You may have been in this situation before. You need something urgent or in a timely manner, such as a tire repair, and google “tire repair shop near me” and see ads for a couple of nearby mechanic shops. Those first few selections at the top of your results page are pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
PPC is an internet advertising model to drive traffic to websites, in which an advertiser pays a publisher when the ad is clicked. In the case of the tire repair ads, the advertiser is the mechanic shop and the publisher is Google. Any business can utilize PPC ads with almost any budget. But if you want the most bang for your buck, the way you set up your account could make a huge difference on campaign success and ROI. That’s why it’s important to partner with digital marketing experts to ensure your campaigns are set up properly and continuously optimized.
What is SKAG?
There are many methods that you could use to set up your Google Ads campaigns. Depending on the agency or the company you approach for help, you may get a different answer to how you should set up your Google Ads account. With all of the choices out there, there is a method that reigns supreme and has proven to be a cost-efficient way to drive traffic to your website. This method is known as Single Keyword Ad Groups, or SKAG for short.
SKAG is as simple as its name suggests. When creating an ad group within your Google Ads campaign, a single keyword is targeted in that specific ad group. Below, we address the primary arguments against SKAG and prove why it is an effective approach to PPC advertising. This means you have to do way more work in building and maintaining the account – but you also get way better results.
Arguments For and Against SKAG
SKAG can benefit your Google Ads campaign performance by providing a clear blueprint of the structure of your account and how each segment performed. It also can give you an improved click-through-rate and a lower cost per click and cost per conversion. But, like most things, there are always a few negative aspects.
SKAG is known to be time-consuming, require more maintenance and effort, and can take longer to exit testing/learning phases for your campaigns. With that being said, when you partner with a digital marketing partner such as Gatorworks, your business will enjoy the benefits while outsourcing the negative aspects.
Like anything, there are proponents and opponents. Let’s break down a few of the major arguments against SKAG and prove why SKAG is a strategic and worthwhile approach. Some of the arguments are as follows:
- SKAG is time-consuming: It is indeed. BUT, it is proven to be effective and anything worth doing is worth doing right. As the old saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
- SKAG creates a mess of your account: As Joey Tribiani once eloquently said, that’s like a cow’s opinion, a moo point. As long as you give your account the time and maintenance it deserves, this issue is easily avoidable.
- SKAGs are an inefficient way to manage your budget/spending: Fortunately, there are easy ways to avoid this problem. You can control this by using specific match types on your keywords, using transactional keywords, and negative matching search terms that cost you unnecessary money.
Still not sure about SKAG? The results speak for themselves.
Let Gatorworks Help Grow Your Business With SKAG
Are you looking to grow your business through digital marketing? Trust in a digital marketing agency that manages 40+ Google Ads accounts and is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Gatorworks can help develop a strategy and create campaigns that will drive traffic to your website and get results. If you would like to learn more about how we can help your business grow with pay-per-click advertising, give us a shout!