While there seem to be a million resources for how to get started in Google Ads and what to do in order to set up your account, there are fewer resources for how to optimize campaigns that are already running. There’s a reason for that! Google Ad optimization is almost an artform more than anything, because there are an infinite number of ways that you can tweak your ads to get results, thus the choices you make in optimization strongly reflect your sensibilities as Google Ad Artist. Boiling it down to any specific tips is rather difficult because most of the time it is largely based on what sort of campaign you are running… HOWEVER, I am going to attempt to limit it to 3 tips that should be fairly universal. Let’s dive in!
Keep an eye on expensive keywords: Search for expensive keywords that are not performing well, this seems like an obvious one but you’d be surprised how frequently this is forgotten, and your budget will thank you. If you’re unsure where to start, learn how to use Google Keyword Planner to analyze performance. When you have enough data (for example, more than 90 days of active campaign) you can add a filter of no conversions, and then sort the keywords by cost and while both checking your quality score. Once you have this list, pause the most expensive keywords so that you are not wasting money on non-converting expensive keywords.
Get rid of irrelevant search terms: Make sure to weekly run your search terms report,so that you can find and block irrelevant search terms. You can then add them into a negative list, and you can use this list later to further attach to all of your active campaigns. I promise you, you don’t want your ads to show on keywords that have nothing to do with what your product is. Although it may seem like a good idea to reach people outside of the bubble of the audience that usually searches for your product, the odds of you converting a person who saw your ad by mistake are lower than winning the lottery, so you might as well just go buy a ticket.
Convert to an automated bid strategy when your campaigns are ready: If you have enough conversions, it may be time to opt for an automated bid strategy. Google recommends that advertisers have at least 30 conversions in the past 30 days before using Target CPA, and at least 50 conversions before using Target ROAS. Depending on the goals you’ve set for your business and growth, you can choose from several strategies that lead to very specific results.Check out this bid strategy matrix for more details...
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Goal |
Bid strategy |
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Increase site visits. |
Maximize Clicks automatically sets your bids to help get as many clicks as possible within your budget. Maximize Clicks is available as either a standard strategy in a single campaign or portfolio bid strategy across multiple campaigns. |
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Increase visibility. |
Target Impression Share automatically sets bids with the goal of showing your ad on the absolute top of the page, on the top of the page, or anywhere on the page of Google search results. Target Impression Share is available on the Search Network only, as either a standard strategy in a single campaign or portfolio bid strategy across multiple campaigns. |
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Get more conversions with your target CPA. |
Target CPA automatically sets Search or Display bids to help get as many conversions as possible at the target cost-per-action (CPA) you set. Some conversions may cost more or less than your target. Target CPA bidding is available as either a standard strategy in a single campaign or portfolio bid strategy across multiple campaigns and ad groups. |
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Meet a target return on ad spend (ROAS) when you value each conversion differently. |
Target ROAS automatically sets bids to help get as much conversion value as possible at the target return on ad spend (ROAS) you set. Some conversions may have a higher or lower return than your target. It's available as a portfolio bid strategy and a standard strategy for individual campaigns. |
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Get more conversions while spending your budget. |
Maximize Conversions automatically sets bids to help you get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget. |
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Get more conversion value while spending your budget. |
Maximize Conversion Value automatically sets bids to help you get the most conversion value for your campaign while spending your budget.
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The most important thing to take away from these tips is not so much an actionable plan moving forward, but more so a mode of thinking that will get your mind in the right space to think through the campaigns you already have, and optimize them based on your needs.
Browse the rest of our blog posts to learn more about these strategies in more detail! Happy optimizing!
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