Digital Marketing Insider (I.A.N.1): 1-5-23

🎉 🎊 Welcome marketers! 🎉 🎊 

This is the first edition of our new “Internal Author Newsletters” (I.A.N.) which will be released EVERY FRIDAY at 5am ET. These Friday posts are designed to be deep dives into what YOU as a marketer need to know about our ever-evolving industry.

We are so blessed to have a growing team of nearly 100 marketers that specialize in every niche you can think of, and we can’t wait to share their secrets with you!

Over the next year we will be diving into every topic possible, covering: Ad buying, SEO best practices, Improving lead quality, web development, and so much more!

NOTHING IS SAFE! **Muahahahaha**

So without further ado, this first edition is written by our Director of Paid Search Will Gray.

If you enjoy the new I.A.N. format let us know in the poll at the bottom of the email. 🙏 

How To Streamline Your Google Ads Account Structure

When looking at Google Ads account structures across clients, we tend to see similar issues — the most prevalent being that they’re way overbuilt! 

Having an overbuilt Google Ads account can greatly limit the performance you’re able to drive with your budget. Too many Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Keywords are inefficient because it forces click volume to be spread across too many different elements. 

It’s important to take a strategic approach to your Google Ads campaign structure, AdGroup set-up, and keyword targeting so you don’t waste budget competing against yourself. 

Google Ads account structure best practices (from someone who lives in-platform)

If you’re looking for an exhaustive list, sorry to disappoint! But, here are three of my favorite and most actionable tips for updating your Google Ads account structure. 

If your marketing budget hasn’t increased as competition has increased, your Ads account structure is likely outdated  

Over the course of my career I have seen competition dramatically increase in the majority of paid search spaces our clients compete in. I haven’t seen budgets increase at the same rate. 

Every time your ad is entered into an auction it is competing against every other advertiser bidding on that keyword. Since competition continues to increase it should be assumed that  cost per click will also continue to increase. 

This is where structuring your ads account becomes important. Because most advertisers do not have the budget to reach 100% impression on the keywords they are bidding and they are typically spreading the budget very thin between campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. This limits the amount of data paid search managers will be able to use for optimizations and the strategies they can implement. 

When I started my career most of our clients were paying $3-$5 per click. Now it is common for most of our B2B lead gen clients to be paying $10-$20 per click. If the marketing budget is not increasing at the same rate as the average cost per click we will have less overall click volume at each level of the Google Ads account. The drop in click volume can lead to poor decision making and extend the amount of time it takes to run a test. 

If you’re using Single Keyword AdGroups your Google Ads structure is likely outdated. Aka: New match types = death of SKAGS

Google has made huge changes to the keyword match types and even eliminated a match type — Single Keyword AdGroups (SKAGS). SKAGS were a very popular way to structure a Google Ads Account before Google changed match types.

As you’re likely familiar, the idea of SKAGS was to have each keyword in its own ad group in order to make it easier for marketers to tailor ads and landing pages to that specific keyword, and creating highly relevant ads and landing pages for the specific queries. 

Recent updates to match types makes SKAGs an outdated method of account organization. It’s near impossible to do now. Today, Google’s new match types match queries to Ads based more heavily on relevance and meaning.

For example, exact match used to mean that the Ad would only be served if the query was a verbatim exact match for that Ad’s keyword. Today, if you include a keyword as an “exact match” in an AdGroup what you’re really saying is that you want your Ads to be served when someone searches a query with the same meaning as your target keyword. 

This has resulted in less effective query funneling. So, if you have similar keywords spread between multiple Ad Groups it is likely that they are showing for the same queries - essentially causing you to bid against yourself in some cases.

Additionally, this also spreads click volume and data thin at each level through the Google Ads account.

If you’re not using Smart bidding strategies smartly your Google Ads account is likely outdated 

When a Google Ads account is structured well, smart bidding works better than manual bidding when used correctly!

Why?

Smart bidding uses many signals to determine the bid for each auction. Many of the signals that Smart Bidding uses we don’t even have access to when using manual bidding. However — and this is a BIG however — these bid strategies need conversion data in order to work well.

I can not stress this enough. Without conversion data, Smart Bidding strategies are essentially useless because they’re unable to know which users are likely to convert in order to help you hit your goals.

Similar to clicks, when you have a large amount of conversion data spread between campaigns you’re providing less conversion data for Google to use when setting specific objectives with each bid strategy for your campaigns.

That was edition 1 of our new I.A.N. and we hope you like the change! If you want to see the changes stay, please let us know! 🤙 

The 4 articles below all support Will’s thoughts above, so check them out after our 1 click poll! ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

What samurais can teach us about Search

Discover how Catawiki, an online auction platform, achieved a 21% boost in customer acquisitions using Google Ads. By strategically leveraging Google's automated solutions and refining their targeting, Catawiki transformed their marketing approach, unlocking new opportunities for growth. Dive into the details of their success story and learn actionable insights for optimizing your own digital advertising strategy.

Read More →

Use the right bid strategies in your Google Ads campaigns

Unlock the secrets to Google Ads bid strategies with this comprehensive guide. From maximizing conversions to enhancing ROAS, delve into practical tips and real-world examples. Elevate your advertising game by mastering bid strategies that align with your campaign goals. Learn how to navigate the complexities of automated bidding and take control of your Google Ads success.

Read More →

The Case Against SKAGs

Explore the controversial perspective on Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) in PPC campaigns. This article challenges the conventional wisdom, presenting a compelling case against SKAGs. Delve into the nuanced arguments and alternative strategies, gaining valuable insights to rethink your approach to keyword grouping in paid search advertising.

Read More →

How to Make Value-Based Bidding Work for You

Discover the power of value-based bidding in this insightful guide. Uncover strategies to make this approach work for your campaigns, optimizing performance and maximizing returns. Explore practical tips, real-world examples, and actionable insights to enhance your bidding tactics. Elevate your digital advertising game with value-based bidding and propel your campaigns towards success.

Read More →

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