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Top 10 LinkedIn Tips on Mastering Objectives & Bid Strategies
Looking to increase your return on ad spend (ROAS) on LinkedIn?
Your bidding strategy and campaign objective play a critical role.
Here’s my 10 tips from over $10 million investment in LinkedIn paid ads.
(In no particular order, they all matter)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Tip #1: The Power Behind Manual Bidding
- Tip #2: Fine-Tuning Your Bids
- Tip #3: Aligning Ad Type & Offer with Objectives
- Tip #4: The Optimal Objective for Thought Leader Ads
- Tip #5: When to Leverage Video Views Objective
- Tip #6: Match Your Content to the Most Suitable Objective
- Tip #7: Take Advantage of Document Ads
- Tip #8: Scale Conversions with Conversation Ads
- Tip #9: Top 3 Objectives for Single Image Ads
- Tip #10: When to Avoid Reach Objective (Brand Awareness)
- Conclusion:
- Resources for Mastering B2B Advertising
Tip #1: The Power Behind Manual Bidding
Unlike automated bidding, which leaves bid amounts at LinkedIn's discretion, manual bidding allows advertisers to set clear cost boundaries.
This ensures that your campaign expenses align with your budgetary constraints and campaign goals, offering a level of precision that automated bidding simply can't match.
By specifying the maximum amount you're willing to pay for clicks, the manual bidding places you in the driver's seat.
The LinkedIn algorithm, while powerful, may not always allocate your budget most economically when given full control.
Start collecting data quickly for your new campaign by bidding above the minimum threshold recommended by LinkedIn.
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When to Consider Automated Bidding:
Automated bidding can be the best choice for specific situations, such as focused Account-Based Marketing (ABM) or retargeting campaigns with small audiences.
Once the campaign starts spending and there’s a benchmark, you can switch to manual bidding to regain full control.
Tip #2: Fine-Tuning Your Bids
A successful manual bidding requires daily checks on your spending against your budget to avoid overbidding or underbidding.
This is a straightforward yet insightful process, comparing the previous day's spend against the current daily budget to adjust your bids for optimal performance.
The Process of Bid Adjustment:
By subtracting your daily budget from the previous day's total spending, you gain clear insights into your bidding strategy's effectiveness.
A negative result suggests underbidding, where you're not fully utilizing your daily budget
While a positive result indicates overbidding, where you're potentially overspending.
“Previous day spent - allocated budget = + number indicated bid is too high
The previous day spent - allocated budget = - number indicated bid is too low”
One challenge of manual bidding is finding the sweet spot where your bid is high enough to consume your daily budget fully but not so high that it leads to inefficient spending.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5c6_663abbb14b37ce1aa6d33bf7_sCww0WXWM6qBe5MhnR8EASVoogoOUI_NxyF0pP7AS1fcFnqte4YyJoqTN3yR5jMV2uoq5zkfucf_962ifd8HcPeOUXANt4FsMPV0Nzx-Jrfq-r9Cra5cC0Bk9KHHhErzLvIn01Nd7LZYUF1PNCaplwo.jpeg)
Side note:
If your audience size is too small, even a high bid will not cover the campaign’s full budget.
Tip #3: Aligning Ad Type & Offer with Objectives
LinkedIn ad campaigns' success deeply depends on the alignment between the chosen ad type and the content you're promoting.
Understanding the nuances of each ad + offer and matching it to the applicable objective is key to maximizing engagement and conversion rate.
Selecting the Right Ad Type for Your Objective:
Video Ads:
When promoting video ads, gravitate towards the Video View or Engagement objectives.
These objectives are designed to maximize viewership and interaction with your video content, making them ideal for capturing and retaining audience attention.
Example of a video ad:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5d5_663abbb1ca6e672a85a209dd_MFY2FE4C08IYDsGBLLb-Ybo_c2X-zlPVIU2vpqDOY6piE7SZfdL5ytp_VzkDGcJ55gqZA-bO8cpbW7ElLRfUH11mcv9f_zlGZkA1BwTO3QC7ydOCOcQHig1Dsi4s5MSg5YgA6ip-uakqZZx2bwDebMY.png)
Document Ads:
The Engagement objective tends to yield the most success for document ads, which include PDFs, presentations, and other downloadable content.
Keeping document ads ungated and focusing on engagement allows your content to reach a broader audience, enhancing brand visibility and thought leadership.
Example of a document ad:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5ed_663abbb130ba4d431163c962_tdMmB8gHl3bMQRCC05LtwW9J9O1KwOb_oVrNK4LWgByB1-Pz6pAjK_OOri-2OhhDhiWtUb9n3ARUkyhsB1fwjSe0LmcrZC4M7jifGeIWlQOqYVlJGHcZzEP0qPdDxBquolxxWI0I6rruEIjT2x1kZ_M.png)
Single Image Ads:
Engagement and Website Traffic objectives can be effective when using single-image ads.
Your choice depends on whether your primary goal is to foster interaction with the ad or drive traffic to your website or landing page
Example of a single image ad:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5f6_663abbb18ffafdcb6f9b27a1_XkrBJc_5-VxZU3QaJiSilQjEm9WF-XHo0I3kKx8Vrqv4fx_dbwkgGqSe2fzMJSyE0LMIh5DGO8f71XFVLrV0uTqe6qvA9dYgQyC2ji-V81vSWSnP2hpyeOKYneH03oMpi_28MpOsN2TiRwEa34ZM7nE.png)
Tip #4: The Optimal Objective for Thought Leader Ads
If you're looking to boost your presence and authority on LinkedIn, thought leader ads present an attractive option.
These ads turn organic content from individual profiles into sponsored messages, maintaining the authentic voice and personal touch that resonates with audiences.
These campaigns can achieve lower costs per engagement by leveraging the engagement objective, enhancing their effectiveness and reach.
Understanding Thought Leader Ads:
Personal Touch:
Unlike standard ads that originate from company pages, thought leader ads come from personal profiles, offering a humanized approach to advertising.
This method harnesses the inherent trust and relatability of individual thought leaders, amplifying their messages across targeted audiences on LinkedIn.
As of March 2024, businesses can promote content from any connected user on LinkedIn with Thought Leader posts, as opposed to just verified employees.
Seamless Integration:
To the audience, thought leader ads appear as regular posts but with the added benefit of targeted reach and visibility.
This seamless integration into the newsfeed portrays a natural engagement experience, hence fostering higher engagement rates compared to traditional ad formats.
Implementation and Best Practices
The success of thought leader ads hinges on selecting organic content that has already demonstrated shares and engagement.
By sponsoring high-performing posts, you capitalize on proven interest and ensure your ad budget is allocated to content with the highest potential return.
Pro tip:
When creating a new single-image campaign, you can click “browse existing content” to find the post by searching for the LinkedIn member and sending a request for approval.
Since these ads will not be sent to a landing page, it’s best to place the intended page link in the first comment and pin the comment.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5c9_663abbb10ce7e1bcb2353545_BIL2q4AG0YrJ7ZbNG8YZGL8xS_VHgR9GKhWOiX_Q79eJomVpeWgGtofaXnz3BRlpzgmYNxRWa8jusqTnbCGHDDjQyWkaLSaKvI8FaHwLD0Xai-naWNW8Ydg6HObHc3WLeMf40iNxJ3fEFPGTXzCS72I.png)
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Tip #5: When to Leverage Video Views Objective
When promoting video ads, selecting the Video View objective will increase the likelihood of getting the highest percentage of videos watched at the lowest cost.
This objective is designed to maximize the number of views your video receives, optimizing for visibility and engagement among your target audience.
Creative Specifications:
For video creatives, the recommendation is to use a square format (1080x1080 pixels) and include captions.
This format is not only visually appealing but also takes up the most space in the feed property.
Cost Efficiency and Performance:
The cost for video views on LinkedIn typically ranges from 10 to 15 cents per view.
While this might be higher compared to other platforms like YouTube, which has been gaining traction in B2B sectors for its cost-effectiveness, LinkedIn's targeted audience can justify the investment.
Best Practices for Video Campaigns on LinkedIn:
Starting with the lowest feasible cost per view (CPV) in your bidding strategy can help manage costs while assessing the content's performance.
Adjustments can be made based on initial results to find the optimal balance between reach and budget efficiency.
Tip #6: Match Your Content to the Most Suitable Objective
Understanding the type of content you're promoting determines the most effective objective and ad type for your campaign.
For event promotions, for example, certain ad formats have proven to yield higher results and drive registrations at a lower cost.
Let’s break down what type of assets yield the highest results for this example:
Lead Generation Forms (LGF):
The premier choice for driving event registrations.
Lead-gen forms provide a seamless and streamlined user experience, with pre-populated forms making the conversion process as frictionless as possible.
The convenience of instantly filling out forms within the LinkedIn platform significantly increases conversion rates for registrations.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5cd_663abbb194e36ece7eac7c15_e0Dc-KqtF-z2dJFYh6GlikDonRgGsDyQ4Grs3KcoB4ZDe9APPQIoznJVCrdnlukb9luzEHngbNxdD4y3J6tn89NJU_z8faJKYvSXz1TJVo8_2LC0Qvjz-0rAJM5ylPErR4wuwA_22cyoAsiBha4Q1mE.png)
Pro tip:
To improve the performance of LGF, it's best to keep the number of custom fields below three.
While leveraging pre-populated fields can maintain high conversion rates, adding more than two custom questions or actions can deter completions.
Event Ad Format:
This is one of the most effective ad types for event registries, but it is important to note that it cannot be combined with any of the conversion objectives.
Unique to this type of ad is the inclusion of social proof directly within the ad, such as the number of people who have shown interest or are planning to attend the event.
While its conversion rate may not match that of Lead Generation Forms, the added visibility and credibility from social proof make Event Ads a valuable tactic.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5da_663abbb1fe20eb77a935c978_zEs0dODJwcHMsk_U_RpdOPPN8FXF2rW69TLxJkwQHhoxHsvUAgMIFOIAWbkwr1UBXckjwQhXYse7mJJstd77snEmF8N096C5hDDHdjbLnRY2k-RH0vb1rARq4Awz15zpwBdWlvjIwoqJx8eR60DNCoQ.png)
Website Conversion:
Directing users to a landing page for event registration is generally less preferred due to higher costs and lower conversion rates compared to previous tactics.
Exceptions exist, such as directing traffic to a calendar link or for specific targeting scenarios, but overall, this method is seen as less efficient for event promotion.
Design and Copy Considerations:
For campaigns opting to use landing pages, prioritizing copy over design is key.
The hero section, or above-the-fold content, is critical in capturing user interest.
Ensuring message consistency between your ads and landing page, alongside efficient conversion tracking, will set you up for success.
To learn more about landing page best practices, dive into the article below by Pedro Cortés:
10 Proven Landing Page Tips To Boost Your Conversion Rates
Pro-tip:
Streamlining Campaign Tracking with Dynamic URL Parameters:
LinkedIn's introduction of dynamic URL parameters at the campaign level presents a major leap forward in simplifying and enhancing tracking capabilities.
This feature allows marketers to set up the tracking once for the entire campaign, eliminating the tedious process of manually tagging each ad with unique UTM parameters.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5d2_663abbb15bdd1b1979b18e57_Sg-s_-mVWKl_SCVSlxAhG3aQbMXowFN0IhysmreZflgHqdnr5Y81stwrnS6hTU95NqZfzD6zmwJ5Cqmv1flVgFk4vUXKg_3PJSCM-EARb5fhuzMvX8YsSFl9h9KyZHetsDRiFCdDsKlUYBtOBAgm-4Y.png)
Tip #7: Take Advantage of Document Ads
Document ads have proven highly effective for marketers looking to deepen engagement and build a robust retargeting pool.
They typically have impressive click-through rates, often reaching 6-7% or higher.
The best results from document ads are seen when paired with the engagement objective.
Users who interact with this ad type demonstrate a clear interest in your content, making them ideal candidates for subsequent, more targeted marketing efforts.
For more information on setting up your first document ads, check out this guide provided by LinkedIn
Tip #8: Scale Conversions with Conversation Ads
Conversation ads offer a unique, direct method of engaging with your target audience by delivering messages right into their LinkedIn inboxes.
These ads are billed on a cost-per-send basis, making it crucial to manage bids effectively to maximize both reach and budget efficiency.
Start your bid as low as possible and make adjustments depending on how well it’s pacing.
A good starting point is a $1 bid.
Due to LinkedIn’s second-price auction model for convo ads, they typically keep the actual cost close to the average historical cost per send.
This model charges you just enough to outbid the next highest bidder, not the maximum amount you're willing to pay.
Adaptation to Platform Changes:
Despite recent updates like the focus inbox change on LinkedIn, conversational ads have continued to perform well.
The direct nature of these ads keeps them effective, maintaining their status as a top-performing ad type.
Best Practices for Conversational Ads:
Because convo ads are more intrusive than other ad types, it’s important to ensure your targeting is precise. This precision prevents user annoyance and increases the likelihood of engagement.
The content of your conversation ads should be compelling and offer clear value to a specific job function.
Pro-tip:
The sender should resonate with the target audience for the highest credibility.
Choosing someone with a similar job function or an industry expert/influencer can immediately boost credibility.
For additional tips on convo ad’s best practices, check out this post by AdConversion
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6650d38069d9474b2e7ab5e5_663abbb16052421e284711f8_bm5UI6YYkXH7snpXgNg234IhH3yVA5pi2cvk0wGD4TGspmhFiVmJ8udlb4zPRL9GrH-EplLSFQQ5-MZSTrIE7JsRgU-akllvJCf7j7kTEGmM9MPVOMg5SbWpCbR3ST0kvLE1M3yMHR6NHjfmFHgOGsA.png)
Tip #9: Top 3 Objectives for Single Image Ads
Single-image ads are versatile and can be tailored to meet various objectives, but understanding which objective to prioritize can have a noticeable impact on the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Lead Generation:
The primary objective for many single-image ad campaigns is lead generation.
LinkedIn’s Lead-gen focuses on gathering user information through forms that are pre-populated with LinkedIn profile data, making it easier for users to submit their information without leaving the platform.
Engagement:
The second most common objective for single-image ads is engagement.
This objective aims to maximize interactions such as likes, comments, and shares.
It's particularly useful for increasing brand visibility and engagement within your target audience.
Fostering interactions also enhances the organic reach of your ads through the network effects of user engagement.
The visual appeal and message of your single-image ad should resonate with your audience and encourage interaction.
Regular testing and adaptation of your ad creatives can help maintain high engagement levels.
Website Visits:
The third objective focuses on driving traffic to your website or specific landing pages to achieve conversions.
Whether your goal is to increase sign-ups, sales, or another conversion action, directing users to your website allows for more detailed tracking and nurturing of potential leads in your sales funnel.
Tip #10: When to Avoid Reach Objective (Brand Awareness)
Brand awareness, which prioritizes impressions and broad visibility, often comes under scrutiny due to its cost implications and lower engagement metrics compared to other objectives.
The reach objective operates on a cost-per-impression (CPM) model, where you are charged each time your ad is displayed, regardless of user interaction.
This can lead to higher expenditure without the guarantee of equivalent engagement or conversions.
The inherent nature of paying for mere visibility rather than actionable engagement makes this objective less appealing for many advertisers seeking tangible returns on their investment.
This objective is also inefficient for retargeting.
Building retargeting audiences requires not just impressions but meaningful interactions that signal interest or intent.
The reach objective's focus on maximizing views rather than fostering engagement makes it less effective for gathering a meaningful contribution toward the retargeting pool.
Conclusion:
In this article, we covered 10 actionable tips for matching the most suitable objectives and bidding strategies to your LinkedIn campaigns.
Whether it’s choosing manual bidding to control costs, aligning ad types with your marketing objectives, or understanding when to leverage specific ad formats, each tip offers a pathway to better performance.
By implementing these top 10 tips, you can navigate through the complexities of LinkedIn paid ads with greater precision and efficiency.
I hope you found this article insightful and that it leads to successful outcomes for your future campaigns.
If you’d like to reach out or get more tips, please connect with me via LinkedIn.
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10 Tips You Need to Know Before Hiring Your Next Ad Agency or Consultant
Working with an advertising agency, freelancer, or consultant?
After the past 12 years working in-house I know what good and bad looks like.
In this article I’m going to share with you my hard lessons learned on working with these partners.
And if you’re an agency owner, freelancer, or consultant reading this (take notes!) 📝
These tips are bucketed into four parts: people, product, process, and results.
Let’s dive in!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Tip #1: Be clear on your communication needs and expectations
- Tip #2: Decide your meeting cadence
- Tip #3: Get clear on who and what for your tools
- Tip #4: Review your brand foundations
- Tip #5: Make sure your extended team knows the audience targeting
- Tip #6: Define your operational plumbing
- Tip #7: Share your historical benchmarks
- Tip #8: Be clear on your naming conventions
- Tip #9: Have clear trackable goals
- Tip #10: Set clear timelines and deliverables
[process] Tip #1: Be clear on your communication needs and expectations
You have to be upfront about this from the beginning.
Where and how often are the two key questions here:
- Where will we be communicating? (ex: Slack)
- How soon should you expect a response? (ex: within 24 hours)
- How fast can I expect a certain task to be completed? (ex: 72 hours)
You need to tell your partners what you expect from them in terms of communication.
Steal this template:
“Hey {Name}, I want to be really clear that with the agencies I work with I expect a response from my slack or emails within {timeframe, ex: 12 business hours}”.
This is equally as important for those of us managing clients as it allows you to more effectively prioritize your communications with clients and triage your day.
[process] Tip #2: Decide your meeting cadence
This tip connects with the previous around framing expectations.
You have to get clear on how often you’re going to be meeting, is it weekly, bi-Weekly, monthly?
Communicate your expectations on how often you’ll meet and the options available.
By getting clear on your needs and how fast you want to get things done will allow you to answer this.
The best part about defined meeting cadences is that it allows you to hold people accountable.
It’s a forcing function that makes sure you’re getting what you need fast enough.
My preferred meeting cadence:
Weekly for the first six weeks to build trust and create momentum then move towards bi-weekly.
Within the first 6-weeks of working with a new agency or consultant you’ll want to ensure they are set up with:
- Systems access
- Clearly defined goals
- Clarity on your ICP and audience
From here everything is addressed and you can move to a bi-weekly cadence.
Again this is my personal preference align according to your needs!
If you want some tips on how to run an effective meeting check out my LinkedIn post 🎉
[process] Tip #3: Get clear on who and what for your tools
The last thing you want is for it to take four weeks for your agency to get plugged into your system.
Get your new partners access to your systems as fast as possible so they can begin adding value.
Build a document with a clear list of all the primary tools they’ll need access for and who to contact.
If the agency, consultant, or freelancer you’re onboarding already has clear documentation already on how you can provide them access to their primary tools this is a green flag! 🟢
If you can take the initiative to build an internal version of this document even better.
You know your marketing operations person's name, make sure they know as well.
The more people working together across teams the more important this becomes.
[product] Tip #4: Review your brand foundations
Make sure your agency, freelancer, or consultant understands your brand.
Your brand foundations consists of:
- What does your solution do?
- What’s your unique value prop?
- What’s your origin story?
- Who are your competitors?
- What’s your tone of voice?
Even better if your partners can sit in on a live demo (or at the minimum watch a recording).
If your partners don’t get sold on the unique value you provide they will never be able to make an impact with the campaigns they create for you (and red flag if they don’t want to know! 🔴).
[product] Tip #5: Make sure your extended team knows the audience targeting
We touched on this on tip #4 but this is so important it deserves its own tip.
Audience targeting is the foundation of everything you’re going to be doing.
You need to be absolutely clear on:
- Job titles
- Job functions
- Company size
- Industries
Really, really, really hone in on this! 🙏
Make sure your extended teams knows this as well.
This is where your buyer persona comes into play, if you need help on how to craft one check out Module 2 of my B2B Advertising Foundations course where I show you how to piece it together.
Give them as much customer information as possible because they have to know this.
They need to know what good vs bad leads look like.
Pro tip:
Keep all this customer information in a shared document so your partners can refer back to it in the future when needed and setup a shared channel to monitor lead quality 🔥
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66bcd0bc11efb6ddac29d028_AD_4nXdtt3C5XBJr8WMHGBTvfyDYlNJ-zNhNdOc5NETqdGz5XhfX2lMuk-1LugLL9xuAMY-dRkqMD2hw2ayqv1rTACD01X5of1OM3rHOGC9yzq8wjQp9G-_9FkI_PF3ds--qcgusvDOR6eOaFLrfALSJgFiLOR4v.jpeg)
[process] Tip #6: Define your operational plumbing
You need to be specific on how things should be tracked.
The goal isn’t to just drive leads, it’s to scale legit qualified pipeline and revenue.
Work with your extended teams to map out your customer lifecycle operations.
For example, they should be clear on:
- Once someone fills out a form, now what?
- How are leads being handed off to sales?
- How is the team being notified on new leads?
- How are they being followed up with?
From here it’s piecing together the right UTM conventions for measurement, connecting forms in our marketing automation tools so be able to route appropriately.
Walk through all of these steps and the points in-between so things are tracked.
Take my word for it, defining this will save you a lot of headaches at the end of the quarter! 😅
[results] Tip #7: Share your historical benchmarks
You need to first understand your historical benchmarks so you can share them.
Reverse engineer your funnel to understand your performance between steps.
This will look different for every company but here’s an example for sales led:
- Meetings Booked
- Meetings Completed
- Opportunities
- Pipeline
- Revenue
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66bcd0bd78847b5109fc67cb_AD_4nXc_RxzXUuZf-Eoz0NJjt_W4HBSS53tJLx7u92EmswwJ4VA_Zlov8QhwfD9McjtYWXhIY_MJ668Vuf_GH_b1qpfhXZNp3IoMmIxYs_02Jsx6dqBwMSZp3XGQ9cTiaNYyICT1VuFpH76ytMMIwnYGINnRhtyV.png)
Knowing the difference between steps is crucial to improve efficiency.
If your agency or consultant isn’t trying to reverse engineer your funnel that’s a red flag! 🔴
Share these historical benchmarks and hold them accountable.
[Process] Tip #8: Be clear on your naming conventions
Your partners need to be able to jump inside your ad accounts and understand what’s happening.
The first step is making sure they are informed on your naming conventions.
Align on naming conventions for:
- Forms
- Campaigns
- Creatives
And if you’re reading this and don’t have existing naming conventions, ask yourself:
What are the questions I’d like to answer from my campaigns?
For example, I want to know:
- What’s my performance by region?
- What’s my performance by campaign objective?
- What’s my performance by ad?
Then use these answers to include them in your naming convention.
This is a really small in the weeds tactical step but worth sharing.
[results] Tip #9: Have clear trackable goals
Determine the metrics that matter that your advertising partners should track and the frequency in which they should be reporting on these goals to you.
I personally like to report on these weekly to make sure everything is pacing appropriately.
This also allows you to pivot quickly when things start to go off track.
When determining the metrics that matter, also brainstorm your leading indicators.
Leading indicators are clear metrics that help you determine early signs of success.
For example, depending on your campaigns objective it might look a bit different:
- Lead gen = qualified leads created
- Awareness = engagement rate by ad type
Just choose something that can happen quickly within the first 7 days of a campaign going live and is a relevant milestone that will ultimately lead to your end goal.
🟢 An early and specific goal is better than no goal at all.
Without this clarity you or your partners won’t be able to prioritize what needs to be done.
If you’re struggling with deciding on your goals go back to tip #7 and understand your benchmarks.
[results] Tip #10: Set clear timelines and deliverables
Defining the success metrics that matter and the roadmap to get there is CRUCIAL.
You have to be clear upfront timelines for both parties or it’s going to get squirrely 🐿😅
If it’s not defined upfront as you go things will go sideways.
Communicate to your agency, consultant, or freelancer:
Here’s what we expect from month 1, 2, and so on…
You’re hiring these experts to come in and solve a specific problem.
The goal is to hold your partner accountable to the outcome and not tasks.
This keeps you focused on the things that matter (ex: funnel optimization, benchmarks, goals).
I hope you found these 10 tips helpful and the best of luck in your future partnerships! ♥️
Connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s keep the conversation going.
You can also visit my website here for more valuable content.
Resources for mastering B2B advertising
If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion.
Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:
✅ 100% free access.
✅ Taught by vetted industry experts.
✅ Have workbooks, resources, and templates.
✅ Less than 10 minutes per lesson.
We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:
- Scale their ideas
- Level up their careers
- Make a positive impact
Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.
Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a0cbe8439012b01ca24896_Thumbnail_600x315%20-%20AdConversion_%20Google%20Ads%20Quality%20Score%202024.jpg)
Google Ads Quality Score: Everything You Need To Know (2024)
Mastering quality score is essential if you want to pay less per click and outrank competitors.
In this article you’ll learn the 80/20 of what you need to know about quality score.
Let’s dive into it!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Quality Score Simplified
- How is Quality Score Calculated?
- How to audit your Quality Score?
- How to improve your Quality Score?
- Quality Score FAQ
Quality Score Simplified
Back in 2005, Google released Quality Score.
This is a number from 1-10 that Google created to determine how relevant your ads are to what people are searching for (1 being the lowest relevance, and 10 being the highest).
![google ads quality score metrics](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f4f7c2028446a027f1_AD_4nXflxuo0MXk6vOpr2Lg1K0egyb9GL0tm4a1SCSbgWrpF1_DYeZWadcBfKZ-Mm5pKIsSC3IkrXszxNnZXyl5Lj_G-iApg2azI4LAwqwNIhncelWzUQbQBbSmbeXuxaDarsWC9kOGCO853TE6A4NemO9RzQ3VV.png)
Google want’s people who search to find what they are looking for.
This way they come back to Google and search again in the future.
Quality Score is how they gamified the system to achieve this objective.
It’s the perfect trinity between advertiser, searcher, and Google:
- Advertisers are rewarded with lower costs when having higher quality scores
- People searching for answers on Google will now find more relevant information
- Because people find relevant information they use Google again in the future
Before Quality Score was introduced Google was filled with tons of irrelevant ads leading to a poor experience for searchers and ultimately less people using Google in the future.
(In my opinion) Quality Score was one of the most important features released that transformed Google into the most dominant search engine in the world.
The secret to improving Quality Score is relevance.
How is Quality Score Calculated?
Ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR are the three variables that go into calculating your Quality Score. Depending on how relevant each is to your keywords you’ll have a final score between 1-10 (1 being the lowest relevance, and 10 being the highest).
Ad Relevance
A metric that determines how relevant your keywords are to your ad copy.
Above average signifies great relevance, below average signifies room for improvement, below average signifies poor keyword and ad copy relevance.
Ad relevance is 100% in your control and below average ad relevance is usually the result of poor ad group structure resulting from too many keywords and/or few variations of ad copy.
![ad relevance google ads quality score](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f44101ab551f883b12_AD_4nXcw8Sg_vlLKRXmEGZepoVk9mnRDeX3uoVsMDcaXsyvKVT_idR7RVian9Q4xlSvWJbsh_aAkWrV9XXBISCwupOlSJFgr09GOXTt-eWsa_Viw3TmLEgsPgYHqQzvz1DJoPX2pRj3RU72gnq9cjUVBUzX_E2AK.png)
Landing Page Experience
A metric that determines how relevant your keywords, ads, and post click experience matches the search intent of the user.
It’s not just about having your keywords on the page, it also takes into consideration page load speeds, page structure (ex: H1, H2s, H3s), and mobile optimization.
Above average signifies a great landing page experience, average signifies room for improvement, and below average signifies poor post click experience.
![landing page experience google ads quality score](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f43af936649d50e50e_AD_4nXexOTaqaaKZLya4mak8WjitpA3n2ZZmc1u8CKm6uAP4JY4sOSNMPlF57IX4AaQwzUIQlk_mHT83xeDdo2S9FXcYs8OwbjxtUTxTH6tdQBbxnBKfSHeWNI4ArUo-zBW8cgikzCNeYHT7NX2mqcaIqeP9-eBJ.png)
Expected CTR
A metric that determines the likelihood of someone clicking on your ads once seen in the Google search results.
In my experience auditing Google Ads accounts this is the #1 most common variable that drags down quality score for most accounts since it’s the least in your control.
This is Google’s perception based on historical and predicted performance on how well you believe your ad will be engaged with.
Above average signifies a highly engaging ad, average signifies room for improvement, and below average signifies poor ad engagement.
![expected ctr google ads quality score](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f42a657f4c5e5632ee_AD_4nXeDcQeoHM92DJyfKyeKk6uQoP2XHd8VildOTc53X3SARAAURf9DWbaKO9xjQWAwY8da_kGvKHlxwzh6F4Njx86auwN8V4iJaeY2r0ggKM5wyq-hRDTMItBwcbrTBqmoZv-iHrBqYkxb6EMgSldM6Ucl9fc.png)
How to audit your Quality Score?
Once you understand the basics of quality score that it is a factor of relevance and three components that determine whether you’re a 1-10 the next logical question becomes:
What’s impacting my quality score performance?
Here’s how to run a Google Ads quality score to find what’s impacting your performance.
[EMBED YOUTUBE VIDEO]
Step 1 - Download a keyword report
Within your Google Ads manager navigate to the keywords section within your account:
Campaigns > Keywords (press G + K for a keyboard shortcut)
Modify your keyword columns to include:
- Quality Score
- Ad Relevance
- Landing Page Experience
- Expected CTR
Once completed download your keywords into a CSV.
![google ads quality score report download](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f46db60328b4d6fc79_AD_4nXdj3jUSetElUvMDuOciM3OGoTMy0jvGDHvEP6Wm8XRWXql9s4mRdSG-9PanOBVA3ofIdAKMRZbf9tsMweEOOGj7R4K1bgd7uDeUQLV3xxi4G84NjrfJ-oOFFChP-hzWMl49-KXpgxxNTYIDiHSaqIVwWUQ.png)
Step 2 - Summarize your keywords into a pivot table
Pivot tables are great for summarizing large amounts of data.
Within Excel navigate to Insert > PivotTable to summarize your keyword report.
Once complete format your table as follows:
- Rows = Quality Score
- Values = Count of Keywords
- Filter = Quality score 1-10 (exclude —)
![reporting on google ads quality score in excel](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f4135a5a3110c668f7_AD_4nXdVoGw4oHCedRwVUacmkQnCVFS-M6o8ObhWUsfptWLWWxHsCCNm9XTEsVA-MHle-hPDKR52ZoSfgjL7F2Z3dJIw7vvXgVqcMQmG5CWFDGxQYCg1vVBgxwke2lQesSkOpdkgTzHR30kRQiZInGWjbaKUksgC.png)
Step 3 - Drill down to understand Quality Score performance
With your table setup now you can easily see overall quality score performance and drill down into specific elements such as ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR.
Switch your rows to drill down into each element of quality score to diagnose performance:
- Ad Relevance; rows = Ad Relevance, values = count of keywords
- Landing Page Experience; rows = Landing Page Experience, values = count of keywords
- Expected CTR; rows = Expected CTR, values = count of keywords
![ad relevance summary of quality score](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/669f67f4ea8e57f57c0613ce_AD_4nXcjOR0Oq7_QZQJmSB-20CtqryGKScrmSp6S1s2FCJjaDAIPx_LjyXhLrXa_AYuLQ99ypIGCgfzwcHq-9jTLc7rF8oxByd6TqPXmn4Aa_ifFC3ivOZdVTvf391fAyOPXDQriRVKGgSrMU6W_l6CUJ0Ra_vqV.png)
How to improve your Quality Score?
After completing your Google Ads Quality Score audit it should be pretty clear which factor of QS is hurting your performance? (ex: ad relevance, landing page experience, expected CTR).
Here’s some recommendations on how to improve each QS factor:
Improving Ad Relevance
Below average ad relevance is a symptom of poor ad group structure.
If you have below average ad relevance, fear not! Because this is 100% in your control.
Here’s some tips to improve your ad relevance:
- Add more headline variations to your responsive search ads to include the keywords within your ad groups.
- Keep your ad groups tightly grouped with thematic keywords, for the keywords that can’t fit the theme consider putting it into its own group with relevant copy.
- Consolidate your active keywords and remove below average ad relevance variations that are not receiving any worthwhile impressions or clicks.
Improving Landing Page Experience
Below average landing page experience is a symptom of poor post click experience.
If you’ve been neglecting your landing pages this is where it’s going to bite you.
Here’s some tips to improve landing page experience:
- Include your primary keyword in your headline 1 to match search intent and your ad copy.
- Run your landing page through PageSpeed Insights to find how you can improve the mobile and desktop experience.
- Follow on page SEO best practices and have proper headline, and content formatting. Remember Google will crawl your landing pages so make sure it’s technically sound.
- Install a session recording tool to see how users behave on your landing page, the insights here are invaluable at understanding gaps.
Improving Expected CTR
This is Google’s perception on how likely your ads will be clicked.
Unfortunately this aspect of Quality Score is the least in your control but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything you can do to improve it.
Here’s some tips to improve your expected clickthrough rate:
- Use as many ad extensions as possible (ex: sitelink, image, structured snippet, etc). Ad extensions provide more info to the searcher and make your ads larger.
- Test new RSA ad copy on a monthly basis to consistently try and improve your ad clickthrough rate performance on an ongoing basis.
- Monitor your account clickthrough rate trends month over month to combat negative trends. You can set up an automated rule within Google Ads to be notified automatically via email.
- Audit your search terms report and build your negative keyword lists. Block irrelevant impressions of your ads so that you can actually drive clicks.
- Experiment with dynamic keyword insertion to see if it positively affects your ad CTR.
Quality Score FAQ
How long does it take to improve your quality score?
Technically every time your keyword enters an auction quality score is recalculated to determine placement of your ad in relation to your competitors.
However in my experience it usually takes a month to see significant changes in your overall score.
Should you worry about low quality scores?
Yes, low quality scores should cause concerns but it shouldn’t be your initial priority. The first goal should be to drive relevant traffic and convert users.
If you’re not currently accomplishing this then stressing about quality score is pointless as it’s really only a factor of reducing your costs and improving visibility.
If you’re not already converting the visibility you do have, getting more of it won’t help.
What is a good quality score?
A good quality score will fluctuate depending on your keyword strategy but overall I’d recommend having 70% of enabled keywords in your account with a score > 7.
Just know this is highly circumstantial and if you’re running a competitive keyword strategy you will have lower quality scores by default given the difficulty of including your competitors in your ads.
Hope you found this article helpful! 🔥
Check out our video tutorial linked if you want a visual walkthrough.
Resources for mastering B2B advertising
If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion.
Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:
✅ 100% free access.
✅ Taught by vetted industry experts.
✅ Have workbooks, resources, and templates.
✅ Less than 10 minutes per lesson.
We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:
- Scale their ideas
- Level up their careers
- Make a positive impact
Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.
Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a9068a023d821f5162aacf_Blog%20Thumbnail%20-%20Google%20Ads%20Editor%202024_%20600x315.png)
How To Use The Google Ads Editor In 2024: Bulk Upload Campaigns, Ads & Keywords
There’s nothing worse than making bulk changes natively in Google Ads.
If you’re ready to save hours bulk uploading campaigns, ads, and keywords.
Mastering the Google Ads Editor is essential.
Let’s cover everything you need to know 👇
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- What is the Google Ads Editor?
- How to get started with the Google Ads Editor?
- How to bulk upload campaigns, keywords, and ads with the Google Ads Editor
60-second crash course on the Google Ads Editor
What is the Google Ads Editor?
It’s a free tool that you can install to update your campaigns offline including altering campaign settings, adjusting keyword bids, and creating new campaigns, ads, and ad groups.
Any serious Google advertiser uses the editor to save hours performing tedious tasks.
Make sure you download the latest version of the editor to follow along in this article.
How to get started with the Google Ads Editor?
After installation add your Google Ads account within the Account Manager and download all campaigns so you have the most recent version of your account.
![Google Ads Editor screenshot showing a pop-up for account downloads with a highlighted ‘Download’ button and red arrow.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698e1437027b2766e5d4fb1_AD_4nXfZLuSP2gT7QhRulD_q9SFf5kX9RcOFRQAuNRMwcN1QWk1BKPOGe0NGkm-JbdR0KFR-z3zX4ZhjGBDQj-abHAAZLE3jbh-1MT__WmzwOVakaJTUIHJmbkp_wThfjg6-BxnytboLc2uw2jv1bs9RjLhAaZNn.png)
The Google Ads Editor follows the same account structure:
Account > Campaign > Ad Group > Keyword > Ads
![Google Ads Editor screenshot showing Account, Campaigns, and Ad Groups sections with performance metrics like impressions, clicks, avg cpc and CTR.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698e143dc1b42b47b91f4ad_AD_4nXcwSYyeTzfjD8opdydS00uH-R4TReEJDWwlhU1wUiXGF-XeM9Oi12vVmuMRAQhqhQXa_hymETmf8pneyCfuKCM9keGFB95g5y5boVp8X1Ez-OmneRnkWzAR5hGHT3QnxteGEemWdchuVKsSpu96OZg1zBc.png)
Highly recommend using the Hide Empty Types filter to reduce irrelevant options visible.
How to bulk upload campaigns, keywords, and ads with the Google Ads Editor
The easiest way to bulk upload campaigns into the editor is using a google sheet template.
This template should have the following fields fields available (at minimum):
- Campaign
- Ad Group
- Keyword
Get a copy the example template below here <<
![A table template for Google Ads Editor Campaign Import. Columns include Campaign, Campaign Status, Ad Group, Keyword, Criterion Type, and Bid Strategy Type.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698e143bd62d8be959dd6fd_AD_4nXfeJpPY6sWXTjaBiGvZCmadmruy593E1CPcWwmfRyPbGXBGbJ6fFoXRELHemg-juJGXDPzDjXcg_WPfvkE9RT9U8MKSLJOrU8cz0nDIl36E08jSFTqR-QFuJGWgLp2UiP1H-qn5Le7jFke3QjzbuNBrTByd.png)
Once you have your template copy you’re ready to get started.
Step 1: configure your campaign import template
Fill in your import template with all the relevant campaign names, ad group, keywords, and ads.
Do not modify the column headers as these are meant to match the editors default fields.
Feel free to fill in whichever fields you find most relevant.
Step 2: Upload your campaign import template
Once you’ve completed setting up your campaign import template with all your relevant details it’s time to import your campaigns into the editor.
Navigate to Account > Import > Paste Text to begin the import process:
![A screenshot of Google Ads Editor interface showing the "Account" menu opened, highlighting the import option Paste Text feature.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698e143e4f6947a3e82a13a_AD_4nXfcC8cLFdATVxXu3zAEQJHw83lq7cvIFOzWdCby08CizGhCNQkDtE_T6zSEuUGHGwu-uWG3PaXHjMoKjcVlGM-PoXmNGe5Q_2EOfmTJIqW0RIlYZTBiPqQ1r0MbscUUdJJa-zCRfk4sg8FDeYqgw_wt8jsK.png)
Once complete copy all of the column headers and rows you filled in in your import template and paste them into the import from text window:
![Screenshot of Google Ads Editor import window with a table listing campaigns, statuses, and ad groups for software and cloud.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698e1432d08eee9f363c2cb_AD_4nXdOZxMNwGLIBf285z5pdgLWFFQfLB6hPJVY5jyynOwA0100_7HxIR6GsgM6761Sc8yn-NRdwVzQfPQ3RBgcCw1e1Qzvi5Zq7pruebSAK1m4S6DznGnPpCN4UgXr3Hxp7goglpmtoUr5p44jVwEcvagDCnJq.png)
Don’t worry about the blank “Not importing” columns this is due to the formatting of the import template I provided, instead review the fields that are filled in the column headers.
Make sure everything is looking accurate according to what you want to import.
Once complete click Process to import the campaigns, keywords, and ads.
Step 3: Configure your campaign settings and publish
After reviewing your changes make sure to select Keep in order to retain them.
Now you should have all of your campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and ads that you filled into your import template visible within the Google Ads Editor.
The final step is to configure your campaign and publish your changes.
Highlight each of your new campaigns at the sametime to apply the same campaign settings across of all them at once 🚀
![Screenshot of Google Ads Editor showing campaign settings in bulk. Lists campaigns with statuses and options to edit details like budget and bid strategy.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698e143a9d24c69df34b0fc_AD_4nXd2Z9igQodxchOjP7xSjK3l3sPKjbJPZS17k_cip5jt3OMIymuBZ98Tb10wQsA4jhJdIDD1AI08u6RitqSxt3atOsUCVQH7e8H16psYchwGshRRfANFXA_ej48618pO8ZTVEZ0w76y2AzS410alPrfUBM0i.png)
Review all available campaign settings and uncheck the Display Network for search.
If you don’t want your campaigns to spend when published, change the status to Paused.
Once your campaigns are ready to be published into your live Google Ads account.
Select Post > Post Changes > Selected Campaigns
That’s it! 🎉you’ve just saved hours and created campaigns in bulk.
Hope you found this article helpful, see you in the next one!
Resources for mastering B2B advertising
If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion.
Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:
✅ 100% free access.
✅ Taught by vetted industry experts.
✅ Have workbooks, resources, and templates.
✅ Less than 10 minutes per lesson.
We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:
- Scale their ideas
- Level up their careers
- Make a positive impact
Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.
Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66abf6490e91fa9e1efb52d8_Competitor%20Research%20Using%20Ad%20Libraries%20(2).jpg)
10 Tips for Free Competitor Research Using Ad Libraries
With so many different tools available for competitor research it can be a bit overwhelming.
I’ve lived and breathed paid ads over the past eight years, and in this article I’m going to share with you 10 tips on how to conduct competitor research for free using ad libraries.
Grab a notebook and let’s dive in!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Tip #1: Familiarise yourself with all the available ad libraries
- Tip #2: Leverage time and location filters
- Tip #3: Estimate platform demand by volume of creatives
- Tip #4: Build a swipe folder of ad inspiration
- Tip #5: Research brands in adjacent industries
- Tip #6: Build a matrix to document your competitors’ movements
- Tip #7: Build a checklist to uncover strategic insights
- Tip #8: Review the ad formats being used
- Tip #9: Clickthrough to review landing pages in use
- Tip #10: Review your competitors’ UTM string
Tip #1: Familiarise yourself with all the available ad libraries
The first step is to know what options you have available.
Here are the primary ad libraries available for the top 3 ad platforms:
LinkedIn Ad Library
![linkedin ad library interface screenshot](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698d7a4fcdcebc9e1e90925_AD_4nXfdsHq4NPGgWWbdcyYUy0ehp4OFLo--mjJIo045IhDHMRaesYDTP5pemRYVABmparQEXMuGWt3sTvw7c0CdJIA8p9rlY9erF4bd8c_oMnwhx4EHgAZ2dOZMPwyNWVxQhITSiSUB0giaZXEL678OtB7pIo4.png)
Meta Ads Library
![meta ads library interface screenshot](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698d7a4455c697ffaf7a0e3_AD_4nXednZ9q6jYI3V0OpBhePjiK5XdbmSI8MWYGaIQM0UnvU-YnUmPP9oUFtdF1lsK7pVhC01Z6oVtvCG0bEzPYzGwL_yW8-ZH4DQygOryVKZZjC8-vJzguWs1XqecCzYCNXr6qVklt5L_mj-nu0lEj0s25nrHz.png)
Google Ads Transparency Center
![google ads transparency center interface screenshot](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698d7a4a82c0205a6f7db4c_AD_4nXcgKZ8TEadci_sMvUCHArP5nXv40TD7T01jKphQJVYO3e-4zMBYlw9mSx2mJMh3n3PWX9Je6jn9dwp8F2h_pTqIBx8pvADRewklK9aRJUwscOqdmVbVYmbGlBpDRvTh8K2iIjgcvshCQytZSR2h_SHGsxrx.png)
Within each library you can study creatives for your competitors and relevant brands.
Using them on a quarterly basis to spy on your competitors is a key habit to develop.
Tip #2: Leverage time and location filters
You can filter by time and location within each ad library to understand:
- Which markets are my competitors investing in?
- How many creative variations are my competitors testing?
- Are they testing localised campaigns outside of english?
You won’t know exactly how much your competitors are investing but you can use the volume of ads as a proxy to estimate the level of investment, and interest for a given market.
If you spot certain markets where you’re finding organic traction AND you see your competitors have gone through the commitment of localising these regions,these are great signals for you to consider running a pilot campaign.
Tip #3: Estimate platform demand by volume of creatives
We touched on using the volume of as a proxy to estimate the level of investment for a market.
The same logic applies to also understanding the demand for a specific ad platform.
Let’s use a hypothetical example, imagine you see the following for your competitor:
- LinkedIn Ads = 20 active ad variations in the past month
- Meta Ads = 10 active ad variations in the past month
- Google Ads = 5 active ad variations in the past month
Based on the volume of ads you can assume LinkedIn could be their primary platform followed by Meta, and finally Google. Look up your competitors and take note of their volume of ads by platform.
You’ll never know with 100% certainty but it’s a good approximation for at least the effort they are expending on each channel, if not their level of success.
Pro tip: get buy-in from leadership to test new ad platforms by showing them how active your competitors are within those channels, this creates FOMO which is quite powerful.
Tip #4: Build a swipe folder of ad inspiration
A swipe folder is a simple collection of screenshots of ads, landing pages, and offers that stand out.
As you’re going through the ad libraries take note of the ads that catch your attention from competitors, relevant brands, and from scrolling through social platforms.
Inspiration comes from all sources and by building this swipe folder you can:
- Better communicate and share guidance with your creative team
- Avoid reinventing the wheel with tested concepts
- Reduce the time to produce new creatives
This can be as simple as a folder in a Google Drive, it doesn’t need to be complicated.
If you want to be organised about it you can also group ads by concept, such as:
- Social Proof
- Thought Leadership
- Product Marketing
The most important piece to takeaway from this is you have some sort of folder to refer to.
Pro tip: create a shared slack channel for people across teams to upload examples of great ads they come across to crowdsource inspiration.
Tip #5: Research brands in adjacent industries
Oftentimes your competitors might be behind the ball when it comes to advertising.
In these instances researching them won’t be very helpful or worthwhile.
Instead what you can do is research brands in adjacent industries, for example:
- eCommerce
- E-learning
- Retail
You can take what works in other industries and adjust it to fit in yours.
Creativity is often taking what works from one sphere and applying it to another.
Tip #6: Build a matrix to document your competitors’ movements
If you want to take your competitors’ research to the next level, build a documented matrix.
This can be as simple as:
- Competitor Namesome text
- Month/Year
- Channel
- Ad Count
It will take a bit of work to put this together but the primary benefit is you can now monitor your competitors’ activity by ad platform on a quarterly basis.
Here’s a simple example of what this can look like in Google Sheets:
![A dashboard displaying various tables and a bar chart.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6698d7a41f3c58961b53a951_AD_4nXeT0d8gSnNXfOSBAuIXpeh019TSfGeAefWb8fW8bkKB96kUfnTVJk33hj9SKiwmLz49RisaXYNCmAHJ9xXJpTXEiIx-ur0jqmMx49s3vhWMeusvNgkiMV55r2C2bEQRBhlLNNfgRNMzLu4Z-1mfNhMPwRLh.png)
Pro tip: if you’re looking for a role in paid media, do a competitor research analysis on the brand you’re applying for. It's a great way to differentiate yourself against other candidates.
Tip #7: Build a checklist to uncover strategic insights
When reviewing your competitors’ ads in the library you’ll want to think deeper than just the surface level of the styles and examples of ads in front of you to uncover strategic insights.
Create a simple checklist to remind yourself to think about:
- Are the ads running to gated or ungated content?
- Is there a mixture of content that focuses on demand creation or capture?
- What stage of the funnel are their ads focused on? (ex: ToFu, BoFu)
- What mixture of offers are they testing? (ex: Conferences, Webinars)
- Are they driving to a landing page or lead form?
Compare the insights you uncover against your current approach.
If you notice 3 of your competitors are promoting events and you’re not then it’s worth testing.
Tip #8: Review the ad formats being used
This was touched on slightly before but it deserves to be in its own tip.
As you’re reviewing competitors in the library take notes of the ad formats being used.
For example, when it comes to LinkedIn are they testing:
- Image
- Video
- Spotlight
- Carousel
- Document
- Conversation
If you notice a large volume of a certain ad format it’s safe to say it must be working.
Compare the formats they are using against your own to inspire future experiments.
For videos take special note of aspect ratio, short vs long form, and other nuances like humour.
Pro tip:assign your competitor research tasks to an intern or junior person as pulling these insights is quite time-consuming and can be done by an entry level team member.
Tip #9: Clickthrough to review landing pages in use
The remarkable thing about these libraries is that you can click through on the ad and view the landing pages your competitors are using. This insight is not otherwise easily discoverable.
This all of sudden opens up a lot of homework for you to perform landing page teardowns.
- What are the calls to action on the landing page?
- How is the page structured compared to yours?
- Do they have better social proof than you?
Now suddenly your swipe folder can be filled with print screens of their entire landing pages.
Which can be shared with your team to test new page variations.
Pro tip:
If you’re using Google Chrome you can use the extension called GoFullPage to take screenshots of entire pages with the click of a button.
Tip #10: Review your competitors’ UTM string
To close out on our final tip, I wanted to share a more advanced approach.
When you’re clicking through to the landing page of your competitors’ ads take note of the UTM string in place to potentially uncover insights on how they’ve set up their campaigns.
By reviewing the URL structure I might gather the following information:
- Network = g | they’re advertising on Google Search
- Device = c | they’re running ads on Desktop devices
- Keyword = crm software | they’re bidding on crm software
- Matchtype = e | they’re using exact match
![zoho.com crm landing page](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66aa66dbb032565634239bdc_6698d88ed60aaf099c9eaa68_url-review.gif)
Hope you found this article helpful! 👏
Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s keep the conversation going.
Resources for mastering B2B advertising
If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion.
Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:
✅ 100% free access.
✅ Taught by vetted industry experts.
✅ Have workbooks, resources, and templates.
✅ Less than 10 minutes per lesson.
We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:
- Scale their ideas
- Level up their careers
- Make a positive impact
Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.
Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)
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LinkedIn Ad Formats: How to Choose the Best One for Your Campaign
LinkedIn has become an essential platform for B2B marketers, offering a variety of ad formats designed to reach professionals and decision-makers.
But with so many options, how do you choose the right one for your campaign?
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into LinkedIn's diverse ad formats, uncovering detailed insights and actionable best practices.
Whether you're looking to increase brand visibility, generate quality leads, or drive traffic to your website, mastering LinkedIn's ad formats can give you a competitive edge in the market.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Overview of LinkedIn Ad Formats
- Single Image Ads
- Video Ads
- Carousel Ads
- Thought Leader Ads
- Text Ads
- Conversation Ads
- Message Ads
- Spotlight Ads
- Follower Ads
- Document Ads
- Lead Gen Forms
- Connected TV Ads
- How to Choose the Right Ad Format
- How to Measure Performance of Each Ad Format
Overview of LinkedIn Ad Formats
Selecting the right ad format depends on your marketing objectives and target audience.
Let’s explore each primary LinkedIn ad format in detail, and reference this article for all ad specs:
Single Image Ads
Single Image Ads are a staple of LinkedIn advertising.
These ads feature one static image and appear directly in the LinkedIn feed, making them highly visible and engaging.
- High engagement with minimal content.
- Simple to create and easy to manage.
![Two LinkedIn single image ads: Walnut ad shows a chick before and after product use; UserGems ad highlights tracking valuable buyers](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba737_669793ad9649cf4c7621d018_image-ads-example%2520(1).png)
Pro tip: Use images and copy that resonate with your target audience. The best-performing ones often use your Ideal Customer Profile's (ICP) language or even direct words. Remember, in B2B, we are still advertising to people, not to robots! 😃
Video Ads
Video Ads are perfect for storytelling and driving engagement.
They allow you to share dynamic content that captures attention and conveys your message effectively.
- Excellent for storytelling and capturing attention.
- Engaging format that can explain complex ideas
![LinkedIn video ad format for AdConversion promoting video on building a 7-figure ad agency with no fixed contracts or ad spend fees](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be53f33458c42baba733_669796fbafcf09e77ccbe077_video-ads-example1.png)
Pro tip: Video ads excel at both brand building and showcasing testimonials. They are particularly effective for demonstrating product functionality. Make sure to add subtitles, the videos usually autoplay on mute.
Carousel Ads
Carousel Ads allow you to showcase multiple images or videos in a single ad unit, each with its link.
This format is ideal for highlighting different aspects of a product or telling a story more interactively.
- Interactive format that encourages engagement.
- Multiple visuals to showcase different products or features.
![LinkedIn carousel ad format by ActiveCampaign highlighting customer growth testimonials and promoting a free 14-day trial.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba744_669799edafcf09e77ccd7730_carousel-ad-example%2520(1).gif)
Pro tip: Carousel ads can be used for explaining the product, showcasing use cases and features, or explaining customer success stories in the feed. Ensure you have a consistent flow across all cards.
Thought Leader Ads
Thought Leader Ads are a powerful way to build brand credibility and engage your audience by leveraging the influence of key figures within your organization.
These ads allow you to sponsor posts from your company's thought leaders, positioning them—and by extension, your company—as industry experts.
- Build Credibility: Sponsoring posts from thought leaders enhances your brand's authority and trustworthiness.
- Engagement: These ads typically receive higher engagement rates as audiences are more likely to interact with content from recognized industry experts.
- Content Variety: Showcase a variety of content, from personal insights to industry analysis, that resonates with your audience.
![Two LinkedIn Thought Leader ad formats: ActiveCampaign promotes CRM integration advice; Opteo highlights AI and automation for PPC agency growth.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba74b_6697a18f9d8349a5d2959955_thought-leader-example%2520(1).png)
3 tips for implementing thought leader ads:
- Authenticity: Ensure the content from thought leaders is authentic and reflects their genuine perspectives.
- Consistency: Regularly publish thought leadership content to maintain engagement and visibility.
- Interactive Content: Use content that encourages interaction, such as questions or calls to action, to drive higher engagement rates.
For more insights refer to 14 Powerful LinkedIn Thought Leader Ad Strategies Worth Testing.
Text Ads
Text Ads are simple yet effective.
They appear on the right-hand sidebar of LinkedIn and are great for driving traffic to your website or landing page.
- Cost-effective and easy to set up.
- Ideal for driving traffic to your website.
![linkedin text ads featuring Lokalise and Grammarly ads](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba73c_6697a7cab7f3723e29e53283_text-ad-example.png)
Pro tip: Text ads are very effective, allowing you to stay top of mind at a low cost in front of your target audience. Also, they always help to keep your logo in your ICP’s LinkedIn Feed.
Conversation Ads
Conversation Ads offer an interactive way to engage your audience by allowing recipients to choose their own path through multiple call-to-action buttons.
This format fosters engagement and ensures high visibility in LinkedIn Messaging inboxes.
- Highly engaging format that fosters engagement.
- High visibility in LinkedIn Messaging inboxes.
- Great for generating leads
![linkedin conversation ad format featuring Mutiny and Udemy Business ads](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba73f_6697a8b41f3beec28991d1d7_convo-ad-example.png)
Pro tip: Create engaging and relevant conversation flows tailored to your audience's needs and interests. The message subject can be a game changer for open rates! Also, try incentivized ads, sometimes they can work miraculously 🚀
Message Ads
Message Ads are direct messages sent to LinkedIn members’ inboxes, making them highly personal and effective for driving immediate action.
- High visibility in LinkedIn Messaging inboxes.
- Personalized and direct communication.
![linkedin message ad format](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba762_6697abdc2ae35900ccc14a16_message-ad-example.png)
Pro tip: Craft personalized messages that speak directly to your target audience’s pain points and offer clear, actionable solutions. Keep the tone to the one that your target audience is using.
Spotlight Ads
Spotlight Ads are personalized ads that appear on the right-hand side of the LinkedIn feed.
These ads use the viewer's LinkedIn profile data, such as their photo, company name, and job title, to dynamically personalize the ad content.
- Lower CPM and High Ad Recall
- Personalized Ad Content
Check out LinkedIn Spotlight Ads In 2024: Are They Worth The Investment? to dive deeper into this ad format.
![linkedin spotlight ad format featuring AdConversion ad](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba759_6697acd0dc571485ccf32568_spotlight-ad-example.png)
Pro tip: Spotlight ads are particularly effective for remarketing, allowing you to stay top of mind at a low cost in front of audiences that already know and trust your brand.
Follower Ads
Follower Ads help increase the number of followers for your LinkedIn page, promoting your company to a wider audience.
- Effective in promoting LinkedIn pages to acquire followers.
- Increases organic reach on LinkedIn.
![linkedin follower ad format featuring AdConversion ad](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba74f_6697ad51b3a02772453df86c_follower-ad-example.png)
Pro tip: Highlight the unique value your LinkedIn page offers to followers. Use eye-catching visuals and compelling copy that resonate with your target audience.
Document Ads
Document Ads allow you to share in-depth content directly within the LinkedIn feed.
You can share whitepapers, e-books, or case studies that members can view and download without leaving LinkedIn.
- Share in-depth content directly within the LinkedIn feed.
- Options to gate content with a Lead Gen Form to capture leads or share freely to build brand awareness.
![linkedin document ad format featuring Walnut ad](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba77f_6697af5085469bfb84800a02_document-ad-example%2520(1).gif)
Pro tip: Offer valuable content that addresses your audience's challenges or interests. Use a strong call-to-action to encourage downloads and interaction with your documents. Some say they prefer Document Ads to Carousel Ads because you can build retargeting audiences for Document ads.
Lead Gen Forms
Lead Gen Forms are a versatile tool that can be used with various ad formats to capture quality leads directly on LinkedIn. These forms are pre-filled with LinkedIn profile data, making it easy for users to submit their information.
- Captures quality leads with pre-filled forms.
- Provides a seamless user experience.
- Can be used for booking demos, downloading guides and templates, event registrations
![linkedin lead generation form](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba75d_6697afe899038583930f035b_lgf-example.png)
Pro tip: Minimize the number of fields in your form to reduce friction. Use pre-filled form fields to make it easier for users to submit their information quickly. Don’t use “work mobile” or “work email” because they are usually not pre-filled.
Connected TV Ads
Connected TV Ads allow you to reach professional audiences through streaming content.
These ads appear on connected TV platforms and are ideal for reaching a hard-to-reach professional audience in a large-screen environment.
- Reach professional audiences through streaming content.
- High visibility on large screens.
![linkedin connected tv ad format](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66a8be54f33458c42baba756_6697b115d846b8dcd88c3071_ctv-ad-example.png)
For detailed ad specifications and additional tips, check out 50+ Ad Specs for The Top 10 Ad Platforms.
How to Choose the Right Ad Format
Choosing the right LinkedIn ad format is crucial for achieving your marketing goals. Here’s a guide to help you align your campaign objectives with the most effective ad formats and measure their performance.
What's Your Primary Campaign Goal?
First, identify your primary campaign goal. Are you aiming to capture demand, create demand, accelerate open cases, or brand awareness?
How to Measure Performance of Each Ad Format
Effectively measuring the performance of your ad campaigns is key to optimizing and achieving your marketing goals.
Here are the KPIs and bidding recommendations for each ad format:
By aligning your ad formats with your campaign goals and following these tips for measuring performance, you can create more effective LinkedIn ad campaigns that drive results and maximize your ROI.
You can read more about Objectives and Bid strategies here.
Hope you found this article helpful! Connect with me on LinkedIn, and reach out with any questions.
Resources for mastering B2B advertising
If you’re serious about mastering B2B advertising then you definitely need to join 1,000+ B2B marketers leveling up their paid advertising skill sets in AdConversion.
Here’s 4 reasons why you should consider joining. Every one of our on-demand courses are:
✅ 100% free access.
✅ Taught by vetted industry experts.
✅ Have workbooks, resources, and templates.
✅ Less than 10 minutes per lesson.
We believe every marketer should know how to scale paid ads so they can:
- Scale their ideas
- Level up their careers
- Make a positive impact
Click Here to Join 1,000+ B2B Marketers Today and start leveling up your advertising skill set.
Takes < 90 seconds to sign up (seriously we timed it 😂)
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10 Expert Tips For Scaling Google Ads Demand Capture
Do you need to scale your paid search campaigns and find new ways to increase demand capture?
As the head of Marketing at Catalyst, I build and mentor teams to maximize ROI in paid ad channels including Google.
Here’s my top 10 tips & tactics to scale your Google ads efforts.
(In no particular order, they all matter)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Tip #1 - Leverage Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI)
- Tip #2 - Tap into Device & Location Bid Modifiers
- Tip #3 - Shift Towards Smart Bidding ASAP
- Tip #4 - Sync Your CRM with Google Ads
- Tip #5 - Steer Away From Broad Match As Much As Possible
- Tip #6 - Take Advantage of the Google Ads Editor
- Tip #7 - Lean on Google Ads Script & Rules
- Tip #8 - Exclude Search Partners & Display Network
- Tip #9 - Install Behavioral Analytics Tools for Landing Page Optimizations
- Tip #10 - Consider Bing as a Second Demand Capture Channel
Tip #1 - Leverage Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI)
DKI is a powerful method to improve the relevancy of your ads based on user search terms.
When managing ad groups with multiple keywords on a similar theme, this technique ensures that you are displaying ads that closely align with users' query terms.
![Google Ads interface with options for keyword insertion, countdown insertion, and location insertion in ad creation.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6696905926c83d362f3c5312_AD_4nXcTeKHNFMUsKrQmBvOOrKA7UJ11AMM6MjwcFh9vnGgutQM24GbLL9vcpaFsbemkIbV0tH_WQJ9MuNRDfB_6bU1XJEEGocphtrblv_eg7yQ40Uhi8o_rWhMlWBGt2HblT8DubZIxn-DzLlDXu23hOhYn7Rby.png)
How Dynamic Keyword Insertion Works:
DKI automatically updates the ad’s headline to include the exact keywords that triggered the ad.
This way, the ad's first impression is highly relevant to the user's search, which improves overall engagement.
Even a slight increase in click through rate (CTR) can impact the performance of a campaign by driving more traffic to the landing page.
Best Practices for Using Dynamic Keyword Insertion:
Prioritize the First Headline: Always aim to have the first headline of your ad matches as closely as possible to the user’s search query.
Group Keywords by Theme: Make DKI more effective by grouping your keywords by themes.
There are generally 6 buckets of themes for search ads:
- Brand
- Non-brand
- Competitive
- RLSA (Search Remarketing)
- Content
- Dynamic Search Ads
With this organization, DKI can create more coherent ads that display the most relevant headline for each bucket.
Tip #2 - Tap into Device & Location Bid Modifiers
A critical aspect often overlooked in Google ads is the optimization of device and location modifiers.
For most B2B SaaS campaigns, the quality of traffic can vary significantly across different devices.
Desktop vs. Mobile vs. Tablet:
Typically, desktop traffic yields the highest quality in terms of conversion rates and user intent.
Users on desktops are generally more engaged and possibly in a professional setting, compared to mobile users who might be multitasking or browsing casually.
Tablets often perform the worst in terms of conversion rates and traffic quality, which is why many advertisers choose to exclude them entirely from campaigns.
Strategic Use of Location Modifiers:
If you target several states or countries, you should modify your bids based on the areas that perform best.
This could mean adjusting bids upward in high-performing regions to capture more traffic or decreasing bids in lower-performing areas to conserve budget.
In extreme cases, you can exclude low-performing regions altogether.
![Google Ads interface showing location settings with options for targeting and location exclusions.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66969059b8ba2cda5f3195c5_AD_4nXfOkjNtzHoAnBrILxuZWorvTxwXgj66PYPdUc1o5PGyu_n2jWYIPUi2R7gVJHvyrSF3IyVp4xsdq-_q_RhKxG6menvBfO3C2oPP79mnLkLwcRDx0rOdukkYmtHYQ600E8rKQl-lrN0Rm-9c3uLlixTvHhAj.png)
![google ads location settings with targeted locations and bid adjustments for the United States and Canada.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66969059af7c8f6d89ebf493_AD_4nXepDXUed7wNX56ag5Zmqmg_ldanHM6QZLp8_Hu6WTdPpXyeD1702ZcgVBIwgI3i-mJtcBk9qEv_yYYARRZ6wZxmsy4b0NWdCa0qCI5y33Za6WDOzVpU7BgUZC8fbwlOIi8QdB6oEZ30bYmJmIwY7mp8is9g.png)
Pro Tip:
Start with a conservative approach focused on proven strategies. As results come in and budget allows, gradually introduce new variables and expand your focus to optimize the overall campaign performance. Maintain detailed records of campaign performance across different devices and platforms. This data will be invaluable for making informed decisions about where to allocate resources most effectively.
Tip #3 - Shift Towards Smart Bidding ASAP
Smart bidding strategies can help improve campaigns’ performance by focusing on conversions rather than clicks.
The Maximum Conversion strategy is particularly effective, as it lets Google optimize your bids to meet a specific CPA target, ideal for campaigns with regular conversions.
![Google Ads settings page showing bidding options with target CPA set at $510 for conversion focus.](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/66969059af7c8f6d89ebf48f_AD_4nXdthps4f520uYhShDtPGj59C-7zLo5dp0iCJq8hqgnQ94GSI88VcWhmUjDZd-SpaDG4TmVq_uRT2uCEEP4RySGL4eShXGE0nJAD9AYci63h1pbr1Ske2pVgvVBvsx5qp3oLGdu_DgtR-3Y7pTlOHl8lgImW.png)
Key Considerations for Smart Bidding:
Google recommends having at least 30 conversions per month to effectively utilize Target CPA.
However, for campaigns with lower conversion rates, setting a minimum threshold of 10-15 conversions can still be sufficient.
Ensure that your conversions are properly set up and that Google receives clear signals about which conversions to prioritize by setting specific values for each conversion action.
This is crucial for smart bidding algorithms to function properly, as mixed signals can dilute the focus of your campaign optimization.
Pro Tip:
For businesses, especially in B2B sectors where conversion volumes are low, it's important to track higher funnel events. These can include engaged visits, interaction with forms, and even form abandonment. Each of these steps can be set through Google Tag Manager (GTM), providing richer data for optimization. Apply a structured conversion funnel that captures various stages of user engagement. From initial website interaction to form submissions or CRM entries, each stage should be defined and tracked as separate conversion events. You can then design custom goals and bundle your conversion actions together to add them to your campaigns.
![google ads goals summary with custom goals and conversion actions across 16 campaigns](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6601a492b79719ea9b76ea80/6696905940ca889011f868d2_AD_4nXe1fqjplCBhOmWb52a6vLPbvUocpIJ1KKjkJyOmy5YC7PioV2TP860kAjgGFvI_B_BS9yK6WOW7iolnh6B_ybLqphOc4ccrVnqNfZ1KuC4-Ht4WtZi96Cfn0PemLK2X6kIR2blQZN5pRMiuIc6w-dVxRa4Y.png)
Tip #4 - Sync Your CRM with Google Ads
Performance marketers thrive on optimizing for meaningful conversions. It will take emotions out of the decision-making process.
Integrating CRM lifecycle stages into Google Ads can profoundly impact your ad optimization and overall marketing strategy.
By linking stages such as MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), SQL (Sales Qualified Lead), opportunities, and customer status directly from a CRM platform like HubSpot, you enable a more nuanced and powerful approach to ad targeting and bid adjustments.
How to Implement Your CRM Sync:
Depending on your CRM system, various tools and plugins can facilitate this integration. Ensure that the tool you choose can sync data reliably and in real-time to maintain accuracy in your campaigns.
Define which CRM milestones are important for your campaigns and set Google Ads to track these as conversions
Use the data from your CRM to set up automation rules in Google Ads. For example, you could decrease bids or pause campaigns if the cost per SQL exceeds a certain threshold, ensuring you maintain profitability.
Regularly review the data flow and synchronization between Google Ads and your CRM to ensure accuracy. Adjust your strategies based on new insights and continually refine your approach to improve outcomes.
Tip #5 - Steer Away From Broad Match As Much As Possible
Broad match can drive a high volume of traffic due to its extensive reach. This can result in a large number of conversions, which initially might seem cost-effective.
However, the quality of these conversions often needs to be revised when scrutinized more deeply in the sales funnel.
Despite lower upfront costs, the conversions from broad match often fail to convert into valuable leads or sales.
They may also attract clicks from irrelevant queries, leading to wasted ad spend and diluted performance metrics.
Best Practices for Keyword Match Types:
Phrase match offers a balance by allowing your ad to show only when a searcher's query includes the exact phrase or close variations of the phrase, in the same order. This strikes a better balance between reach and relevance, providing more control than Broad match type.
Exact match targets queries that are much closer to the keywords.
While this reduces reach, it increases the relevance and quality of traffic, making it ideal for targeting high-intent users and optimizing conversion rates.
Regardless of the match type used, a comprehensive negative keyword list is crucial.
Finally, test different match types to see what works best for your specific campaigns. This could mean comparing the performance of Phrase match versus Exact match or testing different variations of your keywords.
Tip #6 - Take Advantage of the Google Ads Editor
Google Ads Editor is an indispensable tool for marketers aiming to streamline their campaign management processes.
This desktop application allows users to manage their Google Ads campaigns offline, offering robust functionalities for bulk editing and optimization.
Google Ads Editor is particularly advantageous for managing large accounts with numerous campaigns and extensive lists of keywords.
Best Practices for Using Google Ads Editor:
Develop a standardized template with predefined columns and settings that align with your campaign's requirements.
This setup ensures that you can quickly import data from spreadsheets directly into Google Ads Editor without compatibility issues.
Always synchronize Google Ads Editor with your online account to ensure all changes are up-to-date and to avoid discrepancies between offline edits and online status.
Before uploading changes to the live environment, use the review function to ensure accuracy and prevent potential errors from impacting your campaigns.
While Google Ads Editor is incredibly powerful, it does have a learning curve.
Invest time in learning its features and shortcuts.
Tip #7 - Lean on Google Ads Script & Rules
Automation is a key component in optimizing campaigns. Google Ads scripts and rules offer powerful tools to automate routine tasks and strategic operations.
Scripts allow for advanced, customized automation that can modify bids, pause ads, or adjust budgets based on specific conditions.
Rules can be set to trigger based on performance metrics such as CTR, conversion rates, or cost per acquisition.
For example, automatically increasing the budget for high-performing campaigns or reducing bids for underperforming keywords helps maintain efficient spending.
Utilize scripts to automatically apply a tracking template across all campaigns, incorporating dynamic elements like campaign and ad group names.
This will detach personal bias from campaign management. Scripts and rules operate based on data, not preference, enabling objective decisions that focus solely on performance metrics.
You must regularly review the outcomes of automated actions. Automation is powerful, but it requires oversight to ensure it aligns with changing campaign goals and market conditions.
Tip #8 - Exclude Search Partners & Display Network
When managing Google Ads, especially for substantial budgets, it's crucial to ensure that every dollar spent is driving quality traffic and conversions.
A common oversight is not excluding search partners and the display network from search campaigns.
While these features can increase visibility, they often compromise the quality of traffic and the overall effectiveness of your campaigns.
Understanding the Impact by Network:
Including Search Partners and Display Networks can inflate your impressions without a corresponding increase in clicks.
This dilution of CTR can harm your campaign's overall performance metrics, misleading you about its effectiveness.
Google's quality score is a critical metric in determining your ad rank and the cost per click (CPC) you pay.
A lower CTR resulting from irrelevant impressions on search partners and display networks can decrease your quality score, leading to higher costs and reduced ad placement.
Pro Tip:
Conduct regular audits of your Google Ads accounts to identify any inefficiencies or overlooked settings that could be draining your budget or diminishing your campaign’s effectiveness. While Google may provide recommendations, always assess them critically in the context of your specific campaign goals and historical data. Consider experimenting with settings on a smaller scale before applying them broadly, especially when dealing with large budgets. This cautious approach allows you to gather data and make informed decisions based on actual performance metrics.
Tip #9 - Install Behavioral Analytics Tools for Landing Page Optimizations
One of the most effective strategies for enhancing landing page effectiveness is to implement behavioral analytics tools, such as Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity.
These tools provide deep insights into how users interact with your page, allowing for data-driven improvements.
The Importance of Behavioral Analytics:
Most of these tools offer features like heatmaps, scroll tracking, and session recordings that reveal how users interact with your landing page.
You can identify which parts of the page attract the most attention and where users lose interest.
You can make informed decisions about layout adjustments, content placement, and calls to action.
For instance, if users frequently abandon a form, you might simplify it or adjust its placement on the page to increase completion rates.
Use the insights gathered to A/B test different versions of your landing page.
Pro Tip:
Before implementing any changes based on behavioral data, be clear about what you’re trying to improve. Having specific goals will guide your optimization efforts, whether it's increasing time spent on the page, reducing bounce rate, or boosting form submissions. Combine quantitative data from analytics tools with qualitative feedback from user surveys or feedback forms. Keep a detailed record of all changes made and the results they yield. This documentation will help you understand what works, what doesn’t, and how future landing pages can be designed for maximum impact.
Tip #10 - Consider Bing as a Second Demand Capture Channel
To extend the reach of your successful Google Ads campaigns without significantly increasing your budget, consider importing your best campaigns into Bing Ads.
Bing, while smaller than Google, still captures a unique audience segment that may not overlap completely with Google users. This can increase your campaign's overall reach and exposure.
Generally, competition on Bing is lower than Google Ads, leading to lower cost-per-click (CPC) rates.
Hope you found these 10 tips helpful!
For more tips or to connect, please reach out via LinkedIn.
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