Key take-aways

1. Tracking metrics in PPC campaigns is essential to measure success and make informed decisions.
2. The Discover Phase and Performance Phase are two distinct phases of a PPC campaign.
3. The goals of the Discover Phase are to set up the Adwords account, identify target audience, research and select keywords, create ads and landing pages, and test strategies.
4. The goals of the Performance Phase are to optimize ads and keywords, adjust budgets, test and improve landing pages, implement additional strategies, and monitor campaigns.
5. It is important to increase revenue through discovery, find keywords and target audiences that are convertible, and create engaging content.
6. The overall goal of a PPC campaign is to bring people to the website as cheaply as possible.
7. It is important to have a system in place to track and measure results and to be consistent.

The discovery phase vs the performance phase in ppc campaigns

The Discover Phase and Performance Phase of a PPC campaign can go in a cycle. As strategies are tested and analyzed, some may be implemented and optimized during the Performance Phase. As campaigns continue to be monitored and optimized, additional strategies may be tested during the Discover Phase. This cycle of testing, evaluating, and optimizing helps ensure that PPC campaigns are as effective and efficient as possible.

The Discovery Phase

The Discover Phase of a PPC campaign is the initial setup and testing phase where a variety of different strategies are tested and analyzed to determine which one will be the most effective. During this stage, the PPC account is set up, the target audience is identified, keywords are researched and selected, and ads and landing pages are assembled.

The goals of the Discover Phase of a PPC campaign are:

1. Setting up the Adwords account.
2. Identifying target audience.
3. Researching and selecting keywords.
4. Creating compelling ads and engaging landing pages.
5. Testing different strategies and analyzing the results.

During the Discover Phase, the most important metrics to track include keyword search volume, cost-per-click (CPC), and click-through-rate (CTR). These metrics will help you determine which keywords are performing well, which are underperforming, and which ones are worth exploring further.

The Performance Phase

During the Performance Phase, the best-performing strategies are put into action and continuously monitored for optimization and improvement. During this stage, ads are optimized to improve click-through rates, and keywords are adjusted to improve Quality Score. Landing pages are tested and improved to increase conversions. The Performance Phase is also when budget adjustments and additional strategies are implemented to maximize ROI.

The goals of the Performance Phase of a PPC campaign are:

1. Optimizing ads and keywords to improve Quality Score and CTR.
2. Adjusting budgets to increase ROI.
3. Testing and improving landing pages to increase conversions.
4. Implementing additional strategies to maximize ROI.
5. Continuously monitoring campaigns to ensure maximum efficiency.

During the Performance Phase, the most important metrics to track include conversions, cost-per-conversion, and return-on-investment (ROI). These metrics will help you understand the effectiveness of your campaigns and make informed decisions about budget adjustments and additional strategies.

Strategies for discovery phase

It is important during the Discover Phase to increase revenue through discovery, find keywords and target audiences that are convertible, and create engaging content. Some of the actions taken during the Discover Phase can be profitable, while others may not be, and the effect might be a temporary loss of efficiency. However, it is important to experiment and test different strategies to determine which ones are the most effective.

During the Discover Phase, spend will go faster than sales and profits may go low because new strategies are being tested and analyzed. This means that some strategies may not be as effective or efficient as others and may not produce the desired results. As a result, money will be spent on testing these strategies without an immediate return on investment. However, this is an important part of the Discover Phase and the results can be used to refine and optimize campaigns for better performance in the Performance Phase.

The strategies for the Discover Phase of a PPC campaign include:

1. Setting up the PPC account.
2. Identifying target audience.
3. Researching and selecting keywords.
4. Assemble compelling ads and engaging landing pages.
5. Testing different strategies and analyzing the results.
6. Utilizing automation tools to simplify the process.

Once you have identified the best–performing strategies, you can move on to the Performance Phase and begin to implement and optimize those strategies. It is important to note that the Discover Phase should not be rushed, as it is essential to test and analyze different strategies to ensure that your PPC campaigns are as effective and efficient as possible.

Strategies for the Performance Phase

It is important during the Performance Phase to be as profitable and efficient as possible. To do this, it is important to identify search terms that are not working, and add them as negatives. This helps to ensure that budget is not wasted on keywords that are not driving conversions. It is also important to lower bids and improve ad copy to ensure that ads are more compelling and relevant to users. Finally, it is important to continuously monitor campaigns to ensure maximum efficiency.

Examples on how to adjust and optimize your campaigns for better performance

During the Performance Phase of a PPC campaign, it is important to check how increasing spend will influence clicks and CTR. This can be done by conducting A/B testing on campaigns with different budgets. This will allow you to see how increasing the budget affects clicks and CTR, and make informed decisions about budget adjustments to maximize ROI.

If you move your PPC spend up, your visits should go up due to increased visibility for your ads. However, if this does not happen, it is important to check the click-through-rate (CTR) as this will help you determine if there is an issue with the ads. If the CTR has not increased, it could be a sign that the ads are not engaging enough or are not targeted correctly to the right audience. In this case, it is important to refine and optimize the ads to ensure that they are more compelling and relevant to users.

If you raised spendings for 100% but see less than 50-60% increase in results, that could be a sign of issues with your ads being shown to the same people. In this case, you could try taking off display and video ads for brand awareness and see if that influences the metrics. If it does not, it could be that your ads are being served to the same audience and you are getting clicks from the same people. If this is the case, you could try targeting different audiences with your PPC campaigns to avoid the issue of your ads being served to the same people.

The strategies for the Performance Phase of a PPC campaign include:

1. Optimizing ads and keywords to improve Quality Score and CTR.
2. Adjusting budgets to increase ROI.
3. Testing and improving landing pages to increase conversions.
4. Implementing additional strategies to maximize ROI.
5. Continuously monitoring campaigns to ensure maximum efficiency.
6. A/B testing campaigns to determine the effectiveness of different strategies.
7. Targeting different audiences to avoid ads being served to the same people.

I’m always happy to help and provide advice. If you have any questions or need help getting started with remarketing campaigns, installing tracking codes, or configuring Google Ads, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help make your digital marketing endeavors a success!