The digital world continues to shift and Apple’s most recent version of iOS 17 has had an effect on the world of advertising. It’s crucial to acknowledge and adapt to the evolving landscape, particularly for advertisers navigating significant privacy changes, especially concerning user tracking and data sharing.

What is iOS 17?

In June 2023, at its yearly Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed the iOS 17 update. The next September version may not be good news for advertisers, despite delivering several intriguing features including Live Voicemail, Contact Posters, and a new mindfulness app. This is a result of Apple implementing strict policies to safeguard customer privacy, a top priority for the tech behemoth. The business is removing URL tracking parameters from links accessed in its Mail and Messages app and from Safari Private Browsing as part of this pledge. These modifications demonstrate Apple’s commitment to giving its customers privacy and data security top priority.

How does the iOS 17 impact advertisers?

The enhanced privacy and security features introduced by Apple for users come with a trade-off for marketers. Tracking users across platforms and measuring the effectiveness of campaigns will become more challenging due to the measures implemented by Apple.

Below are some examples of how iOS 17 introduces challenges for marketers:

Click-Through URLs and Their Significance: iOS 17 introduces changes that directly impact how users navigate and engage with links. Such as how Click IDs will be removed from ad links.

Within iOS 17, the activation of Link Tracking Protection initiates a process in Safari where the URL of a link undergoes scrutiny, leading to the removal of any identified tracking parameters.

The functionality of Link Tracking Protection is rooted in its capacity to automatically eliminate tracking parameters from links, drawing upon an Apple-maintained list of recognised tracking parameters. While widely recognised click IDs such as fbclid, gclid, and adid are commonplace, the scope of Link Tracking Protection extends to encompass a variety of other tracking parameters that it can expunge from the links it encounters.

Campaign tracking parameters are affected by iOS 17

Numerous tracking parameters frequently utilised by marketers will undergo a shift in functionality within the iOS 17 environment. Notable among these adjustments are:

• Facebook (fbclid): Historically employed to monitor the performance of Facebook advertising campaigns.
• Instagram (igshid): Traditionally utilised to trace user interactions with Instagram advertisements.
• Google Ads (gclid): Historically employed for tracking the efficacy of Google Ads campaigns.
• Twitter (twclid): Conventionally used to monitor user engagement with Twitter advertisements.
• Microsoft Ads (msclkid): Previously utilised to track the effectiveness of Microsoft Ads campaigns.
• Mailchimp (mc_eid): A parameter specifically employed by Mailchimp for the purpose of email campaign tracking.

Unaffected Campaign Tracking Parameters

Despite the widespread impact on various tracking parameters, there are specific ones that, as of the current status, continue to operate seamlessly on iOS 17. It’s crucial to bear in mind, however, that the status of these parameters may undergo alterations in the future, reflecting Apple’s ongoing commitment to user privacy. Some of the tracking parameters that persist in functionality at present include:

• Matomo (mtm): Pertaining to Matomo campaign tracking parameters.
• Google Analytics (UTMs): Related to Google Analytics campaign tracking parameters.
• Pinterest (epik): Utilised for tracking Pinterest campaigns.
• Klaviyo (_kx): Specifically for Klaviyo’s email marketing tracking.
• TikTok (tt-): Employed for monitoring TikTok ad interactions.
• Hubspot (hsa): Utilised in tracking Hubspot campaigns.

While these parameters provide a certain level of assurance for marketers, it remains imperative to closely monitor any potential shifts in their effectiveness, given Apple’s ongoing introduction of privacy-centric features.

What can marketers do about iOS 17?

The best thing you can do about the recent update is ensure you future-proof your campaign tracking and monitor any other potential future updates that would be coming out. In the meantime, you can take certain steps to migrate the effects caused by iOS17.

Keep an eye on updates

Be prepared for future changes from analytics and advertising networks in reaction to Apple’s privacy changes. These apps are prepared to develop new tracking strategies or adapt current ones to comply with iOS 17’s limitations. For maximum success, it is imperative that you keep up with these advances and incorporate them smoothly into your tracking approach.

Make a smooth transition from the iOS 17-impacted campaign tracking parameters.

Consider switching to the campaign tracking URL parameters offered by your analytics solution if you’ve been using services like Mailchimp, whose URLs are impacted. Products such as Google Analytics provide insightful data on how well your email marketing efforts are performing, making tracking easier and more consistent.

Pay attention to data privacy compliance.

Concentrate your efforts on following data privacy laws. Adopt and incorporate procedures for data privacy compliance into your business operations. Give openness in your data-gathering procedures top priority in a world where privacy laws are always changing. Make sure that your tracking strategies comply with accepted privacy standards in order to keep your audience’s trust.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Apple’s iOS 17 has ushered in a new era for digital advertising, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Marketers must adapt their tracking strategies, stay vigilant for updates, and prioritise data privacy compliance. By embracing these changes, advertisers can navigate the evolving landscape, ensuring the effectiveness of their campaigns and maintaining trust with their audiences in the era of iOS 17.

Remarketing isn’t just a clever way to target customers who left your website without making a purchase, or those who abandoned their carts at the checkout – it’s also a great way to drive even more conversions from valued customers.

Our latest T-Time show looks at how you can target email lists with Google Ads and how using customer match and other similar audiences can help optimise your Google Ads performance.

In this Google Ads T-Time show:

1. How to upload an email list to Google Ads
2. Google Ads Customer Match audience sizes
3. Google Ads Customer Match campaigns
   • Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA)
   • Google Display
   • YouTube campaigns
   • Gmail campaigns
4. Using customer match and similar audiences
5. Email Targeting on Facebook and Twitter
6. Advanced Google Ads email list targeting
7. Email Retargeting Best Practices

How to Upload an Email and Customer match Lists to Google Ads

(01:16) In the Remarketing tab of your Google Ads Audience Manager, click on the big blue ‘+’ in the top left corner to create a new remarketing list. Select the Customer List option, give your audience an appropriate name and select the List members – this is the type of customer data that you’d like to create an audience with, so in this scenario the option you want to select is Upload Emails, Phones and/or Postal Addresses.

When you’re creating a Customer Match audience list, we would recommend using this template so that you can upload your data in the correct format. You have the option to upload either unhashed plain text data, or hashed data – the latter adds an additional encryption which essentially protects your data from being seen by Google employees. Google won’t have to use the data to do anything else, so the choice is ultimately yours.

Once you have uploaded your data, it will take Google around 24 hours to process it and then match the email addresses in your list to users in Google’s system. The period of time you keep someone in your list depends on the type of campaign you are running – if you’re thinking about uploading lists of customers or people that subscribe to your newsletter and so on, you may want to think about how long it’s been since you last contacted them and consider removing them from the list if it has been a long time.

Google Ads Customer Match Audience Sizes

(04:22) When targeting email lists in Google Ads, it’s important to understand the limitations for the sizes of audiences that you can use for different types of campaigns.

The first thing to understand is that you must have a minimum list of 1,000 email addresses in the file you upload for Google Ads to accept it. If you don’t have that many email addresses, it’s questionable whether targeting email lists is even worth doing, and you certainly can’t upload just three or four email addresses as this would be a gross invasion of privacy.

Next, you need to understand that Google isn’t going to match all 1,000 – or however many you upload – of those email addresses with users of Google. It will match these email addresses with the primary emails of users – this being the email that the user is logged into while using Google.

Google is currently matching around 35% of email addresses, so if you want 1,000 people in your audience, then you would ideally need to aiming to upload around three times that figure.

If you plan on using your email list on Google Search, then you will need a minimum of 1,000 matched users. If you only have 2,000-2,500 matched email addresses, feel free to upload and test it, but if you’re not eligible to target an email list in Google Search with that amount then you may have to change your parameters, or just wait until you have more email addresses.

Google Display will work more in your favour, as you only need a minimum of 100 matched users. This is also the minimum if you wish to run a YouTube or Gmail ads campaign.

Our Google Ads Management Services

Google Ads Customer Match campaigns

Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA)

(07:19) There are two ways you can use an email list for RLSA campaigns: the first, known as ‘Target and Bid’ is with traditional Search and Google Shopping campaigns, where you’ll either be bidding on keywords or uploading your product inventory.

Traditionally you would have a campaign for specific types of keywords, each with their ad groups, or your shopping inventory, and you would target people searching for your products or your keywords. However, with the addition of an email list, you can choose to only show your ads to users who match within the list.

One way you can use this method to your advantage is by bidding on some lower-intent keywords – for example, if you run a gift eCommerce store then just bidding on a keyword like ‘gift ideas’ on a normal Search campaign is not going to be very viable because of the low intent.

However, if you’re bidding on ‘gift ideas’ and you’ve uploaded your email list to use in an RLSA campaign, then your ad will only be shown to users who already trust your brand and are more likely to make a purchase.

(09:10) Your second option when using an email list for an RLSA campaign is adding your list to your normal Search or Shopping campaign as Observation, or what we used to call ‘Bid Only’. You would exactly the same campaign structure as you do now, but what you might want to do is increase the bids for users who match your email list by 30% because we know that these are people who have already bought from you and therefore they’re more likely to convert.

In summary, you’re still targeting everyone who’s going to match your keywords or your products, but as an overlay you’re paying more per click for the users in your email list.

Google Display

(10:08) Using Google Display, you can target content across the web for particular keywords – for example, if you’re selling televisions you may bid on ‘Sony TV’, ‘Samsung TV’ and so on. Google will then match your ads to content which features those keywords.

You can also go for a broader approach and target in-market audiences – using the TV example again, these are the kind of people who are in the market for a TV. However, much like the Target and Bid model for a Search campaign, you can only target them if they match to an address in your email.

(10:48) Again, in a similar style to the Observation model for Search campaigns, you can target everyone reading content surrounding your topic or subject, with increased bids for users who match within your email list because they’re ideally more valuable.

YouTube Campaigns

(11:04) If you want to promote your video campaigns, you generally target the content and people watching videos surrounding a particular subject. You can use your email list for a YouTube campaign, but only to target users who have matched within your list.

This method is particularly useful for nurturing your email list and keeping your brand present, as well as specifically targeting your audience on YouTube with a promotion for your products or services.

Gmail Campaigns

(11:43) Using Gmail ads does not mean sending emails to addresses in your email list – these are ads that sit next to the emails which users are reading within the Gmail interface, and essentially adopt the same model as YouTube campaigns.

Using Customer Match and Similar Audiences

(12:04) There is a way of asking Google to target similar audiences to your email list. However, this is a very different strategy to all of the above and as such requires a careful approach: the users who match within your email list and, as previous customers, trust your brand are very different from users who may have never even heard of your brand, so the conversion rates from these ‘similar audiences’ are going to be much lower.

That said, targeting similar audiences can be very effective – try setting up a campaign targeting a similar audience with a particular offer to introduce the brand and encourage some more traffic through to the website, before using remarketing to nurture that audience once they convert.

Email Targeting on Facebook and Twitter

Targeting ads by email address is already possible as part of a custom audience on Facebook and Twitter. See How Facebook Custom Audiences Work.

Enticing earlier visitors back to your website is already possible using the Google Display Network using AdWords Remarketing ads, or if yours is an eCommerce store, AdWords Dynamic Remarketing might perform even better still.

Advanced Google Ads email list targeting

(14:08) If you’re using a customer relationship management (CRM) system or concept systems such as MailChimp, Magento or Shopify, you should be able to export the data to segment your email list.

This is provided you fulfil the minimum audience size requirements – there’s no point in targeting the 300 highest spenders on your eCommerce store if your audience isn’t big enough to perform any email list targeting.

As well as highest spenders, you can target customers who haven’t made a purchase in six months, or perhaps those who only bought a specific product or brand. You can even target users who clicked on an email campaign but didn’t convert in any other way.

This method could prove particularly helpful in the lead-up to Black Friday and Christmas – if you have data on customers who made a seasonal purchase last year, then why not export it and add the address to your email list to encourage them to do the same again this year?

If you found this episode of T-Time useful, subscribe to our YouTube channel for more forthcoming tips and advice on how to improve your business using Google Ads, Google Shopping and other online channels.

Email Retargeting Best Practices

1. For most platforms, expect to need around 100 active users for privacy reasons. If you’re going to this amount of effort, we’d suggest a lot more than that to make an email remarketing campaign worth your time.
2. Segment your email list so that you can target parts of your audience with more relevant ads. You’ll also be able to measure and compare responses from each segment to see which offers and ads each segment responds to and which generate the greatest ROI.
3. Use negative audiences to avoid crossover. Some members might be in your remarketing audience and in your email list. Two separate campaigns targeting the same users probably means double the number of ads they’ll see, which could do more harm than good for your brand, but also has a good chance of wasting at least some of your advertising budget.

Do you have any further questions about email list targeting? Let us know in the comments, or click below to speak with one of our specialists and find out more about our Google Ads training courses:

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What is a Google Product Category?

A Google Product Category is a classification system used by Google to organise products for sale on its shopping platform. It is used by retailers to classify their products according to Google’s standards, making it easier for shoppers to find the products they are looking for.

For example, a product might be classified as; “Home & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Cookware”, if it is a piece of cookware that is used in the kitchen. This classification system helps shoppers find products more easily and helps retailers reach their target audience.

The Google Product Taxonomy is a fixed list, created and managed by Google. You cannot make up your own categories, you must adhere to those dictated by Google. To create your own classification, use Product Type.

Why Google Product Categories are Important

Google Product Categories help retailers reach their target audience more effectively in Google Shopping Campaigns.

By classifying your products according to Google’s standard taxonomy, you help Google display the right products for the most relevant searches in Google Shopping campaigns.

Google Product Categories form part of your Shopping Feed, which is added to Google Merchant Centre and in turn, synchronised with Google Ads, ready for advertising using a Google Shopping Campaign. Within campaigns and ad groups, you’ll be able to segment, include or exclude groups of products using your Google Product Category Data.

Example Google Product Categories:
Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops
Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shorts
Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Skirts

To help optimise campaign performance, or to ring-fence a budget for each Google Product Category, you may choose to create one Google Shopping Campaign for each Category.

For example, you could create a Campaign which only includes products in the “Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops” segment of your inventory with a dedicated budget and ROAS target. You could also create additional campaigns for only products in “Clothing > Shorts” and “Clothing > Skirts” with each having a dedicated budget and ROAS target.

Related: How to Optimise Google Ads Using Target ROAS Bidding

Which Google Product Category You Should Use

There are two taxonomies which are structured in the same way.

The original taxonomy is text-based, with named Categories and sub-categories like “Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops”.

The more recent alternative taxonomy is numerical, using a category ID.

Either of these work equally well, helping Google understand your data better, which helps with the algorithm matching the right searches with your products.

However, we recommend the text-based method.

1. It’s easier to segment data in Google Ads this way
2. There’s a hierarchy to this data, rather than a simple list with no relationship between them
3. “Animals & Pet Supplies > Pet Supplies > Bird Supplies > Bird Cage Accessories > Bird Cage Bird Baths” is MUCH easier to identify than “499954” when you’re reviewing and optimising campaign performance.

Can I Create My Own Google Product Category?

No. You must select one of the defined Google Product Categories in Google’s published taxonomy. The Google Product Category Taxonomy is updated from time to time, so you should check back for more specific categories of your products. Find out the specifics in Google’s product taxonomy.

However, you can create your own taxonomy (classification of products) using the Product Type attribute and use that attribute in addition to the Google Product Category.

What To Do If There is No Google Product Category for Your Product

This happens often. The best you can do is use the most relevant Google Product Category.

For example, if your site sells Maxi Dresses, there is no Google Product Category defined. You should use “Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses” for maxi dresses.

There is no defined category for HDMI Cables. In this case, the nearest most relevant Google Product Category is “Electronics > Electronics Accessories > Cables”.

In all cases, you can create your own Taxonomy using the Product Type attribute which works in a similar way, but is not defined by Google – you create your own.

What Happens When You Don’t Set a Google Product Category?

In Google Merchant Centre, you’ll most likely see that Google automatically classified your products. Generally, this method works quite well, but it’s not always accurate, so it’s best to provide the most precise Google Product Category data in your data feed.

For example, we’ve seen a TV Bracket classified as an item of clothing. It’s easy to see how a machine might interpret an unusual image of a TV Bracket this way, but it is an error which causes all sorts of problems.

How to Set/Change the Google Product Category

The options for adding product data to Google Merchant Centre vary based on the source of your data and the method of addition.

Getting Product Data in to Google Merchant Centre

Our recommended method of optimising your product data is to do this at source. Add, edit, amend and optimise the titles, descriptions, prices and everything else in your website database at source – it will be far less complicated as you scale your inventory and your eCommerce store.

From your website database, most eCommerce CMS platforms will synchronise your inventory to Google Merchant Centre, either using an XML feed, or an API connection. Either option ensures that your data in Merchant Centre updates automatically from your website’s data.

If this is not possible, you can create a product inventory using a Google Sheet.

Or, you can create Rules in Merchant Centre to set the Category.

Or, you can add and edit product inventory directly in Google Merchant Centre.

Set the Google Product Category in Shopify

Follow these steps to set the Google Product Category if you manage your product data in Shopify:

1. Log in to your Shopify Admin
2. Go to Products: Click on the “Products” tab on the left-hand side of the dashboard.
3. Select the Product: Choose the specific product you want to edit the Google Product Category for by clicking on it.
4. Scroll Down to Product Organisation: Scroll down the product page until you find the “Organization” section on the right hand side.
5. Click on Product Category: Within the “Organization” section, look for the “Product Category” field.
6. Choose the Google Product Category: Click on the dropdown menu within the “Product Category” field. You’ll find a list of options provided by Google. Select the most appropriate category that fits your product.
7. Save Changes: After selecting the category, make sure to save your changes. Look for the “Save” button usually located at the top or bottom of the page.
8. Return to the product listing to check the Google Product Category, ensuring you have applied the changes correctly.

Set the Google Product Category in Magento

If you manage your product data in Magento, here is the method to set the Google Product Category:

1. Access Your Magento Admin Panel: Log in to your Magento admin panel using your credentials.
2. Navigate to Products: From the admin panel, go to the “Product” menu and select “Category.”
3. Select the Product: Choose the specific product for which you want to set the Google Product Category by clicking on it.
4. Edit Product Information: In the product edit page, look for the “Google Shopping” tab or section. The label of this tab may vary depending on your Magento version or installed extensions.
5. Find the Category Field: Within the Google Shopping section, locate the field labelled “Google Product Category” or something similar.
6. Select the Category: Click on the field to open the dropdown menu containing the list of available Google Product Categories. Choose the most appropriate category that best fits your product.
7. Save Changes: After selecting the category, save your changes by clicking on the “Save” or “Save and Continue Edit” button at the top or bottom of the page.
8. Repeat for Other Products (if needed): If you have more products to categorise, repeat the process for each one individually.

Set the Google Product Category with a Supplemental Feed

If you cannot change the data in your source database, you could choose to append/amend data using a supplemental feed.

Instructions and Video: How to Create a Google Shopping Feed Using Google Sheets

You’ll need to:

1. Export the data from Merchant Centre in to a Google Sheet
2. We’d recommend removing ALL columns of data you don’t want to modify, such as Price, Title, Description etc. If you don’t do this, the sheet will overwrite changes in your source data, e.g. when you change the Price on your site, the Sheet will overwrite it with the old price.
3. You MUST keep the Product ID column. Do not make any changes to this data.
4. Create a Column called [google_product_category]
5. Set the category for each product using the exact format in the Taxonomy

Remember, you’ll also need to repeat this process for every new product you add to your site. You see why it’s better to edit the data at source?

Set the Google Product Category with a Rule in Merchant Centre

If you cannot change the data in your source database, you could choose to set Google Product Category using a Rule in Google Merchant Centre. This is preferable to manually creating data in a Supplemental Feed in a Google Sheet. With this method, you shouldn’t have to set the Category for each product individually.

Instructions and Video: Using Rules in the New Merchant Centre

Example Merchant Centre Rule:

1. Make sure that your Title or Description contains a specific, unique word or phrase. Think carefully about the different rules you’re going to need to set the Category for different products – you don’t want these to overlap.
2. Set a Rule for the Attribute Google Product Category
   1. Where Google Product Category is has no value
   2. Where Title contains “Dress” OR “Dresses” – match whole words and check your Titles to make sure the rule will work for all relevant products
   3. Set Google Product Category to “Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses”
3. After you run the rule, actively check for updates in your product data within Merchant Centre, or export the data to a sheet to verify its correctness and make sure you haven’t overlooked any products.
4. Most likely, you’ll find a few issues and may have to edit your product Titles to suit the rule, or modify the rule to suit your Titles.
5. Next, proceed to create a rule for another Google Product Category and continue this process until you have assigned a correct Category to each of your products.

Since the rule functions automatically, it first processes any newly added products, thereby automatically assigning the Google Product Category. Just remember the write your Titles and Descriptions to match the rule!

Add / Edit Product Category Directly in Google Merchant Centre

We advise against this method unless you have an extremely small inventory that rarely changes. Making changes in this way overrides all other data sources, leading to numerous issues with mismatched pricing and other data. This can result in product disapproval, your ads stopping, or even account suspension.

Use with caution.

To edit the Google Product Category in Google Merchant Centre directly

1. Click on a product
2. In the product screen, click the pen icon, top-left
3. In the edit screen, set the Google Product Category

Want to know more about this? We recommend checking out Google’s product category help.

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Having your Google Ads campaigns disapproved can be frustrating. If your ads aren’t running, you’re going to get fewer leads and conversions. Worst of all, you could end up having your Google Ads account suspended if you don’t fix your disapprovals.

While Google doesn’t tell you why your ads get disapproved, it can be quite easy to figure it out yourself. We’ve listed the ten most common reasons below and the quick fixes you can make to get your paid advertising campaigns back up and running.

Here are the common reasons why your google ads are getting disapproved

1. Different root domains

If your root domain in your display URL is rabbitsareawesome.com but your destination URL’s root domain is squirrelsareawesome.com, Google will disapprove your ad. Their policy states that the root domains must be the same.

How to fix it: Make sure your root domains are exactly the same in your display and destination URLs.

2. Destination not working

This may be the most common reason for disapproved ads, and it’s actually quite a useful one. If your landing page is crawled and Google finds it is a 404, they will disapprove your ad. You don’t want users to click on your ad and spend money only to find they can’t take action, so this disapproval is useful for you to spend your money right.

How to fix it: Review the landing page that your ad sends traffic to and if it’s a 404, fix it! Do check the URL first, as you may have accidentally added a character or two to your destination URL that means it isn’t the right page on your site.

If you find that the landing page is not a 404, it may have only been a broken page at the time of crawling, so you can find the disapproval message on Google and click on ‘Fix It’. Try making a slight change to the ads so that Google has to re-check the ads and therefore recrawl the landing page.

3. Using all caps

Say you own a fashion brand and open your ad with ‘HUGE SALE’, it might grab people’s attention, but it goes against Google’s guidelines. Using words in all caps will get your ad disapproved except when you’re using promotional codes, common abbreviations like ASAP, trademarks, and brand and product names.

How to fix it: Only use sentence or title case in your ad copy unless you have a promotional code or brand name that needs to be capitalised.

4. Mentioning copyrighted content

This sounds obvious, but it can catch people out. If another company has copyright over certain words and phrases, you will be penalised for using them.

How to fix it: Double-check your copy for copyright phrases. If you come across any, use synonyms.

5. Using exclamation marks

You might think you’re making your copy exciting and engaging, but using exclamation marks is just setting yourself up for disapproval. Only one exclamation mark is allowed per ad, and it can’t be in your headline. But Google’s rules on punctuation don’t stop there – symbols can’t be used for anything other than their original purpose. For instance, @ is fine in an email address, but not if you’re saying ‘@ home’ instead of ‘at home’.

How to fix it: Make sure you have a maximum of one exclamation mark in your ad copy, and remove any unnecessary symbols.

6. Low-quality images and videos

When trying to get users to click on your ad, you want to present your best self. While low-quality images and videos won’t achieve this, many still use them, and Google really doesn’t like them. Small, blurry media will get your ad disapproved, along with a video that has poor sound quality.

How to fix it: Upload media that is of the highest quality possible. Double-check to ensure nothing is blurry, and rewatch your videos to confirm the sound quality.

7. Non-existent landing pages

If you’re building your campaign before your landing page goes live, make sure you don’t start your ads until everything is ready. Google will disapprove your ads if you link to a page that doesn’t exist.

How to fix it: Make sure your landing page is live before you run your campaign.

8. Inappropriate content

Whether it’s your ad copy or your landing page, Google has a very low tolerance for content it deems inappropriate. To be on the safe side, steer clear of anything that has to do with adult-oriented content, gambling and dangerous products like fireworks.

How to fix it: Use non-offensive copy and stay away from themes that Google will consider inappropriate.

9. Restricted drug terms

If you are advertising in the pharmaceutical industry, you must ensure that your ads don’t contain restricted drug terms. This can be difficult to steer clear of, so try to think of alternative ways of using the restricted term.

How to fix it: You can either remove restricted drug terms from your ad, or you can fill out a form to prove that you’re not selling restricted drugs. If you think that Google has unnecessarily flagged your ad, you can appeal it. It’s been seen before to have ads disapproved for products that aren’t advertising drugs, so don’t worry if this is you too. Appeal the ads a couple of times if necessary, or get in touch with Google support.

10. One website per ad group

It’s Google’s policy that you must only have 1 landing page per ad group, so if you have two ads in one ad group that go to different landing pages, Google does not allow that.

How to fix it: Perhaps you need to choose what landing page you want to use and pause the other ad with the other landing page. If you have two landing pages with different themes or advertising different products or services, consider splitting one out to its own ad group.

Policy Violation: Misleading Content
What it means: The ad contains misleading information, leading to confusion or deceptive claims.

How to fix it: Review the ad content thoroughly. Ensure that all information provided is accurate, transparent, and aligns with the landing page. Remove any exaggerated claims or unclear statements that might mislead users.

10. Too much copy

Google Ads has a character limit – headlines can be up to 30 characters, while descriptions max out at 90. If you go over these, disapproval won’t be far away. There are exceptions to the rule, though – if your target country’s national language has lengthy words – like Russian and German – you’ll have a little more room.

How to fix it: Stick strictly to the character limits, and keep your ads simple and to the point.

11. Putting your phone number in the copy

Even if you want potential customers to give you a call, you can’t put your phone number in your ad copy. Google will automatically flag your ad for disapproval and you’ll see your leads plummet.

How to fix it: Don’t put your phone number in your ad copy – save it for your landing page.

12. Telling users to ‘click here’

Using a generic call to action such as ‘click here’ will see Google almost immediately disapprove your ad. The search engine giant instead encourages some creativity.

How do I appeal a Google Ads disapproval?

On your Google Ads notification of disapproval, there may be a button to click that says ‘Appeal’. Only appeal your disapproved ads if you can show Google you’ve followed the rules – do not appeal your ads without fixing the issue (like disapproved landing pages).

Have you had any ads disapproved by Google? What was the cause? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @TeamTillison. In the meantime, contact our PPC specialists today to find out how they can help with your campaigns and check out our Google Ads training courses.

This brief article looks to explore the recent Dynamic Search Ad developments in Pay Per Click.

What are Dynamic Search Ads?

In simple terms, Dynamic Search Ads automatically create and display your ad based on the content of your website.  Google crawls your website and creates ads based on the type of product you sell. You don’t have to choose your own keywords or create an ad for each product page of the site. They are automatically generated.

Here’s how to set up Dynamic Search Ads in Google Ads

To begin, initiate the process by establishing a fresh campaign and selecting your marketing objective.

Dynamic Search Ads campaigns support all campaign objectives compatible with search in Google Ads. These goals include:

1. Sales
2. Leads
3. Website Traffic
4. Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance

When creating a campaign without a specified goal, proceed to select the search network and complete the configuration of your campaign-level settings.

However, it’s important to note a peculiar aspect of the setup process. The guided setup lacks the option to create elements related to Dynamic Search Ads, such as URLs and ad groups.

Continue through the remaining steps of the campaign setup, refrain from adding keywords or ads, and proceed to click “Next” to publish your campaign.

If you get an alert that says you cannot publish the campaign with those mistakes, just click publish the campaign anyway

After publishing the campaign, navigate to the Settings tab, click on Additional Options, locate the Dynamic Search Ads Settings section, and input your URL while selecting your preferred targeting options.

Before you can start running Dynamic Search Ads, there’s one more step. Technically, DSA controls are managed at the Ad Group level. The initial Ad Group created upon publishing is set as Standard, and you have the choice to either keep it or delete it.

You will have to change the first setting from standard Dynamic before you can run Dynamic Search ads.

That’s how you set up Dynamic search ads.

 What are the Advantages of Dynamic Search Ads?:

• Low Maintenance – Google’s search index does all the work
• Very specific ads – Google shows the headline with their search query and the best page on the site
• You can control which areas of your website you target so you can test how effectively it will work
• Dynamic search ads allow you to get the traffic you may miss from your normal keyword list

What are the Disadvantages of Dynamic Search Ads?:

• There is potential for this to match keywords you don’t really want to show for, i.e “second-hand fancy dress costumes”
• You are also relying on Google to show the most relevant landing page/ad. It should work although there is always a risk as it’s not entirely in your control

How Do Dynamic Search Ads Work?

1. Automated Targeting:

• Dynamic Indexing: Instead of selecting specific keywords, advertisers allow the advertising platform to dynamically generate ad headlines and landing pages based on the content of their website. This is done through a process called dynamic indexing, where the platform continually scans and indexes the content on your site.

2. Ad Creation:

• Automated Headlines: The ad platform automatically generates ad headlines based on the search terms a user enters, aiming to match the user’s search intent with the content on your website.
• Landing Page Selection: The system dynamically selects relevant landing pages from your website that align with the user’s search query.

3. Matching User Queries:

• Real-time Matching: When a user enters a search query, the system dynamically matches it to the content on your website. If there’s a match, it triggers the display of your dynamic ad.

4. Display and Bidding:

• Ad Display: Your dynamically generated ad is displayed in the search results just like traditional text ads.
• Automated Bidding: The bidding process is often automated, with the advertising platform determining the bid based on factors like the likelihood of a conversion.

What are the benefits of Dynamic Search Ads?

• Broader Reach: DSAs help advertisers reach a broader audience by automatically targeting relevant searches that may not have been anticipated when setting up traditional keyword-based campaigns.
• Time Savings: They save time on keyword research and ad creation since the system automates much of the process.
• Adaptability: DSAs adapt to changes on your website, ensuring that your ads stay relevant as your content evolves.
• Monitoring and Optimisation: Regular Monitoring: While DSAs automate many aspects, it’s essential to regularly monitor their performance to ensure they align with your advertising goals. Negative Keywords: Adding negative keywords can help refine the targeting and prevent ads from showing for irrelevant searches.

Dynamic Search Ads vs. Traditional Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) and Traditional Search Ads are two different approaches to online advertising, each with its own characteristics and benefits. Here’s a comparison between Dynamic Search Ads and Traditional Search Ads:

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs):

1. Automated Targeting:

• Dynamic Indexing: DSAs use dynamic indexing to scan and index the content of your website. Ad headlines and landing pages are then dynamically generated based on users’ search queries.

2. Ad Creation:

• Automated Ad Content: The ad platform automatically generates ad headlines and selects landing pages based on the user’s search terms and the content of your website.

3. Targeting:

• Broad Targeting: DSAs target a broader range of searches, allowing advertisers to capture traffic that might not have been covered by traditional keyword targeting.

4. Management Complexity:

• Simpler Management: DSAs can be simpler to manage than Traditional Search Ads since they automate much of the ad creation process.

5. Adaptability:

• Adapts to Website Changes: DSAs adapt to changes on your website, ensuring that your ads stay relevant as your content evolves.

Benefits:

• Time-Saving: DSAs save time on keyword research and ad creation.
• Broader Reach: They help reach a broader audience by dynamically targeting relevant searches.

Traditional Search Ads:

1. Manual Targeting:

• Keyword Selection: Advertisers manually select specific keywords relevant to their products or services.

2. Ad Creation:

• Manual Ad Copy: Advertisers create ad headlines and copy based on the selected keywords, allowing for precise control over the ad’s messaging.

3. Targeting:

• Precise Targeting: Traditional Search Ads allow for more precise targeting based on manually selected keywords. Advertisers have control over which searches trigger their ads.

4. Management Complexity:

• Requires Ongoing Management: Traditional Search Ads require ongoing management and optimization of keyword lists, bids, and ad copy.

5. Adaptability:

• Manual Adaptation: Advertisers need to manually adapt their ad campaigns to changes in their product offerings or business focus.

Benefits:

• Control: Advertisers have more control over the specific keywords, ad creatives, and targeting parameters.
• Fine-Tuned Optimisation: Allows for fine-tuned optimization based on performance data.

Choosing Between DSAs and Traditional Search Ads:

• Consideration of Website Content: DSAs are beneficial for websites with dynamic or frequently changing content, while Traditional Search Ads offer more control for businesses with specific products or services.
• Time and Resource Constraints: DSAs may be preferable for businesses with limited time for manual campaign management, while advertisers who prefer more control may opt for Traditional Search Ads.
• Campaign Goals: The choice between DSAs and Traditional Search Ads should align with the advertiser’s specific campaign goals, whether that’s broad reach, time efficiency, or precise control over targeting.

Overall:

I think Dynamic Search Ads could be a good thing as you can easily match relevant ads but as they are a new thing we need to see how specific Google are in what they are matching you for. I suppose only time will tell and for that. There will be another blog post, so keep checking back.

For more on Dynamic Search Ads see: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/3249700?hl=en&ref_topic=3119126

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Back in 2019, Google Introduced its lead form ad extensions aiming to facilitate mobile users in converting and sharing their contact details without navigating away from the search engine results page (SERP). Recent updates from Google have enhanced this feature, allowing the form to open directly on mobile devices when users click on your ad headline. This advancement provides an opportunity to boost lead generation through your Search ads but there are many ways you can improve your mobile conversion rates. 

It’s no secret that advertising on mobile can be hard; the screens are a lot smaller than desktop PCs, the connection is usually slower and you have your audience’s attention for a shorter period of time. Mobile advertising will always be a difficult task and filling in a form on mobile will always be harder than on a desktop, 

Over the last few years, the number of mobile users has risen to a new level, and according to Google, the majority of the traffic is now converting on mobile devices. We live in a busy, fast-paced era where mobile is the quickest and easiest way to find something, so if you have a slow website that isn’t particularly user-friendly and no time to fix it, then Google Ads could provide the solution.

What are Google Ads Lead Form Extensions?

The Google lead extension will appear beneath your search ad on mobiles, tablets and most handheld devices connected to the internet. They allow users to provide contact information directly through your advert in the SERPs, eliminating the need for users to visit your mobile site to convert. If the user is signed into their Google account then the form will already be pre-populated with their contact information and all they need to do is simply submit it.  

Like all ad extensions, advertisers only pay when a user clicks on your form extension. However, your form is not guaranteed to show all the time. Lead forms work only as an extension to an existing search campaign, so bidding and targeting options are determined by the campaign your form is being attached.  

How do Google Ads lead form extensions work? 

Google lead generation forms are created to pull in potential customers by including an easy-to-follow call to action in a form which is optimised for mobile devices. Users see a Google-hosted form that is immediately filled out using the details of their Google accounts upon clicking the advertisement.

How To Create a Google Lead Form Extension

Creating a Google Lead Form Extension within your Google Ads account is a strategic way to seamlessly capture potential customer information. These extensions, integrated into your ad campaigns, offer a streamlined method for users to engage directly with your business. Let’s take a look at adding them to your account.

Do make sure you have access to a Google Ads account with the necessary permissions to create extensions.

To Set Up:

1. Navigate to your Google Ads account and click on the ‘Ads & Assets’ tab. This will bring a drop down menu, to which you need to click on the ‘Assets’ tab.
2. Once on the Assets page, click on ‘Lead Form’ and the plus button, or alternatively hit the blue plus button on the assets page and click on ‘Lead Form’.
3. Select if you want to create a new lead form on the Account level (it will show for all campaigns) or at campaign level for a specific campaign.

Creating Your Lead Form

Once you’ve chosen what level you’d like your Lead Form to be, you can begin to customise the lead form to best suit your business.

Form Fields

There are several fields to fill out, and you must provide at least a headline, business name, description, and 1 form field. 

It’s best practice to create a headline that captivates your audience, as this is what they see before they click on the form button on the ad. It’s best to tell them what they will get out of the form. 

‘Get a free consultation today’ ‘Book a tour of our school today!’ ‘Register for our free webinar’ are some examples of good headlines. 

It’s important to note that the longer your form is, the less likely a user will fill it out. Make it as short and simple as possible, and get the extra information you want later down the line.

Qualifying questions

You’ll find that you can add some questions to your form, but you must choose from a set list. Perhaps you may want to ask questions about when they are available to talk, what their preferred method of communication is, and if they have any questions.

There are several categories to choose questions from, such as business and education, but if you start typing a question you may want to ask, you’ll see that Google will suggest questions for you. Remember that these questions will add to the form length, so could put your user off. It’s advised to use qualifying questions sparingly.

Privacy Policy URL 

You need to add a privacy policy to your Google Ads lead form assets so that users will have the option to review the policy before submitting their details.  It must be hosted on your website  (which it should be anyway!), in order to keep to GDPR laws.  You cannot have a lead form extension without a privacy policy.

Form Submission Message

Once a user has submitted their details, they will be taken to a thank-you page. It is a good idea to give some additional information to the user on the form submission page or to tell them what to expect next.

A simple headline, description and a call to action button is required. Encourage them to visit your website to find out more. You can put in the URL of the page you’d like them to visit.

Call To Action

Next, you need to add the call to action that users will see before clicking on the form. Use call to action language, such as a ‘submit’ or ‘enquire’ to encourage them to fill out the form. You have a set list of call to action button text that you can choose from, so make sure that the one you pick is relevant for your form and your business objective.

Lead Form Type

Finally, you need to choose an objective for your Google Lead Form. There are two options:

Depending on your goal, it’s important to select the right Lead Form Type. Google will show your ad as frequently as the lead form type allows. Remember, big numbers can be great, but mean nothing if they have little value. Choose the goal depending on what you want to achieve.

How to download leads in lead form extensions 

You’ll want to be able to export the details of your leads, and there are several ways to do this.

The default option is to export the data from the ad extensions table. This is the free option, but requires you to manually fetch the data. You can also only get the last 30 days of data, and not historic data.

You are able to get it automatically imported into your CRM, however you can only do this through Zapier, which requires a paid subscription.

If you are getting hundreds of leads a day, it’s probably best to look into Zapier and get them automatically exported to you. If you’re getting manageable numbers, such as 1-5 a day, then you may be fine manually exporting the data.

How to track conversions for Google Ads lead form extensions?

Last but definitely not least, is conversion tracking! You want to know how many people have converted, and the conversion rate of your lead forms. To do this, you have two options again.

One option (‘Google Data Sources’) includes Zapier, and allows you to integrate from over 4000 third party platforms. This also means you can import offline conversions.

The free option is to set up through ‘other data sources’, which Google sets up for you.

And that’s it! Press save and your lead form will start showing. Do remember that it won’t show on every ad, but it will depend on your lead form goal and your bid strategy.

Lead form conversions: quick facts

• Whenever a lead form is opened and clicked on, it will always be tracked as a lead form click
• Once a form has been clicked on, filled in and submitted, it will be counted as a lead conversion
• Advertisers can see their click and conversion rate performance by separating the performance report by Click and Conversion type
• When using the lead form extension, you can download your leads straight from the campaign as a CSV file – it’s important to do this regularly as they will only be stored for 30 days

What are the benefits of Google Ads lead form extensions?

Google Ads lead form extensions offer several benefits for advertisers looking to streamline the lead generation process. Here are some key advantages:

• Improved User Experience: Lead form extensions enable users to submit their information directly within the ad, eliminating the need to navigate to an external landing page. This streamlined process enhances user experience by reducing friction and saving time.
• Higher Conversion Rates: The convenience of submitting contact information without leaving the search results page can lead to higher conversion rates. Users are more likely to engage and provide their details when the process is quick and seamless.
• Mobile Optimisation: Lead form extensions are particularly effective on mobile devices, where users may prefer a frictionless experience. By opening the form directly on mobile devices, advertisers can tap into the growing mobile user base.
• Increased Lead Volume: The ease of completing a lead form within the ad itself can result in increased lead volume. Users who might otherwise hesitate to navigate away from the search results are more likely to convert with this streamlined approach.
• Quick Access to Customer Data: Advertisers can access the collected lead data through Google Ads, allowing for quick follow-up and integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This facilitates efficient lead management and nurturing.
• Integration with CRM Systems: The collected lead data can be seamlessly integrated with CRM systems, enabling advertisers to manage and nurture leads effectively. This integration ensures a smooth transition of data from Google Ads to the broader sales and marketing ecosystem.
• Customisable Form Fields: Google Ads lead form extensions offer flexibility in designing the form fields. Advertisers can customize the information they collect, tailoring it to their specific business needs and ensuring that the leads generated are highly relevant.
• Cost-Efficient Advertising: By simplifying the user journey and encouraging more immediate actions, lead form extensions contribute to a potentially more cost-efficient advertising strategy. Advertisers can achieve their lead-generation goals with a streamlined and focused approach.

Want to find out more about the new Google Ads lead extension? 

If you want to find out more about the new Google Ads lead extension and what it could mean for your business, contact one of our specialists today!

Don’t worry! Tillison Consulting are specialists in many digital marketing sectors such as SEO, conversion rate optimisation and eCommerce CRO. We can help you transform your website and your user experience. Contact us today!

Having a high Google AdWords Quality Score holds great importance to eCommerce businesses, or to anyone trying to rank ads in general. Earlier this year, Google announced that, starting in July, mobile site speed will become a major factor in determining your AdWords Quality Score.

This shouldn’t necessarily come as a huge shock to eCommerce retailers, considering the fact that site speed has always played a prominent role in your Quality Score, not the mention the hard-to-miss dominance of mobile web browsing.

It remains to be seen how ‘major’ an impact mobile site speed will have on your Quality Score, but seeing as 73% of mobile internet users say that they’ve encountered a website that was too slow to load – according to Kissmetrics – it’s well worth considering mobile site speed optimisation. After all, the higher your quality score, the better your chances of a higher return on investment.

Quality Score: why does it matter?

One of the main reasons to push for a high Quality Score would be to improve your Google AdWords rankings – having a good ad ranking will make it a lot easier to get more traffic to your site.

Firstly, your ad is going to appear higher up in relevant Google searches and be presented to more people than before, therefore increasing your AdWords impressions. Secondly, having a good Quality Score will decrease the cost per click (CPC) on your ads. So you’re getting good rankings in Google and saving money in the process – it’s a win-win situation.

So, how important is the quality score?

The quality score is incredibly important, especially for getting your keywords to rank in a higher ad position without having to increase your bids. This has a huge influence on helping people assess their budget because higher quality scores usually result in lower costs per click. 

Overall, a higher quality score is Google’s way of recognising that your ad is relevant to the people you’re trying to attract to your website therefore what your creating should be effective for increasing traffic.

What affects the quality score?

Many factors contribute to your quality score, including the click-through rate (CTR), which is the estimate of how frequently your ads will be clicked on by users. The CTR rating ranked as either above average, average or below average can help a business decipher whether the keywords in their ad will help it perform well.

The landing page experience is rated on how relevant your landing page is in relation to the clicked ad it is also rated on the landing pages user experience. It is determined by whether Google believes the user will be able to find what they’re looking for on your landing page or if they are likely to go back to the Google results page.

Another factor is your ad relevance. This measures how closely your keyword relates to your ads. Always include your keywords in your ads where possible.

The past performance of similar AdWords campaigns can also affect your quality score. If Google recognises that previously that keyword hasn’t performed very well in ad campaigns, then this is going to decrease your score. It’s advised that you re-evaluate your choice of keyword for more successful ones.

Google Ads Quality Score factors

The AdWords Quality Scoring System already takes several components into account, so before you integrate mobile site speed optimisation into your AdWords strategy it’s important to make sure you’re already optimising the following:

Click-through rate

As this video from our MD Mark Tillison explains, the AdWords Click Through Rate (CTR) plays such a big part in the AdWords Quality Score algorithm, and there are a small handful of crucial methods to increase your campaign CTRs. These include – but are not limited to – keyword intent, ad copy and position, and brand equity. Optimising your click-through rates can result in more traffic, lower average CPCs and increased sales.

Keyword relevance

Continuously researching for new, more relevant keywords to incorporate into your AdWords campaigns, including long-tail keyword opportunities that can contribute to increasing your overall traffic, is vital to improving your AdWords Quality Score. Dividing these keywords into tailored ad groups can also help towards creating more effective ads overall.

Landing page experience

Your landing page is the URL people arrive at after they click your ad, and a poor landing page experience could result in your ads being shown less often. Methods suggested by Google for improving your landing page experience include the curation of original and relevant content, promoting transparency on your site and – funnily enough – optimising your mobile site speed.

Google Ads performance history

While it’s been disputed that your AdWords account history doesn’t directly affect your Quality Score, PPC Hero says that maintenance of your performance history “will allow AdWords to monitor your campaign’s progress”, and that accounts that have been active for longer with a “rich performance history” are typically favoured by AdWords.

Mobile site speed test

The obvious place to start with mobile site speed optimisation is by running a site speed test. Google has built a tool called Test My Site, which is free and incredibly easy to use. Simply enter your website URL and it will be tested on a 3G standard connection, seeing as 70% of mobile network connections globally will occur at 3G or slower speeds through 2020.

Test My Site will also run JavaScript, test the mobile usability of your site and analyse it up against competing sites within your industry before giving you a summary of its mobile site speed analysis. This summary includes the loading time on 3G – a time of three seconds or less is deemed ‘excellent’, up to five seconds is ‘good’, up to 8 seconds is ‘fair’, and anything longer is considered ‘poor’.

From there, you can opt in to receive a more comprehensive report from Test My Site by email that – depending on your site’s score – offers a range of mobile site speed optimisation tips.

Mobile site speed optimisation methods

Refreshing the cache

Leverage browser caching is a good system as it stores files and data such as images, CSS and JavaScript in the server instead of having to load these files every time the site is accessed. Instead of being requested from the server all the time, the cache will then be remembered, therefore speeding up the site for everyone.

Installing mobile site speed plugins

If you’re looking to improve your mobile site speeds, there are many different plugins you can easily install on your content management system to help you out. For example, if you are using WordPress as your CMS, AMP for WP is a great plugin to get you started. This automatically adds functionality from the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project – a Google-led initiative to help publishers create mobile-friendly content and optimise its rendering and delivery – to your WordPress site.

Optimising your images

Image optimisation is a very simple task to improve mobile site speed. If you are uploading large image files to your site, it’s going to take a lot longer compared to smaller ones. Using a file format such as Portable Network Graphics (PNG) or JPEG will help with compressing images into smaller files. It can also be as simple as making the images smaller in size on your website, or just using fewer images altogether. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have images on your site, just don’t overload it.

Run outstanding updates

It may seem daunting to run several updates, and more tempting to keep leaving them ‘for another time’. However, it’s always a good idea to go through your plugins and other files on your website and update these. If the update exists, then that means the plugin – or whatever you’re updating – has been improved and could potentially be faster compared to its previous incarnation.

Minify CSS and JavaScript

Removing unnecessary characters from your HTML code – such as comments and new line characters – can help speed up your site. The reason this helps speed up loading times on your site is that it simply reduces the amount of code that has to be requested from the server.

Until Google’s changes come into effect in July, it’s obviously hard to tell how significantly your AdWords Quality Score will be affected by your mobile site speed. However, this opens up another reason to push for better site speeds – some eCommerce businesses believe that mobile site speeds are not a big priority, when they are in fact a huge priority. Hopefully Google’s announcement will get businesses to notice that mobile site speed optimisation is more of a priority than ever before.

Still having issues with improving your Google Ads quality score? Let us know in the comments, or click below to speak with one of our AdWords specialists and find out more about our AdWords training courses.

Other Ways to Improve Your Google ads Quality Score

• Use dynamic keyword insertion in your ads to make them as relevant as possible. Dynamic keyword insertion only works if your keyword has a quality score of greater than 3.
• Group highly relevant keywords together to keep the traffic high for each Ad Group.
  Where possible, make highly specific landing pages for your keywords.
• Delete or pause poorly performing keywords, or move them to more relevant ad groups with more relevant ads, landing on more relevant landing pages.
• Try adding phrase and/or broad match variations of exact match keywords you are bidding on to increase traffic volume.

Digital marketers have often argued that WordPress is the best content management system you can really ask for, especially when it comes to SEO.

That said, getting your website ranked at the top of Google isn’t merely a case of using WordPress and WordPress alone – at the end of the day, it is just a CMS and doesn’t present you with a perfectly optimised website straight off the bat.

Fortunately, as a tool that prides itself on being ‘SEO-friendly‘, WordPress does offer a multitude of plugins to help you put SEO best practices to good use. If anything, it offers too many SEO plugins, so here’s a list of five to get you started on optimising your WordPress site:

Yoast SEO

Coming in at the top of the list, this plugin has an astounding 5-star rating and has been going since 2008. Yoast SEO is named the #1 SEO tool for WordPress, and Team Tillison couldn’t agree more.

This plugin provides a quality toolset that allows you to optimise all pages on your website. There are both free and paid versions of it – both versions are great, but with Yoast SEO Premium you do get access to bonus features like internal linking suggestions, an automated redirect manager and – best of all – no ads.

Whether it’s a blog post or a very important landing page, filling in your metadata and doing other important bits and pieces such as noindexing or canonically linking a page couldn’t be easier with this superb tool. If you want an easier life working on a WordPress site, install this plugin. You won’t regret it.

Redirection

Got a load of broken URLs and 404 errors flashing up on your site? This completely free plugin is the right tool for you.

Redirection makes fixing 404 errors the easiest job in the world – it’s as simple as putting in your broken link and then telling the plugin where you want it to redirect to. You can also decide whether you want it to be a 301 or 302 redirect.

One big problem we have had with previous redirect plugins is the fact that if you had hundreds – or even thousands – of broken links mapped in a sheet, you had to copy and paste in all of these URLs manually. This is a very long and very boring job, but thankfully Redirections allows you to upload a CSV file within a few clicks. This saves hours of tedious work, and it works a charm.

Smush

2018 was a big year for WordPress page speeds and if you have a slow website, this could damage your results. A lot of the time, a site is slowed down due to the number of unoptimised images. That’s when downloading Smush is a good idea.

Smush optimises your images at the click of a button. After installing and ticking a few boxes for personal preference, this tool will optimise, resize and compress all your mage on your site. In the long run, this will speed up your site, make it more efficient and improve your overall page performance.

Contact Form 7

With over 5 million installs, Contact Form 7 is a great plugin for managing multiple contact forms across your site – not to mention being completely free.

With Contact Form 7, you can use simple markup to customise the form and mail content with flexibility and ease. The form supports Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering and more.

All In ONE SEO: The Best SEO Analysis plugin

With the use of the plugin’s SEO audit checklist, your complete WordPress website is evaluated to identify problems and offer practical recommendations for enhancing SEO and driving more traffic to your site.

By automatically generating and uploading sitemaps to other search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, AIOSEO goes beyond and above, ensuring broad online visibility. Schema, knowledge graphs, AMP, local SEO, and other noteworthy features are also included.

This plug-in is best Local and small business owners who rely on search engine optimisation to drive sales and revenue will discover this tool to be quite helpful. It provides an affordable and practical answer.

Rank Math

By delivering real-time information from within the WordPress interface when you create content, Rank Math automates the optimisation process for your website. Because snippet previews are so convenient, you are able to quickly and easily modify titles and meta descriptions, this lowers the possibility that your content will appear improperly on Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERP).

The plugin’s dedication to speed is noteworthy since it guarantees that your site’s loading time won’t interfere with your SEO efforts. Rank Math’s powers go beyond content optimisation to encompass additional SEO elements like 404 monitoring, redirections, and tools specifically designed for WooCommerce site SEO.

Broken Link checker

The WordPress plugin Broken Link Checker is made to make managing broken links on your site easier. With more than 700,000 users, it is well regarded for its effectiveness and is the quickest and most precise WordPress alternative.

The plugin provides two distinct engines for checking links. The cloud-based solution ensures unparalleled speed and integrates with WPMU DEV’s web development tools smoothly, making maintenance across numerous sites simple.

On the other hand, the local engine makes efficient use of the resources on your website to monitor links. Broken Link Checker’s user-friendly dashboard makes navigating simple, enabling manual or automatic scans, quick link adjustments, and comprehensive email reports—whether you choose the cloud or local option. Designed by WPMU DEV, a well-known brand in the WordPress community with more than 15 years of experience.

SEO Framework

The SEO Framework is an expert system that creates essential meta tags instantly in any language, removing the need for full-depth SEO knowledge. It has been preconfigured for the best possible page optimisation, carefully according to Google’s webmaster rules. On post overview pages, the plugin offers colour-coded instructions, offers recommendations for enhancements, and enables touch and keyboard navigation.

SEOPress

For entrepreneurs wishing to improve user experience and bulk optimise their websites, SEOPress is the ideal choice. Because it provides an all-in-one SEO package, worries regarding plugin overload are reduced.

With tools like sitemaps, breadcrumbs, redirections, and schemas, SEOPress offers a complete answer to all of your SEO requirements.

You can easily submit your sitemap to Google’s index, optimise titles and meta descriptions, and even check for broken links from your WordPress admin. SEOPress helps organisations enhance their online presence by guaranteeing that website optimisation is efficient and successful. It accomplishes this by eliminating the need for various plugins and streamlining the SEO process.

SEOPress plug-in can create Title and Nofollow for Links

Last but not least, this neat little plugin comes in handy after the WordPress 4.2 update annoyingly removed title fields. This tool not only restores those fields, but it adds a new Add rel=”nofollow” to link checkbox to it.

There’s not much else to this plugin but it’s still worth an install – it’s free after all!

Internal Link Juicer: The Best internal link Plug in

For website owners seeking a seamless solution to enhance SEO and elevate user experience, Internal Link Juicer emerges as the ultimate choice. This cutting-edge WordPress plugin takes the complexity out of internal link building, automating the process based on intelligent keyword configurations.

Whether you’re a blogger, SEO affiliate, agency, business owner, or an individual seeking to boost your WordPress site’s performance, Internal Link Juicer is your go-to solution.

Explore the advanced features and take your SEO game to the next level. Visit the Internal Link Juicer website for more details.

Do you want to reach a larger audience, without spending any money? The Google Ads Grants program for nonprofits is an incredible opportunity for charities and nonprofit organisations of all sizes. This program provides $10,000 a month in free advertising to eligible nonprofits. This allows Charities to promote their fundraising campaigns to millions of potential supporters around the world.

What Are Google Ads Grants?

Google Ads Grants is an advertising program run by Google. It allows eligible nonprofits and charities to use Google Ads to reach a larger audience. It provides free access to Google Ads, the world’s biggest search and display advertising platform.

Overview

Google Ads Grants is Google’s flagship program for nonprofits, offering up to $10,000 per month in free ads. Organisations must meet the program’s eligibility requirements and demonstrate how their mission can be promoted using Google Ads. Ads will be displayed on the Google search engine and give nonprofits, charities, and nonprofit organisations access to the millions of people who use Google in their daily lives.

What Types of Non-Profits Qualify?

The program is available to organisations registered as a nonprofit, charities and educational institutions in one of the countries Google Ads supports. Organisations with a 501(c)(3) are eligible in certain countries. In some circumstances, government agencies might also qualify for grants.

Advantages of Google Ads Grants

Google Ads Grants is a powerful program that gives nonprofits, charities, and nonprofit organisations the ability to reach millions of people. It can help them grow in more ways than one. For insights on creating effective digital marketing strategies, check out this digital marketing strategy for fundraising.

Google Ads Grant Limitations

There are some limitations with Google Ads Grants. Notwithstanding the eligibility requirements;

1. The charity grant cannot be used to advertise on Google Display. Campaigns on YouTube and Google Shopping are excluded too. For those, you’d need a standard paid account which you fund with your own budget.
2. There’s a limit of $10,000 per month too, which is usually difficult to spend for smaller charities.
3. There is a bid limit which can impact the visibility of your ads. However, our team has developed strategies to work around that effectively.

How to Optimise Google Ads Campaigns for Charities

How to Apply for Google Ads Grants

The process of applying for a Google Ads Grant is not as complicated as one may think. There are some things to keep in mind when applying.

Create a Google Ads account or Ad Grants Pro account

The first step to applying for a Google Ads Grant is to create a Google Ads account or Ad Grants Pro account. After setting these up, you can begin your application process.

Register your Organisation with Google

You’ll need to register your non-profit organisation with Google for Nonprofits. This step is crucial as it ensures your organisation meets Google’s eligibility criteria for the program.

Apply for Google Ads Grants

Once your organisation is registered with Google for Nonprofits, you will be able to apply for a Google Ads Grants. You’ll need to explain how your organisation intends to use the grant and meet Google’s eligibility criteria as you work through the application process

Conclusion

Google Ads is an effective advertising platform that provides non-profits and charities an opportunity to gain exposure and support their cause. With access to Google Ads’ range of features, organisations can create campaigns that attract visitors and promote their causes online. Non-profits can benefit greatly from this programme with the support of a Charity Google Ads Agency. However, it is important to develop effective strategies and to maximise the impact of the grant to gain the greatest benefit.

What is Google Ads for Charities?

Google Ads for Charities is helps organisations like yours reach more people and promote their causes. Through Google Ads, you can create highly targeted campaigns that reach exactly the right audience, allowing your organisation to reach more people and do more good.

Whilst the benefits can be huge, the process of setting up and running a Charity Google Ads Campaign can be complicated. With the right strategy, you can drive more traffic to your website, increase your donations, and boost your visibility on the web.

Understanding How Google Ads Works

To run effective Google Ads campaigns for charities, it is important to understand how the programme works. Unlike traditional advertising channels, Google Ads allows you to target people based on their search terms. That gives you laser-focused control over who sees your ads.

You only pay when a user clicks your ad, not just when your ad is seen. This pay-per-click approach makes Google Ads the perfect tool for organisations with limited budgets.

Google Ads for Charities and Non-Profits: What You Need to Know

Before you can even contemplate launching a campaign, it’s imperative that you first meet the Google Ads for Charities eligibility criteria. Your organisation must have a charitable or non-profit mission, operate on a non-discriminatory basis, and have a website with content related to your mission.

Once you’ve verified your eligibility, then you can begin setting up your campaigns. There are four types of ads available in Google Ads: Search, Display, YouTube Ads, and Google Shopping Ads. The Google Ads Grant can only be used for Search campaigns.

Charity Advertising Using Google Search

To reach potential donors, Search ads are the most common type of ad. These ads appear when a user searches for a specific keyword. Search ads are most effective when they target the right audience and updated regularly.

Charity Advertising on the Google Display Network

Google Display Ad campaigns allow advertisers to target ads based on user demographics, interests and content. This can be extremely effective for Charity Advertising to raise awareness of a cause.

Unfortunately, the Google Ads Grant does not provide for advertising on Google Display network. If Display Ads are an important part of your fundraising strategy, you will need to open a paid ads account to run alongside your Charity Google Ads account.

Charity Advertising on YouTube

Like Display campaigns, YouTube Ads offer a great opportunity to target users based on interests, demographics, the content they’re watching and of course, geographic location.

Sadly, the Google Ads Grant cannot be used to pay for YouTube ads. If this is an important part of your marketing strategy you will need to run YouTube Ads within a Paid Google Ads Account.

Google Search Ads Setup for Charities

Now that you have an understanding of which types of ads are available for your campaigns, it’s time to get to work setting them up. In this section, we will provide an overview of the ad setup process to help you get started.

Making Sure You Meet the Target Audience

Before you launch your first ad campaign, it’s important to make sure you’re reaching the right people. Take the time to research your target audience and understand their interests and needs. Once you have a clear understanding of your potential supporters, you’ll be able to create ads that will lead them directly to your organisation’s mission.

Keyword Research for Charities

Keyword research is essential for targeting the right audience. Identify relevant keywords related to your charity/nonprofit and use them strategically in your ad campaigns to increase visibility. For insights into paid advertising strategies for charities and fundraising, visit this paid advertising for charities guide.

To help with Keyword Research, you can use the Google Ads Keyword Planner. Also see 7 Awesome Keyword Research Tools for SEO.

Keyword Research Tips for Charities

1. Search is all about intent. Pick keywords around your cause or problems that you help solve.
2. In a Charity account, maximum bids are going to be limited which can make it challenging to rank ads and get clicks. Often, you might be choosing lower intent, less commercial keywords that paid accounts can easily outbid you on. But hey, Google is paying for your clicks, so it’s not all bad!
3. Whilst often not best practice for a commercial account, you might need to use more broad match keywords. Broad match keywords can attract lower value, less relevant clicks which do pose budget waste risk. Since you’re not paying the budget, that’s much less of a concern in a charity account.

Creating Compelling Ads

Once you’ve identified the right keywords for your campaign, it’s time to write your ads. Writing effective ad copy is an art form, and it takes practice to create compelling messages that lead to clicks and conversions. Keep your focus on the benefit to the user and make sure your message is clear, concise, and persuasive.

Deep Dive: Pay per Click Ad Copywriting Tips

1. Ad relevance is critical to quality score, lower CPCs and a higher CTR. You will get more clicks at a lower cost per click. You should incorporate your keywords in your ad copy, but…
2. Don’t over-stuff. Repeating the keyword through the ad copy isn’t effective. This can also contradict Google’s Guidelines, so you could find ads get disapproved.
3. Use a Call To Action on some of your ad lines. You can’t use the word, “click”. However, you could use phrases such as, “find out more”, “discover how”, “support us now” which can be effective.
4. Continually revise and optimise your copy. Measure the performance of each line of text and update those that perform worst. Learn from the data what your audience prefers. As your CTR increases, so does ad rank and that means more clicks.

Choosing Appropriate Ad Extensions

Ad extensions enable you to add additional information to your ads like calls to action, contact information, and directions. Take the time to research the ad extensions that will be most effective for your organisation. Make sure to include them in all of your campaigns.

1. Add Sitelinks. They’ll add more depth to your ad, but also give users a chance to click to more specific pages they might be interested in.
2. Add the Location extension if you’re running local campaigns.
3. Add Images to make your ads stand out more
4. Add the Callout extension to add more features and benefits
5. Add the Call Extension if you want to users to call you
6. Add the Lead Form extension if you want to capture leads straight from your ad

Using Negative Keywords to Block Irrelevant Traffic

Adding negative keywords helps the right audience sees your ads. These are search terms you don’t want your ads to appear for. Excluding irrelevant traffic helps make sure users who are unlikely to convert don’t waste your budget. Take the time to research potential negative keywords to add to your campaigns and keep your ad budget in check.

The Essential Guide to Negative Keywords in Google Ads

Use Targeted, Relevant Landing Pages

When users click on your ads, they should direct the click to a landing page on your website which is relevant to they keyword you’re bidding on. Ensure that the landing pages align with the keywords you’re bidding on. That helps increase quality score, which helps lower your CPCs and increase ad rank. More importantly, visitors have a better experience and you’re more likely to convert those visitors in to supporters or donations.

Continuous Optimisation

Regularly review and optimise your ad campaigns based on performance data. Adjust keywords, ad copy, and targeting to improve results and maximise the impact of your Google Ads Grant.

Google Ads Grants for Charities and Nonprofits

Google Ads Grants for Charities and Nonprofits

Do you want to reach a larger audience, without spending any money on clicks? The Google Ads Grants program for nonprofits is an incredible opportunity for charities and nonprofit organisations of all sizes. This program provides $10,000 a month in free advertising to eligible nonprofits. This allows Charities to promote their fundraising campaigns to millions of potential supporters around the world.

What Types of Non-Profits Qualify?

The program is available to organisations registered as a nonprofit, charities and educational institutions in one of the countries Google Ads supports. Organisations with a 501(c)(3) are eligible in certain countries. In some circumstances, government agencies might also qualify for grants.

Google Ads Grant Limitations

There are some limitations with Google Ads Grants. Notwithstanding the eligibility requirements;

• The charity grant cannot be used to advertise on Google Display. Campaigns on YouTube and Google Shopping are excluded too. For those, you’d need a standard paid account which you fund with your own budget.
• There’s a limit of $10,000 per month too, which is usually difficult to spend for smaller charities.
• There is a bid limit which can impact the visibility of your ads. However, our team has developed strategies to work around that effectively.

Conclusion

Google Ads is an effective advertising platform that provides non-profits and charities an opportunity to gain exposure and support their cause. With access to Google Ads’ range of features, organisations can create campaigns that attract visitors and promote their causes online. Non-profits can benefit greatly from this programme with the support of a Charity Google Ads Agency. However, it is important to develop effective strategies and to maximise the impact of the grant to gain the greatest benefit.