April 13, 2020

How to Maximize Results with a Small Google Ads Budget

If you’re doing business online, you should be utilizing Google Ads. It’s a user-friendly, cost-effective way of increasing brand awareness and revenue. In fact, with the right mindset and strategy, Google Ads can virtually double your money. If it’s not doing that, it doesn’t mean your PPC campaign isn’t working. As long as you’re getting a return on your investment in Google Ads, and you’re happy with that ROI, then it’s working for you.

It’s easy to think that if you’re not seeing the results you want, you should spend more to make more. But with Google Ads, it’s less about how much you’re spending than it is about simply how you’re spending. You don’t need to throw a lot of money into your campaigns—you just need to be smart about what you’re spending now.

Here are some tips for getting better results from a small Ads budget.

Focus on Better Goals, Not Bigger Ones

Some people are motivated by high, nearly impossible goals. If that works for you, go for it. But it can put a damper on morale if you set a goal and realize it’s not going to be met. So don’t worry so much about setting big, grand goals; instead use some strategies to set better, smarter goals.

There are five attributes every goal should have to better ensure its success: specific, relevant, attainable, timely, and measurable.

• Specific: You probably have an overall goal in mind for your Ads campaign (make more money!), but for the purposes of maximizing your budget, set specific goals. Focus on how much ROI you want to see on each keyword in which markets.
• Relevant: Select a goal that makes sense for your PPC campaign. If you want to use Google Ads to garner more local traffic, for example, then you may want to set your sights on ads targeting keywords that incorporate “near me,” as opposed to focusing on nationally competitive phrases. 
• Attainable: When you set a goal, it’s critical that you’re realistic about whether you can meet it. When you’re working with a smaller budget, you want to make sure you’re setting a finish line that can be reached within the boundaries of that budget. Hitting a lofty goal won’t feel quite as good if you had to sink double the amount you planned to spend in order to get it. 
• Timely: Be realistic about the amount of time it’ll take to reach your goal, too. Trying to double your ROI in less than 30 days would be great, but faster results tend to cost more (and there’s no guarantee it’s achievable in that timeframe anyway). Focus instead on a flexible, honest timeline for getting the results you want. Know that outside factors may impact the deadline you’ve set, and be prepared to adjust accordingly.
• Measurable: Setting goals you can meet is crucial, but it’s just as important that you can track those results along the way. After all, if you can’t measure it, it’ll be difficult to repeat. If you meet your goal, you’ll want to know how you did. This will help you plan future campaigns, giving you a solid idea of the cost and timeline for your next strategy.

Don’t Budge on Your Budget

Google Ads allows you to take your monthly budget and break it down by daily spend. This lets you set the maximum amount you’re willing to spend each day on your campaign. It’s a great way to see how your money will be used, and Google can tell you how competitive that spend is. This lets you know in advance whether the budget you’ve set is capable of achieving the results you’re looking for.

If you’re struggling to meet the goals you’ve set, it can be tempting to adjust your budget midway through. But that’s a slippery slope, and there’s no guarantee adding money is going to improve results. A better option is to adjust your strategy, reshaping it to better fit the budget you’ve already set. It’s likely the issue isn’t how much you’re spending but where you’re spending it.

Spend Smarter by Setting Limits

More isn’t always better. If you put in the effort, you can make limited resources go a lot further. You’ve likely done the research on your target demographics, so use that information to your advantage. Set your options to focus on those audiences, rather than keeping the playing field wide open.

• Keywords: Rather than selecting 50 keywords to target, narrow your scope. Use Google’s keyword planner to find the most cost-effective options. Five super relevant keywords will go a lot further for your small budget than 25 highly competitive phrases that only barely relate to what you’re targeting. You can always add to them as you go along, but if you start small, you’ll have a better idea of how effective your budget is.
• Location: Use those geographical settings to your advantage. If you’ve got strong brand awareness in your area, or you know a lot of your online orders come from a particular region, set your ads to focus on those locations. With a smaller budget, targeting the audiences you know are more likely to convert is more economical than trying to reach a large, totally new audience. If you’re not sure where your audience is, start locally and branch out from there.
• Scheduling: Running ads 24/7 may seem like a great idea in order to reach as many people as possible, but it adds up quickly. Instead, consider the most likely times your target audience will be searching for your services. Set your scheduling limits to focus on those timeframes.

Note: Negative targeting can go a long way to maximizing your budget, too. It costs nothing to select keywords and locations you want to exclude and doing so helps really narrow the focus of your ads where you want them most.

A Little Trial and Error Goes a Long Way

All in all, remember that your first plan may not be the best one. Be strict with your budget but be flexible with some of the other settings. Experiment with different keywords if you’re not happy with the results you want. Try including more or different locations, depending on how well your geographical settings are performing. Most importantly, be patient. Seeing results from a PPC campaign takes time, so expect your early efforts to be an investment in a long-term strategy.

It’s absolutely possible to get great results from a small Google Ads budget, as long as you’re honest about what you want to achieve and you’re smart about your strategy.