Author: Nils Rooijmans

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.

“Google simply cannot be trusted!”

There. I said it. 

And I will say it again.

Back in 2019, I was invited to the Great Day event to speak about this issue.

In my presentation titled “Keeping an Eye on Google’s AI using Scripts“,  I spoke about my methodology and scripts to monitor and analyze the impact of Google’s AI, mitigate some of the risks, and regain control.

The first slides talk about the different stakeholders in the Google Ads game, and how their goals aren’t aligned.

Recent revelations in the US antitrust trial against Google stress the importance of the matter.

Don’t believe me?

Read this: 

“Bloomberg’s Leah Nylen has the details of Google ads executive Jerry Dischler’s testimony, where he describes statements he made under oath in 2020. 

Dischler says Google tweaks its auction process in ways that may have raised prices in the past by 5 percent for the typical advertiser and could potentially have raised them by 10 percent for some queries. 

The parties buying the ads would have been unaware of these “tunings” of prices; “we tend not to tell advertisers about pricing changes,” Dischler said.“

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/19/23880275/google-search-ads-competition-auction-prices-doj-trial-antitrust

I hate to say it again, but you simply cannot trust Google to spend your ad budget in a way that benefits you the most.

Keep an eye on Google’s AI.

– Nils

Here’s a nice little tool I came across today: https://by-edoardo.com/google-ads-script-generator

It helps you create a very simple script that automatically generates a Google Sheet with your campaign stats.

1. Select the fields, metrics, and date range
2. Hit “Get Your Script”
3. Copy to clipboard
4. Paste in your Google Ads Script editor (for more instructions, visit my “How to install and run your first script” guide)
5. Create a Google Sheet and add the URL to the script (follow the instructions in the top section of the code)
6. Authorize, Preview
7. Schedule to run daily/weekly/monthly
8. PRO TIP: Ask ChatGPT to add some code to send you an email with a link to the sheet every time the report has been generated

– Nils

PS: 

Want to learn how to 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/

I am on my way to Berlin for my session at the SMX Advanced event.

During the event, I will release my Google Ads Script to connect to the GPT API.

It’s not out in the open yet, but since you are on my list…

Here’s a sneak preview: https://nilsrooijmans.com/gpt-api-example-script.txt

Expect more details and example use cases soon!

– Nils

PS: I will also be announcing the “5-Day ChatGPT and Scripts Challenge”! More details here: https://nilsrooijmans.com/5-day-chatgpt-and-google-ads-scripts-challenge/

“Ask not what this keyword can do for you, ask what you can do for this keyword.”

– Nils

“Never fails that you inspire, uncontrollable desire” 

Rosie Gaines taught us some 30 years ago: “close” is what we desire.

Ed Leake and I are no different. 

We like to be close.

Not literally, him and me.

Ed likes to live as a solitary Hebride on rainy Scottish islands so I doubt we’ll ever meet.

BUT…

Close to clicks? Yes.

Close to conversions? Even better.

I’ll let Ed explain:

– Nils

PS:

Ed actually has 22 more pillars of great ad copy to get more clicks and conversions. They are part of GTS.

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

– Nils

Here’s a pro tip from fellow Google Ads Scripter Stefan Neefischer:

“Add soft conversion events to your ads account, e.g. engaged user (not bouncing after some seconds), and use this for making the n-gram analysis. You will identify a lot of totally off-topic patterns thanks to Google’s changes in the match types / close variants”

I agree and can confirm. N-gram analysis based on micro conversions allow you to reduce wasted ad spend much quicker.

Watch how the Shopping, DSA, and Broad-match algorithms match your products, pages, and keywords to user queries.

A great example of how you can use scripts to “Keep an Eye on Google’s AI“!

– Nils

PS: Here’s the link to my updated version of Brainlabs’ N-gram analysis script: https://nilsrooijmans.com/updated-google-ads-script-brainlabs-search-query-mining-for-n-gram-analysis/

“Is there a trend in the number of impressions for my top 5 search terms this year?”

This question popped up while analyzing some Google Ads data today.

“Well, why not ask ChatGPT?”

And so I did.

I downloaded my search term data, opened up ChatGPT, enabled Advanced Data Analysis (formerly known as Code Interpreter), and…

Two prompts and five minutes later, this is what I got:

TWO prompts. FIVE minutes.

Thank you ChatGPT!

– Nils

Are you creating custom or recommended events for tracking via GA4?

This cheat sheet is a goldmine for understanding event parameters, key dimensions, and metrics in GA4.

I really love the interactive interface and the details of the information.

Example use case: click on a metric or dimension and it will tell you if it’s available in Looker Studio, if it’s calculated, etc. At the top of the page you can also choose “Data Studio” in the dropdown and it will filter to show all available metrics/dimensions.

Here’s the link: https://data.ga4spy.com/

Quick, precise, and as far as I can tell, very up to date.

Enjoy your PPC day!

– Nils