How to Budget Google Ads
How to Budget Google Ads? Many Google Ads users ponder over the perennial question of how to budget effectively for their Google Ads campaigns. The simple truth is that there is no immediate rule that everyone should abide by. After all, not every business is the same and consequently neither should all Google Ads campaigns be the same. There are, however, certain factors you have to consider when budgeting in order to make campaigns work.
Know your strategy
Of course it would be great if we could just type in to Google Ads our business or product and be provided with an automatic masterpiece of a budgeting strategy. Unfortunately, that just isn’t realistic or possible (yet). What is realistic is the need to know your strategy from the get-go and finding the right settings or features to fit around it. The simple question is: what do you absolutely want to achieve? Is it a certain number of conversions in a calendar month; a focus upon a demographic or location; a particular product or service? You need to identify what your primary goal is and build a budget which reflects that goal. Do you want to drive conversions in London? Allocate a significant amount to the London area and ensure that other areas our adjusted to avoid wasteful spending.
Getting the right tools
Having the right tools is always a sure-fire way to optimise a budget which will get you the ROI you want. One of the more obvious ways of doing this is using the Keyword Planner provided by Google Ads. This allows you to calculate the value of a certain keyword which is specific to your product, service or business. It also suggests keywords which you may not have considered. That way you’ll find the most relevant keywords. However there are a few things you need to consider when utilising these tools. Firstly, you need to consider if the keywords suggested by the planner are the most cost-effective. It’s here that you have to consider a number of factors. For example, does the keyword planner account for the value of a particular product or service in relation to the wider competition or area you’re targeting? Realistically you need to consider whether the keywords will carry the same value. Remember that some keywords will have higher levels of competition and therefore CPC but are those keywords really the most relevant for your campaign? In short, will those keywords end up destroying your budget and by extension your ability to advertise your business, product or service?
An alternative to the keyword planner is to simply ignore it altogether. The planner, after all, is unaware of your wider goals and simply displays information which has been calculated from a certain number of algorithms. It’s detached - devoid of rationale. In this instance you’ll have to think on your feet. If there is something which you would like to focus on then build a pool of keywords which reflect relevance and calculate the value and cost later. Using an old-fashioned pen and paper is an appropriate option for this method. Sometimes the old ways are the best!
Test, Test and Test some more
If you really want to see where you stand, it’s imperative that you test your campaign and by default your budget. You will not be able to gauge where you should allocate money if you have not tried to implement it in some way. Running a number of tests will give you an opportunity to compare performance or goals. Indeed, you may find that you have not considered an approach or setting. For example, you can test a variety of keywords and determine their value. If you have an area which you would like to increase bids for then testing gives you the ideal opportunity.
Testing is always the most sensible method in the early stages of a strategy and it is here where you can try a number of options without risking too much money in the process. Gathering sufficient data to make more informed decisions and highlighting strengths and weaknesses means less waste in the long term and that should always be your goal.
To Summarise
Regardless of your overall aim, getting your Google Ads budget correct is perhaps the most important consideration. After all, Google Ads is a PPC platform and by its nature it can be a costly enterprise, even more so if you fail to optimise and plan the most suitable strategy. It’s all too easy to waste your money.
By using a combination of tests, optimisation tools and target setting, the most suitable budget can be found. It is also important to stress that this is not a single event. It is likely that you will have to perform this function a number of times –not necessarily at once – but the more often the better.
It is also important to consider that Google Ads budgets are always susceptible to external threats. The most challenging of which is Click Fraud, which, unsurprisingly, will burn a sizeable hole in your budget in both the short and long term.
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