Optimize Google Ads campaigns
Optimize Google Ads campaigns
1. Conduct the Google Ads account audit to structure your optimization efforts.
Conduct a detailed audit of your account, taking the following areas into account: Audit Campaign performance. Keyword performance. Ad texts and extensions. Budgets. Search terms. Landing pages. Use the framework described in this playbook.
2. Optimize the account structure for a better overview of performance and improved relevancy.
Review your observations in the Account structure section of the audit document. Create a campaign and ad group structure that reflects the structure of your website: Use the main product or service categories as campaigns. For example, Clothing, Accessories, and Shoes. Use the product subcategories as ad groups. For example, jackets and shirts, in the Clothing campaigns. Create separate campaigns for brand and generic keywords. For example, Shoes – generic and Shoes – Adidas. If you identify a high keyword to ad group ratio in your audit, implement a more granular ad group structure: Use more ad groups with few keywords, 1-3. Make sure that the ad text in each of the ad groups are relevant to the corresponding keywords. If any of your campaigns run on both search and display networks, separate the networks: Go to Campaigns click on the campaign that you want to edit. Click on Settings. Click on Networks and deselect Display network. Create a separate campaign targeting the display network.
3. Optimize your campaign performance to reduce wasted spend, and maximize opportunities.
Review your observations in the Campaign performance section of the audit document. Pause the campaigns with high cost and no conversions. Increase the CPC bids in the campaigns with low impression share and conversions. Check the keyword-level data in campaigns with high cost per conversions, and make sure that bad performing ad groups and keywords are paused
4. Optimize your keyword performance to reduce wasted spend and maximize opportunities.
Review your observations in the Keyword performance section of the audit document. Pause the keywords with high cost and no conversions. Increase the CPC bids in the keywords with low impression share and conversions. Improve the keywords with a low quality score: If your keyword is very generic, for example, pc, pdf, shoe, and phone, delete it. If your keyword is more specific, build a separate ad group for each of those keywords. Use a single keyword only in the campaign. Make sure that the ad text is relevant to the keyword and contains this keyword. Make sure that the landing page is relevant to the keyword and the landing page copy contains this keyword.
5. Optimize the ad texts and ad extensions to improve the CTR.
Review your observations in the Keyword performance section of the audit document. Test 3-4 ad texts in each of your ads. Create ads that are relevant to the corresponding keywords and contain them. Create missing ad extensions: Go to Search campaigns > Ads & extensions > Extensions. Click on the + button and select the extension type. Add the extension text and click Save.
6. Increase budget for campaigns with good performance which are limited by budget.
Review your observations in the Keyword performance section of the audit document. Increase budget for the campaigns which are limited by budget or have lost impression share due to budget. Increase budget gradually, by 20% at a time, and observe the campaign performance after the change.
7. Expand the list of negative keywords and add new keywords based on the search term findings, to reduce irrelevant traffic and capture new keyword opportunities.
Review your observations in the Search term section of the audit document. Exclude the search terms which generate cost but no conversions: Go to Search campaigns > Keywords Negative keywords. Click the + button and paste the search term. Select the campaign. Click Save. Build new ad groups for search terms with Broad match match type value, and good cost per conversion. Create separate ad groups for these search terms. Create relevant ad text that include these search terms.
8. Optimize landing page selection and landing page design to improve the conversion rate.
Review your observations in the Landing pages section of the audit document. Consider linking the ads to the better performing landing pages. Make sure that these are still relevant to the ad and the keyword. Improve the design of poor performing landing pages, using the good performing landing pages as an inspiration. Perform A/b tests on landing pages to improve the conversion rate.