Author: Nils Rooijmans

A few people have asked me the same question this month…

“What should a PPC expert measure/report?”

That is the wrong question.

The right question is:

“What does the client/boss measure?”

– Nils

PS: Personally, I take a lot of time to convince my clients that only three numbers truly matter: Google Ads spend, the Return, and my invoice. The specific ‘Return’ differs per client but is almost always either ‘Revenue’ or ‘Profit’.

Ever thought about getting rid of some expensive product feed management platforms that do not create that much value?

I am currently in the midst of a process like this.

Luckily, Kirk Williams has some great advice on how to do so without tanking results:

1. Start the new feed container before you get rid of the old container. (Best to let them run next to each other for a few months before shutting the old one down.)
2. Don’t migrate all products at once. Start with some middle-of-the-road products that do show significant volume, but aren’t in your top segments.
3. Make sure the item IDs in the new feed match the IDs from the old feed.
4. Make as many as possible feed attributes in the new feed match the data in the old feed.

Here’s the link to Kirk’s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitlnnP0_fc

Be sure to check out some of his earlier vids too, all great stuff!

– Nils

– Nils

Are you sending traffic to the best landing pages?

To answer this question, I like to periodically review the mapping between search terms and the “post-ad-click” landing pages.

The easiest way to do this is by creating a Google Ads custom report that shows a table like the one below:

Here’s how to do this in less than 3 minutes:

1. Go to Reports (upper right corner)
2. Create a custom report
3. Add as row: ‘search term’, ‘ad group’, and ‘ad final url’
4. Add as column: ‘clicks’, ‘conversions’, and ‘conv rate’

To analyze the data:

5. Download as Excel CSV file
6. Create table, sort by clicks, and then sort by search term

This way, you can easily find search terms that generate clicks to more than one lander, and decide on which lander is best.

Pausing keywords in ad groups and/or adding negative keywords will help you direct traffic to the optimal lander.

PRO TIP: Share this report with your client every once and a while to see if they know of any better landing pages for the top 100 search terms. This is especially valuable for retailers with lots of different product category pages and product detail pages. 

EXTRA PRO TIP: You can use a tool like easylanding.io to easily edit any text or images on your landing page in a WYSIWYG editor.

– Nils

PS: if you like this post, be sure to check out my Google Ads Script for Negative Keyword Suggestions.

Here’s my 6-stage cycle you can use to increase your PPC productivity and freedom without wasting a lot of time and money:

1. Define your PPC goals 
Be concrete, be specific, and don’t be shy about the numbers.

2. Eliminate
Remove all the tasks that don’t significantly move the needles for what you defined in the previous step. Be relentless; remove more than what feels comfortable. You should also apply this at the PPC account level — remove campaigns, ad groups, and keywords that only bring complexity but little results.

3. Document
Create a written Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for anything you do more than once. Think negative keyword management, tinkering with budgets, smart bidding targets, feed optimization, and ad copy testing. Start with the easy stuff — this allows you to prove the value of SOPs to yourself (and your team). Don’t try to document everything at once. Take small incremental steps. Improve the SOP every time you use it.

4. Delegate 
Bring in one or more contractors to run your SOPs for you. Make sure that they know they are allowed to improve the SOP as long as they update the SOP to reflect their changes and ask you for feedback.

5. Automate
Set up software automations to replace your contractors. This could be as simple as using automated rules, plugging systems together with no-code solutions like Zapier for reporting, or hiring a developer to write a Google Ads script for you.

6. Liberate
The ultimate goal is freedom — both geographical and from the traditional 9-to-5 structure. Work from anywhere, anytime you want. This flexibility allows you to focus on what’s really meaningful for your account, for your client, for your business, for you, and for your loved ones.

This brings me to Brian Dyson, the former CEO of Coca-Cola, who once said:

“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends, and spirit, and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls — family, health, friends, and spirit — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered.” 

– Nils

“A PPC expert is someone who, after many years, manages to remain confident enough to ABT and humble enough to keep learning.”

ABT = Always Be Testing.

Here’s a helpful model for this:

SOURCE: https://www.kaizenko.com/the-dreyfus-model-of-skills-acquisition/

– Nils

Here’s a question I get a lot:

“I’ve been running my shopping campaigns (or PMax) for some time now. How do I scale?” 

Multiple answers here, but Ed Leake summed it up pretty nicely:

– Nils

PS:

This diagram is part of the God Tier Ads framework. If you join God Tier Ads, you will also become part of an online community of PPC enthusiasts like Ed and me, where all members help you answer questions like the one above. If you want to simplify account management, take back control, and improve results (or get your money back): sign up for Ed’s God Tier Ads.

Use my discount code “NILS100” at checkout for $100 off. Pay once, get lifetime access to everything.

I’d still share these tips without the kickback. Ed’s pro tips have made me way more money than I’ll ever see from commissions, but a few extra bucks is nice!

Here’s the link again: https://app.godtierads.com/gta-bonus-bundle/apnnu

We PPC-ers sure love to fiddle with text cases, don’t we?

Title Case for Headlines.
Sentence case for descriptions.
lowercase for keywords.
UPPERCASE for crazy experiments.

Imagine how many hours of your creative genius have been squandered over the years, pressing Shift and all that.

What a waste!

Here’s a Chrome extension that will save you a ton of clicks and keyboard strokes. It easily lets you select text and change its case.

Simply Select That Headline In The Google Ads UI And Change It To Title Case With A Single Click.

Go check it out:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/change-case/lpakoahdokkkonadfppfgmednkknpgbm?hl=en

– Nils

PS: Here’s a screenshot of what it will look like when you use it.

Last week, the folks behind PPCSurvey.com released the list of Most Influential PPC Experts 2024.

Guess what? I made it to the Top 10!

A big thank you to all of you who expressed their confidence in me. 

And a big thank you too to the team behind the survey, and to all the others on the list who care to share!

Be sure to check out all the other PPC Pros on the list; the content they share is worth every byte in gold.

Here’s the link: https://www.ppcsurvey.com/top-50-most-influential-ppc-experts-2024

– Nils

When thinking about your assets (formerly known as ‘ad extensions’), did you know:

“The Google Ads system generally won’t allow ads in lower positions to get more incremental clicks from assets than the incremental clicks they’d get from moving up to a higher position. 

To show ads in higher positions, generally you need to increase your ad quality, bid, or both.“

AND

“You will not be able to get a combination of assets which gives more expected click-through-rate (CTR) than the expected CTR of a higher ad position.“

SOURCE: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7331111?hl=en

Here’s the thing: you can improve the quality of your assets as much as you want, but if your ad position isn’t high enough, it won’t bring you much.

I guess we’ll have to “pay to play” when it comes to showing what we’ve got?

– Nils

Do you want to increase control and efficiency in your accounts?

If so, please join Daniel Alvarado (CEO of White Shark Media) and me on Thursday, April 25, at 11 AM EDT.

Discover how to regain control and improve your efficiency by strategically implementing Google Ads scripts.

This session is for you if you want to get inspired by many examples of the scripts I use in my accounts, or if you are a complete beginner and want to know how to get started with Google Ads scripts.

This session is NOT for you if you already are familiar with scripts, have them running in your account, and already have seen many examples (e.g., the ones in my list with over 400 scripts).

SIGN UP HERE -> Registration Link

– Nils

Let’s talk e-bikes.

For some, it’s the way to feel the wind in their hair without turning every ride into the Tour de Sweat.

For others, they’re the urban equivalent of raging bulls, but with less sound and fewer apologies.

For the young, e-bikes are the express lane to freedom, adventure, and the occasional humble brag on social media.

For the old, it’s just a way to get that extra push to keep moving.

Different audiences.

Different needs.

Here’s the thing: for the same search terms, your product might show completely different conversion rates for different age segments.

You might be making tons of money on pensionados, while at the same time wasting buckets of (bit)coins on millennials.  

If that’s happening in your account, you want to be in the know and take action.

Here’s an easy way to automatically cut spend on age segments that don’t convert: create an automated rule! 

PPC automation FTW!

– Nils

Interested to learn how 1,135 PPC specialists and their managers feel about their work, the ad platforms, priorities, campaign types, budget expectations, generative AI, tooling, and much more?

If so, check this out: https://www.ppcsurvey.com/

It offers 60+ pages of free, detailed insider information that you won’t find anywhere else. 

Released last week.

Here’s my favorite graph:

Any surprises for you in this list?

– Nils

Today has been a lot of fun, mostly because of all the crazy responses I got to yesterday’s email (provided below for your convenience).

Many of you responded with some interesting quotes from people I’ve never heard of. 

Some of you asked ChatGPT or some other LLM for the answer.  This (surprisingly?) has proven to be a task that is still outside of LLMs’ league — none got it right.

And then, there were a few of you who got it right. Congrats to Ignasi Thio, Gabriel Bradly, Gideon Robert , Martin Mayer, and Lee Duncan for getting it right!

Johan Cruijf had famously said:

“Voetbal is een simpel spelletje, maar simpel voetballen blijkt erg moeilijk”

Just to show you an example of what I was talking about in the Google Ads context: what about automatically pausing your campaigns when your website is down? Simple task, right?

At least, it should be simple. However, how to actually do this within Google Ads isn’t that simple at all.

Seriously… how do you do it?

Here’s my solution: https://nilsrooijmans.com/daily/free-script-to-pause-campaigns-automatically-when-a-site-is-down

– Nils

PS: As promised, here’s a link to yesterday’s email –> https://nilsrooijmans.com/daily/a-simple-thing

“Google Ads is simple. Yet, playing the Google Ads game simply often turns out to be a very difficult thing.”

The first three (non-Dutch) responders who know the origin of this quote will get a free copy of the PRO version of my latest script: https://nilsrooijmans.com/google-ads-script-automated-gpt-keyword-suggestions/

For this, you can email me at nils@nilsrooijmans.com. 🙂

– Nils

PS: For all Dutch responders, I’ve got something even better — free drinks at the next SEA Borrel (11 April, Amsterdam). Sign up here: https://seaborrel.nl

Last month, I sent out an email requesting my newsletter subscribers to participate in this year’s PPC Salary Survey.

If you participated in the survey, on behalf of Duane (the driving force behind the initiative) and myself: a big Thank You!

Data like this gives us PPC peepz some bargaining power!

You can (re)negotiate salary for your current role (or a new one) with your employer, or use it in negotiations with a new employer.

Last week, Duane shared the results. Here you go:

Final Report: PPC Salary Survey 2024
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpFnUIXryxwY9PavADu5lfkm3X8QW9yu/view

– Nils

– Nils

Are you in high ticket lead gen?

If so, adding new highly relevant keywords with clear intent might be the best way to scale your account.

Here’s my current favorite keyword research strategy to do just that: ask ChatGPT.

Don’t simply ask it for keywords based on a vague description of the thing you are selling. Ask it based on a list of existing search terms that already show great conversion value.

Don’t simply ask it for any keywords. Ask it for keywords that you aren’t already targeting in your account.

Here are my suggested steps:

1. Download a list of your search terms, sorted by conversions, in a CSV file (UTF-8)
2. Upload your CSV and ask ChatGPT for keyword suggestions

Here’s a sample prompt:

“You are a Google Ads professional with excellent keyword research skills. It is your job to generate ideas for new keywords with high conversion value to add to the Google Ads account.

Here’s a CSV file with a list of converting search terms at the top.

First, identify the central theme in the list of search terms with 1 or more conversions. Only look at the search terms that had at least 1 conversion to determine this central theme.

Next, suggest 10 new keywords that are closely related to this central theme and the meaning of the converting search terms in the CSV, and are not already in the complete list in the CSV, and will generate clicks with high conversion value.

Again, stay very close to the meaning of search terms that had at least 1 conversion, and do not wander off.“

Now, imagine having this process automated, with an automated email including 10 new keywords that aren’t already in your account, landing in your inbox every week or every month.

Interested? If so, email me at nils@nilsrooijmans.com.

– Nils

How to take back control over PMax?

Last week, during the SMX event in Munich, I was given the opportunity to share some of my answers to this question. 

In this presentation, I shared my thoughts on why you’d want to take back control, and how scripts can help you do that.

If you’re interested, here are the slides and links to the scripts:
https://nilsrooijmans.com/smx-munich-2024/

Happy scripting!

– Nils

Here’s an important question in current PPC days:

“What does PMax maximize, exactly?“

You go first. I’ll let you answer and then I’ll give my take.

You think: “Profits?”

My take: No.

You: “Revenue?”

Me: No.

“Conversions?”

Nope.

“Clicks?”

Nope again.

…

It’s Spend.

PMax is designed to make Google money. BIG money. And thus, it maximizes your spend.

Now, don’t get me wrong — it won’t spend without returns. That would be foolish. Advertisers like you and me would jump ship and thus total ad spend would tank.

However, here’s the thing: PMax will spend as much as it can, as long as we think it delivers a decent return.

It is your job to judge this return, NOT Google’s. 

If that’s true, how should we think about enhanced conversions, consent modeling, data-driven attribution, and the likes?

– Nils