Google Ads Smart Campaigns is a great tool for small businesses to create ad campaigns that need low effort and few resources. With that being said, steering through the features of Smart Campaigns can be daunting for beginners in digital marketing. Here are 5 tips that can ensure success for your next Google Ads Smart Campaign - 

Tip #1: Start your campaign with a small budget and track the spending over time

Perhaps the most central characteristic of your Smart Campaign is the budget you provide to the campaign. The budget you provide dictates how many ads are placed across the internet by Google. It also defines, by proxy, how many of those ads will provide you with conversion. The fact that it is difficult to have complete and detailed information on the performance of the campaign, makes it harder for you to track and determine your return on investment in the campaign. As such, it is easy to go through your budget really fast without even realizing it. 

So, it is important that you start with a small budget for your Smart Campaigns and track the spending with respect to the performance of the campaign. Then gradually you can increase your budget based on the performance of the campaign and the ROI of that campaign. This will also increase the effectiveness of the campaign and ensure that you are spending your money where and when it matters the most. 

Once you’ve done that, you can either continue increasing that budget furthermore. Otherwise, you could choose to make the transition to the full Google Ads experience.

Tip #2: Closely track the effectiveness of search phrases

Search phrases are terms that Google’s algorithms use to find potential customers who may be interested in your products and services and place ads on these users to drive traffic to your website and potentially drive sales of your business. These phrases are the key factors towards the placement of your ads across the internet, whether it is in the search results, Google Maps, or across the sites under Google Display Network. 

So, it is important that you understand the performance of the search phrases utilized in your campaign and track their effectiveness in the campaign. If you see terms like “free” or “for free” in association with your campaign, make sure that those keywords are disabled and are not used during the placement of your ads. This is because people using those keywords are quite unlikely to buy anything from your business. 

Tip #3: Provide a Clear Call-to-action in Your Ads

Call-to-action are terms that provide a clear message to the viewers of the ads about what you want them to do. Using these terms increases the chances that the viewers of the ads are interacting with the ads and possibly converting from leads to actual customers of your business. These terms also increase the relevance of your ads with respect to the search intent of the viewers of your ads. 

Thus, it is necessary that you provide a clear call to action in the ads of your campaign. For Smart Campaigns, you can do this by using such terms in the headlines or description lines shown in the ads. Examples of Call-to-action terms can be – “Buy Now! / Get yours Today. / Make an Appointment Today!”

Tip #4: Schedule your ads within business hours

Ads schedule dictates when you want your ads to be placed in the Google search results or the Google Display Network. Based on the time defined in the scheduling, Google’s algorithms will place your ads throughout the internet for potential customers to interact with. 

Depending on the type of business, ad scheduling can be a great way for your business to increase traffic and drive sales for your business. The ad schedule doesn’t have to be uniform in nature across the week. You can also customize them as you deem necessary to better reflect your business needs. 

For example, if your business is driven by physical stores and the website is for the sake of driving awareness into your store, you can schedule your ads according to the working hours of your store to increase sales for your physical store. Likewise, if you want to target customers who make impulse purchases in the middle of the night, you can schedule your ads to increase sales. 

Tip #5: Maintain Professionalism in Your Campaign

Ads act as a representative of your business to potential customers who may or may not choose to buy your products or services. These ads act as a window to how you would interact with your customers. As such, it is imperative that you maintain professionalism throughout your campaigns and your ads. Doing so will ensure that your business portrays itself as a brand that cares about its customers and its reputation. You can take the following steps to ensure professionalism in your Smart Campaign among other things: 

1. Double-checking your spelling and grammar
2. Drawing attention to your ads by capitalizing each word in the headline
3. Using professional photos for your display campaigns or your business listing in Google Maps

‍