We are a Certified Google Partner, and love seeing what brands are up to with their Google AdWords budget.

This is the 17th instalment of a series we call “Critiquing Your Google AdWords Campaigns”.

We Google a search term and evaluate the top 3 Google Ads as well as their landing pages for their ability to “Attract” and “Convert” visitors into leads.

We grade each campaign out of 10:

5 Points ATTRACT: the actual Google Ad
5 Points for CONVERT: the Landing Page experience

Let’s get started!

This week we Googled “Data Center Backup Software”.

Google Campaign #1: Rubrik

Google AdWords Ad:

The Good…

• From the headline and display url, you know we’re dealing with “data center backup”
• Backup unification, Instant recovery, etc. – nice list of services

The Not so Good…

• The big problem is that Rubrik is promoting a “Guide”, whereas I’m searching for Software
• It’s strange to see another brand popup (Gartner), a bit of brand confusion – not to mention I’m not sure many people would know what “Magic Quadrant” means
• Downloading a guide is okay but should be used as a sitelink, not the main CTA
• No call extension, who would I call?

Ad Score: 2/5

Google AdWords Landing Page:

The Good…

• Well designed with main headline, subline, and contact form above the fold
• Does well to identify target audience in headline (Enterprise)

The Not so Good…

• I still don’t understand what the Magic Quadrant is, or what exactly I’m getting by downloading it.  Can’t I get it directly from Gartner?
• I understand that the guide is a content marketing play, but my original search was for data center backup software, and the connection is not explicit enough
• The form could be a contrasting colour to the rest of the page so everything isn’t so white
• Why do I need to enter my phone number to access a guide from Gartner, is someone actually going to call me, and, if so, why?
• Never use “submit” as the text on a button, it’s too impersonal and ambiguous – try “Download Free Report” or something that’s more clear

Google Landing Page Score: 2/5

TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 4/10

Google Campaign #2: Carbonite

Google AdWords Ad:

The Good…

• I like the “#1 Most Trusted Backup” but would need some confirmation on that
• Free Demo is a decent CTA (but don’t need to say it more than once)
• Nice use of callouts: 200+ Systems, Complete Data Protection, Custom Data Solutions
• Also nice use of sitelinks that give me the option to navigate to the specific area of the website

The Not so Good…

• Who is the target audience, is this an enterprise solution, for small business, or for everyone?
• I’m searching for “Software” but I don’t see that word anywhere in the ad
• No call extension/phone number to call

Ad Score: 3/5

Google AdWords Landing Page:

The Good…

• Nice design and clear headline – it states what it is, and what it does and gets to the point quickly
• “Carbonite helps you create a data protection strategy” – it’s a nice, useful explanation supported visually

The Not so Good…

• I don’t see a clear CTA, what am I supposed to do? There’s a Gartner report I can download but what does that have to do with Carbonite?  The ad said “Free Demo” (twice) but I don’t see any mention of this anywhere on the page
• It’s a landing page – get rid of all the top navigation items and keep users focused on the conversion

Google Landing Page Score: 2/5

TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 5.5/10

Google Campaign #3: Graphical Networks

Google AdWords Ad:

The Good…

• I see keywords in the headline (“data center” and “software”) that I originally searched for
• A CTA “Request Free Demo!”
• A phone number to call 🙂
• Nice use of callouts and services

The Not so Good…

• No sitelinks that would help me go directly to specific pages (e.g. for specific industry, business size, etc.)
• Ad doesn’t identify who the target audience is, whether it’s for Enterprise or any business with a data center
• The term “modern platform” is a bit of a waste of word-space – would anyone be expecting an outdated platform?
• Not knocking Graphical Networks, but a “Free Demo” isn’t a strong CTA, only because all the ads say “Free Demo”

Google AdWords Score: 3/5

Google AdWords Landing Page:

The Good…

• A video is usually always a good idea on a landing page, especially as more people are searching on their phones it’s easier to watch than to read
• I like the “Fully utilize your assets. Lower data center costs. Prevent downtime” and the supporting proof points, I’d look to bring that info up above the fold under the main headline
• On the full landing page they do a good job of answering the question, why netTerrain?

The Not so Good…

• What’s netTerrain, I thought the ad said Graphical Networks?  That’s brand confusion
• It’s not clear what “Try netTerrain Now” means, am I starting a free trial?  I clicked on it, and it takes you to a web demo form, which is misleading – it should be more clear and say “book demo”
• “Download Brochure”, not sure this makes a lot of sense, shouldn’t the landing page be the brochure giving you all the information you need?  I’d probably offer the brochure as an exit popup instead, so the user has the full list of specs if that’s what type of info they’re currently looking for
• Again, this is a landing page, remove the unnecessary navigation items and keep the prospect focused on the conversion

Landing Page Score: 2.5/5

TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 5.5/10

Who’s Getting My Business for “Data Center Backup Software”?

It looks to be a tie, with both Carbonite and Graphical Networks, although I’m going to give the edge to Carbonite as Graphical Networks caused me too much brand confusion with netTerrain.

Here’s a great resource for building landing pages that convert from our friends at Venngage.

And if you need help with your Google AdWords campaigns, please feel free to send me an email or tweet me @robertclarkey