Pay per click advertising can feel endlessly frustrating. Shortly after getting your ads up, you find that they’re not behaving the way you want them to. But is this related to user error, to the audience that you’re targeting, to the ads themselves, to the budget, or something else entirely?  Unless you’re familiar with Google Adwords it’s going to be pretty difficult to tell. That’s why bringing in a pay-per-click marketing expert is going to make a significant change to your ads and also to your daily frustrations.

There are certain issues that tend to befall first-time AdWords users – and with Google’s frequent changes to ad policies, structure, and display, what worked in the past may not be successful today.

 Solutions to Common PPC Advertising Troubles

• Learning curve – Getting started with AdWords feels like an uphill battle, in large part because there’s so much information to take in. Check out some AdWords-specific primers for information on which metrics are valuable, and which ones you can ignore.
• Competitive pricing – Your ads will only show when you’ve beat the keyword bids of other advertisers in your area. This can sometimes result in a bidding war, in which you’re constantly trying to one-up your competitors. Instead of going for the ultra-expensive keywords, find long-tail phrases (more detailed queries like “best cosmetic dentist”) that aren’t as competitive but will actually draw in more motivated leads, who are ready to commit.
• Ads structure changes – Google loves changing its ad campaign structure to keep us all guessing. In the last two months alone, they removed sidebar ads, making it more expensive and more difficult to get an ad in the first or second position on the page. But the SEM community has your back – when you’re not sure how to react to an advertising change, go to the experts.
• Ad not approved – Depending on your service, it can be tough to get the ad you want approved (this is especially true for branded treatments like Botox or Juvederm). When you see the dreaded “not approved” message, take a look at what Google said about the ad, and make necessary adjustments to get into their good graces. If you just can’t get a specific ad approved, no matter how many changes you make, it might be time to scrap it and try something new.
• Overly large radius – It’s important to check on the radius that Google sets for your ads as default. For many practices, depending on location, a 20-mile radius is just too big. Experiment with a smaller search area and see if your ads end up leading to more leads, as opposed to empty clicks from users who abandon the page when they see your address.
• Measuring conversions – AdWords provides many ways to track and measure conversions, but they’re not all immediately noticeable. From submissions of your website’s forms to clicks of your phone number to calls after the user has arrived at your website, these can all be measured to inform your advertising efforts – just ask if you need help implementing.