This article addresses common questions and concerns related to Google Ads, providing helpful answers for advertisers seeking to optimize their campaigns and troubleshoot potential issues. From ad disapprovals to budgeting and conversion tracking, this FAQ covers a range of topics essential for effective Google Ads management.
Look through the list to find the answer to the issue you are most interested in or currently experiencing.
1. Why is my Google Ad not running, even though my campaign is active? What could be wrong?
Answer: Check your ad status, bid strategy, and budget. Ensure your keywords are relevant and have sufficient search volume, and review your ad group targeting settings.
2. Why was my business name and asset disapproved due to "Business name irrelevance" during the advertiser's verification process?
Answer: Could be that the business name used during verification doesn't align with your website's domain name or your Google Ads account name.
3. Why is my google ad not converting despite garnering lots of impressions and clicks?
Answer: This issue typically stems from irrelevant traffic or a poor landing page experience. Ensure your keywords and ad copy attract the right audience, and that your landing page is highly relevant, fast-loading, and has a clear call to action. You need to align user intent from click to conversion. Lastly, make sure you have setup conversion tracking on your website or app. If you have a call ad. Make sure you have a call conversion tracking setup.
4. What’s the right amount of budget to run an ad daily on Google?
Answer: There's no single "right" amount, as it depends on your business goals, industry competition, and target cost per click (CPC). For new advertisers, starting with a daily budget of N10,000-N20,000 is often recommended to gather data. You can then scale up based on performance and profitability.
5. My budget is depleting very quickly, and I'm not sure why.
Answer: Review your bid strategy and daily budget settings. Broad keyword matching can lead to irrelevant clicks, so consider more specific match types, and use negative keywords to filter unwanted traffic.
6. How do I know if my keywords are performing well?
Answer: Analyze keyword performance metrics like Clicks, Impressions, CTR, and Conversion Rate in your Google Ads account. Focus on keywords driving relevant traffic and conversions, and pause or optimize underperforming ones.
7. What is the best way to create ad groups, by audience or by products?
Answer: For most businesses, it's best to create ad groups by products or services (themes). This allows for highly relevant keywords and ad copy within each group, directly aligning with what users are searching for and improving Quality Score. Audience targeting is then layered on top of these product-based ad groups.
8. What's the best way to structure my Google Ads account?
Answer: Organize your account into campaigns based on marketing goals or product categories, with tightly themed ad groups containing relevant keywords and highly specific ad copy. This improves relevance and Quality Score.
9. Are my Ad Impressions on Google Ads unique?
Answer: Impressions count every time your ad is shown, not necessarily unique users. Google Ads offers "Unique Reach" metrics to show how many individual people saw your ad across various devices.
10. What is the best way to bid as a new advertiser on Google Ads?
Answer: Begin with "Maximize Clicks" to gain traffic and initial data within your budget. Once you have conversion data, transition to "Maximize Conversions" to optimize for actual results
11. What is the right daily or monthly budget for my type of business?
Answer: Your budget depends entirely on your business goals, target CPC, and conversion value. Start with a realistic amount (e.g., N10,000-N20,000/day for small and medium scale businesses) and scale based on performance data.
12. How long should I run my ad for?
Answer: Allow new campaigns at least 1-2 weeks to learn and gather sufficient data. For optimal performance and full potential, aim for 4-6 weeks before making significant changes.
13. How do I track sales on Google Ads?
Answer: Implement conversion tracking by placing a Google tag on your website. This allows you to accurately measure valuable actions like purchases and understand your ad's ROI.
14. What can I do to optimize my ad cost while maintaining my current ad outcome?
Answer: Focus on improving Quality Score through relevant keywords, compelling ad copy, and optimized landing pages. Aggressively use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant clicks, and refine targeting.
15. What is the best way to set up audience signals on Google Ads?
Answer: Provide strong first-party data, like customer lists, to Google Ads as audience signals. This helps Google's AI find similar high-value customers and optimize campaign performance.
16. Does a first-party data audience allow you to do retargeting campaigns?
Answer: Yes, first-party data is crucial for effective retargeting campaigns. You can upload customer lists to Google Ads to specifically re-engage with users who have previously interacted with your business.
17. Is first-party data collected from conversion tracking?
Answer: Yes, conversion tracking can capture first-party data (e.g., email addresses) from your website in a privacy-safe, hashed format. This data can enhance your conversion measurement and audience insights.
18. How easy is it to implement conversion tracking for a website we’re using for our campaign?
Answer: Implementing conversion tracking is straightforward. You create a conversion action in Google Ads and then add a Google tag or use Google Tag Manager on your website.
19. What is the best type of campaign for our business?
Answer: The best campaign type aligns with your specific goals: Search campaigns for immediate demand, Shopping for e-commerce products, or Performance Max for broad reach and conversions across all Google channels.
20. Is Performance Max campaign perfect for new advertisers?
Answer: Performance Max is powerful for driving conversions, but it requires high-quality assets and clear conversion goals. New advertisers should understand its automation and provide strong inputs for best results.
21. What is the best way to target the locations where my Ads will show?
Answer: Target specific countries, regions, cities, or use radius targeting around your business. Crucially, select "Presence" (people in your locations) in Location Options, not "Presence or interest."
22. Can I choose the device where my Ads will show?
Answer: Yes, you can set bid adjustments or exclude specific device types (computers, mobile, tablets) within your campaign settings. For Display and Video campaigns, you can also target TV screens.
23. Can I choose to show my Ads on smart TVs?
Answer: Yes, for Video campaigns, you can target "TV screens" in your device options. This includes smart TVs, gaming consoles, and connected devices where your video ads can play on YouTube and Google TV networks.
24. How many placements should I add to my video ad campaign for it to be successful?
Answer: For video campaigns, focus more on leveraging Google's AI with appropriate ad formats and audience signals rather than manually selecting numerous placements. Google optimizes placements across its network for reach.