1) Try native-looking search ads.
You can’t influence on search volume, but you can increase the number of clicks you get from the same number of impressions (increase CTR) and the number of cases when your ads appear when a user performs the search (increase Search Impression Share).
Google and Bing (Microsoft) know better than a PPC manager: what people want to see when they’re searching for something. This is why mimicking titles and snippets from organic results when creating ads may give you a great edge over competitors that are yelling “buy now” in their ads. This happens because people tend to ignore anything that looks like an ad.
Here are numbers that were gained during one of organic-looking vs ad-looking copy tests via Google Ads campaign experiments:
- CTR increased in 3 times
- Impression share increased in 2 times
- Number of clicks increased in 6 times
- CPC decreased by 30%
- Cost per Sale decreased by 42%
- Conversion rate increased by 20%
- Number of sales increased in 6+ times
- Profit increased in 9+ times
- ROI increased in 2+ times
Bonus I: Google discounts for a higher expected CTR with a lower CPC. So now you can raise the bid and be still profitable and get even more traffic.
Bonus II: you may observe the Conversion Rate increase as well, like in this case. This may occur because you’ve attracted a visitor by a more honest, less pushy message and they feel more comfortable buying from you.
2) Test hybrid campaigns: include Google Display Network into search campaigns.
It works and performs differently from campaigns that are targeted to Google Display Network solely. When it’s set up right, it increases the number of sales by 50% – 100% at a similar Cost Per Sale.
3) Pay less or more depending on a probability to close a sale.
Keeping your average CPC almost the same, you may:
- Decrease a bid when the probability is lower. For instance, when a user’s HH income is low or it’s 3 am and the user isn’t likely to open a wallet.
- Which in turn, frees up a budget you can spend for increasing bids in auctions that have a higher probability to drive a sale. For instance, bid higher for users who are searching for “kitchen design” AND already browsed sites about home improvement.
Tip: instead of managing bid adjustments manually, you can try automated bid strategies. The second module of the advanced course is devoted to mastering bid management.
3 things to try this week:
- Test search ads that look similar to organic results
- Try Hybrid campaigns in Google Ads
- Set all available bid modifiers or test an automated bid strategy