We are a PPC Management company, 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 12th 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 “Benefits Administration Software”.
Google Ad #1
Company: Bamboo HR
Google AdWords Ad:
The Good…
- Nice, clear headline telling me what it does
- Phone number, check
- “Affordable”, “Easy to Use” and “Try it Free” are all good features to highlight
- Nice use of sitelinks to free trial, pricing, or to take tour
The Not so Good…
- It’s affordable, but for who? Small businesses like mine? Maybe make it more clear who it’s for
- I see the word “simple” three times
Ad Score: 4.5/5
Google AdWords Landing Page:
The Good…
- Well designed, nice simple layout and attractive colours
- Good use of contrast with the “Download Now” button
- Navigation removed to keep me focused on taking action
The Not so Good…
- I’m searching for software, I want a free trial, a demo, or a tour – why are you offering me a white paper?
- As well, the White Paper isn’t even about benefits administration or benefits administration software, it’s about why HR spreadsheets “stink”. Do we really need a White Paper to find out why that is?
Google Landing Page Score: 1/5
TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 5.5/10
Google Ad #2
Company: Capterra
Google AdWords Ad:
The Good…
- My keyword search (benefits admin software) is right in the headline and in the display url
- I can compare top ten solutions
The Not so Good…
- “Compare Top 10 Benefits” can be misleading
- “Find Best Deal & Save Today!” isn’t a strong call to action…how do I save and how much can I save?
- “Avoid Costly Mistakes”, “Streamline Efficiency”, blah blah doesn’t tell me anything at all
- Ad needs to say a bit more about what Capterra is (a review website)
AdWords Score: 1/5
Google AdWords Landing Page:
The Good…
- Well designed in terms of getting me to visit the other websites
The Not so Good…
- The original ad said “Top 10 Benefits Adm Software”, but I only see 4
- Only two have reviews, and only one has more than one review
- As per the original Google ad, how do I “find best deal and save?”
Google Landing Page Score: 1.5/5
TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 2.5/10
Google Ad #3
Company: Pardot
Google AdWords Ad:
The Good…
- I see “Benefit Administration”
- I am in Canada 🙂
The Not so Good…
- Should I know what “TPA” software is?
- Is Group Benefit Administration “System” the same as “Software”?
- No features, no phone number, no site-links, no call to action = no click
Google AdWords Score: 0/5
Google AdWords Landing Page:
The Good…
- It’s a nice logo and main image
The Not so Good…
- It’s time to “think BIG” about what?
- Give any user tester five seconds on this page, and they would have no idea what the page is about
- Small text, then blue text, no details, no features, no call to action, no form, no phone number = no leads
OutMarket Landing Page Score: 0.5/5
TOTAL ADWORDS SCORE: 0.5/10
Who’s Getting My Business for “Benefits Administration Software”?
Bamboo HR easily had the best ad, but they need to switch out their offer on their well-designed landing page from a free white paper to a free trial, demo, or product tour.
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