This is the sixth 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 “pool cleaning Toronto”
Google Ad #1
Company: HTH Pools
HTH Pools AdWords Ad:
The Good…
- The .ca domain lets me know I’m at least dealing with a Canadian company
The Not so Good…
- There’s no mention of pool “cleaning”
- I’m not looking for “expert advice and info”, I’m looking for someone to clean my pool
Ad Score: 0/5
HTH Pools Landing Page:
The Good…
- Unfortunately the ad wasn’t relevant to my search, so either is the landing page.
The Not so Good…
- Sending prospects to your “Troubleshooting” page after having them click on an ad doesn’t make a lot of sense. Knowing they’re looking for a product or service, you’re basically telling them to “figure it out on your own”.
- There’s no clear call to action.
- From this landing page, I don’t know if I can buy from the company, if they offer a service, or what “pool solutions” are.
HTH Pools Landing Page Score: 0/5
TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 0/10
Google Ad #2
Company: TorontoMaids.com
TorontoMaids.com Ad:
The Good…
- This would be a really good ad (has pricing, identifies “Toronto”, clear call-to-action, phone number, etc.) if I was searching for “House” Cleaning
The Not so Good…
- The company could save themselves a lot of money by negative matching certain keywords that are irrelevant to their services – such as “pool” cleaning, “car” cleaning – so their ad wouldn’t show up when people search for these terms.
AdWords Score: 0/5
TorontoMaids.com Landing Page:
The Good…
- If I was searching for “House cleaning Toronto” this wouldn’t be a half-bad landing page: it draws your eye to the phone number, it clearly identifies they are in Toronto, and they guarantee best deal.
The Not so Good…
- Again, the landing page is not relevant to my search.
- Don’t make the user take another step to request an online quote, have the form on the landing page.
- Show me images of before and after shots of cleaning, help me visualize what my clean house could look like.
- List the prices of the cleaning packages.
- Give me incentive to contact you, as I first time customer I’m looking for a discount or some type of offer.
TorontoMaids.com Landing Page Score: 0/5
TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 0/10
Google Ad #3
Company: Polaris Pool
Polaris Pool Ad:
The Good…
- Finally, an ad that mentions the term I was looking for (pool cleaning).
The Not so Good…
- The ad is not for pool cleaning services, but for a robotic pool cleaner that you purchase. This is definitely a bit of a stretch as most likely people like me are looking for a service, but perhaps might consider purchasing a product as an alternative option.
- The display url should be polarispool.ca/pool-cleaner instead of /swimming-pool to make the ad more relevant to my search.
- Good offer with the $150 Rebate
Polaris Pool AdWords Score: 2/5
Polaris Pool Landing Page:
The Good…
- Huge Savings is always a good thing!
- Contact form on landing page, very key.
The Not so Good…
- I’m being asked to select an offer (fist field in the form), but I haven’t gotten any information on any product. I can start going through the products on the left but forcing people to leave your landing page is going to drastically reduce your conversion rate.
- The form is too long – the more information you ask, the less likely people are to give it to you.
Polaris Pool Landing Page Score: 2/5
TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 4/10
Who’s Getting My Business for “pool cleaning Toronto”?
Well I can honestly say this is a first, none of these companies would be getting my business if I was looking for pool cleaning. Polaris Pool at least gave me something to think about as an alternative to pool cleaning services, but it’s a bit of a stretch.
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