My experience with Google AdWords Express. Google AdWords Express

A few months ago, he returned to providing IT services in his small town. In order to loudly declare myself for the first time, I decided to try contextual advertising on the Internet. Since in our country Yandex and all its services are blocked, then the choice fell on the corporation Google and his service AdWords Express.

The system is very simple and beginners, even those not related to the IT field, can quite figure out how to work with it. I think that the idea of the Google leadership to create a simple service for contextual advertising was correct, but the implementation of this idea turned out badly. This article will focus on the problems and shortcomings of the AdWords Express system that I encountered during use. The My Business service is also mentioned, which is closely related to the one in question.

So, the sequence of my actions was as follows: first I registered in a free service My business and then in the service AdWords Express. I received a nice bonus at the start - a promotional code for the promotion, according to which I was supposed to 900 UAH to the account subject to spending within 1.5 months 300 UAH Ok Google, thanks for helping me get started! After registration, I waited another two weeks until I received a “paper” letter with a code confirming the address for the My Business service. Did not deposit money into the AdWords Express account and did not run contextual advertising until the registration in the My Business service was completed.
Then came the problems...

Problem #1 - Ad Editing

While waiting for a “paper” letter with a code to confirm my home address, I decided to prepare an advertisement in advance. In the course of filling out the forms of the ad creation wizard, I indicated a link to a personal site that is located on a third-party hosting. My site is completely useless, and the My Business service offers a simple website builder, on their domain business site and hosting. Although their constructor is very primitive (compared to other website builders), the resulting site is optimized for mobile devices, stylish and free. So I took and changed the link to the site in the ad and got: " Ad disapproval notice - One site per ad set". Having contacted the support service by phone, I found out that the system was "buggy" and I needed to delete the ad and create it in a new way.

Problem number 2 - Receipt of money in the account

I chose the payment method for prepaid ads. The promotion offered at registration offered to spend 300 UAH- with this sum it was decided to start. I received the details, paid by bank transfer through the Internet banking system and began to wait for the money to be credited to the account. I received a letter stating that the payment for the specified amount was received and credited to my account. I checked in the Payment section - there is money on the account, and in the Ad Management section I get: "Notification - the ad is not shown, because there are no funds on the account." But there is money! Having contacted technical support, I found out that the money had been credited to the account, but had not yet reached the announcement itself and I had to wait a day.

Problem #3 - Tech support by phone and chat - "once a week"

Faced with the first problem, the hand reached for the help button (?) . Having rummaged independently in the Help and not finding an answer to the question, I requested a call back from the support service operator. This is how I solved Problem #1 - see above. Faced with Problem No. 2, I again decided to chat with the support service, but found that for me the callback request button had already become inactive. There were two options to choose from: a chat request or a letter. Used the chat. When solving the following problem, I found that for me the chat request button with the operator had already become inactive. Thus, Google believes that the client should not disturb them too often. A week later, the callback request button became active again.

Problem #4 - ad statistic discrepancy

"I am a mathematician and I love to count." Studying the statistics of views and clicks on my only ad, I found a discrepancy in the data on the page Control panels announcement. Yes, in the block clicks displays a time graph of clicks on the ad and their total number. Below is a block Search terms in which it is expanded, for each search phrase, the number of views and clicks is given. I summed up the number of clicks for each search phrase and the resulting value turned out to be less than in the Clicks block. The support service operator justified himself by saying that allegedly some of the search phrases are not visible to me due to user privacy settings, or because of obscene content.

Problem number 5 - lack of specific information on prices

Days passed, money was gradually withdrawn from the account - sometimes more sometimes less. Watching and analyzing statistical data on a daily basis, I found that a small amount is withdrawn for impressions, and for each click there is already more - a few hryvnias. I wanted to get accurate data: how much it costs to show an ad and how much it costs to click on an ad. Surprisingly, I did not find a quote! It would seem that a simple service is offered - showing an ad, which sometimes "turns" into a user click - the number is counted. So why not publish a simple price list, for example: ad impression - 25 kop., click on ad - 5 UAH Everything! No, it's a secret...

Problem number 6 - discrepancy between data on the state of the account in different parts of the system

As I wrote above, I chose the method of payment for advertising services on an advance payment. I considered it safer than linking a bank card for automatic debiting. The AdWords Express system offers rich account tracking options. The amount of the remaining funds can be observed in three places:

Announcement control panel -> Expenses block: displays the time schedule of expenses by day and the total amount;
section Payment -> tab Manage payments: the balance is displayed, but knowing the amount of the deposit made, you can calculate the amount of expenses;
section Payment -> tab Promo codes: a filling indicator of expenses and the current amount to participate in the promotion (spend 300 UAH and to get 900 UAH)

And now the “trick”: in my case, after a week of using the service, all three amounts turned out to be different. Two values differed by approximately several hryvnias, and the third differed (from the first two) by several tens of hryvnias. Ok, Google, what's with the accuracy?

"How Google Tests"

I always thought that in corporations like Google, the most severe selection of employees. I thought that the best minds work there, supermen, gods of programming - who create perfect products. But the reality turned out to be quite different. The division that developed AdWords Express released a "buggy" product. The management of this service did not work out the workflow. As a user, I have already seen several serious problems in a week. Moreover, this service did not appear yesterday, the label does not hang on it BETA, thousands of people use it and most likely also observe the problems described here. The AdWords Express service is not just some free stuff, it's a "cash cow" that brings the campaign a certain share of the revenue. How can you be so embarrassed, “How do they test at Google?” So, you have decided to conduct a local advertising campaign using contextual advertising on the Internet. Because of the lack of alternatives and low budget, you have chosen the Adwords Express service. Here are my recommendations:

To get started, register in the My Business service, wait for a “paper” letter with a code to confirm the physical address. Only then you need to start working with the AdWords Express service.
I recommend choosing the prepaid payment method. This way you will be able to see your expenses and be “insured” against unexpected debiting of funds from the card (if it is linked for automatic payments).
In the ad, select the minimum budget. Don't be fooled by the hint: "competitors usually choose so many...". In my case, he still exceeded the established limit, but with an average position, the costs could be even higher.
It is better not to edit the announcement in order to avoid "glitches" of the system. If you need to change something, it is better to rewrite all the important data (selected key phrases, headlines) and create an ad on a new one.
Do not enter your search phrases in the search, and even more so do not click on your ad. As they explained to me in technical support, even if you enter one of your key phrases in the search while logged into your Google account, the system will show you your ad and charge you money. And for each click will shoot even more.

Epilogue

"The hedgehogs cried and pricked themselves, but continued to eat the cactus"

Since Google is one of the leaders in the search engine market in Russia and the CIS countries - with a market share of more than 40% - it is no wonder that contextual advertising services are in demand and provide tangible benefits for business.

contextual advertising

target audience;
the region in which it is supposed to attract customers;
demographic information, such as age and gender.

It is possible to fine-tune the requests for which ads will be shown to customers.

Adword Express

Not so long ago, studies have been conducted that indicate that the majority of Internet users, when searching for the information they need, do not go beyond the first page of search engine results.

More often on the first page of search engines for various queries there are sites of large companies that spend serious resources to maintain the site in the top of the results.

Spending the same amount of money for small companies is not always possible, and inadvisable. In such cases, contextual advertising services from Google can help. In particular, Google Adwords Express. This service is suitable for small companies.

Google adwords express allows you to attract customers with minimal time and effort. Useful adwords express help. Google's help forum provides comprehensive information on what it is.

Setting up Adwords Express

Google Adwords Express is one of the easiest contextual advertising systems to operate and set up. Usually, creating the first ad does not take much time, even for people who are not familiar with this service.

3. Indicates information about your company

4.Choose the purpose of the ad

If you want to configure for the site, select "Action on the site" the rest of the goals are described in detail in the instructions.

5. Adjust the GEO of your ad, based on the location of your customers, you can select the radius slider.

6. Choose a product or service

7. Create ads

8. Add images to your ad

It is important that if moderation does not pass within 3 days, you need to call Google support.

Next, you need to select the target audience based on the distance from the selected location. Various options are available - from 25 kilometers to 65 in 10 km increments. Here you can also specify the type of activity of the company by choosing from several categories.

The next step will be the most time consuming. At this stage, you need to write a correct ad that complies with Google's editorial guidelines. First you need to enter a heading corresponding to the name of the enterprise or the type of services provided. Then you need to write a short explanatory description in two sentences, each with no more than 38 characters. For Western European countries, the restriction is tougher - up to 35 characters. It is desirable to write a description in such a way that it describes certain advantages of services or goods. After all, if the description is catchy, then the number of transitions, and hence the effectiveness of advertising, will be higher.

That's it - the job is almost done. Now there is a payment for the selected option and receiving results that will certainly follow if the settings are correct.

From now on, the created ad will be shown to an audience that matches the specified parameters and uses the desired queries when searching on Google. Such advertising will hit the target much more often, which will increase profits.

At the same time, Google Adwords Express does not require intervention in the work. Most processes occur without human intervention. Google's software itself selects options for displaying contextual advertising to obtain a positive marketing effect.

How to switch from Adwords Express to Adwords (Google Ads)

In order to merge an AdWords Express account with a manager account, you must:

From the manager account, make a request to connect a Google Adwords Express account.

Confirm this action from the express version account.

This solution is most popular for organizations involved in Internet marketing and contextual advertising. For small organizations, one Google AdWords Express can handle it. However, merging the accounts of the two services may be useful in the future.

What is the difference between classic Adwords Express and Adwords?

Advrds Express is a simplified version of . Here are the benefits of this approach:

simplicity and accessibility;
nothing is required to create an advertising campaign, except for the desire and a certain amount of funds;
customers of this service pay only for clicks and clicks on links that they indicated in the ad. This circumstance allows you to significantly save, compared with the use of classical advertising media;
there is no need to interfere with the operation of the system. The algorithms themselves determine the parameters.

However, on the side of the advanced version, there are the following functional advantages:

strict reporting (This feature will be useful for large companies that often order contextual advertising);
ad types and formats are available;
merging adwords and adwords express accounts;
account organization;
You can set your own bids and participate in auctions.

Briefly, we will denote the difference between the two systems as follows: Google Adwords Express is a junior version that is suitable for small firms and companies, and Google Adwords is an advanced contextual advertising service that is necessary for reputable organizations, as well as companies working in the advertising business and marketing.

How Does Google Adwords Work?

The principle of the service is that the user composes an ad with keywords that relate to the type of activity of the enterprise. It is required to enter a brief description of the goods or services provided. The ad is moderated and appears for the target audience on the Google search engine results page in a place intended for contextual advertising. Usually at the very top of the page, in the so-called top search engine results.

However, this is not always true and not for all industries. In general, for Google AdWords express users, it provides quite ample opportunities.

Wide automation of all processes of such an advertising campaign saves time. Many complex algorithms calculate the effectiveness of advertising themselves and allow you to attract customers with minimal resources. Thanks to an effective "targeting" system - searching and reaching the target audience - such a tool will make the business more profitable and efficient.

Today, many popular web resources are connected to this system, which makes it possible to reach a potential audience as efficiently as possible.

Simultaneous use of Adwords Express on Adwords

Using both services at the same time gives a double effect. However, it is useful for companies with a wide range of services or with a large number of products. In such cases, Google algorithms can promote less significant areas of the organization when using adwords express.

For small companies that are just thinking about ordering contextual advertising through the use of Google Adwords and Google Adwords Express together, it is not practical. In such cases, it is better to use the least expensive option, evaluate the result, and only then think about more serious tools for promoting goods and services.

Every business certainly needs advertising, but in some cases the scope of its application is very limited, and large advertising budgets, detailed campaigns are simply not needed. For some examples of small local business, a little advertising is enough, just to make sure the name appears when it is needed, no more, no less. In this case, contextual advertising in all its diversity may not be useful. But there is an option from the "cheap and cheerful" series, namely Google AdWords Express.

Understanding all the nuances of the cumbersome is very difficult, and not everyone can do it, but AdWords Express does not require any special knowledge at all. It is not even necessary for him to have a website: a page in Google Places or Google+.

Of course, this simplicity is reflected in the advertising itself. It is suitable only for small businesses that cannot spend a lot on advertising, do not hire an appropriate specialist, but sometimes do not mind showing up for targeted queries.

What is the difference between classic AdWords and AdWords Express

The functionality in AdWords Express has been greatly reduced. See for yourself:

Can't select in Express keywords. The system does this for you by analyzing your website and the theme you specified in your account settings. This, by the way, is very inconvenient for sites that can be classified into two or more categories, which happens not so rarely.
If there are no keywords, then it is logical that there are no negative keywords. This can lead to garbage transitions, because the system will always interpret the topic wider than it really is.
Settings targeting, compared to AdWords, almost none. Only the most basic ones.
You are unable to control rates ads.
Budget, respectively, is also difficult to predict. It is formed on the basis of search volume, and these algorithms are understandable, perhaps, only to Google itself.

Setting up AdWords Express

Fortunately, the setup in Express is obscenely simple and takes a few steps.

Go to https://www.google.ru/intl/ru/adwords/express/ Click "Create an account". The first thing we have to choose is the action that we expect from the client. The choice depends on what you are more focused on: online or offline.

Next, the choice of geotargeting. It is detailed only up to the city, but you can also set the radius around your address. Together with the choice of the radius of impressions, Google will tell you what size audience you can count on.

Before creating an ad, select its subject, that is, a product or service. AdWords will then offer several keyword suggestions.

Finally, we create the ad itself. Two lines with text are available above, as well as a field for entering your phone number.

After the ad is ready, it remains to assign your budget here the system is simple. Two sliders: for daily and monthly budget. No additional settings, breakdown by hours, keys, etc.

Conclusion

Perhaps the main reason for choosing regular AdWords or its express version is the availability of time. Even if you do not have the financial ability to hire a specialist to manage contextual advertising, you can partially study these tasks yourself by spending some time. When the ad is ready, it will also need to be paid regular attention. Not everyone has enough time even for this, so advertising with Google AdWords Express may be the most acceptable way out. Especially if advertising as such is not something fundamental and supporting your business for you. For the rest, of course, it is better to choose the standard AdWords, although it is more complicated, but there you can control both your expenses and the work of the advertising itself.

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Brad Smith

Google Ads Smart Campaigns are one of the easiest ways to dip your feet in the world of PPC and digital marketing.

If you're a busy small business owner that wants to know if Google Ads could work for your business, getting started is easy.

And that's why Smart Campaigns still have a place in Google Ads.

But what exactly are Google Ads Smart Campaigns?

What can you do with them, and are the results as good as normal Google Ads Campaigns?

Here's everything you need to know about Smart Campaigns, how to use them, and if you should use them for your own business.

Running a Google ads campaign is not a simple task.

You have to master all kinds of things.

For example, you have to learn keywords, negative keywords, targeting, custom audiences, ad extensions, geo-targeting, determining when to bid and when not to bid, etc.

I could go on and on and on.

But when you're running a small business where your job description fits every role, it's almost impossible to find the time.

And hiring an outside PPC agency can be expensive.

Google Ads Smart Campaigns are here for you.

What are Google Ads Smart Campaigns?

To adequately explain what Smart Campaigns are and the role they serve in the Google Ads suite, we have to start from the beginning.

Google released AdWords Express to the public in 2011 intending to simplify their original, sophisticated platform into a more intuitive way to advertise with Google.

Mainly, the idea was to automate and simplify everything.

With regular Google Ads, you have countless factors you need to control.

From bidding to keyword research, ad creation and more. It's like a full-time job to run a single account to its maximum potential.

Even the overall Google Ads dashboard can be overwhelming to a new user:

But that's where Smart Campaigns come in.

Where Did AdWords Express Go?

If you're wondering where AdWords Express went, don't worry, it still exists.

In 2019, Google made it a part of the Google Ads suite and renamed the section “Smart Campaigns.”

Instead of a separate dashboard and URL, you now have to create Smart Campaigns by creating a new Google Ads campaign, and selecting “Smart” as the campaign type.

But that doesn't mean the actual user experience has changed.

Smart Campaigns still maintain the simple user experience, and it is much easier to navigate for someone who either (1) has limited time and resources or (2) little to no experience with pay per click advertising.

Beyond being simplified, Smart Campaigns still help businesses leverage ads on Google properties to drive sales.

Just like with any advertising, to benefit from ads, you have to sell products or services, whether through a local brick and mortar store or online store.

If you choose a Smart Campaign, it probably won't even take you 15 minutes to get started.

Where do your ads show?

Using Smart Campaigns, you can showcase ads for your business on the search network, mobile device targeting, Google Maps, and even Google website partners.

So what are the benefits? Why should a small business use Smart Campaigns?

Why Should You Use Google Ads Smart Campaigns?

Smart Campaigns get a pretty bad rap.

Expert PPC marketers and agencies single it out as pointless and a waste of time/money.

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

Smart Campaigns is still a great ad product for small businesses with small budgets that lack technical knowledge.

A Much Simpler Dashboard and Reports

Smart Campaigns have a much, much simpler interface than regular campaigns. The campaign overview gives you everything a PPC beginner needs to know, at a glance.

At the top, you can see your ad preview, a breakdown of your company info, and the goal of your campaign. Then you see impressions, clicks, and the amount spent.

If you scroll down, you can see the five main metrics that a Smart Campaign reports on:

The main report shows impressions, clicks, ad spend, conversions, and map actions. Since the campaign goal of this campaign was “Calls,” it shows “Call clicks” instead of regular conversions.

The main ad settings, you can find at the bottom of the very same page.

Here you can control your budget, location targeting, and your business category and information. (The business category and information helps Google automatically target relevant keywords for your business.)

Save Time on Setting Up and Optimizing Campaigns

Smart Campaigns aren't more primitive in their targeting options than regular campaigns. The main difference is that Google's algorithm handles most of the advanced decisions.

So because of the simplified options, you spend a lot less time on the platform to ensure that it's running smoothly.

The most significant benefit of Smart Campaigns is that they target and optimize themselves.

Google fully automates the experience, creating ads based on your website and your Google My Business profile. They consistently optimize and tweak based on best practices.

Of course, you can edit the text of these ads by clicking the “Edit ad” link below your ad preview.

Once it develops the ads, Google picks the best placements depending on your business type.

For example, if you are running ads for your local business, they will automatically target audiences searching in your area or show your ads directly on Google Maps listings.

The entire selling point of Smart Campaigns is #SimplifiedAcquisition.

Compared to regular campaigns, you don't have to manage dozens of tools, reports, and bidding modifications to find success. (But there are downsides to not having that access as well, more on that later.)

If ease of use is a concern to you, meaning you are relatively new to the PPC space, Smart Campaigns are a fantastic starting point.

It allows you to have some control over your account without overwhelming you with too many features.

Setting up your first campaign and ad takes only 15 minutes to do, whereas it could take you hours, if not days, to do it on a regular Google Ads account.

Targeting is another unique feature with Smart Campaigns.

Instead of fudging with custom audiences, IF functions, remarketing, and diverse targeting metrics, you can let Google do the work for you.

Based on your business’s location or category, Smart Campaigns target users in your area who have the highest propensity to purchase.

You don’t even have to lift a finger to get accurate audience targeting – a task that generally takes months of refining to master.

If you still want control over which keywords you target, you do have the option to manage which search phrases or keywords you target or exclude from your campaigns:

You can access these options by clicking the “Manage All” link in the “Search Phrases” section of the overview.

From here, you can enable or disable any search phrases that the Google algorithm thinks is relevant to your business. You can change this setting with the button in the “Status” column.

Giving you control over the basics and automating the rest, Smart Campaigns are compelling.

If you are looking for simplicity on your end with results for your bottom line, you should consider Smart Campaigns over the full Google Ads experience.

But what about the potential downsides?

The Downsides of Smart Campaigns

On the surface, Smart Campaigns look incredibly compelling. It might even be hard to understand why everybody doesn't use them.

Spend less time to achieve great results and a return on investment.

Sounds promising, right?

But not so fast.

Access to Less Data

The simple dashboard and reporting come with an undeniable downside: you have access to less data.

Just because you spend less time, that doesn't automatically make it the best choice for a business.

Making informed decisions for your business requires data.

And unfortunately, the Google Ads Smart Campaign interface doesn't give you as much access to or control over your data.

It’s meant to be simple and easy to use for a small business owner looking to get a bit more recognition on local search or Google Maps.

But these upsides can become downsides fast.

First off, most advertisers quickly outgrow the platform. Within just a few weeks, it likely won't be enough for you to get maximum benefits from PPC.

Smart Campaigns are an excellent testing platform to how well you can get by see with PPC, but it's nowhere close to perfect.

A whopping 77% said that regular campaigns were more effective.

Because simplicity can be helpful for busy business owners, but it doesn’t provide them with tools that are integral to success on Google Ads.

Less Control of Where Your Ads Show

With Smart Campaigns, you sign over targeting to the Google algorithm. It doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it gives you a lot less control over where your ads show up.

Negative keywords are a great feature that lets you ensure you don't waste money showing ads for the wrong search terms.

Negative keywords help you filter out the junk keywords that cost you money. For example, let's imagine you were getting clicks for “used car dealership,” but you only lease new vehicles.

These clicks would likely result in almost no conversions and tons of wasted money.

Negative keywords allow you to filter those out.

While you can somewhat do this in Smart Campaigns by checking and unchecking search phrases, it’s not specific enough, as even simple match types can massively impact negative keywords.

For example, if you want to eliminate the word free from your keywords and not anything else, you’d need to enter it with quotes (“free”) to ensure that any search with that word is eliminated.

With a maximum 40-mile radius for user-targeting, your options for expanding your business are limited, too. If you open up a store somewhere else in the city, you have to create a new campaign from scratch, instead of just adding the location.

Another issue is ad placements. While Smart Campaigns has most of the same placements as regular campaigns, you can't decide where you showcase your ads.

Meaning you have little control over customizing ads to each placement, likely resulting in lower conversion rates. (And more money spent on advertising.)

Overall, Smart Campaign downsides are closely related to their upsides.

Simplicity, automation, and time-saving features are great. Nobody is arguing against that. But they also limit your potential for optimization and success.

Who Can Reap the Biggest Rewards fromGoogle Ads Smart Campaigns?

Google Smart Campaigns are designed for local businesses with a brick-and-mortar presence.

You have to register your business with Google My Business and get listed on Google Maps even to get a Smart Campaign started.

But, why would you choose Smart Campaigns over the full Google Ads experience even if you are a local business?

The group that can benefit the most from Smart Campaigns tend to tick off these boxes:

Small business with local presence
Low advertising budget
No marketing staff
No money for consultants/agencies
Owner/staff is too busy to learn how to run standard Google Ads effectively

The truth is Smart Campaigns are tailor-made for a small business with only a couple of employees. If you have your hands full with the day-to-day but could use a couple of extra customers, Smart Campaigns might be for you.

It's meant for the business owner who wears multiple hats, running everything from sales, finances, marketing to deliverables.

If you don’t have three to five hours a week to dedicate to Google Ads management, Smart Campaigns will generate traffic (both online and offline) for your business without the hassle.

If you are interested in building up your PPC strategy to become a massive part of your customer acquisition strategy, then you’ll likely have to branch out from Smart Campaigns in the long run.

Smart Campaigns are a great place to start if you are new to PPC, but it shouldn't be how you run your campaigns forever.

5 Essential Tips for Success with Google Ads Smart Campaigns

If you decide to start your venture with Google Ads Smart Campaigns, here are five essential tips to guide your journey.

Tip #1: Start with a small budget.

Perhaps the most important aspect of your Smart Campaign is your budget.

Because Google pretty much controls everything else.

If you don't set a budget and stick to it, you can expect that budget to go fast.

And since you have less access to reporting information, tracking back your return on investment isn’t as easy.

Unless you are using outside conversion tracking software, which is unlikely if you are using Smart Campaigns, it's critical to start small.

Smart Campaigns are built to test the waters of PPC. If you want to invest thousands of dollars monthly into PPC or SEM, you should contact a local agency or marketing consultant.

Start by and work your way up to a comfortable budget based on your reported success in the dashboard.

Once you've done that, you can either consider increasing that budget or making the jump to the full Google Ads experience.

Tip #2: Schedule your ads with business hours.

You might not have much to say over where but thankfully you can control when your ads run.

For example, are your current business hours limited to 9-5? Do you only have people on phone lines from 1-5?

Depending on your business, ad scheduling can make a significant impact on how well users convert.

If you are running ads that drive phone calls after hours, those calls cost you money that you aren't capitalizing on.

Using the new ad scheduling feature, be sure to set your ads to business hours or customize them on a day-to-day basis depending on your needs:

It doesn't have to be uniform every day like in this example. If you have long working hours on some days, you can change the schedule to reflect that.

If the primary advertised way of contacting your business is an email form, you should consider running the ads 24/7. That way, you can tap into past-midnight impulse buyers, and people who work night shifts, etc.

Tip #3: Keep a keen eye on search phrases.

During the first few weeks of your smart campaign, make sure you keep a keen eye on search phrases in the dashboard.

These phrases control where your ads appear in Google Search, Google Maps, and on thousands of websites throughout the Google Display Network.

If you see any search terms that have low commercial intent (typically including the word “free” or “best”), make sure you disable those terms.

The users who search for those kinds of keywords are unlikely to purchase your products or services.

Click the button in the “Status” column to disable search terms for your smart campaign.

Tip #4: Use professional photos for your Google My Business listing

To get the full potential of Smart Campaigns, you need to have a Google My Business listing and connect it with your Google Ads account.

It allows your ad to show up in Google Maps results, and for searchers to ask for directions to your store.

Don't rush through your profile to get it online ASAP. Take your time and fill it with professional photos instead.

As a local business, one of your most effective selling tools is how your business appears online. Your Google Maps profile is a big part of this, even more so if you are running a Google Ads Smart Campaign.

Follow New York's Ritz Carlton's example. Use professional photos to show off, and invite customers to come to visit your store.

Tip #5: Use outside call tracking software.

It's essentially taking an offline activity (phone calls) and turning it into online metrics.

And unfortunately for users, Google Ads doesn’t provide detailed call tracking.

In Google Ads, you can only see area codes, dates, times, and call durations:

While this can give you a generalized idea of conversions, it's not foolproof.

Call length doesn't necessarily ensure sales.

And just knowing the area code doesn't help you track a conversion.

For instance, if you are a local business, the majority of your calls will be local.

Meaning all of those area codes in the verified calls report won't tell you anything. You will have no clue which actual, full phone number converted and from what source or keyword.

This makes it nearly impossible to understand which calls were generated by ads and which weren't.

Instead of banking on these vague reports, use an external call tracking software like CallRail . By connecting it directly to Google Ads, you can start tracking full phone calls in just a few minutes with features like free call recording.

When someone calls your business, CallRail will log their information into your dashboard. This includes information like phone numbers, full names, locations, keywords, and sources:

It gives you a clear picture of who converted and where the lead was generated.

Using an external call tracking software is essential to have better phone call tracking in Smart Campaigns and Google Ads campaigns in general.

Conclusion

Google Ads is an incredibly complex platform to adjust to, let alone to run a successful campaign.

The number of details that you have to be aware of to run a Google Ads account successfully is mind-boggling.

There are countless reports, dashboards, metrics, tools, and settings to use and analyze. More than ever in 2019.

Enter: Google Ads Smart Campaigns (Formerly known as AdWords Express).

By simplifying your options and automating the process, you barely have to touch the platform to drive customers and sales.

Smart Campaigns automatically show ads to locals in your area to drive website visits, online sales, and offline store visits.

It's a great, cheap way to bring in more sales.

If you are a local business that can't afford an outside agency to run your Google Ads account, Smart Campaigns are for you.

What do you think? Are you using Google Ads Smart Campaigns already? Are they working for you? Or do you plan to give it a try? Let us know in the comments!