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Google’s SMB Advertising Credit: What You Need to Know

As COVID-19 continues to impact small and medium-sized businesses around the world, Google has announced they will be giving more than $340 million in advertising credits to SMBs with Google Ads accounts active in the past year. Another $460 million will be given to support the WHO and NGOs connected with small businesses around the world, in addition to healthcare workers currently on the frontlines of this pandemic.

“As the coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen around the world, it’s taking a devastating toll on lives and communities. To help address some of these challenges, today we’re announcing a new $800+ million commitment to support small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), health organizations and governments, and health workers on the frontline of this global pandemic.” – Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet

In moments when actions speak louder than words, it’s great to see Google supporting the people that need their products more than ever.

 What You Need to Know:

  • Advertising Credit: Eligible customers will receive a one-time advertising credit applied directly to their Google Ads account.  
  • Eligibility: The ad credit will go to SMBs in countries where Google Ads is available. Qualified SMBs must have an active Google Ads account and have run ads within the last 12 months. If eligible, you will be informed through an in-product notification detailing your full credit amount. Customers of agencies/partners are eligible for the ad credit.
  • Timing: Credits will be made available to eligible customers in phases beginning in Q2 and can be used to offset future advertising within Google Ads until the end of 2020.

Your Next Steps:

  • Actions with Google: There is no further action required at present. Eligible partners will see the credit appear in their accounts in the coming weeks and months. 
  • Maximize Efficiency on Google Ads:  Over the next few months, you need to ensure your Google Ads account is set up according to Google’s best practices in order to maximize the reach of each credit you receive. Provided below is a list of optimizations we at TribalVision recommend to all of our clients.
  • Conversions:  Make sure your Google Ads account has conversion actions set up. Whether it’s a “contact us” form fill or a transaction, Google’s advanced AI now targets individuals based on the conversions you set in your accounts. Setting these up will increase the total conversions you’re able to generate from your Google Ads. 
  • Campaign Setup: Campaigns also need to be set up around your conversion goals. The best options are Maximize Conversions, Target ROAS, or Target CPA. If these are not set up and you choose in lieu of a Maximize Clicks goal, you are most likely wasting marketing dollars on the channel.
  • Ad Copy: Make sure you’re hitting all of the minimum requirements for ad copy on an adgroup to adgroup basis. That’s 2 Expanded Text Ads, and 1 Responsive Search ad for each ad group. This improves click-through rate and increases your optimization score with Google.
  • Maximize Extensions: Each Google Ad campaign should have the following extensions: Call, Sitelink, Structured Snippet, Callout, and Location. If you don’t have these extensions, your ads will take up less real estate, especially on mobile devices, and reduce your visibility and click-through rates.
  • Landing Pages: Make sure your landing pages are designed for conversions.  The goal of a landing page is to reduce barriers in front of your conversions. This includes reducing the total number of clicks users need to make, and even the total number of pages they need to see before they get in front of the main action you want them to take. Therefore, it’s good to build dedicated landing pages for each ad group instead of sending users from your ad to a homepage. 
  • Keyword Research: Finally, make sure you’re doing effective, comprehensive keyword research. Oftentimes ad groups are designed around the keywords advertisers think will generate traffic. This is not the ideal approach. Instead, you should research the keywords that people are already typing in, and then design ad groups that best target those search queries.
  • YouTube: With the sharp increase in streaming services, YouTube Marketing for brand awareness is performing better than ever. Costs are extremely low, and targeting capabilities are very robust. Try to take advantage.

 

Let TribalVision Audit Your Google Ads Account

To help give back in this time of need, we are providing free Google Ads audits to anyone who wants to ensure their accounts are set up for success. TribalVision will review your account and provide recommendations for improvement in an easy to follow video format. If you’d like us to audit your account please reach out to info@tribalvision.com. 

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