Is it time to rethink your Google Ads strategy?

Product-focused, keyword-only campaigns are a standard kind of marketing campaign utilized in Google Ads.

If you happen to promote classic T-shirts for ladies, you may arrange standalone key phrase campaigns based mostly on the key phrase “classic T-shirts girls.”

For a lot of B2C retailers, this method works nicely. However for others, product-based, keyword-focused campaigns aren’t essentially your finest technique. 

We inherited the Google Ads account of a brand new B2B shopper, for instance and all of their campaigns have been product-focused, keyword-only campaigns.

However after assembly with the shopper and analyzing their account, we determined to take a unique method – one which’s outperforming their earlier technique, fingers down. 

On this article, I’ll clarify what we did – and use it as an example why you may need to transfer past keyword-only campaigns.

Begin with the enterprise targets

We began this shopper engagement by sitting down with the shopper to grasp their enterprise targets. 

It’s an old-school advertising and marketing follow that appears fundamental however is simply too usually ignored.

Once we talked to the shopper, we found a misalignment between their enterprise targets and the construction of their Google Advertisements account. 

The account was arrange by area, and every advert group housed hundreds of product-focused key phrases. Model and non-brand key phrases have been intermingled inside the similar campaigns (one other technique I actually dislike).

Organizing the account by area may need made sense at one time. However the firm had modified. It had expanded the areas it served to embody many of the U.S., but all of its promoting centered on its “previous” territory.

Additional, the corporate had expanded its product line past farming and agriculture tools to incorporate building tools – and rising its market share within the building business was an necessary enterprise purpose for them.

You’ll be able to see the issue: the Google Advertisements account construction we inherited made supporting the corporate’s targets difficult as a result of we couldn’t goal and measure campaigns to these targets.

For instance, we couldn’t evaluate necessary metrics, equivalent to price per lead, for farming versus building key phrases. We couldn’t even evaluate how model versus non-brand key phrases have been performing for a similar marketing campaign simply. The whole lot was jumbled in.

I’m at all times slightly shocked that extra consideration isn’t paid to Google Advertisements account construction normally.

Google Advertisements Assist, for instance, discusses the three layers of Google Ads and even supplies steering on how to structure your account to get the most out of AI.

Nonetheless, the significance of aligning account construction with enterprise targets is lacking.

Dig deeper: 5 ways to align PPC campaigns with business objectives

Restructuring the account to assist enterprise targets

With these points and the targets of the shopper in thoughts, we proceeded to restructure the account.

As an alternative of organizing campaigns by area, we organized them by product classes. We additionally separated model and non-brand campaigns.

With this reorganization, we might clearly see how campaigns in every sector have been performing and created particular methods for each.

We additionally measured and in contrast necessary metrics, equivalent to price per lead within the farming sector versus the development sector. The fee per lead was greater within the building sector, and that was OK.

The shopper understood the significance of launching (or relaunching) a brand new product class. It required funding and an unwavering deal with long-term targets (versus short-term wins). This wasn’t the time to take our foot off the gasoline. 

Specializing in high-value key phrases

Along with restructuring the account, we additionally set about decreasing the variety of key phrases in every advert group. 

We eradicated hundreds of key phrases, narrowing them all the way down to a handful of solely essentially the most high-value, top-converting ones. On this case, much less was extra. 

With all of those account modifications, we constructed a powerful basis from which we couldn’t solely launch and promote this new product class but additionally scale all product strains into the long run. 

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Shifting to an audience-focused technique

Our subsequent step was to shift from product-focused, keyword-only campaigns to an audience-focused technique.  

A disclaimer: I don’t imply to suggest that specializing in merchandise and focusing on them through related key phrases is incorrect. Generally, that technique works simply positive. Nonetheless, on this case, I used to be assured we might do extra for this shopper by shifting our method.  

How do you implement an audience-focused technique? We began with remarketing. 

The shopper’s prior company had some remarketing campaigns in place, however the focusing on was slim. They used product-specific URLs together with dynamic remarketing. 

In consequence, the audiences have been small and impressions have been too low. It merely didn’t work. 

As we began to higher perceive how patrons interacted with the shopper throughout their buyer journey, we examined remarketing to individuals who had visited the web site at totally different occasions. We examined individuals who had visited the web site inside:

• The final seven days.
• The final 14 days. 
• The final 90 days. 
• The final three hundred and sixty five days. 

Be aware: You must guarantee these intervals of time don’t overlap with the intention to draw comparisons. So, for instance, if you wish to decide if individuals who visited the positioning within the final 14 days transformed higher than those that visited the positioning within the final 90 days, it is advisable exclude the 14-day folks from the 90-day group.

Buyer lists

Along with remarketing, we additionally launched buyer lists. This shopper had a goldmine of first-party knowledge for all previous farming and building tools purchases by product class.

This doesn’t occur all (and even most) of the time, so having this degree of first-party knowledge was an actual bonus. 

With this knowledge, we might market to prior and current prospects in a budget-friendly and focused approach, going above and past what we might do with a standalone key phrase marketing campaign. 

Dig deeper: How to combine Google Ads with other channels to retarget, nurture and convert

Obsess over your prospects, not your merchandise

By revising the account construction, specializing in remarketing and leveraging buyer lists, we improved attain, conversions and income whereas staying inside the shopper’s current promoting funds.

We’re additionally serving to the shopper future-proof their enterprise by giving them new insights into efficiency and purchaser habits and enabling us to push and pull totally different levers to scale up the enterprise when desired.

All of that is simpler stated than executed. As hinted at above, you could not have sufficient quantity for remarketing or entry to first-party knowledge. In that case, you’ll have no alternative however to depend on keyword-only campaigns. There’s no disgrace in that.

However in the event you do have the choice of shifting from keyword-only campaigns to an audience-focused technique. It’s one thing to contemplate and take a look at.