Author: Nils Rooijmans

Keyboard shortcuts. Some swear by them. Others never use them.

Me, I think they are one of the best ways to increase your PPC productivity.

Here are my favorites for Google Ads Editor:

Ctrl+Shift+T -> Get recent changes
Ctrl+H -> Replace text
Ctrl+Alt+H -> Change text capitalization
Ctrl+U -> Change URLs
Ctrl+K -> Check changes
Ctrl+P -> Post changes

And here’s a list with them all:

https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/54654?hl=en

– Nils

Callout extensions allow you to occupy more real estate on the top of the Google SERP.

More real estate -> more eyeballs & less room for competition -> more clicks.

Want to take your callout extensions to the next level and get more clicks?

Here are some great examples from our PPC friend Ed Leake:

Some quick tips:

1. Google recommends 12-15 characters per callout, with a hard limit of 25 characters. Shorter ones get a better chance of being displayed. -> Treat callout extensions like bullet points as opposed to trying to use full sentences.

2. Personally, I like to use callout extensions to present “hard” features of products/services. Think: nr of rooms, screen size, battery life, delivery times, accreditation

3. Here’s a simple hack I like to use to make my callouts stand out more: add a hash (‘#’) in front of your text.

4. Note that if your callout text is included in your description, Google may not show the callout.

– Nils

PS:

Ed actually has 142 callout examples on his Google Sheet. They are part of the God Tier Ads Framework. 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. 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

– Nils

Some clients create drama out of habit. 

Fire them.

The same goes for some bosses.

– Nils

If you are using negative keyword lists (you should!), then you’ve probably given them some good descriptive names.

Because of the way the Google Ads interface displays the negative keywords that are inside your campaigns, it is not easy to quickly see what negative keyword lists are attached to your campaign.

The negative keyword lists are displayed somewhere between all the negative keywords you’ve added to your campaign. They are sorted alphabetically.

So here’s my little trick:

I like to add an asterisk at the beginning of the name of my negative keyword lists.

That way, when I open the Negative keywords views, the lists are at the top.

Here’s what that looks like:

– Nils

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

Being obsessively risk-averse about something is probably useful if you’re an airplane engineer.

Being obsessively risk-averse about everything is probably not.

When it comes to PPC, I like to ABT:

Always…
Be…
Testing.

– Nils

PS: Want to learn a new PPC superpower?

Join over 30 other PPC Pros in the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge’.

In the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge‘, you will learn exactly how you can use ENGLISH to program your own very first script.

Lessons start on Monday, October 23.

Registration CLOSES TOMORROW (Friday)!

ENROLL NOW »

(Use coupon NILSLIST to get a €50 discount.)

I hope to see you there!

Does this sound familiar?

“JavaScript is like ancient Greek to me!”

In last week’s poll, 45% of you voted this as the main reason that has kept you from creating your own Google Ads Script.

It’s true. Learning a new language can be hard.

BUT…

Do you really NEED to learn the Greek language before visiting Greece?

Hell no!

I love traveling, and visit many countries whose native language feels like ancient Greek to me.

Yes, speaking the local language surely increases the quality of the experience. But many times, I don’t know how… And don’t want to learn…

Yet still… I enjoy my travels.

AND I am able to DO things, even WITHOUT speaking a single word in the native language.

Here’s the good news:

The same applies to JavaScript and Google Ads Scripts.

▹You don’t NEED to learn JavaScript to create your own Google Ads Script!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐆𝐏𝐓 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 (𝐢𝐞: 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡!)

AND have them running in your accounts within as little as 60 mins.

Want to learn how?

Join over 30 other PPC pros in the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge’.

In the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge’ you will learn exactly how you can use ENGLISH to program your very first script.

Lessons start Monday, Oct 23.

Registration closes this Friday!

ENROLL NOW »

I hope to see you there!

– Nils

Came across this interesing plugin today.

It allows you to easily select the match types for search terms you want to add as keywords.

Here’s what that looks like:

And here’s what the authors have to say:

“When reviewing your Google Ads account’s matched Search Terms, and want to add a search term to target as a keyword on the account, Google now defaults to making that keyword Broad match. There used to be a dropdown match type selector where you could choose to make that added keyword Exact, Phrase or Broad match before adding the keyword to your ad group.  Google removed that match type selector and now you have to manually add the Exact or Phrase syntax which is an extra, repetitive. 

Our extension for Google Ads solves this by giving you the ability to:

– Select the match type per keyword when adding matched search terms
– Change the match type for all matched terms before adding, in bulk

The result is not only time savings but a reduced risk of making a mistake when trying to manually add the match type syntax.“

Here’s the link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-ads-add-as-keyword/lohkmkohhglpgndcmobnpiekmkobgdkp

– Nils

What would make your colleagues happy?

Take 30 sec to really think about it.

Now take another 30 sec to come up with something that you would like to give them on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

If you need some examples from the PPC realm, think:
– send a list of broken URLs (landing pages) to your SEO colleagues every month
– send a list of trending search terms to your (product) manager every week
– send a list of negative keyword suggestions (>100 clicks, 0 conversions) to your PPC colleagues every day

Guess what: All three ideas are perfectly do-able. With almost zero effort from your side, with the help of scripts:

1) https://nilsrooijmans.com/the-best-adwords-script-i-have-ever-used/
2) https://nilsrooijmans.com/google-ads-script-trending-search-terms/
3) https://nilsrooijmans.com/5-day-chatgpt-and-google-ads-scripts-challenge/

– Nils

PS: Do you want to pause non-convering keywords on steroids?

In the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge‘ you will learn exactly how Scripts + ChatGPT can automatically help you pause keywords that don’t convert.

Registration is open. Lessons start Monday, Oct 23.

ENROLL NOW »

I hope to see you there!

– Nils

Here’s some “interesting” math that describes what is happening on Google’s Display Network:

1) Sep 2023: Elon Musk’s  X turns to Google to sell programmatic ads as it struggles to regain ad dollars. (Source: https://adage.com/article/digital-marketing-ad-tech-news/x-turns-google-programmatic-ads-timeline/2515981)

2) Oct 2023: X rolls out new ad format that can’t be reported or blocked. The new ads also don’t disclose who the advertiser is or that they are even ads. (Source: https://mashable.com/article/twitter-x-new-clickbait-ad-format)

1 + 2 = X is now serving users clickbait advertisements that can’t be blocked or reported, AND these clickbait ads may very well be ads from Google. Your ads. (No proof of this yet in my accounts).

Note: You can exclude specific websites and URLs as well as entire topics or apps you wish to avoid when running ads. For PMax campaigns, a reminder to use account-level exclusions.

– Nils

PS: 

Do you want to exclude irrelevant placements on steroids?

In the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge‘ you will learn exactly how Scripts + ChatGPT can automatically help you analyze the quality of your placements.

Registration is open now. Lessons start Monday, Oct 23.

ENROLL NOW »

I hope to see you there!

Fixing Google Ads mistakes days or weeks after the fact can be expensive.

Implementing scripts that immediately alert you about the fact is a smarter investment.

This applies to campaign settings, smart bidding targets, (negative) keywords, budgets, etc.

– Nils

PS:

Have you ever tried running a third-party Google Ads Script but got stuck in error messages?

The incomprehensibility of the scripts’ messages in red is enough to make anyone slam their laptop shut.

But guess what?

If you can create a ChatGPT account, you can bugfix a Google Ads Script.

In the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge‘ you will learn exactly what to do to have ChatGPT fix your script for you.

Registration is open now. Lessons start Monday, Oct 23.

ENROLL NOW »

I hope to see you there!

So, last week I was at ADworldExperience for my talk about “ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts.”

Here’s my biggest takeaway from the session: 75% of participants had used Google Ads Scripts in their accounts, BUT only 5% ever created their own script.

Why is that?

If you have never created your own script before, please help me understand.

What has kept you from creating your own Google Ads Script?

A) JavaScript is like ancient Greek to me
B) I don’t have time to learn
C) I have no idea how to get started
D) I don’t EVER want to code
E) Other, namely…

A simple one-letter reply will do.

Thanks already,

– Nils

PS: Registration for the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge’ is open.

Since you are on my list, you have access to a €50 discount (use coupon NILSLIST).

Here’s the link: https://nilsrooijmans.com/5-day-chatgpt-and-google-ads-scripts-challenge/

Elevate and celebrate – that’s what happens when you meet PPC royalty! 

Still buzzing from a brilliant Google Ads scripts talk at #ADworldExperience today… 

Mike Rhodes presented all the exact steps he took to create his famous PMax script, AND how _you_ can do the same. Even without any coding skills.

If you’re still not convinced about the value of scripts, listen to what this PPC legend (who just sold his agency) had to say:

“Scripts have helped massively over the years to ensure the team work efficiently and don’t have to spend time on ‘grunt work’. And an efficient, happy team was no doubt attractive to the buyers of my agency. In short, scripts add value.“

Want to learn more? Be sure to check out Mike’s latest scripts:
https://mikerhodes.circle.so/c/free-scripts

– Nils

PS: At the end of my talk tomorrow, I will officially open up registration for the ‘5-Day ChatGPT and Google Ads Scripts Challenge’. Here’s the link: https://nilsrooijmans.com/5-day-chatgpt-and-google-ads-scripts-challenge/

Interesting thread on r/ppc today.

The OP complains about being scammed by a website in Google’s search partner network. 

He’s got some screenshots with data to underpin his point. Here’s the most pungent:

Long story short: “The fraudster stole 4397 euros from me…..”

Here’s the link to the thread on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/16xb46j/is_it_possible_to_get_a_refund_for_a_scam_by/

Now, while I cannot confirm the accuracy of the claim or the data, I can say that I’ve seen similar (though less extreme) spikes in search partner data in my accounts.

All to say that search partners are another example of where you cannot simply trust Google’s automation (AI) to act in your best interest.

You need to monitor search partner performance like a hawk!

Luckily, there’s a script for that:
https://nilsrooijmans.com/google-ads-script-search-partner-alerts/

Keep an eye on Google’s AI.

– Nils

PS: Want to learn how YOU can create your own scripts via ChatGPT? Join my “5-Day ChatGPT and Scripts Challenge”.
More details: https://nilsrooijmans.com/5-day-chatgpt-and-google-ads-scripts-challenge/

Automation isn’t everything.

Earlier this week I shared an email explaining how I use the age report to get actionable insights. (email repeated below for your convenience)

Fellow list member Mads Hjortshøj responded with a question (shared with permission):

“I probably look at age performance only twice a year.

Maybe I rely too much on Google’s Smart Bidding to adjust for this? 

I assume it will spend most of the budget on people who will provide us with the best possible performance, based on the set targets.

Have you ever experienced that you had to take action based on the age report while using Google Smart Bidding?“

The short answer is Yes.

When a report like the one I shared shows that a certain audience has subpar performance, there’s probably room for improvements.

Mads is right in that smart bidding will learn to bid lower on the segments that have lower conversion rates/conversion value.

BUT, smart bidding doesn’t learn what is the cause of this subpar performance. 

It might very well be that the specific low-performance age segment values different features/benefits, or even completely different products.

So, one action one could take is to create separate ad groups/campaigns for these audiences. With different creatives and/or different products that resonate with that specific audience.

Simply ignoring the difference in performance would limit growth.

Here’s the thing: Automation (incl AI) works best when there’s a human in the loop.

For now at least.

– Nils

EMAIL FROM SEP 26:

Your honest answer please: how often do you look at the age performance data in your account?

Personally, I schedule to have look at the data at the account level at least once every quarter.

And I use the report editor to generate a report that looks like this:

This table immediately shows lower performance for Age 55+. 

Here’s the thing: Reports like this create highly actionable insights in minutes!

We could show different ads and/or products to this audience, or simply exclude it.

You can get the same insights in minutes. Simply create the report via report editor, save and schedule to have it sent to your email every day/week/month.

Go ahead, give it a try and see if your Age segments show widely different performance.

It only takes 5 mins!

– Nils

1. What tasks take up most of your time? Why do you still do them?

2. What have you learned about your audience in the past year? How did it change anything in your account?

3. When was the last time you created an experiment that kept you up at night? How did it feel?

– Nils

Your honest answer please:
how often do you look at the age performance data in your account?

Personally, I schedule to have look at the data at the account level at least once every quarter.

And I use the report editor to generate a report that looks like this:

This table immediately shows lower performance for Age 55+. 

Here’s the thing:
Reports like this create highly actionable insight in minutes!

We could show different ads and/or products to this audience, or simply exclude it.

You can get the same insights in minutes.
Simply create the report via report editor, save and schedule to have it send to your email every day/week/month.

Go ahead, give it a try and see if your Age segments show widely different performance.

It only takes 5 mins!

– Nils

Next Wednesday Sep 27, 6 PM CET (9 AM PST) I will join Frederick Vallaeys in Optmyzr’s PPC Town Hall to talk about ChatGPT and Scripts.

Here’s the announcement:

And here’s the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs7szTIfjSg

You can join us live and ask Fred or me any questions in the chat.

See you there?

– Nils

Did you know?

Even when your advanced location options are set to “People in or regularly in your targeted locations”, you might still see a few clicks from random places. It can add up over the year. 

More importantly (especially with PMax), even without clicks you might get chunks of impressions that could hurt ad quality score.

Here’s how that could look:

And here’s how I learned about this:

Yep, that’s Ed Leake’s GTA Performance Framework, helping me again to fix an account I just took over. 

Curious to learn: do you get a significant chuck of clicks or impressions from outside your targeted locations? 

Go ahead, check it right now. It only takes 2 mins!

– Nils

PS:

Ed actually has 400+ more valuable items on his checklist. They are part of the God Tier Ads Framework. 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.  

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

– Nils

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