Why aren’t my search ads showing?
Why aren’t my search ads showing?
Hear what the experts at Goodway Group say
Have you ever searched for your keywords and not been able to find your paid search ads? Or gone into your reporting platform only to find your campaign has few to no impressions and practically zero clicks? Don’t worry; our friends from Goodway Group share their tips below to address eight common problems that might be affecting your search ads’ effectiveness.
Goodway is an industry leader in data-driven and technology-enabled digital media and marketing services. So naturally, they have plenty of sage advice for the search ad blues. Chances are, your ad won’t serve users across the board due to one of the following reasons:
1. Limited budget: Your ad budget may not be large enough to capture 100% of the daily search volume.
 | TIP: Review the average cost per click of the keywords you’re working with, how often the keyword is searched, and external factors impacting the price, like seasonality or the competitive market, to make sure there are enough funds available to reach everyone searching. |
2. Depleted daily budget: Once you’ve exhausted your daily budget, your ads stop showing for the day.
| TIP: Decide how many clicks per day you want to achieve and adjust your budget accordingly based on your current average cost per click. |
3. Day part splitting: You may be searching outside of the hours or days set in your ad schedule.
| TIP: Research the hours and days when your audience is searching most to ensure your ad schedule matches typical user behaviors. |
4. Low search volume: Search engines won’t show ads on every search if the keyword’s interest volume is low.
| TIP: Make sure you aren’t targeting too specific, niche, or long-tail keywords that don’t drive high search volume. Also, add in broader keywords or phrase match types to serve your ads in a wider range of searches. And remember to use consumer-friendly phrases rather than corporate jargon. |
5. Low Quality Score (QS): If your keyword’s QS or ad rank is low, your ads will not show in 100% of the daily search volume.
| TIP: Take a look at your keywords, ads, and landing pages to ensure they all naturally relate to each other. Making the user experience seamless will help increase your ad relevance and QS. |
6. Too narrow geotargeting: Geotargeting a small area can limit the number of users who search for your keywords.
| TIP: Expand your targeting to include a larger radius around a location or include zip codes or cities close by to tap into a larger pool of users who are already searching for you. |
7. Ad review in process: The ad approval process for most search engines can take a couple business days, so you won’t see your ads serve until that process is complete.
| TIP: If it’s only been one business day since you’ve created your ad, there’s no action you need to take. You can check the status of your ad approvals within the search engine’s ad platform. |
8. Ad not approved: Your ad text may not meet the search engine’s requirements.
| TIP: If your ad is rejected, check with the search engine to get more detail on their policies to determine why it failed. |
9. Optimizations geared toward conversions: If you are optimizing toward website conversions, Google’s algorithm may decide that you don’t fit the prime target audience and are not a valuable impression to pursue. If your online activity doesn’t indicate you’re likely to convert, Google will use that data and potentially take you out of the audience to serve.
No matter what the problem is, don’t overreact if your ad isn’t showing up. Remember that search results are custom for every user and keyword combination. And you can troubleshoot these possible problems.
Four ways to protect your paid search campaign
There are a variety of external forces that can impact your paid search campaign, but a proactive partner like Goodway Group is always thinking ahead to troubleshoot and resolve problems before they start. They recommend four things you can do to protect your campaign and help deliver the most value from your media dollars:
- Use an ad preview tool: Many search engines provide a tool to simulate the search results page that would appear for your targeted keywords, location, device type, and language. Try it out prior to launching your campaign to find out if your ad will or won’t make the cut.
- Don’t Google your brand name: Searching for your own ads can impact auction bidding thresholds and drive up your cost-per-click rate. Plus, if you keep searching for your ad and don’t click on it too many times in a row, search engine algorithms will assume it’s not relevant and potentially lower your QS.
- Don’t click on your ads: Never click on your own ad. Clicking on your own ad will cost you money that could be spent on converting another user.
- Check your website’s health: Make sure your website doesn’t have any broken pages or 404 errors. Alert your advertising partners immediately if you experience issues or must change landing page URLs. Also, load time is very important, especially on mobile devices, when search engines evaluate your site’s user experience QS.
If you’ve worked through our checklist and still aren’t seeing the results you want, we can help. >
Transforming a brand online: a website design success story
Transforming a brand online: a website design success story
Nippon Dynawave Packaging (NDP) has been manufacturing paperboard products since 1953. Because of a new product line extension to create market pulp that will go into products such as premium facial and bathroom tissues, the company needed to undergo a branding initiative to sustain its reputation with its traditional products while building up the new product offering.
Our task was to deliver a brand identity and website that helps to establish NDP as the “first choice” in the market.
Delving into the brand: discovering insights with an internal survey
Our survey of the company set out to uncover insights in five key areas to guide the way we positioned the company from a content and design perspective.
| Questions | Results |
| What sets the company apart? | The survey revealed that the company’s strength lies in its relationships—most customers have worked with the manufacturer for at least two decades. |
| What are the most important things customers should know about the products? | The high quality – stability & reliability – of the products was named as most significant. |
| How would you like customers describe working with you? | Unsurpassed customer service – providing a premium experience with creative problem-solving – emerged as the central message. |
| What are key attributes customers should use when describing the company?
| Four key company attributes arose:
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| What are your customers top care-abouts?
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Analyzing the competition: evaluating competitor websites
In our competitive analysis, we identified opportunities to up-level NDP’s marketing communications to:
- Differentiate from competitors by leading with value and benefit, offering deeper information about the team to build credibility, and emphasizing sustainability and responsibility
- Modernize the website by pairing environmental, product, facilities, and people visuals with punchy copy that highlights the organization’s value proposition.
Blueprint for success: developing a strategic site map
Creating a website map before designing any site is invaluable. Not only does it serve as a visual representation of the site’s structure, making it easier for project stakeholders to understand and provide feedback, but it gets everyone on the same page in terms of content buckets and user paths, which is helpful for the writer, designer, and developer.
Website before
Exploring creative alternatives for maximum impact
We presented two creative directions for the client to consider, eachtaking a different approach to underscoring their customer-centricity, focus on product quality, and environmental efforts to create a more sustainable business.
Concept A: “Doing right”
A straightforward approach with a conversational tone featured sustainable forests in the Pacific Northwest, end customers using the products created from their market pulp and paperboard, and employees in the field. Messages focused on:
- Doing right by customers
- Creating products with purpose
- Minimizing the impact on our planet
Concept B: “Built on”
A more conceptual home page, the tree rings are a metaphor for the length and strength of NDP’s client relationships. Messages focused on what the company was built on:
- Longevity
- Quality
- Sustainability
- People
The client team evaluated the creative options in terms of how well each showcased their laser focus on customers, the quality of their products, their state-of-the-art facilities, and their emphasis on sustainability. Ultimately, the client leaned in on the “Built on longevity” creative direction and we launched the new site to reflect the company brand and all its offerings.
Need to refine your website? We can help you update your brand as you grow.
Contact us today.
What is a recruiting video and how can it help me reach my recruitment goals?
What is a recruiting video and how can it help me reach my recruitment goals?
Recruiting videos, or recruitment marketing videos, are a powerful tool to attract top talent and showcase your company’s culture and values. Whether you’re hiring for a specific position or looking to build your talent pipeline, a well-crafted recruiting video can make a significant impact.
What is the purpose of a recruitment marketing video?
The purpose of a recruiting video is to create a positive impression of the organization and entice potential candidates to apply for open positions. These videos typically highlight the benefits and opportunities that come with working for the organization. Recruiting videos can be shared on various platforms, including social media and the company website.
Here are some steps to help you create an effective recruitment marketing video, based on our experience working with clients:
Step 1: Define your audience and message
Before you start filming, think about who your ideal candidate is and what message you want to convey. What are the unique aspects of your company culture that set you apart from competitors? What are the key values that drive your team? These messages will guide the questions you ask employees on camera. You can craft your questions to elicit these messages.
Step 2: Identify video participants
To capture the messages you want to convey, it’s important to have the right people on camera, sharing their experience. Make sure you include people who are in the same roles you’re recruiting for, as well as leaders of those teams, so candidates can get a sense of who they’d be working with and who they’d be working for.
Step 3: Film your video
Film in a variety of locations to give a comprehensive view of your company and use plenty of b-roll footage to keep the video visually interesting. It’s important to make sure that the video flows seamlessly and keeps the audience engaged throughout.
Step 4: Edit and refine
Get the interviews transcribed, so you can choose the best clips and weave them together into a cohesive story. Use music and captions to enhance the viewing experience. Add a call to action at the end of the video, such as encouraging viewers to visit your careers page or follow your company on social media.
Step 5: Promote your video
Share the video on your company’s social media channels and website. Consider using paid advertising to reach a wider audience. Monitor the performance of your video and update it over time to keep it relevant and improve its impact.
What should a recruiting video include?
Recruiting videos invite potential candidates to imagine what it’s like to work for an organization. Videos should paint a picture of the facility, the team and the surrounding area if relocation is likely. When woven all together, the testimonials and footage of the team in action should be inspiring.
A well-crafted recruiting video should convey:
- Company culture: Showcasing the company culture is essential to help potential candidates understand what it’s like to work for your organization. This can include highlighting team-building activities, company events, and the day-to-day atmosphere in the workplace.
- Benefits and perks: Highlighting the benefits and perks that come with working for the organization can be a significant factor in attracting top talent. This can include healthcare benefits, 401(k) plans, flexible schedules, and other incentives.
- Career development: Potential candidates want to know that there is room for growth and advancement within the organization. Including information on career development opportunities, training programs, and mentorship programs can be essential in attracting top talent.
- Brand identity: Creating a recruiting video that reflects your brand identity can help potential candidates understand the company’s values, mission, and vision. This can include incorporating the company’s logo, color scheme, and overall tone.
What questions should video testimonials cover?
Including testimonials from current employees can help potential candidates understand the work environment, as well as gain insight into what it’s like to work for the organization.
When interviewing current employees, it’s best to put them at ease in front of the camera. Start by asking easy, no-brainer questions, working up to questions that may require a more thoughtful response. For example, start by asking:
- How would you describe what you do?
- How long have you worked here?
- Why did you choose to work at this company?
Then dive into deeper insights about the person’s role by covering:
- What drew you to this field of work?
- How does your current job compare with previous jobs you’ve had?
- What do you look forward to at work?
From there, questions can shift into insights about the team and culture of the organization, such as:
- Tell me about your coworkers.
- How would you describe the leadership here?
- Do you feel this company is welcoming to everyone, that it’s a place where anyone would feel included?
If the role is one that candidates are likely to relocate for, then dig into questions that will give viewers a flavor of the surrounding area:
- How would you describe this city/region to someone who’s never been here?
- How would you describe the local community?
- What do you like to do outside of work?
And finally, close out the interview with forward-looking questions:
- What makes you want to stay with this company?
- What advice would you give someone who’s considering moving here for a job with your company?
What does a finished recruiting video look like?
We recently helped a healthcare organization with a series of videos to help with recruiting for their hospitals in Alaska.
A scripted video conveyed the breadth of the organization’s presence across Alaska.
An interview-style video communicated what it’s like to work at the largest hospital and trauma center in the state.
A video was created to showcase a long-term acute care and inpatient rehab hospital.
A video showed how working in Seward, Alaska could be someone’s next big adventure.
Need help crafting your video or developing a comprehensive recruitment strategy?
Contact us >
Key trends in email marketing
Key trends in email marketing
There is one thing marketers can be certain about when it comes to marketing: email still works. Sure, it might be tempting to shove aside that geezer of electronic communication in favor of hot young marketing whipper-snappers like TikTok and connected TV, but the truth is, old-reliable email is estimated to bring in $51 for every dollar spent, and has been rated the top form of digital marketing. Further, revenue from email marketing is estimated to nearly double by 2027. With all that in mind, here are some of the key trends in email marketing.
Hyper-personalization
The inbox is a highly competitive place, and customers can quickly spot the difference between a message that’s speaking to them specifically and one that belongs in the junk folder. That’s why hyper-personalization of your email marketing campaigns is key.
Email segmentation is nothing new, and it’s proven to be effective: personalized content can lead to a six-fold increase in transaction rate. It’s also essential: customers have come to expect direct, specific engagement that feels like it’s meant just for them. That means segmenting your list and creating dynamic content that’s relevant to each group. The more you can make your audience feel like you know their interests, the more likely they are to engage. At the same time, there’s a fine line between piquing a customer’s interests and overdoing it. Be the cool friend, not the nagging aunt. Luckily, there are advanced tools such as automation, AI, and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which can help.
Gamification
The email marketing trend of gamification continues to grow. Options for adding game design elements to your emails include quizzes, a quick puzzle or a matching game, one that is goal-oriented to get the customer something tangible and actionable, like a coupon code or an exclusive first look.
Dark mode
Another example of simple functionality that makes a big impact in an email campaign is utilizing the Batman-esque cool of Dark Mode. According to Earthweb, Dark Mode is preferred by over 80% of users. Making sure that your emails look great and function properly in the upside-down will be key, as improperly rendering emails can trigger spam filters. Without dark mode functionality, subscribers might not see your email at all.
Empathy and trust
Even as you employ all the trendiest and most effective strategies in your campaign, it’s vital to keep in mind the goal of creating an authentic connection. Customers want to feel seen and understood. If you can establish a trusting relationship, you’ll earn their loyalty. Back up your personalization with an empathetic tone and emotionally intelligent messaging. And importantly, let customers know that you value their privacy and their choice. Strategies for this include specific messaging about your commitment to data privacy, including highlights and easy links to your policies, and readily accessible email preferences that customers can easily change. Invite customers to learn more, and to have more say in when and how they are communicated with. You can even add a feature at the end of an email asking customers to quickly rate the relevance of their content, so they can also have a say in shaping the messaging they receive.
Looking for a partner for your email marketing campaign?
Contact us.