings
• Conversion rates
• Bounce rates

Brandon stresses the importance of tracking everything to make informed decisions. He says, “If you’re not tracking, you’re just kind of blindly going at it.”

Integrating SEO with Google Ads for Maximum Impact

Although SEO is a long-term strategy, Google Ads can deliver immediate traffic. Brandon suggests running Google Ads alongside SEO, particularly if you need faster results. He advises:

• Starting with a small budget
• Running A/B tests to see which ads perform best
• Using remarketing ads to follow potential customers who have visited your site but haven’t converted yet

“As long as you’re making more than you’re putting in, you don’t really need to turn the ads off,” Brandon explains.

Conclusion: SEO is a Long Game, But It Pays Off

In the long run, SEO is more cost-effective than continuously paying for ads. By investing time and effort into SEO, businesses can build lasting organic traffic that doesn’t depend on ad budgets.

Key Takeaways:

• Get a mentor to avoid costly business mistakes.
• SEO drives free, sustainable traffic to your website.
• Backlinks and keywords are the pillars of SEO.
• Tracking your progress is essential for success.

SEO is not a quick fix but a long-term investment that pays off with consistent, targeted traffic. Combine it with short-term Google Ads to maximize your reach, and you’re set up for success.

The post SEO & Google Ads Tutorial With Step By Step Walkthroughs first appeared on SEO Optimizers.

It’s $8.2 billion the estimated cost to of ad blockers to the ad industry according to the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau). In Germany, the case has been brought to court even, but it lost.

Why consumers do block ads? To keep themselves safe against malware and spyware, of course. It’s not unheard of that ads generated from dynamic advertising systems like AdSense or Chitika came with spywares or deadly viruses that damaged users’ computers irreparably.

Siding with consumers, Asus is going to make all its smartphones AdBlock Plus enabled in 2016.

What can YOU — the blogger, the publisher — do about this trend? Will it affect your PPC ads?

Ad-blockers might be a problem… or might NOT

To quote The Wall Street Journal, “ad-blocking software potentially hurts publishers more than it does the advertisers users are attempting to avoid. Marketers say it’s probably best their ads aren’t displayed to users that strongly dislike them. But for publishers that are dependent on ad revenue, they end up effectively giving their content away for free to ad-blocking users.”

Indeed, it might be more of a problem for you than for the advertiser buying ads on your space. However, the fact that blocking ads translates to consuming content for free is legally debatable. In fact, the vast majority of ads pay on a Pay-Per-Click basis and not Pay-Per-Impression, so you still wouldn’t get clicks (and money) from users who deliberately avoid ads like pest.

If you use static ads, you may not need to worry at all; however, if you are run dynamic ads on your blog… read on.

If your blog income relies on ads, consider going static

Text links and static banner ads (simple images with a link) are a better choice when your users regularly block your ads.

The advantage of text links and banner ads is that these elements are part of your website, not some third party element the ad-blocking tool will recognize as threatening. Just as your user can view links and images in your posts, so they will be able to see your banner and link ads.

Because these ads are static and are placed editorially after your scrutiny, they will not come with unwanted spyware, viruses and encrypted images with malicious code.

No scripts; only use simple HTML. That excludes AdSense and similar programs, but it gives you full editorial control and you can choose your advertisers.

Prefer sponsored posts to display ads

Sponsored posts are an alternative to display ads that won’t trigger a block. Readers can still ignore these posts, but they will not run into any risks to see their privacy breached by some third party code.

Also, unlike display ads (even static ads), sponsored posts integrate perfectly with your editorial content, so they will be less obtrustive and readers can freely skip them and only read what catches their interest.

Interested readers, however, won’t have to worry that their favorite sponsored content will bring along unwanted malicious code.

Remember to disclose your sponsored content as such!

Use disclaimers

Inform your readers that you use ads and that your ads are not dangerous (no scripts, no tracking). That is, if you use static ads.

For dynamic ads, you can still use a disclaimer (a modal dialog) to ask visitors to turn off their ad-blocking tools and give your ads a chance, since you do your best to provide only risk-free, relevant ads.

Of course, the last decision is the user’s, but you can still try.

Another way to use disclaimers is similar to the above mentioned, but it involves the use of a content blocking tool on your behalf to block users with ad-blockers activated from viewing your content, that they can unblock once they turned off their ad-blocker.

This last strategy is more invasive and you may lose readers because of it, but in this case you should determine whether traffic and subscribers are more important than ad revenue.

Disable tracking and write an anti-tracking policy for your advertisers

If you have power over the ad scripts you use, disable tracking for your adverts and leave only click counters on. Of couse, any ads who don’t allow “no tracking” will disappear or get canceled, so in that case make sure you refuse those ads prior to making the change. (Every advertising program is different.)

In addition to this operation, write an anti-tracking policy for your advertising, stating that from now on you only allow adverts that don’t track users across multiple sites, but only count clicks and conversion rates.

More to read:

• Ad Blocking – This Time It’s Serious by Shelly Palmer

How do you deal with ad-blockers? Do they affect your revenue?

Let’s discuss in comments below.

The post Are Ad-Blocking Tools Really Dangerous to PPC Ads? first appeared on SEO Optimizers.

In these tough times you want to make sure your bottom line is at optimal conditions, and PPC can assist in these goals. Specified will be some tips and tricks to help you increase conversions and reduce costs. In essence, you want to persuade the buyer that you have the highest quality item for the lowest price compared to the competition.

1. Research Competitors Ads – There is a wealth of free, valuable information out on the web waiting to be used. PPC ads are shown on most, if not all search engines and can give you some insight into how your competition is advertising and what ad text they are using. If you want to go deeper than this you can purchase tools that show you what your competitor’s keywords are, what they are bidding, their ad text, and much more. With this information you will have a good starting point for your PPC ads.
2. Explore Keyword Variations – It is imperative for any successful PPC campaign to search for keywords, look at competitor keywords, and use proper keyword matching. It is important to know what keyword matching is and understand the difference between broad, phrase, and exact keywords. Each has a different effect and using the wrong one can ruin your entire ad campaign. Broad match keywords allow your ad to show up on similar phrases and relevant variations. Phrase match keywords allow your ad to show up on searched that match the exact phrase exclusively. Exact match keywords means that your ad shows up for that exact phrase exclusively. Negative match keywords are used to prevent your ad from showing up on specific keywords.
3. Focus on Low Cost Keywords – Overpriced keywords can cause a leakage in your PPC marketing budget. If you sell a product or service with a low profit margin then you need to do everything in your power to avoid high cost keywords. You cannot afford to pay $1 per click when your profit margin is only $0.75. Some keywords can cost over $5 a click! You do not want to spend this much unless your profit margin is large enough and you know you can compete with the competition. For the rest of us internet advertisers we want to look for highly searched keywords that are not overly priced. Looking at the competition can do this. Do a search for your keyword in your desired search engine and look at how many paid, or sponsored, listings appear. The fewer, the better off you are.
4. Avoid Hyper-Competitive Keywords – Keywords with a large search volume may be a viable keyword choice, but if the competition is too high it may not be the best choice, unless you have an extraordinary budget set in place. The greater the competition level for keywords, the more you will have to pay per click. There are tons, both free and paid that can show you a keywords competition level, monthly traffic, and cost per click. A reliable, free tool is Google’s keyword tool. It is an effective medium for discovering profitable keywords that have not been tapped into yet.
5. Make your Ads with Consumer Savings – People love to see words like sale, save discount, free, promo, buy 1 get 1 free, etc. when looking at paid search results. The more you use these words, the greater visibility your ad will have in the consumer’s eyes. The bigger the savings, the more likely you are to obtain a click through and ultimately a conversion. Make sure to include good values, low prices, and timely promotions in all your ad groups. This is especially if you have a product or service that is being marketed to highly price sensitive shoppers.
6. Be upfront with your Ads – I cannot stress this enough. This is the biggest mistake advertisers can make when placing participating in pay per click advertising. You do not want to lie, or fluff up your ads, in hopes of making more sales. This actually has the opposite effect, in which people will click through expecting what was outlined in the ad and come to see that it was false and misleading. This may get more clicks in organic rankings, but it will still result in an extraordinarily high bounce rate. They will leave the site in frustration that you mislead to them to your site, and you lost money for the cost of a click. Now image this happening on a daily basis for months at a time. How much wasted money can there be before someone steps in and says, “STOP, you are doing this in the complete wrong way!” You need to be upfront and honest to prevent excessive click from searchers expecting something else.
7. Make your Ad Groups Targeted to the Landing Page – To get the best quality score for your PPC ads you will want to make sure the keywords and the ad text relate to one another. You also want to make sure the landing page, where the searcher is taken when clicking on your link, is highly related to your keywords and ad text. This will get you the best results and ensure searchers do not get taken to the wrong page. Do not bunch all your campaigns together; rather separate them into appropriate categories. Then create pages on your website specifically designed for PPC users to land on. You should not send PPC ads to your home page, but rather have targeted landing pages specifically designed for each PPC campaign. These pages should have a call to action inducting the searcher to perform some sort of action that is beneficial to your business, whether it be a email address, or an actual sale. Your end goal is to have the user do something. This will reduce the bounce back rate and increase the chances of converting leads into sales.
8. Review and Analyze your Ads Performance Overtime – This seems obvious, but so many people do not take the time to sit down and really analyze each campaign to see what is succeeding and what is leaking money. Once this is discovered you will want to fix the problem ads and leave the successful ads be. This seems so obvious, but is not done often enough. I encourage reviewing your pay per click campaign once a day. If this is too much, then at least 2-3 times a week. This is your money and you do not want to see it wasted with no returns.
9. Refine your Ad groups to Focus on High Performers – After you have run your PPC campaigns for a few weeks you can analyze the results and see what the top performers and failures are. To make sure this an accurate representation make sure to use many different ad variations and have them set to rotate evenly at first. This will give you an idea of what selling points are working and which are draining your funds. Look at cost per conversion and make sure this does not exceed your profit margin. If so, stop the ad or make some major modifications to it. If an ad group has a low cost per conversion keep this running and let it rake in the money. Refining your ads should be done on a regular basis to avoid failing campaigns and focus more on successful campaigns.
10. Look at the Bottom line – Conversions are king for PPC, just like content is king for organic rankings. If you are doing all of the above and still are not converting sales then it may be time to take a step back and contact a professional to review your campaign and look for any flaws. If you do not have the budget to do this, then pause your ads and just focus on refining one at a time. This will ensure you do not use your entire budget and can spend more time figuring out why you are not succeeding. Once you figure out why one campaign is failing it is much easier to spot other trouble campaigns.

The post 10 Pay Per Click Steps to Reduce Costs and Increase PPC Conversions first appeared on SEO Optimizers.