{"id":10007,"date":"2023-06-21T14:53:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T14:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/"},"modified":"2023-06-21T14:53:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T14:53:45","slug":"3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/","title":{"rendered":"3 simple PPC optimizations you may have overlooked"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/guide\/what-is-paid-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PPC<\/a> pros, we\u2019re trained to look for new ways to optimize our PPC programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in this quest, our natural bias is to focus on the big stuff, like revamping account structures or updating landing pages. These projects can make a real difference in performance but take time to complete.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, not every optimization has to be a weeks-long project. Some optimizations are relatively quick and simple but can still pack a punch. Here are three you may have overlooked.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#1_Reevaluate_Microsoft_Ads\" >1. Reevaluate Microsoft Ads<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#The_context\" >The context<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#Moving_away_from_Microsoft\" >Moving away from Microsoft<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#2_Rethink_retargeting\" >2. Rethink retargeting\u00a0<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#The_context-2\" >The context<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#Retargeting_with_a_limited_budget\" >Retargeting with a limited budget<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#3_Revisit_sitelinks\" >3. Revisit sitelinks\u00a0<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#The_context-3\" >The context<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/3-simple-ppc-optimizations-you-may-have-overlooked\/#Optimization_doesnt_have_to_be_long_or_complex\" >Optimization doesn\u2019t have to be long or complex<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Reevaluate_Microsoft_Ads\"><\/span>1. Reevaluate Microsoft Ads<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Many advertisers only advertise on Google networks, where competition can be high. In contrast, fewer advertisers are on Microsoft Ads. <\/p>\n<p>With less competition, some advertisers effectively squeezed out of Google Ads can still get some traction on Microsoft. It\u2019s one reason I\u2019ve always advocated for Microsoft Ads.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>True, the volume of leads and sales we get for our clients with Microsoft Ads is typically only 5% to 10% of what we get from our Google programs. But still, that\u2019s not an insignificant amount, especially for B2Bs in competitive spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But unfortunately, Microsoft Ads is changing \u2013 and not for the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_context\"><\/span>The context<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Earlier this year, Microsoft <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/microsoft-revises-multi-channel-advertising-approach-and-discontinues-bid-modifiers-for-audience-ads-392594\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> that the Microsoft Audience Network is now integrated with their search network. You have no option but to advertise in both spaces. You can\u2019t opt out of one or the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, <a href=\"https:\/\/about.ads.microsoft.com\/en-us\/blog\/post\/february-2023\/maximizing-the-power-of-search-intent-with-microsoft-advertising?feed=blogposts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Microsoft touts the value of being in both networks<\/a>, writing:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve conducted studies across accounts that are running search and audience traffic to understand the incremental value for advertisers. We found that advertisers maximize performance and drive lift when combining their Microsoft Search and Audience Network efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In theory, this sounds great. I\u2019ve always believed in future-proofing your brand with campaigns that grow awareness \u2013 so it\u2019s not like I have anything against the Microsoft Audience Network. <\/p>\n<p>But still, I would much prefer to control the terms of how I advertise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When Microsoft made this change, it initially didn\u2019t seem like a big deal. Microsoft assured us that while we couldn\u2019t opt out of the Audience network, we could add a few main exclusions to cover us. <\/p>\n<p>So everything would be okay, right?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Moving_away_from_Microsoft\"><\/span>Moving away from Microsoft<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>At the time of this writing, this change took place about three months ago. <\/p>\n<p>Some of our client accounts remain largely unaffected. But one of our larger accounts is hurting and <strong>bad<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite daily monitoring and updating of site exclusions, we haven\u2019t been able to turn things around. <\/p>\n<p>No matter what we do, Microsoft keeps increasing impressions and ad spend on the Audience Network, with little to show for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Performance has been so dismal we\u2019re at the point of recommending that this client funnel their Microsoft Ads budget to Google or LinkedIn instead.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Rethink_retargeting\"><\/span>2. Rethink retargeting\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Retargeting (now known as <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-ads-similar-audience-segments-transition-393725\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Audience Segments<\/a>) may seem a little 2010. But it is still around because it\u2019s a great way to re-engage with someone previously engaged with you.<\/p>\n<p>However, retargeting is widely underutilized and a little bit misunderstood.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_context-2\"><\/span>The context<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t refreshed your thinking about retargeting recently, here are three reminders about how to optimize it:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Narrow your focus<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Retargeting has been around for so long that we forget it\u2019s not just a way to reach people who have previously visited a website.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can also retarget people who\u2019ve viewed a <strong>particular<\/strong> video on your YouTube channel, <strong>any<\/strong> video on your YouTube channel, or your video ad (or some combination of the three) \u2013 making it even more targeted.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see from the image below, you have multiple targeting options, from website visitors to app users to YouTube users and more:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Add exclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget to exclude audiences that you don\u2019t want to retarget. These could be:<\/p>\n<p>People who have already converted.<\/p>\n<p>Past customers who are unlikely to purchase again.<\/p>\n<p>Audiences who aren\u2019t relevant to the category of solutions or services you\u2019re promoting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unless your business is very narrow with one point of focus (e.g., you sell only one product to one type of audience), you should never target all previous website visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Audit your audiences regularly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Retargeting isn\u2019t \u201cset and forget.\u201d As your business changes and grows, you\u2019ll need to update the audiences you target accordingly. Have you added a new service line or adjusted your target market? Make sure those changes are reflected in the audiences you target.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Retargeting_with_a_limited_budget\"><\/span>Retargeting with a limited budget<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We applied these strategies recently when a B2B client gave us a special launch budget to create awareness for a new product.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The budget wasn\u2019t huge. So rather than retargeting people who had visited the client\u2019s website, we retargeted people who had watched a video of the new product in action \u2013 a much smaller segment of prospective customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The result? This strategy worked extremely well for this client \u2013 and at a very reasonable cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Revisit_sitelinks\"><\/span>3. Revisit sitelinks\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Like retargeting, sitelinks have also undergone a recent name change, now known as \u201cassets\u201d instead of \u201cextensions.\u201d Whatever they\u2019re called, they remain my favorite ad extension.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_context-3\"><\/span>The context<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Like retargeting, sitelinks are ripe for optimization. Many advertisers fail to optimize them in three ways:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not quickly fixing disapproved sitelinks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Every PPC Pro knows that ads can get disapproved. Most of us monitor and address these disapprovals promptly.<\/p>\n<p>But just like ads, sitelinks can also be disapproved. Unfortunately, the reporting of disapproved sitelinks isn\u2019t nearly as obvious, and they\u2019ll often go unnoticed until an account is audited.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not turning off automated sitelinks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Turning off automated sitelinks is another way to optimize. We do this as a matter of course whenever we onboard new clients. <\/p>\n<p>Generally, we don\u2019t like to give Google permission to create content on our behalf. At a minimum, we want the opportunity to review and approve.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say that Google creates <strong>bad<\/strong> sitelinks, exactly. It\u2019s just that, in our experience, Google-created sitelinks rarely align with our client\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not implementing a sitelink strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As hinted above, you want your sitelinks to support your goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If one of your goals is to sell products, you should create sitelinks to support that goal. Maybe you could use them as a way to upsell or cross-sell products.<\/p>\n<p>However, even if sales is your primary goal, you don\u2019t want to overdo it. Not every sitelink has to be (or should be) sales-y.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Save some sitelinks to grow brand awareness or tell people about your new product. Use them to provide helpful information, such as links to educational webinars or other events.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Optimization_doesnt_have_to_be_long_or_complex\"><\/span>Optimization doesn\u2019t have to be long or complex<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Optimization is a never-ending task. But that doesn\u2019t mean every optimization must be difficult or time-consuming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes minor changes, whether that\u2019s shifting budget from one platform to another or retargeting a slightly different audience group, can happen in mere minutes \u2013 as these three examples prove.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/ppc-optimizations-simple-overlooked-428397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3 simple PPC optimizations you may have overlooked<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As PPC pros, we\u2019re trained to look for new ways to optimize our PPC programs.\u00a0 But in this quest, our natural bias is to focus on the big stuff, like revamping account structures or updating landing pages. These projects can make a real difference in performance but take time to complete.\u00a0 Fortunately, not every optimization has to be a weeks-long project. Some optimizations are relatively quick and simple but can still pack a punch. Here are three you may have overlooked. 1. Reevaluate Microsoft Ads Many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}