Too many advertisers—including your competitors—think that the only way to win in Google Ads is to raise bids. Read on to find out why it’s not and then leave them in the dust!

The bad news: This is not a secret and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Research shows that 93% of businesses are allocating budget to search engine marketing, making it the top paid channel.

The great news: You don’t necessarily have to keep hiking up your bids to compete in Google Ads. In fact, bidding higher does not guarantee top ranking, nor does it guarantee clicks or that those clicks will convert—and conversions are what matter most.

How to compete in Google Ads without raising your bids

1. Understand the power of Quality Score – higher quality ads get rewarded with higher positions and lower costs.
2. Increase your click-through rate – A high click-through rate will improve your expected click through rate, which bring up your Quality Score. Make your ads shine and you’ll outpace your competition and spend less money
3. Improve your ad relevance – Relevance has been taken to a whole new level these days. It’s not just about being relevant to the search query, but also to the searcher themselves.
4. Perfect your landing page experience – The third piece to the Quality Score puzzle is landing page experience. Even more importantly, the landing page is how you make sure conversions happen, so even if your CTR is great and costs are low, you’re not really competing if you’re not converting.
5. Optimise your keywords – At the heart of a successful Google Ads campaign is the right keywords. But it’s not enough to just do your keyword research, input the list into your campaign, and call it a day. You need to regularly maintain keyword lists and seek out new keywords to target.
6. Master your bidding strategy – This guide focuses on all of the things you can do to compete in Google Ads without raising your bids. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to have a solid bidding strategy to begin with. You can also adjust your bids so that you’re spending more in one area but less in another
7. Examine your competition – This last one tends to get overlooked. We get so wrapped up in our own metrics that we forget the obvious: Look at your competition. Look at their ads and offers. Ask yourself if you’re truly competitive. If you can’t compete with the offer, make sure your ad copy and extensions improve your “click appeal.”. Appearance, enthusiasm, and words sell!
8. Use the tools available to you – Between the reports and features within the Google Ads interface as well as the tools and templates from others, you have an arsenal of resources at your disposal to help you compete for clicks. Tools = Free Google Ads Grader, Free responsive search, Free keyword tool and PPC University.

Now you’ve got the tips and tools you need to take down your competition in Google Ads—without toppling over your budget. Start with your Quality Score to build a strong foundation—which means focusing on great ad copy, properly themed ad groups, and optimized landing pages. Build on that with bid adjustments and keyword optimization, and then top it off with more specific competitor targeting. Use the free tools to make it all easier and you’ll be taking the lead (and generating leads (and sales)) in no time.

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