Google Adwords is undoubtedly the most popular platform for online advertising. It fetches around $42.5 billion to Google every year and one of their most valuable assets and source of revenue at the time. Google Adwords is connected to a lot of people. In fact, it’s connected to almost every website that you come across while surfing. While advertisers pay Google for their ads on the search pages, there are many new bloggers/website owners who earn via Google Adsense which in a way is connected to Google Adwords. So when so many people are tied to the same car and it suddenly takes a U-turn, there’s going to be some serious damage!
That’s what happened last time when Google changed their campaigning strategy. Earlier, Google allowed the advertisers to target specific devices using Google Adwords and it worked pretty well for the people who wanted to focus on particular device/devices such as Desktops, Tablets or Mobile devices. But then Google took back this privilege from them and now they can’t focus on a particular community of users. Google calls it “enhanced” campaigning but we think the word is a double-meaning joke.
Before we take the route to the solution, let me reconsider the problem. Why is there a need for specific devices to be targeted? They all browse the same Google search engine on all these devices. So what’s the difference? Whether you’re watching her on a 15-inch LCD or a 7-inch LED screen, Jennifer Lopez always seems beautiful. Doesn’t she?
Well, the facts don’t repeat my words. Study reveals that people spent 2:42 minutes on the same website on a desktop compared to 1:16 on a mobile. Moreover, a study by Marin Software shows that cost per click was 26% lower in 2013 as compared to desktop. So there’s a very different search pattern in mobile and desktop devices. Desktop devices are always preferred when it comes to shopping from ecommerce websites as a bigger screen is more comfortable. So now that we have the problem defined, we need a definite answer as well.
Let us first try some of the “enhanced” features of the new Google Adwords campaign.
BID MODIFIER:
The enhanced campaign by Google Adwords introduced a new feature called Bid Modifier. Using this feature, you can increase/decrease your bid for ads appearing on mobile devices. So if your ads are mobile-centric, you can increase your bid by a maximum of 300%. Though this isn’t the end solution that we’re looking for, it certainly compensates up to an extent.
To set a bid modifier, go to the “settings” tab in your campaign and click on “devices”. There you will see an option to change the bid percentage for mobile.
MOBILE-PREFERRED ADS:
This Google Adwords feature allows you to create mobile-preferred ads from the same ads that you’ve designed for desktops. One such example can be the inclusion of “Call Now” button in your ad as people can call directly from their phone.
To select this feature, click the checkbox against mobile under “device preference” while creating the ad.
AD-SIZE:
Another thing that you can do is change the size of the ad to 320x50pixel. Animation ads are even better. In case the flash videos don’t run on some mobile devices, you can convert the flash files to HTML5 while uploading. In this way, your ad will take up only a portion of the mobile display and it will be very easy for the user to click on it. But as it happens all the time, the user clicks on the ad by mistake and therefore it just ads to your bill but not your sale. So remove that ad in such a case.
These were all the Adwords features that you could play with. Now there are some other indirect options as well that you can try on:
SEND THEM TO THE RIGHT ADDRESS:
Responsive websites are always the ideal choice when it comes to be operational on two different platforms. But if you don’t fulfil that condition, you have to make sure that your mobile website is working fine. Many times, users select a link which leads to a page of the desktop version of your website and therefore it doesn’t exist for them. So proof-check every single page of your website and make any possible corrections.
GIVE BING ADS A TRY:
Isn’t it better to put my banner on a less busy road where there is no other banner than to display it among thousand other banners on a busy one? If you agree with me, then you should give Bing ads a try. Not only that they’ll be much more economical for you, you get the option to choose device-specific campaign; the same feature that Google Adwords removed last year. I know that there are much less people using Bing search engine, there are accordingly less people running their campaigns on that road. So you get a lot more exposure.
To set your device in Bing Ads campaign, go to “Campaign settings” tab. Under “Advanced Targeting Options”, select “Device” and choose whichever device you want to run your campaign on.
MAKE EACH & EVERY SHOT COUNT:
What if people are clicking your ads, is that what you want? If you say yes, then you’ve forgot what’s this all about. If people are clicking your ads but still there’s no sale from your counter, then there’s a very serious problem. First, you have no business. Second, you have to pay Google for the clicks. So when a user comes to your website after clicking your ad, make sure that he stays there. The landing page is obviously the most important factor in determining your conversion rate. It should be delicately designed with an intuitive interface such that the user doesn’t feel puzzled at all. If he/she has clicked on your ad, he/she expect something from you and you should deliver that. Moreover, the website design should take into consideration which device is the user coming from.
LET’S GO FOR A MOBILE HUNT:
There’s never a particular idea that fits into the equation. You always have to hit-and-trial. If it works, it’s good or you’ll have to go for the next option. Facts are different for different people. While for some people, mobile costs per lead average are higher than desktop, there are people in this world with contrasting values as well. You can do A/B testing for your different ads and get the idea of which ads are performing well for you and which ones are the leak points of money as well as time. There are some features like click-to-call that are really helpful for mobile users and will always add to your benefits. But you should keep looking for more and keep all your cards open because you never know which one comes to your rescue!
