Google makes it really, really easy to start a Google Ads account and give them money in exchange for clicks. To see true Google Ads success in the hyper-competitive marketplace that we’re in today, you’ll need to have a clear and logical structure. Not only to your account itself, but also how you approach tracking, setup and budgets.

Specificity Layers is our Marketing Framework that (for the first time) explains how to actually deploy successful paid search campaigns and produce the printing press effect: $1 spent for $5 or more in money back.

General Queries Burn Cash #

Starting a new campaign with Google Ads is easy! Just click “New Campaign”, enter your website and Google will suggest thousands of keywords that get millions of searches per month.

Is that a good idea?

No, of course not! If you’ve ever thought of bidding on the name of your broadly defined destination in Google Ads, it may be more fun to light up a pile of cash and burn it with gasoline. At least you’ll get entertained by that.

Super-broad topics are the enemy of a high-performance Google Ads account. Instead, we want to narrow down and find targeted layers of intent that drive results.

Specific Terms & Network Effects #

You may be thinking “duh, I know not to bid on just the name of my destination!” — that’s good. But there’s more to how a paid click from Google turns into a real, paying guest.

Getting To The Long Tail #

Finding a true long-tail keyword isn’t always easy and straightforward. A good long-tail keyword:

• Is specific: describes a selection of your destination that you can unique offer and service
• Has a very strong Message Match: respect the click of your potential guest — don’t send them to your homepage for a search about `pet friendly cabins for rent in Chattanooga`.
• Has a solid amount of related keywords that fit under the same topic: finding 20 or more closely related keywords means that the layers are deep and profitable. If you can only find 1-2 very similar variants of a single keyword, then it may be *too* long tail and not work well.

Creating The Layers Of Specificity #

• Understand the final layer: subareas and highly specific rental requirements. For example, a search for `oceanfront condos in downtown Miami Beach` is a deep search that’ll convert far better than `miami beach places to stay`.
• Respect the needs of your guest and speak/communicate to them in the way that matches their needs. You won’t have success by bidding on pet friendly rental terms if you don’t actually have a pet friendly landing page with a high quantity of listings that fit that criteria. Note: anecdotally, we’ve seen around 4-6 listings being the “floor” for higher performing landing pages, but you have to test with less.
• Don’t be afraid to aggressively attack your final layer: even the best paid search ads get a 20% click-through-rate. Don’t let 80% of your ideal guests miss you! For example, if bidding on the name of a building drives a high click-through-rate and solid conversions, start another campaign with a mini-site to drive even more traffic.