Google's Smart Campaigns may sound appealing, and I totally understand the appeal, but don't let Google choose your keywords for your Google Ads campaign. It can be expensive, disappointing and give you a negative impression of paid search.

Google Ads and Facebook are over competitive and the platforms are overstuffed with content. Now is the time to think outside the Google and Facebook box and be present where your audience is.

Google and Facebook aren't your only digital marketing options. We literally live on our phones. Now is the time to really think about where your audience is online throughout their day and for you to be a part of that day.

There are many, many, many reasons why your Google Ads campaign may not be producing the results you want including that your own expectations are too high or that Google Ads isn't the right channel for your goals. But those are topics for another day. Today, we're getting tough on keywords. Yes, keywords. The cornerstone of digital marketing and paid Google Ads. The first piece of tough love, if you're letting Google choose your keywords don't do it! If you're using their "Smart Campaigns" well there's your problem right there. Those smart campaigns are not so smart when it comes to choosing keywords aligned with your goals. So, just pause any Smart Campaign you might be running and try again. Ok, secondly, your keywords may not represent how people search for your products or services. You may think they do, but they may not. See, when we are inside of our business day in and day out, we lose sight of how the public views that business or industry. You may say 'soda dispenser' but a potential customer might be looking for a 'coke machine.' Check out the video for my BEST tip on how to improve your keywords and ramp up the results of your Google Ads campaign.

Thanks for tuning into Tough Love Marketing advice. Today we are talking about one of the reasons why your Google Ads campaigns may not be performing the way you want or producing the results you thought you'd get. Ok, here it comes, here's the tough love. Your Google ads campaigns may not be producing results because … they aren't set up to accomplish goals. I've seen it time and time again, from marketers and non-marketers, you make a giant list of keywords and think that's how the magic happens. It's not.

Hi everyone. Thanks for tuning into Tough Love Marketing advice. This is part 3 in a series about why your Google ads or your Google campaigns aren't producing the results you wanted or expected. And we're going to get right to it. Here's one reason why your Google ads aren't producing the results you want. And that's because …

Organic social media is a common free or low-cost marketing tactic that many businesses try because of tight marketing budgets. So, I'm going to address what it can and CANNOT do for your business.

No fuss. No makeup. No filters. Welcome to Tough Love Marketing! Today, we're getting straight to the point to say that marketing, and I mean successful marketing, is 90% planning in advance. I don't know who needs to hear this but creating graphics and keywords and content and audience segments ALL. TAKES. TIME. And usually research, too, which does not happen overnight. More to the realistic point, doesn't happen within a week. The other 10% is made up of patients, testing, tracking results, and creativity. Budget does of course play a role but that's another video.

Today, we're covering 4 organic social media post ideas that I bet you haven't tried. What do I mean when I say "organic"? Well that simply means that you don't have to pay for advertising for these types of posts - they simply get posted from your account like any other post. You can at any time boost a post or turn one of these ideas into an ad, but I'm trying to save you some money here. Also, organic posts are only seen by the people who already follow you unless you tag another person or account. But I don't want to give away any spoilers, so here we go.

This episode is brought to you by Trax on Wax - a locally owned vinyl record store in Catonsville, Maryland BUT sells a huge selection of vinyl online. So no matter where you are, you can enjoy the magical shopping experience of Trax on Wax. Visit their website at https://www.traxonwaxrecords.com/. Ok, so Today I'm going to reset the way we all think about Google Ad's role in our digital marketing strategies AND reset the expectations for those campaigns.