With the number of smartphone users expected to grow to 6.1 billion by 2020, there is no doubt that mobile will continue to shape every aspect of our lives. In response to this trend, Google recently announced that search indexing will be prioritised with mobile results appearing first and introduced new features to AdWords to address the mobile demand. As Google continues to emphasise mobile-first, PPC advertising must adapt in ways to favour the mobile experience. Here are just a few ways to optimise your PPC ads for mobile.
Text & Call Extensions
We know that ad extensions increase click-through-rate, and Google recently announced that they also contribute to quality score. Call extensions have been around for years and are great for mobile advertising as a phone number can be added to text ads. However, AdWords recently introduced a new click-to-text message extension, which enables prospects to connect with businesses via SMS. Tapping on the texting option launches a pre-written message tailored to the product or service they’re interested in. It’s a faster way to connect with smartphone users and increase conversion rates. Find out more about click-to-message ads here.
Call Only Campaigns
Rather than directing click-throughs to a landing page, you can simply give users the option to call you directly from the ad. According to Google, 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from search results, so it’s important to consider a call only campaign as part of your paid advertising strategy, especially if you value phone calls more than any other type of enquiry. You can reach potential customers by displaying a prominent phone number, business name and call button. The ads will only show on mobile devices that can make phone calls, therefore, every click you pay for will be a call to your business.
Mobile Bid Adjustments
Google AdWords provides the options of adjusting bids for mobile, tablet and desktop. So if you’re seeing a lot of success on mobile, then don’t be afraid to increase your mobile bids. Mobile bid adjustments tells Google how much more (or less) you’re willing to pay for a click from a smartphone and works in two-ways, by increasing or decreasing your mobile ad frequency. For example, to show your ad to more customers on mobile devices, you can increase your bid by up to 900% for searches on mobile devices. You can also opt out of showing ads on tablet or desktop by decreasing a bid by 100% for a particular device.
Expanded Text And Responsive Ads
Google’s new expanded text ads appear on all devices including mobile. The expanded text ads are designed to maximise qualified clicks to your website with almost 50% more ad text available that wraps automatically based on device size. In addition, improvements have been made with responsive ads for display. In this instance, responsive ads automatically adjust their size, appearance and format to fit just about any available ad space.
Google Shopping on Mobile
Google Shopping Product Listing Ads (PLA) are featured across multiple devices including mobile and give users a strong sense of the product you’re selling before they click the ad, resulting in more qualified leads. On a mobile device, the Google Shopping results will appear in a carousel format above the paid and organic search results. Google recently launched Product Listing Ads in image search as well. So if your Google Shopping campaign is opted in to Search partners, then your ads will automatically be eligible to show in images search results on mobile.
For mobile shoppers on the go
Mobile shoppers are often on the go - take advantage of this opportunity to drive mobile traffic to your physical shop by enticing your mobile shoppers with in-store promotions or discounts PPC ads or activate additional programs like Product Ratings, Customer Reviews and Local Inventory Ads.
A mobile-friendly website is a must!
If you’re not seeing good results, find ways to improve your website's mobile performance, like optimising your product landing pages for mobile devices to drive better conversion rates. You can test your landing pages with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, to identify opportunities for improving your website landing pages on mobile. Page speed load time is also an essential part of PPC advertising and users will often bounce from a website if it takes too long to load on mobile. Use the PageSpeed Insights tool to analyse your landing pages for opportunitiesingle-pay-per-click.jpgs to decrease your page loading times.
If you need any help with your PPC advertising for mobile, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team of specialists. Call us on 028 9045 5554, email [email protected] or request a FREE PPC AUDIT.