Author: Nils Rooijmans

“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

March 7, 2024: reality…

– Nils

Here’s the question I get the most about this:

“I am a Google Ads advertiser, but I am not based in the EEA/UK.  Am I still required to implement consent mode?” 

The short answer: YES, if you are targeting people in the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or the UK. As for the longer answer…

“If your agreement with Google incorporates the ‘EU user consent policy’, or you otherwise use a Google product that incorporates this policy, you must ensure that certain disclosures are given to, and consents obtained from, end users in the European Economic Area along with the UK. If you fail to comply with this policy, we may limit or suspend your use of the Google product and/or terminate your agreement.”

Source: https://www.google.com/about/company/user-consent-policy/

This basically means that all Google Ads advertisers and GA4 users who target EEA/UK must implement consent mode.

– Nils

Here’s one of my latest scripts from the ‘Google Ads Scripts for PMax’ library that I will be presenting at SMX Munich next week.

SCRIPT: PMax Non-Converting Search Term Alerts (v0.9)

URL: https://nilsrooijmans.com/PMax-Non-Converting-SearchTerms-Alerts.txt

What it does:
The script checks for non-converting search terms in your PMax campaigns, logs them in a Google Sheet, and sends out an email alert if there are any. See screenshot below for an example.

Why you care:
PMax is a black box. Monitoring search term performance via the interface is next to impossible. This script will make sure you’ll be in the know when PMax is wasting your budget on search terms that don’t convert. You can add them as negatives to stop the waste.

Happy scripting 🙂

– Nils

Yesterday, I shared my biggest question regarding consent mode V2 and Google Ads:

“What percentage of my conversions are “tracked” thanks to this conversion modeling?”

(For your convenience, I’ve provided a link to my write-up below.)

In theory, we should be able to see the uplift in the Diagnostics tab of our conversion action inside Google Ads. 

Unfortunately, I do not see any.

It appears I am not alone in this. Many of you responded with the same experience: zero, nothing, nada report on “impact results.”

At the same time, there were also quite a few responses that helped shed some light on the issue. (If you were one of those who shared some screenshots with me, thanks a ton!)

Here’s why many of us (myself included) haven’t been seeing consent mode impact results in any of our accounts: uplift data will only be shown for up to 4 weeks after the modeling start date!

Fellow member of the list Tomas Vlcko sent in this screenshot (shared with permission):

Here’s another thing that’s good to know:

“In order to be able to meet our rigorous confidence thresholds, you’ll need to meet the following quality checks:

1. You have correctly implemented consent mode or the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF v2.0).

2. You have a daily ad click threshold of 700 ad clicks over a 7-day period, per country and domain grouping.

Once the above criteria are met, our models enter training periods.”

SOURCE: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10548233

Nadine Dankwardt also shared these amazing insights (shared with permission as well):

“Here’s a potential reason you do not see the report:

Modelled Data is too low to show (this could be esp. the case when you implemented the basic version). You could check your opt-out rates via your CMP: high opt-out rates could mean a higher potential of more modelled data. From my experience (V1): Although we had it installed in a country with high opt-out rates and very high volumes, it took very long, until the modelling started (more than half a year) … So better check your consent mode modelling table from time to time – it could start showing up anytime, and you might miss it, as you won`t get informed by our friends at Google…

Another reason: You had the V1 version installed and upgraded to V2 – results won`t shown up again for the V2 (as they were already shown for the V1)“

That explains it for me.

What remains now is the question: why the hell is Google hiding this data from us after 4 weeks?! We need this data to make proper adjustments to our smart bidding targets, right?

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my write-up from yesterday. Your replies were so bright, I had to wear sunglasses just to read them! (And that means a lot to me, given the current weather conditions in Amsterdam.)

– Nils

PS: As promised, here’s a link to my write-up from yesterday — https://nilsrooijmans.com/daily/consent-mode-v2-view-your-impact-results

Consent Mode V2… whoooeeeh…

Are you terrified already?

With deadlines approaching and all the FUD, misconceptions, and fake news bombarding my timelines, I’m considering making an FAQ on the topic.

Here’s one of my personal first Qs:

What percentage of my conversions are “tracked” thanks to this conversion modeling?

Here’s what Google says:

“You can view the impact of consent mode on your conversion volume using the consent mode impact results. The impact metric shows changes in reported conversions due to conversion modeling for consent mode for your eligible domain and countries.” 

SOURCE (including instructions on how to get YOUR consent mode impact results): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11954524

However, this is what I get in each and every one of my accounts:

Please help me out here: Are you able to view your consent mode impact results? What am I doing wrong, if any?

Thanks a ton!

– Nils

PS: Want to get access to my FAQ on Consent Mode V2 for Google Ads advertisers once it is finished? If so, just send me an email at nils@nilsrooijmans.com.

Want to take back control of the PMax algorithm and reduce wasted ad spend?

Join me and hundreds other PPC freaks in two weeks at SMX Munchen!

I will be presenting my ‘PMax Scripts Library’ and how it prevents Google’s money grab.

Think:
– stop Google from overspending your budget on clicks with below-average conversion value
– prevent PMax from re-entering the learning phase when top sellers go out of stock
– make sure PMax doesn’t take priority over your standard search ads
– remove under-performing products from wasteful PMax explorations
– exclude spammy placements (lead fraud, anyone?)
– … and more

URL: https://smxmuenchen.de/en/agenda/
(You can use coupon hms15rooijmans to get 15% off)

If you’re at the event — come find me, present yourself as a PMax Maverick, and I’ll treat you a coffee, a beer or… a script.

– Nils

PMax has many controversies – and brand traffic is high on the list. 

That’s why our PPC friends at Smarter Ecommerce (smec) built a script to show the branded share of PMax revenue and other metrics over time. 

The script: PMax Brand Traffic Analyzer 

URL: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/google-ads-scripts/search-term-insights/

What it does:
The script creates charts in a Google Sheet that visualise the share of Brand versus Non-Brand traffic in your PMax campaigns.

Why you’d care:
PMax likes to go after warm traffic at the bottom of your funnel AND take credit for it. Brand traffic is about as hot as it gets when it comes to conversion value. Conversions from Branded searches inflate PMax performance and give it ample room to waste money on Non-Brand while still meeting your campaign target. So, learning what percentage of conversions comes via Brand may inform you on your next actions (e.g., excluding Brand traffic from PMax campaigns). This script will help you monitor PMax behavior and the effects of your actions.

NOTE: When you install the script, you’ll need to create a copy of the spreadsheet that is on line 38, and replace the URL with the URL of your copy of the spreadsheet. 

– Nils

PS: In case it would help, below is an example from them that “shows a big drop in brand traffic after removing assets from PMax, followed by a spike when Google automatically added new assets, and then another drop after those were deleted.”

” Your job, throughout your entire PPC life, is to disappoint Google as many times as it takes to avoid disappointing your clients.”

Nils

Here’s a question that popped up in the God Tier Ads community recently: “As far as I understood, it is only exact match keywords that take priority over PMax. Right?” 

My answer: “Yes, exact match keywords take prioriy. BUT there’s more to the story…”

It is my current understanding that Performance Max takes preference if and only if:

1. You do not have a keyword in your search campaign whose keyword text exactly matches the search term from the user query and the campaign is not limited by other targeting and/or budget constraints (note that the keyword does not need to be an exact match type keyword)

AND

2. The user query is not matched to another matching keyword in your search campaigns that has a higher ad rank for that search. 

As per Google:

“Performance Max ads are equivalent to keywords that don’t exactly match the search term or the spell-corrected search term for selection preference.” (*)

“If a keyword isn’t preferred based on the above rules, Performance Max ads are selected based on the highest Ad Rank in comparison to other keywords in the account.”

SOURCE: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2756257?hl=en

(*) The set of preferences detailed in the Google support doc determines which keyword/campaign is used to enter an ad into an auction. Once the ad enters the auction, it’s then compared with ads from other advertisers, and your cost-per-click is what’s minimally required to clear the Ad Rank thresholds and beat the Ad Rank of the competitor immediately below you, if any. 

– Nils

PS:

If you join God Tier Ads, you’ll also become part of an online community of PPC freaks 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 your money back) -> sign up for Ed’s God Tier Ads. (https://app.godtierads.com/gta-bonus-bundle/apnnu).

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

Last week, I shared a write-up listing some tools that can help you consistently use UTM parameters in your tracking efforts. (I’ve provided a link for it below for your convenience.)

Today, I am here to tell you: PPC minds think alike!

Fellow member of the list Omru Levi and I both came up with a solution to easily check all the UTM parameters in your landing page URLs.

Let’s use Google Sheets to parse these parameters from the URLs!

Here’s what that looks like:

And here’s how you can do it:

1) Download your expanded landing pages report from the Google Ads UI
2) Make a copy of this Google Sheet 
3) Copy and paste URLs from your report into the Google Sheet column A
4) Add the UTM parameters you want to extract in columns P, Q, and R 

Et voilà!

Here’s a link to my Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BBFcrKVsxNnAoY97TteqiZnF8Xpe3ySiYuu8tbZ5H_o/copy

And here’s a link to Omru Levi’s solution -> https://www.mediaflowzz.com/google-sheets-utm-extractor/

– Nils

PS: As promised, here’s a link to the earlier write-up -> https://nilsrooijmans.com/daily/lets-fix-these-utm-parameters-part-1

Changing CPC bids randomly until you hit your CPA target is “amateur” and “bad PPC practice.”

But if you do it fast enough it is “smart bidding” and gets you Google goodies.

– Nils

UTM parameters… you gotta love them.

They’re very powerful for tracking purposes, but they’re also as reliable as a chocolate teapot if you do things manually.

I had to install a bunch of them for a client today and came across these tools that helped me get the job done.

One day, they just might benefit you too 🙂

Google’s Campaign URL Builder
https://ga-dev-tools.google/ga4/campaign-url-builder/
This tool allows you to easily add campaign parameters to URLs so you can measure performance with GA4.

URL Decoder/Encoder
https://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/dencoder/
Handy for encoding URLs containing UTM parameters with wonky values (e.g., utm_campaign=”50% Off Summer-Sale NR#1″).

Express UTM Builder (paid)
https://utm-builder.com/ 
I really love this tool. It allows for easy and consistent (!) tagging by all members of my team (e.g., no more ‘utm_source=Facebook’ versus ‘utm_source=facebook’ mistakes). Watch the demo, it only takes 3 minutes! (Note, I am not affiliated in any way.) Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6SAXmSsZzk

I hope these help you in your future tracking endeavours!

– Nils

Here’s my catch of the day: a script by fellow PPC friend Kian N’jie.

SCRIPT: Winning Search Ad Tagger

URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OTvluEAh9d8nt5B-sHcu5oyipu1jVqGd6bxuEyolWoI/view

What it does:
This script reviews all the RSAs within each enabled ad group, then labels the ad with the highest “conversions per impression (CPI)”, where CPI = CTR*Conv.Rate. It looks at data over the last 30 days and labels the winning ad ‘Current Winner’. This allows for easy filtering and organization via Google Ads Editor or any other tool. The script also updates these labels each time it runs when you schedule it to run regularly.

Why you care:
When you are A/B testing your ad copy, CPI is a key metric that shows the ratio between impressions and conversions.

I’ll let Brad Geddes explain:

“When you consider ad testing, which combination is better?

A) A high CTR and a low conversion rate
   – Lots of people click on your ads, so your page gets a lot of visibility, but not many of those users convert

B) A low CTR and a high conversion rate
   – Not many people click on your ads, but of those that do, many of them convert

It’s impossible to say which is better since that information relies on two different metrics: CTR and Conversion rate.

What CPI does is combine these two different metrics to form one single metric that will show you which ad will receive the most conversions from the impression.“

PRO TIP: Add CPI as a custom column in your Google Ads interface to easily see the different CPI values for your different ads.

– Nils

PS: This script would be even better if it only looked at ads that had gained a significant amount of impressions before choosing a winner. It currently looks at all enabled ads, irrespective of the number of impressions, which I think is a mistake. If you agree and want the version that does take a minimum number of impressions into account -> send me an email at nils@nilsrooijmans.com.

Everyone’s work involves tasks that are recurring.

Some take little time. Others take a lot of time.

How do you know how much time, exactly?

One way might be to look at your activities at the end of your working day, take note of the time it took to complete your tasks, and then ask yourself why you’re still doing this thing manually.

Do this for a week or two, and I think you might start to find great opportunities to automate some of those tedious tasks that seem to just take forever.

– Nils

PS: Free offer -> if you share your time tracking notes with me, I will point you to the right script(s) to get you started on the automation journey that can save you tons of hours. You can do this by sharing them with me via email at nils@nilsrooijmans.com.