Let's face it: Google Ads can be confusing. There are so many different campaign types, settings, and strategies that it's easy to get lost and end up wasting money on campaigns that don't deliver results.
That's exactly what happened to one of my Google Ads coaching clients, who we'll call Matthew. He owns a small online shop selling handcrafted leather goods.
His search campaign just wasn't bringing in the sales he'd hoped for, so I advised him to take a radical approach: ditch the Search campaign entirely and build a brand new Shopping campaign from scratch.
Here's a peek behind the scenes of our call, and every step we took to set up Matthew's new Shopping campaign:
- Campaign Goal: We chose "Create a campaign without a goal's guidance" to keep our options open and have more control over the campaign setup.
- Campaign Type: We chose a Standard Shopping campaign to showcase Matthew's beautiful leather goods directly in search results with eye-catching images.
- Campaign Name: We used a clear and descriptive name, like "Shopping - Leather Goods - USA," to make it easy to identify and manage.
- Bid Strategy: We opted for "Maximize Clicks" to get the most out of Matthew's budget, especially since this was a brand new campaign. Eventually, we'll aim to move onto Target ROAS, when there's enough sales data.
- Budget: We set a daily budget based on Matthew's monthly budget, remembering that Google can sometimes spend up to double the daily budget on any given day.
- Networks: We unchecked the "Search Network" box to avoid showing his ads on irrelevant search partner websites and keep his budget focused on Google Search.
- Location Targeting: We used the "Presence" setting to target only those physically located in the areas where Matthew ships his products, ensuring we weren't wasting ad spend on people who couldn't become customers.
Matthew booked another call with me a month later to check in, and I'm happy to report that his Shopping campaign had already started in bringing in sales!
Here are a few insider tips I shared with Matthew for Shopping campaign optimization, so you can steal them, too:
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Monitor campaign performance: For the first two weeks, focus on getting your CTR around 1%. This is a sign that your products are being shown to the right people. Your search terms report is the main place to look, and add negative keywords as needed.
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Shift from clicks to conversions: Once you have a solid click-through rate, most small ecommerce businesses should aim for a 2% conversion rate. If you're not there, the problem may be with your website - not your ads. Take a holistic approach to conversion rate optimization.
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Consider product filters: You don't need to advertise all of your products! Check your product report to see what's performing well and what's not, and consider excluding products from your campaign if they're not profitable within 2-3 months.
Ready to see real results from your Google Ads campaigns, like Matthew? Book a call with me and let's get started.
One more thing...
Join me for PPC Zone February 2025 TOMORROW (February 19) at 11am EST, live on YouTube and LinkedIn.
Learn more at https://ppc.zone/events/ppc-zone-february-2025
