“Why would I pay you to run ‘automated’ campaigns”
— Potential clients, all the time
It can often be a tricky conversation to have when convincing a client to take the plunge and adopt a smart bidding strategy in their Google Ads campaigns. Perfectly reasonable questions can be asked about what is then being done in the account if a campaign is being left to run without 24/7 management, so hopefully I’ll be able to provide some insight into what optimisation looks like in the age of smart bidding. (Spoiler alert! There’s loads.)
Ad Optimisation
Firstly, just because a smart bidding strategy has been utilised, it doesn’t mean that the performance of the campaign is completely left alone. As account managers, we are still responsible for making alterations to the campaigns target ROAS/CPA based on the data that is collected from the campaigns.
We also look for ways to change campaign structures in order to get the maximus returns for your business, and there are still exclusions that can be added to campaigns in the form of negative keywords or device bid adjustments in order to make your account perform as efficiently as possible. In other words, we’re still accountable for the campaign’s performance.
Optimising Shopping Feeds
One key area of optimisation that we as an agency pride ourselves on is enhancing your shopping feed. We are constantly striving to improve the quality of product titles, product descriptions, feed attributes and feed structure in order to provide as much relevant information as possible to Google and your customers in order to ensure that we are driving highly-relevant and profitable traffic to your website.
We don’t want to show a potential customer a green jumper, we want to present to them a Mens Olive Green Knitted Crew-Neck Cashmere Jumper, perhaps with a cheeky product code thrown in the title for good measure.
Using feed enhancement tools available to us can also allow us to structure your account differently in order to achieve your marketing goals. One example is by breaking down your campaigns by price brackets in order to allow us to set different ROAS targets for different price tiers, as it’s likely there will be different margins associated with them.
Research & Testing Ads
In instances where we’re no longer doing manual bid changes in certain campaigns, automation allows us to focus that time on really getting to know your brand and products inside-out. Such research can include scanning your website for fresh and relevant content to provide inspiration for your Google Search & Display Ads. Having consistent content throughout the user’s buying journey will help create a strong brand message and displays attention to detail that other retailers simply aren’t showing.
Competitor Analysis
We wish this wasn’t the case, but sadly you don’t have a monopoly on the market you’re in, and competition on Google Ads can be fierce at the best of times. By being able to conduct more analysis on your rival retailers we are able to shape our own strategies in order to maximise your results.
This can include reviewing ad copy and promotions of competitors, analysing and reviewing their website speed and functionality against yours, or reviewing the auction insights report to see how many retailers your competing with and how much of the share if the impressions you’re receiving in relation to them.
With this information we can fine-tune your account so you leave them in your wake.
New Ad Campaign Types
By adopting a smart bidding strategy in some of your main campaigns, it gives us an opportunity to trial new campaign types in order to generate a new branch of sales for your business. With the emerging prevalence of video content recently, it may be a good time to set up that video campaign you’ve always been talking about.
Alternatively, you may have wanted to set up a showcase shopping campaign but have never had the time or resources to do so before. By utilising smart bidding strategies you open yourself up to a whole range of new possibilities, which can be both exciting and lucrative. So why aren’t you doing it?
Reporting & Communications
If all of the above isn’t keeping us busy enough, then we always love to hear from our clients. If using smart bidding can free up 30 minutes of our time then that’s a great opportunity to set up a zoom meeting, make a cuppa and shoot the shit over your account, new product launches, competitive landscape changes, and everything else that’ll make you more money. These meetings are a great breeding ground for creativity and forward-thinking, and this collaborative approach is what always leads to us generating the best results possible for you. So get in touch and let’s drive your account forward!
