Search-based PPC ad campaigns have been one of the most widely used advertising tactics since Google released its advertising system at the start of this century. Fast forward to 2020, and PPC campaigns are still just as widely used as ever.
Nearly all mid-sized companies employ some form of PPC advertising, and most of them use Google Ads as their primary platform (although social media has the potential to change that). However, no matter what changes may occur over the next few years, search-based PPC isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Whether you’re looking to revamp your current Google Ads strategy, or are looking for additional tactics to employ (to your current bidding strategy), the tips we’ve outlined below will help maximize your business’s Ads campaigns. Not only are the strategies outlined below helpful on a macro-level, but they’re also highly actionable (i.e. they’re not theoretical models of what might work).
Understanding Your Campaign Objectives
Before you can even think about revamping your business’s AdWords bid strategies, you need to have a deep understanding of what exactly your objectives are. What exactly do you hope to gain from your campaign(s)? Knowing what your business’s goals are will have a direct effect on which type of bidding strategy you should use.
If your goal is conversions (i.e. sales, new clients, contracts, etc.), you’re going to need to focus on certain variables (e.g. ROAS, CPA, etc.). If increased traffic is what you’re aiming for, you should be focusing on an entirely different set of metrics/options. Brand awareness is another common goal and is one that also comes with a certain set of specific variables that need to be focused on (in order to have a successful campaign).
These are some examples of questions you should be considering before planning out your campaign. In the following section, we cover some of the most common (and successful) bidding strategies typically used by top performers in the PPC world.
Sales-Focused Bidding Strategies
Focusing on driving more sales/conversion through PPC is one of the most common goals among most PPC practitioners. This is especially true of companies that don’t have significant budgets to devote to PPC.
One of the most effective (yet time consuming) methods to drive more sales via Google Ads is by a tactic known as “bid monitoring.” However, the problem with monitoring bids all day/night is that it leaves you no time to do anything else.
Google (fortunately) includes several automation tools within their Ads system, one of which is the “rules” feature. Utilizing this feature will allow you to set up custom alerts/notifications based on specific parameters that you set.
In regards to bid monitoring, this means that you can successfully alter your bids based on automated parameters. What does this translate to? Lowered ad spend for your business and increased clicks. Rules are one of the most underused yet most useful tools within Google Ads (especially for businesses trying to maximize their conversion rate).
Post-Campaign Demographic Adjustments for Better Conversion Rates
This tactic requires you to run some campaigns prior to implementing it, however, once you have the necessary data, utilizing this simple trick can make your next campaign(s) to a completely different level of sales/conversions.
This trick is particularly useful for eCommerce retailers who are trying to nail their specific demographic. The way it works is by using data from past campaigns to refine the demographic/audience for future campaigns.
This can be achieved by choosing an audience/demographic from a past campaign that performed particularly well (against other demographics/audiences). For example, if you notice a certain demographic has a very high CTR (compared to others), then you would need to choose to target only that demographic in your next campaign.
This level of targeting makes your campaign(s) that much more focused, and also allows the creative side of things to be more in tune with what the audience will engage with.
Goals, Tactics, and Refining Campaigns
Having a successful PPC strategy comes down to setting clearly defined goals, utilizing advanced tactics, and then constantly refining campaign variables for improved performance.
Whether your end goal is better sales numbers, higher conversions, more traffic, or simply increased brand awareness, the tactics outlined above will give you the edge over your competitors. The only thing that you need to keep in mind is that PPC success depends on your ability to refine your campaign strategy (until it delivers the business results you’re looking for).