In an ideal world, your Google search campaign is perfectly optimized.
It would be set up in a way that makes the best use of your daily budget and achieves your specific goals. Whether that’s increasing conversions, driving up traffic, generating more leads, or increasing revenue.
However, because of the complexity of Google’s Ads account and its learning curve, many companies set up their first search campaigns in a disorganized way. This wastes more money than achieves their desired results.
In this case study, our Seattle-based client set up their own Google search campaign but they weren’t satisfied with their results.
Looking to improve their Google Ads optimization score, our client contacted us to refactor their search campaign to make it more efficient and effective, without increasing their monthly budget.
We’ll give a brief background on our client, their industry, and explain the crucial steps we took to optimize their Google Ads account.
Background on the Company and their Products
Our client is a brick-and-mortar business located in Seattle that works in the packing and shipping industry.
They came to Denver PPC for help optimizing their Google Ads’ accounts performance, specifically related to their Google Search campaigns.
How the Project Started
Our client had previously created and managed their Google Ads search campaign on their own. They came to us to increase their online conversions and optimize their account’s performance.
They were currently getting around 23 conversions a month, with a minimum of $43 spent per conversion.
After our refactoring and Google Ads optimization, all of their metrics improved. They were then getting around 52 conversions a month with a minimum of $29 per conversion.
Luckily for us, our client had accumulated lots of keyword data during their time managing the account, which we then analyzed and refactored to improve their search campaign’s overall performance.
What is Google Optimization and Refactoring?
Inside each Google Ads search campaign is an important metric — the campaign optimization score.
This optimization score is a prediction and estimate created by Google. It lets you know how well your campaign is set up, and how it’s expected to perform. The ranking score ranges from 0-100%.
Google will often create a list of recommendations on how to improve your campaign, which you can follow or dismiss. They can include:
- Adding extensions or responsive ads
- Improving keyword selection, and adding negative keywords
- Creating new campaigns
- Making repairs
- Adjusting the bidding and budgets
- Creating automated campaigns
As you’ll read later in this case study, we implemented many of these changes to make this refactor a success.
Let’s examine the steps we took in refactoring and optimizing our client’s existing Google search campaign.
Merged Three Separate Campaigns Into One Campaign
When our client granted us access to their Google Ads account, we immediately noticed they were using three separate campaigns: Seattle New Targets, General Search, and Industrial.
First thing, we merged all three separate campaigns into one simply called “Seattle Search.”
Combining the campaigns into one large campaign reduced the number of keywords, negative keywords, and directional negative keywords that needed to be managed.
This solved the problems being caused by having three separate campaigns that all competed for the same traffic.
Updated Landing Pages
Upon seeing our client’s existing landing pages for their keywords, we decided they needed to be updated and split tested.
Our updated landing pages had more relevant information and led to a higher number of conversions compared to their previous landing pages.
Added More Ad Groups
Within the larger “Seattle Search” campaign, we added more ad groups with different copies to more closely match the search terms.
Added Expanded and Responsive Ads
We added expanded and responsive ads to follow the best practices for the number of ads in each ad group and improve each ad group’s performance.
Expanded search ads allow marketers to add a third line of text to their search ads. That gives them more opportunities to add descriptors and keywords that may entice more users to click on their ad.
Responsive search ads use Google’s machine learning algorithms to rearrange the ad’s headlines and descriptions provided by the account manager to test which combinations work best.
Updated the Accounts’ Keywords
We then updated the account’s keywords following best industry practices for keyword match types for top of funnel keywords.
Top of funnel keywords are typically the exploratory or beginning questions users search for on Google in the beginning of their customer journey.
By adding more of these top of funnel keywords, we cast a wider net to get much more traffic to their ads.
Analyzing the Results
Luckily for us, our client’s campaign had been running for a while. It supplied crucial data that helped with our refactoring and optimization efforts.
After managing our client’s Google search campaign, nearly all of their metrics improved:
- Increased conversions from 23 a month to 52 a month
- Lowered conversion cost per person from $43 minimum to a $29 minimum
- After conversion, reached an 83.7% optimization score
- Increased impressions from 9,557 to 12,669
- Increased clicks from 502 to 755
All of these changes were possible by combining the three separate campaigns into one optimized campaign. And this happened with no change to the overall campaign budget!
Work with Denver PPC to Optimize and Refactor Your Existing Google Ads Campaigns
Denver PPC is a Colorado-based team of pay-per-click professionals serving a variety of clients in Denver and throughout the United States.
All of our account managers are Google Ads Certified and have experience setting up all Google campaign types in a variety of industries, ranging from law firms, doctors’ offices, and home services.
We also work with outside marketing agencies to offer white label management and white label outsourcing services.
In addition to Google Ads, we also offer Facebook, Bing, and LinkedIn ads services to help businesses meet their online audience wherever they’re at.
Have an existing Google Ads account that needs restructuring, refactoring, or optimization?
Contact us today to receive your free 10 point PPC analysis. We’ll take a look at your account and give you our free expert analysis on how you can improve your campaign’s performance.
Have further questions about Google Ads? Call Troy or Tony at 303-975-2810 to begin optimizing your company’s online marketing efforts.
