How do you know if you're truly reaching the right audience with your Performance Max campaign?
I recently worked with a client, Richard, who was having this problem. Richard's business sells one type of product that appeals to multiple very different target audiences. I won't reveal his industry, so for the purposes of this story, let's say he sells binoculars. $20 binoculars for kids, $200 binoculars for birdwatchers, $800 binoculars with night vision capabilities... and everything in between.
Richard was running a single Performance Max campaign featuring all of these products, but he wasn't seeing the results he wanted - so he booked a Google Ads coaching call with me.
I helped Richard create a more effective Google Ads campaign by grouping his products for different customer segments. We created separate campaigns for each of his target audiences, used different ad formats and targeting options to reach them, and crafted more tailored messaging.
For example, we decided to create a Search campaign for the "parents of kids who love science" persona. We used keywords such as "binoculars for kids" and "science experiments for kids" to reach them. We wrote ad copy that spoke to the benefits of binoculars for kids, such as "sparking curiosity" and "encouraging exploration." We also used image assets of kids using binoculars in fun, real-life settings. Finally, we added a variety of audiences on Observation to confirm our hypothesis that "parents of kids who love science" was, in fact, the right audience for kids' binoculars.
For the birdwatcher audience, though, Richard agreed to test something complete different: a video campaign. The visual medium allowed him to show birdwatchers how high-end binoculars could help them enjoy their hobby even more. We used audience targeting to reach custom segments around birdwatching terms, and people who are interested in nature and the outdoors.
Full disclosure, this didn't all happen in a single call! Richard chose a 5-hour coaching call package with me (with 10% discount for purchasing upfront!), and this allowed us to explore and implement strategies for each of his product categories, then monitor and optimize together.
I'm happy to report that Richard's Google Ads account showed improved ROAS (return on ad spend) after working together, and he felt confident managing the account independently going forward.
If you're struggling to reach the right customers with your Google Ads campaigns, like Richard, then try these tips:
- Think about the audience, not just your offer. This could be based on demographics, industries, interests, purchase behaviours... Once you have a good understanding of who is actually going to use your product or service, you can start to create campaigns that will appeal to them.
- Don't be afraid to run multiple campaigns. I meet many business owners like Richard who run a single Search campaign, or a single Performance Max campaign, when they offer many different products and/or sell to many distinct audiences. By creating separate campaigns, you can tailor your budget, bid strategy and messaging to each segment.
- Test out audience targeting, not just content targeting. Keywords are great. We love keywords! But sometimes, you need to reach someone who is not actively searching and yet would still love your product. Audience targeting is the way to achieve this!
Do your Google Ads campaigns need some individualized attention? Book a call with me to give your Google Ads some TLC.
