People are opting to shop online rather than in person, which makes the competition for Ecommerce stores fiercer than it’s ever been. It can be easy for businesses to get lost in the millions of search results and posts on social media, which is why digital marketing is so important.

There are tons of digital marketing strategies and platforms that can benefit Ecommerce stores, but one of the best ways to get ahead of the competition and grow a brand is to create a Google Ads account. 

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is a digital marketing platform that allows businesses to advertise through one of their many networks – Search, Shopping, Display, and Video. Doing so will generate their ads in the Google Search results, in Shopping results, as pop-ups, in YouTube Videos, and more. 

Google Ads works on a system of Pay Per Click (PPC). The generated traffic is paid for, not organic. This means whenever a person clicks on your advertisement you pay a set price, which is the bid on the keyword for that ad. 

How Can Google Ads Help Your Ecommerce Store?

Ecommerce stores sell their products online, and what better way to gain new digital customers than to advertise online. Since people use Google to search for products all the time, it is highly beneficial for Ecommerce stores to utilize Google Ads. 

Whether you want to advertise your website in the Search results, create Product Listing Ads (PLAs), or improve your remarketing strategies, Google Ads can help grow your online store. 

There are possibilities for error with Google Ads, but there are a few strategies you can use to avoid common mistakes and grow your Ecommerce store. In this article, I will go over the best tips for Ecommerce stores using Google Ads. 

1. Shopping Campaign with Google Ads

Shopping Campaigns are great because Shopping ads are shown in the Google Shopping and Google Search results. Ecommerce stores can advertise to people Google users and remarket to past visitors and customers. 

Shopping ads are slightly different from regular Search ads. They include the usual headline and description, but they also have a picture of the product and the price. Since the ads have lots of information in them, the conversion rates are typically high. People know enough about the product before clicking on the ad, which makes them more likely to purchase it. 

For a successful shopping campaign, select the Smart Shopping subtype. This will optimize your ads’ performance as it combines Standard Shopping and display remarketing campaigns into one. The automated bidding will test your ads to determine which text, images, and bids generate the most traffic and conversions. Using Smart Shopping will produce the best results for you, while Google does most of the work. 

2. Launch Separate Brand and Non-Brand Campaigns

Brand and non-brand Shopping ads perform differently with Google users. Depending on the business, brand campaigns may generate more conversions for lower cost per sales, while non-brand campaigns generate more overall traffic in general. It’s best to launch both campaigns as they will both cause sales and grow your business. 

The difference between brand and non-brand focused campaigns is obvious on the surface. The former emphasizes the brand and product name, while the latter focuses on what the product is. What separates the campaigns is their negative keywords. 

For example, Tarte Cosmetics sells a product called “shape tape concealer.” The brand campaign will focus on traffic and search terms with the intention of finding Tarte Cosmetics or the shape tape concealer product. The non-brand campaign will focus on traffic searching for any makeup and concealer. 

The non-brand campaign would have negative keywords such as “Tarte Cosmetics,” “shape tape,” “Tarte concealer,” and “tarte shape tape concealer.” The brand campaign would have negative keywords such as “makeup,” “concealer,” and “skin makeup.”

This way, people who want to buy concealer may come across Tarte Cosmetics’ shape tape concealer without previously knowing of this product. Their intention is to buy the product they searched for, so it’s important to bid higher on the non-brand campaign to rank above competitors. 

The brand campaign serves to cheaply appear at the top of the search results and ensure you do not miss out on easy clicks and conversions. Brand campaigns are also useful if people know about your brand and search for it, without knowing specific products. 

3. Research and Track Keywords for Search Campaigns

While Ecommerce stores can benefit from Shopping campaigns, all businesses should at least run a Search campaign. It is estimated that there are 5.6 billion Google searches per day. If your business advertises in the Search results, you will receive more traffic to your website and consequently earn more sales and profits. 

The key to a successful Search campaign is extensively researching and diligently tracking search terms and keywords. Google uses your match types and bids to generate your ads, which means you want to have the right keywords.

There are a few tools that can help you research keywords before you even launch a campaign. Google Trends can show you the interest in a search term over time and by region. There is also a feature that lets you compare multiple search terms’ popularity. Google Keyword Planner tells you the number of times per month a keyword was searched, which will help you determine if it is a good keyword or not. 

3^rd Party tools, such as Ahrefs and Spyfu, analyze your competitor’s keyword lists. The tools will calculate which keywords they bid on and you don’t, and vice versa. This will help you know which keywords to include in your list and bid higher on, as well as which you can lower bids for or remove from your list. Knowing your competitors’ keywords can help you rank higher than them in the Search results.  

4. Utilize the Display Network

Google’s Display Network involves ads that are not listed in the Search results, but instead are ads with images, graphics, and text that appear as pop-ups, in the margins of webpages, and more. 

Display ads are often overlooked, but they are great for Ecommerce stores. You can create a Display ad with a catchy and attention-grabbing slogan along with a picture of the product. People will see the ad, and either be intrigued enough to click on it and possibly buy the product, or they’ll remember a creative ad and search for your brand another time. 

Display campaigns can also be used for remarketing purposes. If you add remarketing lists to your Shopping campaigns, your website will target ads to previous visitors. This way, old customers or people who were interested in your products will be reminded of your brand. This can help increase your sales. 

5. Track Sales Accurately on Google Analytics

It’s important to consistently monitor your Google Ads account’s metrics to determine how to improve ads’ performance. If you’re not tracking sales, conversions, and clicks, you will never know if your ads are doing well or if you’re pouring money down the drain. 

Google Analytics can help you track your Google Ads account. You can monitor conversions, average time spent on your website, new visitors, and the keywords that generated these clicks and conversions. Use Google Analytics to update and improve your keyword list once you have data from your campaigns.

Since Google Analytics calculates specific data, you can determine exactly what needs to be changed or adjusted to improve your campaigns. If one search term is leading to a high Click-Through Rate, but earning little to no conversions, you can make it a negative keyword. Without tracking data accurately and frequently, you won’t know when or how to make improvements. 

Wrapping Up

These are all strategies you can use to either create your Google Ads account or improve an already existing one. It’s easy to fall victim to common Google Ads mistakes, but with the right resources or the help of a Google AdWords agency, you will be in great shape. 

The most important thing to remember to do is research and frequently monitoring your account. A great Google Ads account will involve campaigns and keyword lists that have extensive research behind them and are constantly tracked and updated for adjustments. All in all, your Ecommerce store can grow and generate more profits with the help of Google Ads. 

Author bio: 

Lior Krolewicz is the CEO of Yael Consulting, an online marketing consultancy. An ex-Special Ops turned Google Ads expert, he helps eCommerce and lead generation businesses grow profitably. With experience managing budgets of $1 million per month, Lior applies his proven Fortune-500 marketing techniques to small businesses worldwide.