Last time I checked, pouring money into a paid ad campaign that is guaranteed to fail isn’t a solid growth strategy. But, why do so many businesses find themselves in this exact predicament?
Paid ads are tricky, which is why businesses usually hire a PPC account manager to run their campaigns and grow their business. Unfortunately, being an Adwords account manager is more difficult than in the past. PPC used to be one of the more measurable channels, but it’s becoming harder to optimize.
To ensure that you’re creating profitable campaigns, it’s important to minimize your mistakes. Here are three of the biggest PPC management mishaps that I’ve come across and how to prevent them from ruining your paid ads.
1. Avoiding Automation
Do not fear automation. Though you’ve probably heard some unfavorable stories about automation, it’s an extremely helpful tool when used correctly. I recommend starting slow until you get comfortable with it. Also, focus on automating tasks that are most time consuming. Ad testing and reporting tend to be my most burdensome tasks, so I generally automate them.
Here are a few other PPC tasks that can be automated to save time and improve accuracy.
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Ad copy
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Ad testing
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Account alerts
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Bid management
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PPC reporting
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Calls to action
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Budget updates
2. Following the Status Quo
There is nothing wrong with following the status quo, but it can become a problem when you’re not prepared to react. The digital landscape is constantly changing, so you need to be prepared to respond. This is especially important for businesses with competitive markets and seasonal sales.
Challenging the status quo may feel like you’re going against the, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” analogy, but it’s one of the best things you can do for your campaigns. You don’t need to come up with groundbreaking offers, either. Changing around the messaging can be enough to get noticed by your audience.
3. Not Delegating Tasks
As an account manager, it’s normal to want to have your hands in every campaign. While it’s important to know what’s going on with your paid ads, it’s unrealistic to think that you can manage every detail. As you define your expectations, you can give clear instructions to those around you. Yes, your campaigns will still go on without your constant attention. In fact, they may do even better!
Some of the PPC tasks I recommend delegating to someone else on your team are:
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Keyword research
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Competitor research
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Search query reports
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Ad copy test ideas
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Audits
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Reporting
There are plenty of mistakes that can be made with PPC, but you can learn from them. To be a more effective PPC account manager, spread your wings further and avoid the three failures above.
