Things That Truly Terrify Digital Marketers

As digital marketers, we are haunted by deeply scary things that lurk in the darkest corners of the digital realm. While fictional ghouls might take up some attention this week, these digital figures of darkness keep us awake at night… or very busy trying to sort them urgently for clients by Monday morning. Let’s take a look at the spookiest horrors we face as digital marketers and we can all work together to ward them off and help your online marketing efforts survive.

1. “This page is owned by another business manager account”

A true horror for all social media marketers. Meta’s Business Manager simplifies multi-platform control (FB, Insta, Ads) but beware! Losing access (admin quits, hacked password) can lock you out of everything.

We’ve seen Facebook Pages with thousands of followers lost due to this. Losing control of a Meta Business Manager means rebuilding a follower base with a brand new page. 

Avoid getting caught out by this terror by following these tips:

• Make sure all the key people in your business are admins of your Facebook Page and Instagram accounts directly. 
• Once that’s done, ensure that your business pages are added to your Meta Business Manager account, along with your Meta Ads Account,  and other Meta assets (like the Pixel or Catalogues if applicable). 
• Keep access permissions up-to-date and secure,  and regularly review and manage your Business Manager settings to keep these digital spectres at bay.

2. No Negative Keywords Applied

In paid search advertising (Google Ads), the absence of negative keywords is like a curse upon your campaigns. Your ads may haunt irrelevant searches, leading to wasted budget and poor-quality website traffic.

Solution: Like casting a protective spell, regularly review your search query reports and add negative keywords to ward off unwanted traffic. It also helps to make sure your accounts have robust negative keyword lists in place from the start.

Neglecting negative keywords in Google Ads accounts can lead to horrific results.

3. Google Ads’ Auto-Applied Recommendations in Accounts

Google Ads’ automated recommendations are like eerie whispers in the dark, often generated by mysterious algorithms. While some recommendations are practical and helpful, many recommendations can lead to unexpected changes in ad performance, or unexpected increases in your media budgets, much like meddling spirits.

Be cautious with these spectral recommendations. Review them carefully and consider the impact on your campaign, just as you would scrutinize a ghostly apparition. Let your agency implement only those recommendations that align with your campaign’s strategy to keep dark forces at bay.

4. Poor Quality Passwords

In an age of increasing digital phantoms such as phishing and other scams, the fear of having an advertising account compromised due to a weak password is a very real one. A breach can lead to significant financial losses and damage to your brand’s reputation.

Avoid a hacking-induced nightmare with the following:

• Make sure you protect your accounts with strong, unique passwords.
• Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible, and regularly update your passwords. 
• Seriously consider using a reliable and secure password manager for all of your business’s digital platforms – this will keep your passwords encrypted and safe.

Avoid this look by taking good, secure care of your passwords with an encrypted password management tool.

5. Google Ads Broad Match Keywords 

Using broad match keywords in Google Ads can feel like summoning restless spirits. Your ads may manifest for a wide range of related searches, including many that are irrelevant or undesirable, leading to overspending and reduced ad efficiency, much like a cursed spell.

We prefer using only Phrase and Exact Match keywords in campaigns to gain better control over the searches ads appear for. While results from Broad Match keywords have improved over the years, especially with the advancement of AI, we’re still cautious about their use. They take careful curation and monitoring and provide a lot less control over which ads in your account get served for specific search queries. 

Our verdict: approach with caution. If you’re using Broad Match keywords in any campaigns, make sure you regularly monitor search term reports to identify and add relevant keywords and have robust negative keyword lists applied to ward off irrelevant and costly searches.

6. No Display Placement Exclusions

Running display ad campaigns without display placement exclusions can mean your ads may end up on irrelevant or low-quality websites and apps, damaging your brand’s image and wasting your precious advertising budget.

Make use of placement category exclusions and up-to-date URL placement exclusions in all your display campaigns, regularly review your display ad placements and exclude irrelevant or low-performing websites. 

Conclusion

Digital marketing can be a thrilling and rewarding journey, much like a quest to confront the supernatural. By staying vigilant, regularly reviewing and optimizing your campaigns and applying these recommendations, you can overcome the spookiest fears in this ever-evolving, digital world. Summon our team today if you want help or have any queries about avoiding these digital marketing nightmares.