I recently had a Google Ads coaching call with Nora, a Google Ads freelancer. She was troubleshooting a search campaign for a client, a local cleaning business, and was feeling stuck.
The account had reached 50% impression share over the last 30 days. While 50% isn't completely maxed out everywhere, for a campaign using broad match in a low-volume, borderline rural location, it indicated that Nora was already capturing a significant portion of the available searches.
You see, to try and drive more volume in this small location, Nora had used broad match keywords. But she was finding herself constantly adding a ton of negative keywords to filter out irrelevant searches, and felt like she was fighting Google to get the campaign to work the way she wanted. I saw the lightbulb go off for Nora when I said, "If you're going to constantly block the search terms that broad match is designed to find, it’s probably a sign that broad match isn’t the right fit for your campaign."
But that wasn't the only issue...
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When we dug deeper into her broad match keywords, we saw that many had a very low Quality score - like, 1 to 3 out of 10. Why? Poor keyword / ad group alignment.
I like to think of a campaign as a house, and the ad groups as different rooms in that house. The kitchen has a purpose, and the bathroom has a purpose. If someone looking for a bathroom ends up in your kitchen, that's not going to be a good outcome - for you, or the kitchen!
In Nora’s campaign, the ad groups were like kitchens with toilet paper, staplers, and bed sheets all mixed in. For example, keywords for "residential cleaning" and "commercial office cleaning" were in the same ad group, which means the ads were not specific to the varying intent of the searcher. And because she was using broad match keywords, every possible search term was matching to every single ad group.
I gave Nora three key recommendations to turn around performance. First, instead of using broad match and adding endless negatives, I suggested she switch to exact match keywords. This would give her the control she craved, and allow her to be much more specific about the intent of each ad group.
Second, she could reorganize the ad groups around the searcher's intent. For example, she could have one ad group for people looking for residential cleaning, another for move-out cleaning, and yet another for commercial office cleaning. This would allow her to write more specific ad copy for each ad group, which would improve Ad Relevance, boost Quality Scores, and lower her cost per click.
Ultimately, since the search opportunity was so limited in this small area, we also discussed launching a Demand Gen campaign. Her Search campaign would spend a lot less with the switch from broad to exact match keywords, so she could reinvest that money in proactively reaching new audiences who might not be actively searching for "commercial cleaning," but could still be great clients if targeted with the right creative.
Here's what you can learn from Nora:
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Don't fight broad match: If you're constantly adding negatives to a broad match campaign, it might be a sign that a more specific match type like exact match or phrase match is a better fit for you.
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Organize around intent: Your ad groups should be built around a specific user goal, not just a list of semi-related words. A better ad group structure will improve ad relevance and Quality Score, which lowers your costs.
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Check your opportunity: If your Search volume is low, but your impression share is high, it's time to consider generating demand rather than just capturing demand - finding new ways to connect with potential customers.
Want a second set of eyes on your Google Ads campaigns? Book a call with me and we'll get your ads working the way you want them to.
