Over just the last few weeks I have seen these mistakes made over and over again by the attorney clients for whom I have consulted-resulting in thousands of dollars being wasted on Google.
Most of these mistakes are because of the “defaults” Google Adwords sets up for you when you create a campaign. These defaults are designed to drive as much traffic to your site as possible, but they do not provide qualified traffic. In fact, they will often result in traffic to your site that is unrelated to the services you provide or are trying to promote.
1-Default 1: The Content Network
Content network advertising can be a good strategy for many businesses, including law firms. However, they require a different approach than what most attorneys are looking for when they sign up for Google Adwords. The search network drives traffic to your site from people looking for what you do. The content network results in a lot of traffic to your site that is from people browsing the Internet, most of whom are not looking for an attorney any time soon.
I met with an attorney just last week who had spent $1,800 on Adwords he had setup himself. He had ABSOLUTELY ZERO clicks from search, 180 clicks from the search network and zero calls, inquiries, leads or clients.
2-Keyword Matching Options
Google sets the default for keyword matching options to “Include plurals, misspellings, and other close variants”. This sounds harmless enough, but what Google considers a “synonym” is extremely liberal.
Example: You want to get people to your site who are searching for ‘auto accident attorney st. louis’.
These are the possible results Google for which Google may show your ad, and charge you when people click on it:
- Six Flags St. Louis
- Porsches in St. Louis
- Divorce attorney in St. Louis
- Divorce mediation St. Louis
- Bartlit Beck
When you try to check the box “Do not include close variants”, in a effort to prevent you from doing this Google gives you the warning “Your ads may not receive as many impressions or clicks if you do not include close variants. Including close variants is recommended for most advertisers.”
I get upset every time I read this warning because I know how much money they take from people with this absolutely horrible tactic.
How do you prevent these types of mistakes from happening?
Being educated by or calling Google will not help-because they recommend these types of strategies which make money for them, but waste money for their clients.
- Hire an Adwords expert
- Get references
- Make sure they set up your Adwords program in YOUR name, not theirs.
Check back soon for more advice on Google Adwords, or call Dan Stratford at 720-985-7945 for a free consultation.