What are the 8 optimizations for achieving better performance on Google Ads campaigns, beyond the initial setup phase? This article provides detailed guidance on continuous monitoring and improvement strategies, ensuring campaigns reach optimal levels of performance. The key points include analyzing campaign data, prioritizing optimization, adding negative keywords, monitoring for valuable new keywords, adjusting budget and bids, targeting the search network, and testing ad performance for improved click-through rates. Regular optimization is highlighted as crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of Google Ads campaigns.
Oftentimes, advertizers focus all of their efforts on the design of their Google Ads campaign. And that’s normal! It is necessary to find the right keywords, structure the campaign, write attractive ads, create a landing page that converts, and think about all the strategic aspects, such as bids, budget and delivery locations.
You may have already read our article that features top 12 tips for a successful Google Ads campaign. You should make sure you have a solid base before you start optimizing. This means: delving deep into your campaigns, creating multiple ad versions as well as multiple types of keyword matches, and developing your Google Ads account based on best practices.
But what is next? Your work isn’t over once your campaigns are active. In fact, there’s still half a job to do: the daily management and optimization of your campaigns. Here are the factors to consider to optimize the performance of your Google campaigns.
Before you start your optimization work, make sure:
1- You’ve given your campaigns enough time. If you launched your campaigns yesterday, wait until you are out of the learning phase and/or a good week before proceeding.
2- You have enough data on which to base your analyses. This means having 300 to 500 impressions and 100 to 300 clicks per campaign.
3- You know your tracking metrics, such as maximum CPC and CPA.
Finally, don’t waste time optimizing your entire account. Instead, opt for Pareto’s principle that states that 20% of a whole contributes to 80% of its results. Optimize only the campaigns that cost you the first 20% of your budget.
Enrich your list of negative keywords
It is also important to know which keywords are valuable and which ones are not. Using the Search Terms Report, determine if certain keywords cost you money and don’t provide value. Add them to your list of negative keywords.
Constantly monitor for new keywords to add to your campaigns
Again, using the Search Terms Report, also analyze if there are any queries that, conversely, are relevant to you. This report is a real gold mine of good ideas because suggestions come directly from users. It would be a shame not to use them.
Constantly monitor for new keywords to add to your campaigns
Again, using the Search Terms Report, also analyze if there are any queries that, conversely, are relevant to you. This report is a real gold mine of good ideas because suggestions come directly from users. It would be a shame not to use them.
Adjust your budget towards performance
Your budget doesn’t have to remain fixed. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Your budget should be a moving budget based on your performance. This way, you can allocate more budget to what brings you value, all while respecting your costs and limiting your spend on campaigns that don’t meet your expectations.
Improve your impressions share
To improve your impression share, the first thing you need to know is why you don’t win the bids. Google is kind enough to provide you with this information. Bids are lost either because of budget or rank.
If the majority of your impressions are lost to rank, you still want to analyze your quality score as well, which can also be a reason for lost bids. If you find out that all your keywords below the bid on the first page have a low quality score (less than 5), it will be more beneficial for you to raise this score before increasing your CPCs.
Focus on the search network
If your campaign is designed to convert, make sure that your ads are only visible on the Google’s search network and not on partner sites. This allows your ads to be displayed only in search results and not in the Display, which has a very (excessively) low CTR.
Adjust your bids according to devices, day, time and area
To boost your strategy and competitiveness with your keywords, consider increasing or decreasing your CPCs according to:
Analyze your ads and test new ones
As you have followed our advice for writing your Google ads, you know that you need between 2 and 5 versions of your ad.
However, you must analyze these ads to draw conclusions and pause those that don’t work. An ad is always analyzed according to its appeal, i.e. its click-through rate (CTR). Therefore, pause the ads that receive few clicks with CTRs lower than your usual average.
Monitor your keywords
Pause anything that spends too much without converting and improve the cost of what converts to increase your profitability. Since this is a topic in itself, we have written a whole article on everything you need to know to optimize your keywords like a pro.
Finally, the golden rule of optimization is…frequency. Make optimization your routine and priority. Go through your campaigns in detail at least once a month. Weekly is ideal.