3 Big Mistakes Plumbers Make With Google Ads

Google Ads are an affordable and effective way to drive qualified prospects to your website. As a business owner, you must have a clear strategy and a solid understanding of this tool to get the best ROI. If you need help, we obsess over paid advertising to get the best results. Unfortunately, many service-based businesses make three big mistakes with Google Ads. Avoiding these errors can help you jumpstart your lead generation and get the best return on your advertising investment.

Mistake 1: Choosing the Wrong Keywords

The first mistake plumbers often make with Google Ads is choosing the wrong keywords. The goal is to use keywords that your target audience uses when they search for help online. For instance, “plumbing repair” may be too vague and attract people searching for DIY solutions. However, the keywords “reliable plumbing services” are more specific and clearly indicate the user is searching for a service. You can even go a step further to include your local region, city, or neighborhood.

Choose Effective Keywords

Thoroughly research your target market to understand exactly what words they’re most likely to use in a search. Proper keyword selection is one of the most important (and most challenging) aspects of digital marketing. Discover which keywords your ideal customers are using and also what keyword trends are common for the region. Other helpful tools include Wikipedia, blogs, and the phrases that appear at the bottom of Google’s search results. There are so many creative ways to find the best keywords, you just have to do a little research.

Mistake 2: Not Optimizing Keywords in Ad Copy

The second mistake many plumbers make with Google Ads is not properly optimizing keywords. Quality Score is a Google Ad metric that impacts whether ads appear on a search result. Optimizing the keywords in your paid ads is important to receiving a good Quality Score and getting the ad displayed on relevant search results.

Optimize Keywords

Proper keyword optimization can be challenging. Keyword optimization involves research and analysis to choose the best keywords and keyword sets for a company’s products or services. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can identify keyword variations and show the search volume for individual keywords and keyword sets. When optimizing keywords, it’s important to avoid overusing keywords, a tactic known as keyword stuffing and not put every possible keyword into the ad content. Including the keyword in the title and URL of the landing page is another optimization method.

Mistake 3: Sending Ad Clicks to a Business’s Home Page

This one happens all the time. The most effective ads send users to a designated landing page with a strategic purpose (such as filling out a form to receive an email) instead of a business’s home page. Directing visitors to a properly optimized landing page that effectively answers the user’s search query improves the Quality Score and advertising results.

Create a Powerful Landing Page

The most awesome landing pages have a single call to action (CTA) that guides users to perform a certain behavior, such as submitting their email address to receive a checklist relevant to the page’s content. This way, you can add your prospect to your company’s mailing list whether or not they contact the business. This is really helpful because you can use your mailing list to send targeted emails to encourage them to schedule a service with you or even use this list in further targeting your paid advertising.

Since Google Ads are so complex, a skilled marketing and digital service agency that loves getting results through paid advertising (like our team at LMH Agency) can manage your Google Ad campaigns from start to finish and provide the best return on your investment.