Setting up Google Display Network ads can be a powerful way to reach your target audience, but common mistakes can undermine your campaign’s success. From failing to install conversion tracking to not optimizing ad placements, these errors can lead to wasted budgets and missed opportunities. In this guide, we’ll explore the top 10 mistakes to avoid when setting up your Google Display Network ads to ensure your campaigns are effective and efficient.
Error #1: Conversion counter not installed
No conversion counter – no way to find out the details of your visitor or buyer: who they are, what age and gender they are, what advertising channel they came from.
There are two ways to install a conversion counter:
- set up conversion tracking within your Google Ads account;
- import ready-made conversions from your Google Analytics account.
Setting up a conversion counter in a Google Ads advertising account
Log in to your Google Ads account, click “Tools” – “Conversion”.
Here you can set up the counter. Click + and select the source of your conversions: website, mobile app, YouTube channel. For example, let’s select conversions on the website.
The settings will appear in front of you.
Category. The sales category includes purchase, checkout, add to cart, subscription. The leads category includes contact , call, SMS, form completion, appointment, price request. Choose which conversions to track.
The settings will appear in front of you.
The name is at your discretion.
Conversion value: same or different.
Conversion tracking mode: each or one. The “Each” tracking mode is suitable for tracking the “Purchase” conversion. If a user clicks on an ad once but makes two purchases, you will see two conversions. To track other conversions, for example, from the lead generation category, you can select the “One” tracking mode. Of several equivalent user actions, such as filling out a form, ordering a call, signing up for a presentation, only one will be counted as a conversion – the very first one.
Accounting period. Sometimes conversions occur several days after clicking on an advertising banner. You need to specify the period during which they should be accounted for.
Attribution model: last click.
Click the “Create and Continue” button. All that’s left to do is copy and paste the tracking tag onto your site, which Google Ads will automatically create for you.
If the conversion counter is set up correctly, you will be able to see all the indicators in your advertising account:
- number of conversions;
- repetition rate;
- conversion value.
Import conversions from a Google Analytics account
If you need to import ready-made conversions, click + again. Then select Import and Google Analytics. Click Continue.
You will get a list of conversions previously set up in Google Analytics. Select the ones you need, click “Import” and “Continue”.
Error #2: Remarketing not set up
With the help of remarketing, you can re-attract potential buyers who have already visited your site, but for some reason did not perform the target action: subscription, purchase, call. If remarketing is not set up, you will lose these users forever.
To set up remarketing in your Google Ads account, click Tools – Audience Manager
Then go to the “Remarketing” tab. If you already have user groups for remarketing, you will see the size of each group and the target actions performed on this page. If not, click +. From the drop-down list, select “Website visitors”.
Then give your audience a name. And specify all the important data:
- list members: visitors to specific pages;
- The URL of the page whose visitors should be added to the remarketing group;
- pre-fill settings;
- participation period – the length of time a user is in a remarketing group from the moment they first visit the page;
- group description.
Then click the Create Audience button. Done: your remarketing group is created.
Mistake #3: Mobile apps are not excluded
Advertisers often make a mistake: they do not exclude display in mobile applications. If you have ever used free mobile applications, you have noticed that they are monetized through contextual display advertising. Surely, you have also accidentally clicked on a pop-up banner and ended up on a third-party site. For each such unintentional click, the advertiser pays money. Therefore, I recommend excluding mobile applications from advertising campaigns.
Go to the advertising campaign settings. Select “Placements” – “Exclusions”.
To create an exception, click the pencil icon. From the drop-down list, select “Exclude placements.” Enter the following combination into the empty line: mobileappcategory::69500 . Click “Add placement” and “Save.”
All mobile apps are now excluded from showing your ads.
Mistake #4: Broad targeting
Even for large and popular brands, broad targeting settings are not profitable. The advertising budget will be written off too quickly, and you will not get the desired result.
I recommend narrowing your targeting in a Display Network advertising campaign by all metrics:
- geography;
- device;
- audience;
- floor;
- age;
- subject matter;
- placement locations;
- keywords.
Mistake #5: Not enough advertising creatives
You won’t be able to assess how effective your ad campaign is with just one ad creative. You’ll be left wondering: maybe I have the wrong audience or the wrong placement?
I recommend adding 5-10 advertising creatives to each ad group. And then analyze the effectiveness of advertising. Creatives that do not work should be deleted, and new ones should be added instead.
Go to the ad campaign, click “Ad groups” and “Ads”. See that there are no more than three creatives? Add a few more.
Error #6: No excluded sites
The Display Network is a multitude of sites with a wide variety of topics. If you show ads everywhere at once, your budget is spent too quickly. But not all advertising platforms will bring you enough leads at a low price.
Let’s say your optimal cost per lead or customer is 100 UAH. One advertising platform brought you many conversions at a cost of 500 UAH per lead. Another platform wasted 500 UAH — it didn’t bring a single conversion. I recommend excluding such platforms.
Log in to your Google Ads account. Select an ad campaign, then an ad group. Click the Placements tab, then Where your ads show.
Here is a list of sites where your banners are placed. You can see the number of impressions, the cost of each click, expenses, the number and conversion rate. This data clearly demonstrates which sites are working for results, and which are draining the budget.
There are two ways to exclude a site from advertising platforms.
The first way
A little earlier we excluded free mobile apps from the number of places where ads can be shown. We can repeat this trick again – this time with websites.
Copy the address of the website you wish to exclude.
Go to the Placements tab – Exclusions. Click the pencil icon and the Exclude Placements command. In the empty line, enter the website address. Click Add Placement and Save.
The second way
Just select the line with the site. The “Edit” button will appear above and two commands to choose from: “Exclude from ad group” and “Exclude from campaign”. I recommend collecting a list of negative sites at the group level.
Done. Your ads will not be shown on excluded sites.
Mistake #7: Putting All Your Hope in Google
Let’s say you decide to run GDN ads, relying entirely on Google. You haven’t set a target CPC or conversion, haven’t narrowed the geography of the display, haven’t defined the audience.
This error is especially critical if your advertising account does not have enough data for analysis. Google “does not know” who to show your ads to. Therefore, the advertising budget will be spent in record time, and you will not get the desired result.
I recommend setting up your advertising campaign yourself and trusting only yourself.
Mistake #8: No frequency limit
Imagine: you go to a website and there are several identical banners posted there at the same time. You look at the ads, but you don’t click or proceed — you’re not interested. Meanwhile, the advertiser sees a decrease in CTR: there are many impressions, but few clicks. A low CTR, in turn, affects the ad’s rating — the cost per click increases.
To avoid such a development, you need to limit the frequency of impressions. An additional benefit is that intrusive monotonous advertising will not irritate the user.
Go to the “Settings” section and the “Frequency Management” tab.
Never click the first option: “Allow Google to determine how often your ads appear.” Always set the frequency yourself.
Click “Specify settings” and you will be prompted to manage impressions:
- for each ad;
- for each ad group;
- for the entire campaign.
Mistake #9: No separation by targeting types
Use a simple tactic: one ad group – one type of targeting. This will help you analyze the results and understand which type of targeting brings conversions and which does not. Also, separation will help you avoid targeting overlaps, narrowing the audience and low coverage.
Target:
- by topics and subtopics of sites and pages where advertising is displayed;
- by audience of user interests;
- for individual placements;
- by keywords. Yes, in 2021 this type of targeting still works well in several niches.
Mistake #10: Expanding targeting
The most common mistake newbies make when setting up ads is to leave the targeting extension enabled. This is justified for advertising campaigns with a high conversion rate – over 100 per week. The extension increases reach and helps attract more potential buyers. In other cases, targeting extensions spend the advertising budget too quickly and do not bring results.
To disable the extension, go to “Settings” at the ad group level. Click the “Change ad group targeting” button.
A window with targeting settings will open. To turn off the extension, move the slider to the “Off” position and click “Save”.
Conclusion
The biggest mistakes in PPC advertising include not using a conversion counter in your Google Ads account, which means you won’t know which ads are generating leads and will end up making random decisions. Without remarketing, you’ll miss opportunities to re-engage potential customers. Relying on banners in free mobile apps can result in random clicks with no conversions, and overly broad targeting settings can be ineffective.
Having multiple advertising creatives allows for better analysis and comparison of results, while placing banners on non-performing sites wastes your budget. Manual setup of each advertising campaign is crucial, as relying on Google’s automatic settings can lead to inefficiencies. Additionally, showing ads to the same user excessively or having broad targeting can waste resources.
To optimize your PPC efforts and avoid these pitfalls, partnering with an effective PPC marketing company can provide the expertise needed to refine your strategies, manage targeting, and maximize your advertising budget effectively.
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