How to Use Google Ads to Boost Shoe Sales?
Updated: Jun 21, 2021
If you own a shoe brand and hope to improve sales through the Google AdWords platform, this in-depth guide is for you.
Google ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) is a platform that allows businesses of all types to get in front of relevant people via paid advertisement.
Whether you are entirely new to Google ads or want to know the advanced techniques that can take your shoe business to the next level, read on.
Let's get into the details.
What are Google Ads?
Before jumping into how you can leverage the Google ads platform for your shoe business, let's see how the platform works.
It's a pay-per-click advertisement model where an advertiser pays a fixed bid amount in return for a click from a user.
So, you don't pay anything unless someone clicks on your Google ads. However, you don't want clicks from just "anyone."
As a shoe seller, you want clicks from people who are looking for a business like yours. We'll be discussing how you can attract the right people later in this article.
How to Use Different Ad Types to Boost Sales of Shoes?
Advertisements surround us everywhere. From text to image to video, businesses of all sizes use every way imaginable to get their offerings in front of relevant people.
As a shoe brand, that should be your goal to get in front of the right people. To do that effectively, you'll need to understand the different ad formats that the Google ads platform offers.
After reading this article, you'll be able to understand the ad types and how to use them effectively to increase your shoe sales online.
So without further to do, let's dive in.
Search Ads
As the name suggests, Search ads are text ads that appear above the organic results on the SERPs (search engine results pages).
Using search ads, you can get in front of prospects actively looking to purchase shoes online. You'll have to create an ad that follows the Google guidelines while being persuasive enough to get clicks from searchers.
The above screenshot shows a couple of ads for the keyword "shoes for running." Appearing at the top of the search results when shoe-related keywords are searched for gives you a shot at making a sale precisely because people searching on Google have the intent to buy.
Remember that you'll only be charged whenever someone clicks on your ad, making search ads quite efficient and effective, granted success ultimately comes down to doing proper keyword research while optimizing your ads for the right audience, of course.
Display Ads
Display ads are ads that appear on Google partner websites. They tend to be more visual than search ads and can appear on any part of a website, sometimes as banners and image ads.
Display ads are ideal when targeting people on the awareness stage. People that are not actively searching for products to buy.
Remember, as opposed to Search Ads, the Display Ads show up as people casually browse the web. Their intent at this moment is not necessarily to buy anything because they're just hanging out on their favorite website when your offering showed up.
Chances are you don't get a highly qualified lead that's ready to pull out their wallet, but don't let this discourage you. Display ads still serve a purpose – letting the world know you exist. With Display Ads, people can start to associate your brand as they begin to see it around the web on their favorite sites; best of all, because Display Ads target customers in the awareness stage, they are much cheaper than Search Ads.
Use Display Ads to initiate the process of getting customers into your sales funnel. You can provide something of value to them, for instance, a guide for new runners in exchange for their emails.
Your Display Ad keywords are also different than search ads. You don't target "Shoes for running" here. But, you can target something like "running parks near me." Google will show your ad on relevant websites.
Shopping Ads
Shopping ads appear in the exact location as search ads but in a different format. These ads target prospects that are in the consideration stage of their journey.
People searching for "best running shoes" know what they are looking for and, in many cases, are ready to buy on the spot if their search provides good results.
Shopping ads are a great way to attract potential customers to your online store. If you have inventory on your website that you can sell right away, use shopping ads to make quick sales.
Moreover, shopping ads tell the searchers about the price, ratings, and other perks you offer along with the product. You can also show an attractive image of the product to get them to click on your ad and convert.
In short, shopping ads provide adequate information to people that are clear on what they're looking for, maximizing the chances of conversions for your shoe brand.
How to Use Shopping Ads to Boost Sales of Shoes?
Google shopping ads allow you to upload product photos. Probably the best thing about a shopping ad is that you can show your product right on the image thumbnail.
So, if someone clicks on your shopping ad, they are already sold on the shoe. In other words, you're getting high-quality traffic to your store, and a high conversion rate is sure to follow.
Just make sure the image is high-quality, clear, and has a clean (preferably white) background.
Quick tip: include your target keyword, for instance, "best kids' shoes," in the title, description, and alt tags of your image.
This will help Google position your ad on relevant searches.
Not only that, but you can also use shopping ad "extensions" to maximize the click-through rate and consequently your sales.
These extensions include:
Promotions
Price drops
Product ratings
Your prospects won't want to miss a product with a high number of 5-star ratings and a limited-time price drop. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real thing, so use the tactic wisely.
YouTube Ads
Google shows YouTube ads before, within, or after relevant YouTube videos. You can use video ads to put your product in front of people that like watching videos.
For instance, it makes sense to pitch an athletic shoe or sneaker to a person watching a video related to jogging or track and field. Why? Well, because if this person enjoys watching videos related to running, the odds that he enjoys going on a run himself are pretty good, and do you know what all runners need? You guessed it running shoes.
Your prospects might view a significant portion of your ad as required by YouTube. A good practice is to strive to capture the viewer's attention within the first 5-seconds and keep it throughout the entirety of the video; remember, an engaged viewer is worth a lot more than an obligated viewer that simply can't skip the ad.
This allows you to deliver your message in detail, improving the customer's chances of considering your product or offer.
YouTube also puts a display ad next to the video to remind the viewer to act on your offer. Make sure to use an actionable CTA (call-to-action) to direct the viewers to your landing page.
Actionable Call to Actions should give prospects clear and precise instructions as to what they should do. For example, click here for an exclusive 20% discount on select shoe models.
Universal App Ads
If you have an app, you can market it on the Google Network. Google places your app in a variety of locations based on your target audience.
You'll just have to provide the ad copy and images. The platform combines the two and places the ad where your target audience is present.
We've just covered the types of Google ads available to you in your journey to boost shoe sales. Let's now discuss how you can create an impactful ad for your shoe business.
How to Create a Google Ad to Boost Shoe Sales?
A Google ad is simple to create, an effective one that converts consistently, not so easy. Plenty goes into crafting a compelling ad that brings the right people to your store.
From keyword research to designing a search-engine-friendly landing page, there are quite a few things that you need to focus on.
Let's dive into one of the first and most essential parts of the Google ads creation process: "Keyword research."
Targeting the right keywords is vital to attract the right prospects. Search engines like Google can only bring customers to businesses through search queries.
When someone puts a keyword or key phrase into the search bar, Google fetches a laundry list of results against that keyword.
How does it find the most relevant results for a particular search term? We'll be discussing it later in the article.
For now, let's see how you can find the right keywords for your shoe business to generate more sales.
How to do Keyword Research for a Shoe Brand?
Keyword research will help determine what your target customers are searching for and consequently how to reach them effectively. By having a clear understanding of your customers' interests and likes, you simplify the advertisement-making process as you can create something you know will speak effectively to the specific customer you're hoping to target.
In a nutshell, if you create a shoe ad with relevant copy that appears for specific keywords, you will more than likely improve your click-through rate (CTR).
Although getting prospects to visit the page is only half the battle getting them to convert and purchase is the ultimate goal.
So how do you find the relevant keywords your prospects are using to buy shoes online?
We suggest using a practical and free keyword research tool, "Google Keyword Planner."
Not only does it provide the search volume, cost-per-click, and competition for a keyword, but it fetches a list of related keywords as well.
Google Keywords Planner
Sign in to your Google ads network account and go to "keyword planner" in "tools and settings."
The tool shows two options. You can either search for new keywords or find information about existing ones.
Go to "Discover new keywords."
Let's say you have a large inventory of leather shoes, and you want to give the sales of these a boost.
Allow Google to help you, trust us; it's in their best interest; after all, if the ads work for you, you will continue to invest in them.
Let's put in the keyword "leather shows."
After you press get results, the tool will tell you the search volume, cost-per-click, and keyword competition.
The search volume for leather shoes should be high enough to bring enough prospects to your store, giving you the chance to convert them.
The CPC is the amount you'd be paying Google ads for every click it generates for you. You want it as low as possible, of course.
Finally, if the competition is low, you'd have a better chance of ranking for that keyword and at a lower cost since the bid for each click is less competitive.
Google Keyword Planner gives you data on the searched keyword and brings you a laundry list of related keywords to target. Google is usually very good with its suggested keywords.
Now, you have a list of keywords and the data to let you decide which one of them would be suitable to target.
But, it's essential to know about keyword match types before jumping into the ad creation process.
Keyword Match Types
Google AdWords offers a powerful platform where you can create ads against any search term you think will bring in customers.
But, can you target all the keywords that your potential customers are searching for? Well, you can't. Nor should you want to; no marketing budget in the world would sustain this much ad spend. The strategy should be to position your products/shoes in front of as many relevant prospects as possible.
Consider using the Google keyword "match types" feature to target a wide range of keywords. To use keyword match types effectively, you need to know them well, right?
Keywords are arguably the most crucial part of the process. Pick a keyword that's too broad or general, and you'll end up with visitors with less to no buying intent.
Target a too specific keyword, and you run the risk of not generating enough traffic to convert enough sales. Keyword match types tell Google how much variation you want in your keyword.
Broad Match Keywords:
By default, Google takes your keywords as broad match keywords. Careful; this default setting can cost you a lot of your marketing budget.
Why? Because it brings an audience searching for a wide range of variations of your keyword.
For instance, if someone is searching for "Hiking boots," Google may show one of your ads targeting "Tennis shoes" just because it's in the "shoe" family.
You don't want to attract the people searching for hiking boots if you hope to sell tennis shoes.
So, targeting broad match-type keywords isn't a good idea for a shoe brand simply because it's aimed at driving lots of clicks, not high-quality ones.
In our experience, "Broad Match Keywords" are ideal for general brand awareness because you can get more people to come in contact with your brand for a lower cost-per-click.
When it comes to selling specific shoes, broad match keywords will ultimately bring irrelevant traffic that won't convert.
Let's see what Google fetches for the term "Google ads."
As you can see above, the first two ads match the search intent of the searcher looking for the Google ads platform.
However, people who intend to do the marketing themselves will not be a good fit for the marketing agency appearing on the search results. Why? Because the search term indicates, the searcher is looking to handle the advertising themselves as Google Ads is controlled mainly by small businesses in-house.
Phrase Match Keywords:
Phrase match keywords provide more control to the advertiser than broad match. When someone searches for a phrase, your ad will show up for that exact phrase plus any words before or after it.
After a recent update by Google, close variations of your keyword will also show up in the search results.
So, if you want to target "Women shoes," Google will also match the keyword with queries like "new women size 38 shoes".
The flexibility widens the net, consequently attracting more prospective buyers to your landing page, thus increasing the probability of sales.
Exact Match Keywords:
As the name suggests, the exact match keywords place your ad only in front of people searching for this very term".
For instance, if one of your search terms is "running shoes," your ad will only show to people who type in running shoes on Google. In other words, your ad won't show on any searches that have any other words in front or behind the search term "running shoes."
Although the exact match type brings less traffic, the people who click on your ads will improve your conversion rate and reduce ad waste because what you're selling and what they are searching for are precisely the same.
The only caveat would be that you'd attract a small number of people due to the limited pool of people searching for such a specific term.
However, Google has also updated the exact match and factors in close variants and synonyms in the search terms.
Choosing the right match type is vital to generate sales, and efficient ad spend. You can also use multiple match types to get better results.
Using Negative Keywords to Filter Out Irrelevant Audience:
Negative keywords allow you to prevent Google from triggering your ad for certain words. For instance, if you don't want Google ads to show your ad for the term "free," you can make that a negative keyword in your Google ads campaign.