Biggest Ad Mistake #2

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, the next two editions will be dedicated to two more costly mistakes businesses are making right now when it comes to running ads and driving traffic. 

In the last article I revealed Mistake #1: Using stock images in your ads and social posts.

Remember, if you have a dedicated team member who takes care of your ad management, or you outsource it to a third party, make sure you also forward them these next two newsletters to ensure you get them corrected. 

This next mistake I’m going to reveal is for Google ads specifically…

Not protecting your own brand keywords 

A lot of business owners don’t see the value in spending money on their own brand name or keywords. 

Oftentimes they are told it’s a waste of money to do so, therefore they never bother setting up those campaigns.

Why this becomes Mistake #2…

If your competitors are advertising online, and are savvy enough to figure it out; they could very well be stealing YOUR own best traffic right under your nose.  

All they need to do is run the campaigns that you aren’t,  (targeting your brand name), and place ads right ON TOP of your organic results.  

Where does the traffic go? 

Not to your landing page or website, but directly to your competitors. 

Here’s a great example of a brand NOT protecting their brand keywords so you can see with your own eyes what I’m describing…

Notice how not one, not two, but three competitors are placing ads ON TOP of Basecamp. 

How do you know they are competitors? Notice how all describe their product or software as a time/task/project management tool.   

One even positions themselves as a “powerful Basecamp alternative”. 

Some viewers will accidentally click on the ad that has the word Basecamp in it because they don’t see the word “alternative” next to it.  Remember, most people assume when they search for a company or brand that company or brand will show up at the top of the results page. 

For all viewers that see this results page one thing is certain. They will all experience a major disruption in either their initial intention, or with the message you are trying to send them as now there is conflict.  

So how do you avoid this like the plague? 

#1: Be sure you are in the 1st position within Google’s search results for YOUR brand keywords!

#2: Also, check out which competitors are bidding on your keywords. And yes, lucky for us, there’s a tool for that called Auction Insights. Be sure to check it out, this is a really cool tool to keep in your toolbelt.  

So what do you do if you find a competitor IS doing this to your brand? 

I first tell clients to send them a cease and desist warning. IMPORTANT: This can only be enforced if your name is trademarked.  

Which brings me to another quick tip… 

TRADEMARK your own name if you haven’t done so already!! It’s easy and super inexpensive if you complete the online forms yourself.  If you don’t want to bother with it, hire an attorney to do it for you. Either way, ensure you take care of it.  Trademarking your name protects your business and brand in so many ways. 

The second thing you can do is simply target THEIR brand keywords. 

What this does is makes their ads more expensive. 

Last but not least, let’s go back and look at this as a strategy vs. a mistake. Again, I’m a marketing and sales guy, so I’m always looking for the competitive advantage…

Simply reverse engineer this into a strategy you could use against your competitors. Have a dedicated team member or outsourced ad partner bid on their keywords so their traffic becomes your traffic.  

If there is ONE take-away from this lesson, its to ensure you start protecting your brand keywords and getting those campaigns set up immediately. And of course, get your name trademarked if you haven’t already done so. 

If you don’t have a dedicated team member or a third party that can help you optimize your ads (and ad spend), I highly recommend investing in a traffic audit (having a team of ad experts put your ad accounts, strategies, ads and stats under a microscope and audit every moving part of your prospect journey). 

My senior ad team performs Premier Traffic Audits here at Business Nitrogen. It’s a 30+ point comprehensive audit process that identifies any and all areas that can decrease your CPL, increase your conversion rate, and optimize your ad spend overall.  Sometimes just one discovery and alteration can pay dividends in the end. 

You can get more information here: Premier Traffic Audit. 

Stay tuned for Mistake #3 next week!

To your success, 

David

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