Category: PPC

Google Ads has become increasingly complex over the years, making it challenging for advertisers to optimize campaigns. However, one of the oldest and most important optimizations is to improve the performance and efficiency of your campaigns is Quality Score. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll give you concrete tips on how to optimize Quality Score and improve your ad’s eligibility, cost per click and display assets.

Why Quality Score Still Matters Quality Score is a diagnostic tool that compares the quality of your ads to those of your competitors. It has a significant impact on whether your ad is eligible to enter an auction, how much you pay per click, and how your ad is displayed. The higher your Quality Score, the better the quality of your ads and the higher the chances of getting good performance.

How it’s Calculated Quality Score is calculated based on three components: Ad Relevance, Expected CTR and Landing Page Experience. Each component is rated as “Above average,” “Average,” or “Below average” based on a comparison with other advertisers whose ads showed for the same keyword in the last 90 days.

How to Optimize Ad Relevance The most crucial aspect of Ad Relevance optimization is to ensure that your ad closely matches the keywords in your ad groups. Some tips to optimize Ad Relevance include creating relevant ad copy, grouping keywords into tightly themed ad groups, testing dynamic keyword insertion, and testing the pinning vs unpinning of headlines with the keyword.

How to Optimize Landing Page Experience Ensure that your landing page is optimized for the user’s search intent and is relevant to the keywords used in the ad. Optimize your landing page by using clear and concise headlines, subheadings, and body copy, optimizing page speed, making sure your landing page is mobile-friendly, and testing different landing pages.

How to Optimize Expected CTR Expected CTR tells you the likelihood of getting a click based on historical data. Optimize your Expected CTR by testing different unique value propositions, matching your ads to the intent of the user, testing different ad assets, experimenting with different USPs and CTAs that match your landing page, and using psychological buying triggers.

Final Notes While 10/10 ratings are nice, they shouldn’t be pursued blindly. Use low Quality Scores as indications of where to optimize, not as the holy grail to evaluate results. By following these concrete tips, you can improve your Quality Score and optimize your Google Ads campaigns for success in 2023.

Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is one of the most popular and effective online advertising platforms. But if you’re not careful, you can easily waste your ad budget without seeing any return on investment. In this post, we’ll share 26 essential rules that will help you increase your revenue and profit from Google Ads without spending a fortune on expensive courses.

Improve your landing page experience by providing relevant and useful content. Your landing page should load quickly, be easy to navigate, and provide valuable information to your visitors.

Make your landing page mobile and computer optimized. Mobile users make up a significant portion of online shoppers, so it’s essential to ensure your landing page is mobile-friendly.

Your landing page’s speed matters. Google prefers fast-loading landing pages and rewards advertisers who provide a positive user experience.

Google uses user’s search, location, time and device factors to find how relevant your ad is. Ensure your ad targets your ideal audience and aligns with their search intent.

Your ad quality, position, and topics influence Google. A well-written, high-quality ad with relevant keywords and topics will rank higher than a low-quality ad.

You need to rewrite your ad if someone searches for your keyword and your ad isn’t relevant. Make sure your ad copy is relevant to the keywords you’re targeting.

Use custom labels on every product for segmentation. This will help you to create more targeted campaigns based on specific product attributes.

Your ad text should match the user’s search, to get more clicks. Make sure your ad copy aligns with your target audience’s search intent.

Your ad rank = CPC bid X Quality score. Your ad’s rank determines its position on the search engine results page.

Your ad’s CTR is dependent on users’ clicks on your landing page. A high click-through rate indicates that your ad is resonating with your target audience.

Google calculates your CTR by considering how well your chosen keyword has performed. This helps Google determine the relevance of your ad to the user’s search query.

The Highest bid doesn’t mean the highest ad rank. Your ad’s rank is determined by both your bid and your ad quality score.

If you or your company cannot afford the investment, don’t raise your bid to get noticed. Instead, focus on improving your ad quality score and creating more targeted campaigns.

Best ads negative words go up to 1000+. Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches and improve the relevance of your ads.

Your quality score depends upon CTR, Ad relevance, and Landing page experience. A high-quality score indicates that your ad is relevant and engaging to your target audience.

Focus on benefits, not features: Instead of simply listing the features of your product or service, focus on the benefits that users will receive. Highlighting how your product or service can solve a specific problem or improve their life in some way can help increase click-through rates.

Ad rank formula: Your ad rank is determined by your maximum bid multiplied by your Quality Score. This means that if you can improve your Quality Score, you may be able to rank higher without increasing your bid.

Optimize your product feed: Optimize your product feed’s title and description to make sure that it’s easy for users to understand what you’re offering.

Segment your campaigns: Separate your campaigns based on product value, margins, and promotions to make sure that you’re targeting the right audience with the right message.

Be specific: Use specific headlines, CTAs, and keywords in your ads to increase relevance and attract the right audience.

Determine your daily budget: To determine your daily budget, divide your monthly ad spend by 30.

Estimate your total cost: Your estimated cost is your budget plus your business overhead. Knowing your total cost can help you determine your return on investment.

Align your landing page: Make sure that your landing page’s message aligns with your ad’s message. This can help increase conversions and reduce bounce rates.

Use promotional feeds: Use promotional feeds from Google Merchant to gain a competitive advantage.

Calculate your least ROI: Calculate your least ROI by subtracting your total cost from your total revenue. This can help you identify which products or campaigns aren’t generating enough profit.

Allocate budgets to top-performing products: Dedicate a different budget for your top-performing product and run an individual campaign. This can help you maximize your return on investment.

Continuously monitor and optimize: The key to success with Google Ads is to continuously monitor and optimize your campaigns. Use the data and insights you gather to make informed decisions and improve your results over time.

By following these 26 rules, you can improve your chances of making more money from Google Ads. Remember to focus on providing a relevant and useful experience for users, optimize your campaigns based on data, and continuously test and refine your approach. With the right strategy and approach, you can achieve success with Google Ads without spending thousands of dollars on a course.

As a marketer, you’re always looking for ways to improve your Google Ads campaigns. You meticulously craft ad copy, set up audience targeting, and analyze performance metrics in Google Analytics. But are you missing out on essential conversions because of discrepancies between Analytics and your internal performance data?

For one of our clients, we recently discovered a significant difference between the revenue recorded in Google Analytics and their internal performance data. Suspecting that Analytics may be missing conversions, we decided to manually implement a Google Ads conversion tracking tag via Tag Manager to see if this was the case.

The results were mind-blowing! In the first month after implementing the Google Ads conversion tag, we recorded over £15k+ in additional revenue when compared with GA. This goes to show that relying solely on Google Analytics to track conversions can result in missed opportunities and revenue loss.

By manually implementing a Google Ads conversion tracking tag via Tag Manager, you can identify missing conversions that may be crucial to your campaign’s success. This can help you optimize your campaigns for the right audience and drive more revenue for your business.

Moreover, adding the Google Ads conversion tag as a secondary conversion action can help you avoid duplicate conversions while you’re still testing the tag’s functionality. Once you’re confident that the tag is recording conversions correctly, you can make it a primary conversion action and optimize your campaigns accordingly.

In conclusion, if you’re relying solely on Google Analytics to track conversions for your Google Ads campaigns, you may be missing out on essential data and revenue. By manually implementing a Google Ads conversion tracking tag via Tag Manager, you can identify missing conversions, optimize your campaigns for the right audience, and drive more revenue for your business. So why not give it a try and see the results for yourself?

As a digital marketer, you know how important Google Ads can be for driving traffic and generating leads for your business. But with so many features and options available, it can be challenging to keep up with the latest strategies and best practices.

If you’re struggling to get the most out of your Google Ads campaigns, don’t worry. In this blog post, we’re going to share the 10 most impactful tips that you can implement right away to boost your performance and achieve your business goals.

• Get Clear on Your Goals and KPIs (and Log Them Somewhere)

The first step in any successful Google Ads campaign is to define your goals and KPIs (key performance indicators). Take the time to think about what you want to achieve with your campaigns, whether it’s increased website traffic, higher conversion rates, or improved ROI.

Once you’ve defined your goals and KPIs, make sure to log them somewhere and remind yourself of them daily. This will help you stay focused and make data-driven decisions when managing your campaigns.

• Set Up Conversion Tracking with the Google Ads Tag

Conversion tracking is essential for measuring the effectiveness of your Google Ads campaigns. By using the Google Ads tag, you can track a wide range of actions, including website clicks, form submissions, and product purchases.

Make sure to set up conversion tracking before launching your campaigns to ensure you’re measuring the right metrics and making informed decisions based on accurate data.

• Exclude Branded Terms and Catch Them in a Branded Standard Shopping Campaign

If you’re using Performance Max (pMax) campaigns, you may notice that your data is inflated by branded search conversions. To get a more accurate picture of your campaign’s performance, exclude branded search terms and catch them in a Branded Standard Shopping campaign instead.

This will allow you to focus on non-branded search terms and get a better understanding of how your campaigns are driving results.

• Test a Feed-Only vs. All Assets Campaign Structure

When setting up your campaigns, consider testing a feed-only vs. all assets campaign structure. By using a feed-only structure, you can create a Smart Shopping campaign with additional DSA functionalities, which can work great for many clients.

Test both options and see which structure works best for your business goals and audience.

• Use Portfolio Bid Strategies with Max CPC Limits

To combat extremely high CPCs (cost per click), use portfolio bid strategies with max CPC limits. By setting a maximum CPC bid limit, you can prevent Google from going crazy with CPCs on target ROAS/CPA bid strategies.

This can be a significant cost-saver on search, so make sure to consider this option when managing your campaigns.

• Combine First-Party Data with Google-Owned User Data

To optimize your audience signals, combine your own customer data with Google-owned user data. This will help you get a more accurate understanding of your audience and create more targeted campaigns that resonate with your customers.

• Make Sure Your Audience Tag Is Configured Correctly

Keep an eye on your Audience Tag to ensure it’s configured correctly. If it’s not, your remarketing campaigns may stop working because the audiences aren’t updated with new user data.

For e-commerce clients, make sure that ecom_prodid is firing correctly to enable dynamic remarketing.

• Research Your Competitors Before Creating Assets

Before investing a significant amount of money in new videos or images, start by researching your competitors.

If you’re running a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand, you know how challenging it can be to acquire new customers. You’ve probably spent countless hours and dollars creating eye-catching ads, optimizing your website, and developing a content strategy that resonates with your target audience.

But what if we told you that the secret to acquiring more customers isn’t about scaling your ads or posting impressive revenue screenshots on social media? What if we told you that the current market conditions call for a different approach altogether?

In this blog post, we’re going to share a weird DTC acquisition tip that might just give you a competitive edge. But before we get to that, let’s talk about why scaling your ads may not be the answer anymore.

The Good Times Are Over

For the last few years, the market for DTC brands has been easy. Big front-end return on ad spend (ROAS) was the norm, and cheap arbitrage of attention was possible. But now, things are changing.

Investors are pulling out, and many brands will fall in the next 12 months. It’s a tough market, and scaling your ads may not be enough to survive. Instead, it’s time to focus on efficiency.

Audit Your Financials

First, take a deep dive into your financials. Look for areas where you can cut costs or optimize spending. Are you overspending on marketing channels that aren’t bringing in enough revenue? Can you negotiate better rates with suppliers or service providers?

Re-evaluate Your Content Strategy

Next, re-evaluate your content strategy. Are you creating content that truly resonates with your audience? Or are you just following the latest trends? It’s important to create content that provides value to your customers and reinforces your brand’s messaging.

Analyze Your Entire Customer Journey

Finally, take a close look at your entire customer journey. Are there any bottlenecks or areas where customers drop off? Is your website optimized for conversions? By analyzing your customer journey, you can identify areas where you can improve and provide a better overall experience for your customers.

Stack Up the Cash

But perhaps the most important thing you can do right now is to stack up the cash. The market conditions are changing, and more brands will be fighting for the same pool of customers. By having cash reserves, you’ll be able to weather the storm and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

The Weird DTC Acquisition Tip

So, what’s the weird DTC acquisition tip we promised you? It’s simple: stop trying to scale your ads. Instead, focus on efficiency and building a sustainable business. The number of eyeballs available won’t change, but the number of brands going after them is about to. By being efficient and building a strong foundation, you’ll be in a better position to acquire new customers and grow your business.

In conclusion, the market conditions for DTC brands are changing, and scaling your ads may not be the answer anymore. By focusing on efficiency, auditing your financials, re-evaluating your content strategy, and analyzing your entire customer journey, you can build a strong foundation for your business. And by stacking up the cash, you’ll be able to weather the storm and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Step-by-Step Strategy for Open Targeting on YouTube/Display

Step 1: Start with High-Intent Audiences

When you’re getting started with YouTube and Display campaigns, the best strategy is to target high-intent audiences. These are people who have already demonstrated interest in a specific category or search term, making them potentially high-value customers. You can create custom segments based on people’s search behavior, such as specific search terms, websites, or apps.

Step 2: Scale with Open Targeting Campaigns

After successfully testing and scaling high-intent audiences, you can start experimenting with open targeting campaigns. This means launching a new campaign with no audience targeting at all and letting Google figure it out for you. While it might seem counterintuitive to not target any specific audience, open targeting campaigns have shown to outperform high-intent audience targeting in many cases, with up to 31% higher ROAS.

Step 3: Exclude Low-Value Placements to Protect Efficiency

One of the dangers of open targeting is that Google might spend your budget on low-value placements, such as kids channels or placements with high bounce rates. To protect your efficiency, you need to exclude these placements and only focus on the ones that perform well.

Step 4: Use Insights to Target New High-Intent Audiences

The insights tab in Google Ads is a valuable tool to find new audiences to target. You can scroll down to the consumer spotlight section and test audiences with a high index in a separate campaign. While some of these audiences might seem irrelevant or random at first, they can surprise you with their performance.

Is Open Targeting Right for You?

Open targeting is an advanced strategy that works best for advertisers with higher budgets. If you’re spending less than €1,000 per day on YouTube/Display, you’re probably better off targeting high-intent audiences. However, if you’re spending more and have a matured ad account, open targeting can help you scale your campaigns and achieve better results.

Real Data from Our Accounts

We’ve tested open targeting on YouTube and Display campaigns and have seen promising results. In one specific account, we saw a ROAS uplift of 31% in one country and 27% in another on open targeting campaigns compared to high-intent audience targeting. On Display, we achieved an 80% higher ROAS on open targeting campaigns than high-intent audience targeting. While the ROAS might go down as you scale your spend, the initial results show that open targeting is a strategy worth testing.

Conclusion

Open targeting on YouTube and Display can be a surprising strategy to scale your ad campaigns and achieve better results. By starting with high-intent audiences, scaling with open targeting campaigns, excluding low-value placements, and using insights to target new high-intent audiences, you can unlock additional scale and achieve up to 31% higher ROAS. However, this is an advanced strategy that requires careful testing and monitoring to ensure optimal results

The holiday season is one of the most important periods for businesses, and online advertising plays a critical role in driving revenue and profits during this time.

Google Ads is one of the most effective platforms to advertise during the holiday season, but it can also be challenging to manage bids and budgets effectively, especially during the peak buying moments.

In this newsletter, we will show you how to maximize growth and efficiency by carefully managing your bid strategies and leveraging Seasonality Bid Adjustments to optimize your Google Ads campaigns.

Mismanaging your bid strategies can result in huge overspend and lower return on ad spend. Google’s Smart Bidding algorithm works great and uses historical data to predict future conversions.

However, it cannot adapt well to sudden conversion rate changes of more than 30%, and most businesses will have a bigger conversion rate uplift than 30% during Black Friday.

Smart Bidding adapts to the conversion rate uplift AFTER the peak buying moments, which can cause massive overspend the days after the peak, resulting in lower profits. Therefore, managing your bid strategies effectively is crucial to maximize revenue and profit during the holiday season.

In order to maximize revenue and profit between Black Friday and Christmas, there are five phases you need to go through: the ramp-up, the first peak, the first danger zone, the second peak, and the second danger zone.

Each phase requires a different strategy, and it is essential to have a clear plan for each phase to maximize the performance of your Google Ads campaigns.

During the ramp-up period, you need to start spending more to acquire as many customers as possible, but it is essential to be patient as most people wait until Black Friday to make a purchase.

To manage your campaigns during the ramp-up period, be clear on your targets and use the Performance Planner if needed to find your sweet spot ROAS.

If performance and budgets allow it, slightly lower your ROAS as you get closer to Black Friday to push harder. However, it is crucial to use as much historical data as possible and use the Performance Planner when in doubt. After the ramp-up period, it’s time to maximize revenue during the first peak.

The first peak usually lasts from Black Friday until Cyber Monday and is one of the absolute peak buying moments. To maximize revenue during the first peak, we recommend using Seasonality Bid Adjustments (SBAs).

SBAs are advanced bid adjustments that you can use to inform Google’s Smart Bidding algorithm that you expect an uplift of your conversion rate during a specific period.

The algorithm will use this information to push harder during that time range, resulting in increased spend, clicks, and CPCs. You can calculate your expected conversion rate uplift by analyzing last year’s conversion rate trends.

The danger zones are the periods AFTER the peaks when conversion rates are likely to drop, and overspending is possible. The danger zone is essentially an inverted peak, and it is crucial to be careful during this period to avoid overspending.

To manage your campaigns during the danger zone, monitor your campaigns carefully and adjust your bids and budgets accordingly to prevent overspend.

In conclusion, managing your bid strategies and leveraging Seasonality Bid Adjustments is crucial to maximize your profit with Google Ads during the holiday season.

By carefully managing your campaigns during each phase of the holiday season and adjusting your bids and budgets accordingly, you can drive revenue and profits while avoiding overspend and lower return on ad spend. Remember to analyze historical data, use the Performance Planner, and monitor your