We are a Google Partner Agency, and have managed millions of dollars in Google AdWords budget, and love observing what companies are doing on the PPC Marketing front.

This is the tenth 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.

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 “Twitter Tools”

Google Ad #1
Company: Sprout Social

Google AdWords Ad:

The Good…

• Great use of keyword in the url (which is always bolded)
• Like the list of features/benefits such as 24/7 Support, Unlimited Reporting, Advanced Scheduling, etc.
• Good CTA for 30-day free trial

The Not so Good…

• I like the use of sitelinks (blue links at bottom), but they mostly repeat what’s already been mentioned.
• I’d like to see a stat on how many people are using Sprout Social

Ad Score: 4/5

Google AdWords Landing Page:

The Good…

• Well designed
• I like the headline and the idea that it does everything I’ll need
• Good use of contrast for the CTA button (Start My Free Trial), although blue or orange colour might stand out better

The Not so Good…

• The single goal is to get someone to sign up for free trial, so why have navigation to Pricing, Customers, and About Us pages and risk losing the conversion?
• It’s not obvious enough what the logos for Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. are for (I assume it’s because you can also manage those accounts with Sprout Social, but has to be made clear)
• The “No Credit Card Required” and “No Software to Install” are barely noticeable.  These are key features for increased conversion so I’d emphasize them, and include them in the actual AdWords ad too.
• Wouldn’t it make sense to have a “Sign up using Twitter” button instead?

Google Landing Page Score: 3.5/5

TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 7.5/10

 

Google Ad #2
Company: Locowise

Google AdWords Ad:

The Good…

• Great use of keyword in both headline and display url
• Free trial CTA very key

The Not so Good…

• Why 14-day free trial instead of 30 days?
• “Razor Accurate Analytics” and “No Fuss Dashboards” don’t seem very compelling features to me (I would assume analytics would be accurate!).
• The site links for free trials for 3, 10, and 20 profiles isn’t going to be very effective (in my humble opinion) – just offer a free trial for a single user to simplify process.
• Don’t see any mention of how popular Locowise is, or how many users.

AdWords Score: 2.5/5

Google AdWords Landing Page:

The Good…

• No links or navigation that keeps user focus on the conversion (to start a free trial)
• Great focus on the CTA and blue button
• Reduces conversion abandonment likelihood by noting “no credit card, instant access” (that’s good).

The Not so Good…

• My original search was for “Twitter Tools” and although the ad mentioned Twitter tools, there’s no mention on this landing page.
• Granted my original search was for “Twitter Tools”, somewhat broad, but this landing page is all about “Social Media Analytics” which is not likely very relevant to original search.
• You can’t see it from screenshot, but there’s too much scrolling on this page, needs to be shortened.

Google Landing Page Score: 2/5

TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 4.5/10

 

Google Ad #3
Company: ManageFlitter

Google AdWords Ad:

The Good…

• “Tools for Twitter” in headline matches my search
• “Clean-up your account, build lists, find people to follow” tells me exactly what it does.
• Highlighting 1891 followers on Google+ provides instant credibility and reduces perceived risks of using the product.

The Not so Good…

• No CTA! That’s a big miss.  Is there a free-trial or why should I click the ad and/or what am I expected to do when I click the ad?

Google AdWords Score: 2/5

Google AdWords Landing Page:

The Good…

• There’s no doubt where you’re expected to click
• Trusted by nearly 3 million users, great stuff but that should have been referenced in the ad too!

The Not so Good…

• This is not a landing page so much as a page on ManageFlitter’s website.  Like Sprout Social, eliminate links and navigation to keep users focused on the conversion.
• You can’t tell from the screenshot but the main image animates, changing the CTA each time.  I wouldn’t recommend this type of approach as it can confuse the messaging and the user.
• I like the “Start” button but exactly what am I starting?  Still no mention of a free trial.
• Can I sign-up using my Twitter account?

OutMarket Landing Page Score: 2/5

TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 4/10

 

Who’s Getting My Business for “Twitter Tools”?

Sprout Social had the most relevant ad and landing page, and at the very least I’d sign up for their free trial.

We want to hear from you!  Let us know what industry you’re in, and we’ll focus on it for our next edition of “Exemplary Examples of Google AdWords Done Right (and Wrong)!  Tweet me @robertclarkey