5 Areas of Optimization for Your Event’s Google Ads Campaigns

If you are about to start a Google Ads campaign to promote your event, then you might be wondering how you can optimize your efforts to generate as much interest as possible.

You may have already done some advertising on social media or your website (if not, check out this article from 101domain for tips on that advertisement route), but sooner or later you are going to want to spread the word of your business far and wide.

With a well-organized Google Ads campaign, you have the power to do precisely that. Read on to learn about the top 5 areas of optimization to ensure a successful ad campaign for your event.

1. Reach out to a Wider Audience

If this is your first ad campaign, you may have to start by building an audience from scratch. If this is the case, you need to think about what demographic of people you expect to be interested in your event. Knowing who is responding positively to your ad lets, you know who to target to maximize your investment return.

But let’s say that you’ve already built a small customer base for yourself. The next step to expanding that audience is to zoom out and deliver some ads to groups that are similar, but not identical, to your established customer base. By doing so, you may pique the interest of those just outside of your prime demographic.

However, don’t neglect your already loyal customers. Those who have done business with you in the past are perfect targets for your newest ads. If you have access to an email list, you can reach out directly to people who have purchased from you previously. Remember, as important as it is to expand your audience, it is still easier to sell to a returning customer than a new one.

2. Dialing in your Locations

When selling tickets to an event, it is crucial to consider where the event is being held. Large events might draw huge crowds, with people traveling from far away; smaller events, however, usually see a much more local audience. Understanding your event’s locality can help inform you as to what locations your advertisements should go out.

If your event is taking place in, just, for example, Seattle, it might be a good idea to show your advertisements to Seattle residents, even those outside of your expected demographic.

By contrast, showing ads to only your expected demographic, even those far away from Seattle, could be a waste of time for those unwilling to travel. Just as Seattle residents might want to attend your event just because it’s local, your primary audience might not participate because the event is too far.

3. Determine which Devices Convert Better

Not every member of your audience does business with you on the same device. Some may prefer to use a traditional computer, while others would instead use a smartphone or tablet. Understanding which tools the most conversions happen can inform you about where to concentrate your advertising efforts.

Of course, it isn’t always going to be as simple as just serving more ads to better performing devices. There are a lot of variables that can affect conversion rates on different devices.

If you find that the majority of customer interaction occurs on computers, then it could indicate that most of your clients primarily use computers, meaning it would be beneficial to concentrate your ads there.

However, it could also mean that mobile users comprise a large part of your audience, but they struggle to interact with your brand, either because it is poorly optimized or just isn’t seeing your ads. In that case, you would be better off taking care of your mobile users.

The best approach is to do thorough research on the unique factors influencing your brand and respond to them thoughtfully and carefully.

4. Vary your Keywords

When you use Google Ads, you get to define a set of keywords that, should they be entered into a search by a user, will bring up your ad (provided you won the bid for that keyword). By default, Google uses a protocol called “broad match” to categorize your keywords.

Broad match counts misspellings, synonyms, related searches, and more as variants of your original keyword, which means that many people could see your ad. Still, the majority of them will not be interested. Instead, try narrowing your keyword variants using a broad match modified, phrase match, and exact match.

The exact match protocol only shows your ads to people who search for your exact keywords or perform a search using keywords with precisely the same meaning (if your keyword is “car show,” then the actual match will also count “auto show,” but not “car dealership”).

You should bid the highest on exact match keywords since people searching for those same keywords will most likely be interested.

The phrase match protocol shows you ads to people performing a search for your exact keywords or similar keyword on the phrase level, no matter the different words the searcher included.

For example, if your keyword is “car show,” phrase match will count “car shows near me,” “auto shows in my city,” and so on. Your next highest bids should be on phrase match keywords.

Broad match modified is a similar protocol to broad match, except that for your ads to be shown, a search must be performed using all of your defined keywords or close games.

For example, if your keyword is “car show,” then broad match modified will count “car expo,” “where can I go to look at nice cars?” and more as a relevant search. It will not count “car for sale,” however, as a regular broad match would. BMM should take on your lowest bids.

5. Making Sure you’re using all of the Ad Extensions Available:

Including extension is your Google ad is an often overlooked tool in your advertising arsenal. To end out this article below is a list of some of the most useful extensions available to spice up your campaign.

Sitelink: A convenient and secure API for purchases, reservations, and much more.

Callout: Callout extensions let you promote unique offers, remaining tickets, days left until your event, and more right in your Google ad.

Structured snippet: The structured snippet extension allows you to include headers in your ad that give your business information. It can say something like “Buy tickets to the #1 car show in the US,” or just about anything else.

Call: If you have a call center, including a call extension, lets you put your phone number right in your ad.

Location: Including a place, the extension makes it more transparent where your event will be held. It’s a great way to pique the interest of locals in the area.

Price: A price extension has the potential to entice your audience, especially if the price is low or has been lowered.

Review: If you have enough reviews to meet the required minimum, including a review extension on your advertisement adds to your professional image. Condensing previous customer experiences into a general average of 4 stars, 4.5 stars, etc., makes the quality of the event clear to your audience.

Promotion: If you are having a sale or offering discounts, then a promotion extension can let your audience know quickly and easily.

App: If you feel that your customers might prefer to make a transaction with you in your app than on a website, then an app extension is a great way to let them know they have that option.