If you run AdWords, suggestions for new ads will start appearing on the AdWords recommendations page. So far, so good. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of great suggestions from the company with oodles and oodles of information about potential clients? (Spoiler: there are good reasons. Call for a free consult to find out more.)
The rub is in the automated application of those ads. If you are tightly focusing your ads on very specific pain points, you should opt out of the automatic application of Google AdWords recommendations while selectively applying recommendations. To quote Google:
You’ll have 14 days from the notification to review them, after which the ads will be automatically enabled unless you choose to remove them.
Click here for Google’s statement on automated application of suggestions.
Why tightly focus AdWords?
Every practice is different. If your practice is private pay only, or if you want to attract more private pay clients, we want to make sure that your ads are targeted to the clients that you want and need.
Imagine that you want to attract high functioning professionals with substance abuse challenges seeking discreet, boutique care. You would not want to expand your ads to include wording that would increase your spending on the clients that you don’t want!
Keep control of your budget
AdWords recommendations let you leverage Google’s own smarts. That’s great. But, the recommendations can trigger extra costs. For one of our clients, Google recommendations predicted a $40.32 increase in weekly spending. Per week, it doesn’t sound like that much. But, per year it’s more than $2,096.
In this case, the ad recommendations would have added text about anxiety counseling to ads that are targeted at couples therapy. (Google made this recommendation because the landing page also mentioned anxiety in the context of marriage therapy.) The bottom line is that the spend would have gone up while the conversion rate went down!
What you need to do to make AdWords and AdWords recommendations work for you
If you are a small or even modest size practice and you need to stay focused, her is what you need to do:
- Opt out of Google AdWords recommendations. You’ll still get the recommendations, but the recommendations won’t be automatically applied.
- Review the AdWords recommendations. Many will be great! Apply what you need and dismiss the recommendations that will unfocus your campaign.
- Experiment, review, and revise. Don’t get trapped into thinking that what worked last month will work next month. Trial and error is the only way to find out what works, and what is still working.
- Call Therapy Everywhere for help. Our team is totally focused on what works in Google AdWords for therapy practices. We are skilled in implementing effective strategies that will work for your practice. Call now for a free consult.
- Get more suggestions about using AdWords and Analytics effectively.