Introduction
Google Ads for Sales & Revenue
Google Ads is increasingly significant and widely practiced in today’s e-commerce strategy to increase sales and revenue. According to a study by Smart Insights, it was found that 58% of internet users make online purchases of products and services once a week, proving the potential of the right keywords in driving your ROAS.
However, the increasing demand for paid advertising has urged Google to continue developing new features and campaigns to adapt to the ever-changing nature of usage. Currently, Google has even incorporated AI and machine learning tools into Google Ads, enabling advertisers to achieve their e-commerce goals effortlessly. Therefore, in addition to the well-known campaign types such as Search, Display, and Video, Performance Max is also emerging as a campaign type that utilizes AI tools for automated bidding and optimization.
Importance of Having a Funnel Mindset
If you are starting a business and want to build your brand, it is crucial to understand the significance of the e-commerce funnel in generating more sales. The funnel illustrates the customer’s journey, which begins as a prospect and progresses towards making a purchase.
The e-commerce funnel is made up of three main stages: the upper (top and middle) are for awareness and consideration, while the bottom is for conversion.
A funnel mindset is essential for marketers as it allows them to map out the entire customer journey, from awareness to conversions. Additionally, it enables accurate audience segmentation and personalized messaging based on their position in the funnel. By addressing specific needs and interests at each stage, the chances of conversion and overall business growth are significantly increased.
In Google Ads, there are various campaign types that function uniquely and are suitable for different stages of the funnel. Display and video campaigns primarily focus on raising awareness and driving engagement, whereas search, shopping, discovery, and performance max campaigns are geared towards generating conversions and maximizing performance.
The Purpose of This Article
To provide insights into how advertisers can maximize their sales and revenue by incorporating Google Ads into their marketing strategy. It focuses on exploring the effectiveness of each campaign type in maximizing online sales. Specifically, advertisers will gain insights into the performance of different campaign types based on their impact on the upper and bottom funnel.
Upper Funnel Campaigns: Driving Awareness and Engagement
A. Display Campaign
Push-tactic marketing that allows advertisers to go all out and actively showcase their products to potential customers. In other words, advertisers proactively place visual ads in front of audiences, effectively capturing their attention instead of relying solely on passive brand discovery by customers.
Here’s an example from an account during the first week of the Spring Sale. During the initial 2 days of the campaign launch, 20% of the budget was allocated to display campaigns, aiming to spread and create awareness about the Spring Sale. Subsequently, conversions started to increase with the increase of traffic.
B. Video Campaign
Commonly associated with brand awareness goals, video campaigns have evolved over the years to become more complex and goal-oriented. It is not just about the variety of available formats (skippable, bumpers, in-stream, etc.), but also the rising demand for diverse goals and objectives. For advertisers looking to gain more impressions and visitor data, adopting a video reach campaign can prove to be highly useful!
Optimizations
1. Display Ads:
i. Always review the data for placements (suggest to exclude gaming and comic sites)
ii. Exclude mobile app categories to avoid poor-quality traffic
The Power of Bottom Funnel Strategies: From Clicks to Customers
A. Search Campaign
When audiences are already familiar with your brand and product, this is when search ads come into play, reaching audiences actively searching for what you offer. However, in a sea of competing ads on the results page, how can you ensure that your ads stand out from the rest? Firstly, it is vital for your ads to incorporate appealing unique selling points (USPs) in headline 1 and headline 2 to capture the attention of your target audience. Why? Because 80% of audiences only read the headlines of your ads. Additionally, integrating relevant keywords into your ads will enhance their relevance not only to your audience but also improve overall ad strength. All in all, this will boost the likelihood of attracting clicks that are more likely to result in conversions and sales.
B. Shopping Campaign
More and more retailers are allocating a large portion of their marketing budget to Google Shopping Ads. An article by Shift4Shop shows that Shopping Ads generate a 26% higher conversion rate and higher ROAS because your budget is targeting the right customers with higher purchase intent. As a result, this leads to better quality leads for your business. All you need to do is register a Google Merchant Center (GMC) account and submit a product feed!
C. Discovery Campaign with Product Feed
A new feature of the Discovery campaign aimed at optimizing sales goals! According to a study conducted by Google, the Discovery campaign with a product feed has resulted in a remarkable 45% increase in conversions at a comparable cost per acquisition (CPA). Additionally, there has been an impressive average uplift of 211% with a 35% reduction in CPA. In this account, it was observed that the click-through rate (CTR) for product feed campaigns (specifically Discovery with a product feed) is notably six times higher than campaigns without a product feed. All you need to do is seamlessly connect to your GMC product catalog, define your target audiences, and you’re all set to launch!
D. Performance Max Campaign
Google’s latest conversion-driven campaign type utilizes AI and machine learning tools to automate bidding and optimization, allowing advertisers to reach their target audience and achieve higher sales. Based on our experience with this account, it was observed that the Performance Max campaigns deliver more conversions compared to the search campaigns with a spending of only HK$10,809.18, lower than the HK$14,222.21 spent on search. The CPA for the Performance Max campaigns were also 2 times lower than search campaigns. If you’re interested in learning more about the Performance Max campaign, feel free to check out this article for further details!
Optimizations
1. Search & Shopping Ads
i. Regularly review the performance of keywords. For instance, the keyword below has not generated any conversions in the past 3 months which could be due to its low relevance, and pausing it would be a wise decision to save costs.
ii. Exclude irrelevant/low purchase intention search terms to ensure efficient budget allocation.
iii. Keep refreshing ad copies and landing pages corresponding to seasonality and promotions of the specific holidays.
2. Discovery Ads
i. Update audience segments and enable optimized targeting to allow Google to expand and find similar audiences.
ii. Continuously refresh your visuals and ad copies for different sales and new products over time to avoid ad fatigue and increase CTR.
Case Studies:
Without Display / Video campaigns
With Display / Video campaigns
The CVR increased by 80% when running search, discovery, shopping, performance max campaigns, alongside display and video campaigns.
Check out this Fact Sheet for a quick summary overview!
Conclusion
In summary, utilizing different campaigns for different stages of the funnel allows advertisers to guide potential customers seamlessly through each stage. Display and video campaigns effectively raise awareness and engage audiences in the upper funnel, ensuring the target audience is well-exposed and knowledgeable about our brand and products. On the other hand, for driving conversions, search, shopping, discovery, and performance max campaigns are the preferred approaches.
Not to neglect the fact that mobile shopping is now an increasing trend, capturing a 60% market share and 59% of searches, surpassing desktop usage with only 39% as mentioned in an article from Smart Insights. With that, advertisers are encouraged to continuously monitor the performance on mobile devices, including metrics like CTR and CVR to identify areas for improvement. Key aspects to consider include adjusting bids, ensuring mobile-friendly ad copy and landing pages, as well as fine-tuning targeting settings to optimize performance.