Before you start running your competitor campaign, there are multiple things you need to consider. Use this handy checklist to guide you as you set up your Google Ads campaign.
Know your competitors
- Create a list of competitors in your area.
- Build a competitor profile for each competitor—A competitor profile includes their website, social media content strategy, style and specialty, as well as their Facebook and Google ads. Use our Competitor Profile Worksheet to create your own profiles.
- Stay local—Look for competitors who are in your area and who offer services that are similar to those you offer. Avoid any competitors with a much larger following or who you aspire to be. Look for people who are similar to you.
Build out your campaign
- Choose the right goal—We recommend choosing Website Traffic as your goal.
- Make sure you choose a Search campaign—You want your ads to show up when people search for your competitors, so be sure to select Search as your campaign type.
- Name your campaign—Give your campaign a name that lets you know what it’s about and what the goal of the campaign is.
- Add your website URL – This step helps customize your campaign setup to focus on settings and features that can help you get the customer actions that matter most to your business.
- Set your budget—Know how much you want to spend. We recommend starting with $5 – $7 a day. You can then adjust your budget as you go.
- Specify your location—Don’t get too ambitious. Your location should be the city, surrounding towns, and metro area you serve. If you also photograph destination weddings or are available for travel, create a separate campaign to target that audience.
Check (and double-check) your landing page
- Make sure everything on your landing page loads correctly and quickly.
- Test any forms and make sure that they work.
- Click on every link on your landing page. Fix any broken links.
- Proofread all content—Correct any spelling errors, grammatical issues, or typos. Look out for unnecessary extra spaces between words.
Craft your ad copy
- Structure your ad copy—You have a very limited amount of words, so make sure every one counts. Check out our list of the top performing
- Google Ads in your niche to give you an idea of the best way to write your ad copy.
- Include relevant keywords—Your ad copy should include keywords that are relevant to the services you offer. Review the list of keywords for your niche on MRFP.
- Have a strong call to action—Encourage anyone who sees your ad to click on your link and visit your website by including a call to action.
- Proofread—Look closely for typos and spelling and grammatical errors. You may even want to ask a friend or family member to read through your copy and look for any errors you may have missed.
Check your ads one last time
- Do you have three different headlines?
- Do you have two lines of description?
- Is there a call to action in your copy?
- Are there relevant keywords in your copy?
- Is everything spelled correctly?
- Is the link to your landing page working?
If you’re not sure how to create your own Google Ads for your competitor campaign, you can download swipe files of the top-performing Google Ads in your niche, as well as templates to create a landing page that gets results.
For more on-demand training courses and marketing strategies for photographers, you might be interested in obtaining a Lifetime Access account to our site Marketing Resources for Photographers (MRFP) for a special one-time price of $497. Price and Lifetime offer are subject to change at any time.