The Strategy for Scaling Google Ads for B2B SaaS
Struggling to scale your Google Ads account? You may be fighting an uphill battle if you don’t have a few structural elements in place.
We're not discussing common mistakes like adjusting location settings, excluding display from search ads, or disabling auto-apply suggestions.
We also aren’t covering keyword research, ad copy, or landing pages. These components are crucial. We assume you already have them in place if you are looking to scale, not fix issues.
No. Instead, we're discussing THE strategies that will set your Google Ads account up for successful scaling. These are the following:
Account simplification
Offline conversion tracking
Automated bidding strategies
Negative List Organization
Broad Match
Additional Ad Types
So without further ado, let's get into it.
Struggling to scale your Google Ads account? You may be fighting an uphill battle if you don’t have a few structural elements in place.
We're not discussing common mistakes like adjusting location settings, excluding display from search ads, or disabling auto-apply suggestions.
We also aren’t covering keyword research, ad copy, or landing pages. These components are crucial. We assume you already have them in place if you are looking to scale, not fix issues.
No. Instead, we're discussing THE strategies that will set your Google Ads account up for successful scaling. These are the following:
Account simplification
Offline conversion tracking
Automated bidding strategies
Negative List Organization
Broad Match
Additional Ad Types
So without further ado, let's get into it.
Struggling to scale your Google Ads account? You may be fighting an uphill battle if you don’t have a few structural elements in place.
We're not discussing common mistakes like adjusting location settings, excluding display from search ads, or disabling auto-apply suggestions.
We also aren’t covering keyword research, ad copy, or landing pages. These components are crucial. We assume you already have them in place if you are looking to scale, not fix issues.
No. Instead, we're discussing THE strategies that will set your Google Ads account up for successful scaling. These are the following:
Account simplification
Offline conversion tracking
Automated bidding strategies
Negative List Organization
Broad Match
Additional Ad Types
So without further ado, let's get into it.
1. Account Simplification
If you come across anyone who knows their Google Ads, they’ll talk about account simplification.
It sounds like the opposite of what you’d want to do as you scale an account. The assumption might be that you want to add new search campaigns to control budget or get more focused with keyword groupings.
While this sounds great in theory, this is not the way.
Because Google is a data-first platform. It’s the reason Broad Match has had a bit of a comeback. More on that in a bit.
The more data you can provide to your campaigns the better. The best way to do that is with fewer campaigns. Fewer campaigns = greater volume of data per campaign.
This is especially true when you’re leveraging automated bidding strategies like Max Conversions, Max Clicks, Target CPA, or Target ROAS.
These bidding strategies rely on the data. Data generated from your campaign to find the most conversions, clicks, or for target strategies - your desired CPA or target ROAS.
So by consolidating campaigns, we’re allowing these campaigns to leverage more data and find results faster and more efficiently.
Note: If you’re consolidating your existing account, it will take time for the platform to adjust. Allow for at least 3+ weeks for this to take effect. If needed, do this in stages so you don’t potentially tank results.
So how do you consolidate?
First, map out in a Google Sheet all of your Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Keywords.
Here’s a sheet we use for this type of “Mapping” for our clients. Feel free to copy it for yourself here.
If you come across anyone who knows their Google Ads, they’ll talk about account simplification.
It sounds like the opposite of what you’d want to do as you scale an account. The assumption might be that you want to add new search campaigns to control budget or get more focused with keyword groupings.
While this sounds great in theory, this is not the way.
Because Google is a data-first platform. It’s the reason Broad Match has had a bit of a comeback. More on that in a bit.
The more data you can provide to your campaigns the better. The best way to do that is with fewer campaigns. Fewer campaigns = greater volume of data per campaign.
This is especially true when you’re leveraging automated bidding strategies like Max Conversions, Max Clicks, Target CPA, or Target ROAS.
These bidding strategies rely on the data. Data generated from your campaign to find the most conversions, clicks, or for target strategies - your desired CPA or target ROAS.
So by consolidating campaigns, we’re allowing these campaigns to leverage more data and find results faster and more efficiently.
Note: If you’re consolidating your existing account, it will take time for the platform to adjust. Allow for at least 3+ weeks for this to take effect. If needed, do this in stages so you don’t potentially tank results.
So how do you consolidate?
First, map out in a Google Sheet all of your Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Keywords.
Here’s a sheet we use for this type of “Mapping” for our clients. Feel free to copy it for yourself here.
If you come across anyone who knows their Google Ads, they’ll talk about account simplification.
It sounds like the opposite of what you’d want to do as you scale an account. The assumption might be that you want to add new search campaigns to control budget or get more focused with keyword groupings.
While this sounds great in theory, this is not the way.
Because Google is a data-first platform. It’s the reason Broad Match has had a bit of a comeback. More on that in a bit.
The more data you can provide to your campaigns the better. The best way to do that is with fewer campaigns. Fewer campaigns = greater volume of data per campaign.
This is especially true when you’re leveraging automated bidding strategies like Max Conversions, Max Clicks, Target CPA, or Target ROAS.
These bidding strategies rely on the data. Data generated from your campaign to find the most conversions, clicks, or for target strategies - your desired CPA or target ROAS.
So by consolidating campaigns, we’re allowing these campaigns to leverage more data and find results faster and more efficiently.
Note: If you’re consolidating your existing account, it will take time for the platform to adjust. Allow for at least 3+ weeks for this to take effect. If needed, do this in stages so you don’t potentially tank results.
So how do you consolidate?
First, map out in a Google Sheet all of your Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Keywords.
Here’s a sheet we use for this type of “Mapping” for our clients. Feel free to copy it for yourself here.
2. Offline Conversion Tracking
Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) is critical for B2B brands. And I mean as critical as the keywords you’re targeting and the account structure you’ve set up.
And surprisingly, it’s the one optimization we see the least in accounts. Most likely because of a knowledge gap. But also the technical challenges associated with it.
Offline Conversion Tracking is tracking for, as you guessed it, conversions happening offline. When we refer to Offline Conversions, we’re referring to the changes happening in the CRM (Hubspot or Salesforce) that are communicated back to Google Ads.
More specifically, changes that inform the quality of a given lead. This is usually signaled by the sales rep or in some cases the marketing team.
Both CRMs have their different labels for these types of indicators.
HubSpot uses the field “Lifecycle Stage” to communicate whether a lead is qualified. The stages look something like this: Lead > Marketing Qualified Lead > Sales Qualified Lead > Opportunity > Deal.
You want to set up conversions around these changes in Lifecycle Stage. For example, we’ll set one up for Marketing Qualified Lead, Sales Qualified Lead, and Opportunity. That way, when sales or marketing updates the Lifecycle Stage of a lead, we see the conversion in Google Ads.
So beyond tracking Demo Requests or eBook downloads, you’re giving Google data as to which leads are turning out more valuable than others. And as we discussed earlier, Google is all about the data baby.
Now instead of optimizing for more people who are likely to complete a Demo Request form, you can tell Google to optimize for more people who are more likely to turn into MQLs, SQLs, or Opportunities.
As you can see, this has massive implications for your account as you look to scale. Because it becomes a positive feedback loop.
Image: [More spend = more data = more qualified leads] (Flywheel image)
At First Spark Digital, before we scale any account, we are first ensuring the account has this offline conversion tracking set up. This will depend on your CRM as well as the plan you have. For example, if you have HubSpot but you don’t have the Marketing Pro plan, you won’t be able to use the native integration.
Instead, you’ll have to leverage Zapier to do the same process. It’s a few extra steps but well worth it. If you need help setting this up, we are more than happy to do so. I’ll be linking a video of how to do that in the near future.
We recommend including value for these types of conversions. As this will open the potential for you to run more value-based bidding instead of just optimizing for a target conversion. We’ve seen this work both ways.
Generally, we use it as more of a reference and a way to evaluate the success of a given Campaign/Ad Group/Keyword than a bidding strategy (like Target ROAS).
Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) is critical for B2B brands. And I mean as critical as the keywords you’re targeting and the account structure you’ve set up.
And surprisingly, it’s the one optimization we see the least in accounts. Most likely because of a knowledge gap. But also the technical challenges associated with it.
Offline Conversion Tracking is tracking for, as you guessed it, conversions happening offline. When we refer to Offline Conversions, we’re referring to the changes happening in the CRM (Hubspot or Salesforce) that are communicated back to Google Ads.
More specifically, changes that inform the quality of a given lead. This is usually signaled by the sales rep or in some cases the marketing team.
Both CRMs have their different labels for these types of indicators.
HubSpot uses the field “Lifecycle Stage” to communicate whether a lead is qualified. The stages look something like this: Lead > Marketing Qualified Lead > Sales Qualified Lead > Opportunity > Deal.
You want to set up conversions around these changes in Lifecycle Stage. For example, we’ll set one up for Marketing Qualified Lead, Sales Qualified Lead, and Opportunity. That way, when sales or marketing updates the Lifecycle Stage of a lead, we see the conversion in Google Ads.
So beyond tracking Demo Requests or eBook downloads, you’re giving Google data as to which leads are turning out more valuable than others. And as we discussed earlier, Google is all about the data baby.
Now instead of optimizing for more people who are likely to complete a Demo Request form, you can tell Google to optimize for more people who are more likely to turn into MQLs, SQLs, or Opportunities.
As you can see, this has massive implications for your account as you look to scale. Because it becomes a positive feedback loop.
Image: [More spend = more data = more qualified leads] (Flywheel image)
At First Spark Digital, before we scale any account, we are first ensuring the account has this offline conversion tracking set up. This will depend on your CRM as well as the plan you have. For example, if you have HubSpot but you don’t have the Marketing Pro plan, you won’t be able to use the native integration.
Instead, you’ll have to leverage Zapier to do the same process. It’s a few extra steps but well worth it. If you need help setting this up, we are more than happy to do so. I’ll be linking a video of how to do that in the near future.
We recommend including value for these types of conversions. As this will open the potential for you to run more value-based bidding instead of just optimizing for a target conversion. We’ve seen this work both ways.
Generally, we use it as more of a reference and a way to evaluate the success of a given Campaign/Ad Group/Keyword than a bidding strategy (like Target ROAS).
Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) is critical for B2B brands. And I mean as critical as the keywords you’re targeting and the account structure you’ve set up.
And surprisingly, it’s the one optimization we see the least in accounts. Most likely because of a knowledge gap. But also the technical challenges associated with it.
Offline Conversion Tracking is tracking for, as you guessed it, conversions happening offline. When we refer to Offline Conversions, we’re referring to the changes happening in the CRM (Hubspot or Salesforce) that are communicated back to Google Ads.
More specifically, changes that inform the quality of a given lead. This is usually signaled by the sales rep or in some cases the marketing team.
Both CRMs have their different labels for these types of indicators.
HubSpot uses the field “Lifecycle Stage” to communicate whether a lead is qualified. The stages look something like this: Lead > Marketing Qualified Lead > Sales Qualified Lead > Opportunity > Deal.
You want to set up conversions around these changes in Lifecycle Stage. For example, we’ll set one up for Marketing Qualified Lead, Sales Qualified Lead, and Opportunity. That way, when sales or marketing updates the Lifecycle Stage of a lead, we see the conversion in Google Ads.
So beyond tracking Demo Requests or eBook downloads, you’re giving Google data as to which leads are turning out more valuable than others. And as we discussed earlier, Google is all about the data baby.
Now instead of optimizing for more people who are likely to complete a Demo Request form, you can tell Google to optimize for more people who are more likely to turn into MQLs, SQLs, or Opportunities.
As you can see, this has massive implications for your account as you look to scale. Because it becomes a positive feedback loop.
Image: [More spend = more data = more qualified leads] (Flywheel image)
At First Spark Digital, before we scale any account, we are first ensuring the account has this offline conversion tracking set up. This will depend on your CRM as well as the plan you have. For example, if you have HubSpot but you don’t have the Marketing Pro plan, you won’t be able to use the native integration.
Instead, you’ll have to leverage Zapier to do the same process. It’s a few extra steps but well worth it. If you need help setting this up, we are more than happy to do so. I’ll be linking a video of how to do that in the near future.
We recommend including value for these types of conversions. As this will open the potential for you to run more value-based bidding instead of just optimizing for a target conversion. We’ve seen this work both ways.
Generally, we use it as more of a reference and a way to evaluate the success of a given Campaign/Ad Group/Keyword than a bidding strategy (like Target ROAS).
Now that you've simplified your account and have your offline conversion tracking set up, we’re going to move into the next area of structural setup - bidding strategy.
Now that you've simplified your account and have your offline conversion tracking set up, we’re going to move into the next area of structural setup - bidding strategy.
Now that you've simplified your account and have your offline conversion tracking set up, we’re going to move into the next area of structural setup - bidding strategy.
3. Bidding Strategy
Scaling your ad account without the proper bid strategies in place is a recipe for disaster. Leaving you overpaying for results by underutilizing the data Google can use to optimize.
At this point, I’ll assume you’re familiar with the Bidding Strategies available to you (as we’ve discussed earlier).
This is how we like to start/scale campaigns:
Manual CPC > Max Conversion > Target CPA or Target ROAS
Generally, we’re staying away from Max Clicks, Max Conversion Value, andTarget Impression Share. We’ve had some unique cases where they’ve applied, but in most cases, we’re staying away.
The reason we start with that above path (mCPC > Max Conv., tCPA.) is that it allows us to:
Control our bids to start (manual CPC) while accumulating conversion data
Optimize for “more conversions” once we’ve hit around 15 conversions per month (Max conversion)
Control how much we spend for those conversions (Target CPA)
Ensuring we’re not overpaying for clicks as we optimize for our desired action. While leveraging the data Google gathers to our advantage and controlling that spend once we’re generating a steady flow of conversions.
Note: Max Conversion can generate high CPCs if it thinks the click is close to a conversion. Generally, this is a non-issue. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks of this strategy. And it’s your midpoint before Target CPA.
3. Bidding Strategy
Scaling your ad account without the proper bid strategies in place is a recipe for disaster. Leaving you overpaying for results by underutilizing the data Google can use to optimize.
At this point, I’ll assume you’re familiar with the Bidding Strategies available to you (as we’ve discussed earlier).
This is how we like to start/scale campaigns:
Manual CPC > Max Conversion > Target CPA or Target ROAS
Generally, we’re staying away from Max Clicks, Max Conversion Value, andTarget Impression Share. We’ve had some unique cases where they’ve applied, but in most cases, we’re staying away.
The reason we start with that above path (mCPC > Max Conv., tCPA.) is that it allows us to:
Control our bids to start (manual CPC) while accumulating conversion data
Optimize for “more conversions” once we’ve hit around 15 conversions per month (Max conversion)
Control how much we spend for those conversions (Target CPA)
Ensuring we’re not overpaying for clicks as we optimize for our desired action. While leveraging the data Google gathers to our advantage and controlling that spend once we’re generating a steady flow of conversions.
Note: Max Conversion can generate high CPCs if it thinks the click is close to a conversion. Generally, this is a non-issue. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks of this strategy. And it’s your midpoint before Target CPA.
3. Bidding Strategy
Scaling your ad account without the proper bid strategies in place is a recipe for disaster. Leaving you overpaying for results by underutilizing the data Google can use to optimize.
At this point, I’ll assume you’re familiar with the Bidding Strategies available to you (as we’ve discussed earlier).
This is how we like to start/scale campaigns:
Manual CPC > Max Conversion > Target CPA or Target ROAS
Generally, we’re staying away from Max Clicks, Max Conversion Value, andTarget Impression Share. We’ve had some unique cases where they’ve applied, but in most cases, we’re staying away.
The reason we start with that above path (mCPC > Max Conv., tCPA.) is that it allows us to:
Control our bids to start (manual CPC) while accumulating conversion data
Optimize for “more conversions” once we’ve hit around 15 conversions per month (Max conversion)
Control how much we spend for those conversions (Target CPA)
Ensuring we’re not overpaying for clicks as we optimize for our desired action. While leveraging the data Google gathers to our advantage and controlling that spend once we’re generating a steady flow of conversions.
Note: Max Conversion can generate high CPCs if it thinks the click is close to a conversion. Generally, this is a non-issue. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks of this strategy. And it’s your midpoint before Target CPA.
Pro Tip: If high CPCs plague your industry, you can help keep CPCs under control by creating a Portfolio Bid Strategy using Target CPA. Then apply a Max CPC bid. This will keep a cap on how high Google can bid while it’s trying to capture your conversion at a given CPA.
Understanding how each effort differs and how they should be used together will make executing an impactful paid social strategy 10x easier.
4. Negative Keyword List Organization
This may seem like a given but we’ve seen plenty of high spend accounts that don’t have their negative lists organized properly.
When you start to scale. Disorganized negative lists or even worse - negatives applied at Campaign or Ad group - can be your undoing.
Especially if you’re working towards account consolidation. By applying negatives at the campaign or ad group level, you’re missing out on the ease of passing on those negatives (learnings) to other campaigns.
So how do you organize your negative lists? Here’s a simple breakdown:
Low Intent (Brand)
Irrelevant
Competitor Keywords
Branded Keywords
This will cover most accounts, though feel free to go deeper.
Now let’s put a little more context to those negative keyword lists I’ve listed above.
Low Intent (Brand) - Helps you keep a list of all the low intent branded keywords that may trigger for your brand campaign but have not yielded any results. You’ll want to apply this to your brand campaign.
Irrelevant - Self explanatory here but essentially low intent or irrelevant keyword for all of your non-branded campaigns. Apply this to all of your campaigns (non-brand and competitor).
Competitor Keywords - These will be all of the competitors keywords that come through any campaigns that aren’t competitor focused. Apply to all non-competitor and brand campaigns.
Branded Keywords - Fairly straightforward and standard but worth the mention nonetheless. Apply to all your non-brand and competitor campaigns.
As you begin to scale your spend you will need to review search terms more frequently. Make sure your adding your terms to the correct Negative Keyword list.
Understanding how each effort differs and how they should be used together will make executing an impactful paid social strategy 10x easier.
4. Negative Keyword List Organization
This may seem like a given but we’ve seen plenty of high spend accounts that don’t have their negative lists organized properly.
When you start to scale. Disorganized negative lists or even worse - negatives applied at Campaign or Ad group - can be your undoing.
Especially if you’re working towards account consolidation. By applying negatives at the campaign or ad group level, you’re missing out on the ease of passing on those negatives (learnings) to other campaigns.
So how do you organize your negative lists? Here’s a simple breakdown:
Low Intent (Brand)
Irrelevant
Competitor Keywords
Branded Keywords
This will cover most accounts, though feel free to go deeper.
Now let’s put a little more context to those negative keyword lists I’ve listed above.
Low Intent (Brand) - Helps you keep a list of all the low intent branded keywords that may trigger for your brand campaign but have not yielded any results. You’ll want to apply this to your brand campaign.
Irrelevant - Self explanatory here but essentially low intent or irrelevant keyword for all of your non-branded campaigns. Apply this to all of your campaigns (non-brand and competitor).
Competitor Keywords - These will be all of the competitors keywords that come through any campaigns that aren’t competitor focused. Apply to all non-competitor and brand campaigns.
Branded Keywords - Fairly straightforward and standard but worth the mention nonetheless. Apply to all your non-brand and competitor campaigns.
As you begin to scale your spend you will need to review search terms more frequently. Make sure your adding your terms to the correct Negative Keyword list.
Understanding how each effort differs and how they should be used together will make executing an impactful paid social strategy 10x easier.
4. Negative Keyword List Organization
This may seem like a given but we’ve seen plenty of high spend accounts that don’t have their negative lists organized properly.
When you start to scale. Disorganized negative lists or even worse - negatives applied at Campaign or Ad group - can be your undoing.
Especially if you’re working towards account consolidation. By applying negatives at the campaign or ad group level, you’re missing out on the ease of passing on those negatives (learnings) to other campaigns.
So how do you organize your negative lists? Here’s a simple breakdown:
Low Intent (Brand)
Irrelevant
Competitor Keywords
Branded Keywords
This will cover most accounts, though feel free to go deeper.
Now let’s put a little more context to those negative keyword lists I’ve listed above.
Low Intent (Brand) - Helps you keep a list of all the low intent branded keywords that may trigger for your brand campaign but have not yielded any results. You’ll want to apply this to your brand campaign.
Irrelevant - Self explanatory here but essentially low intent or irrelevant keyword for all of your non-branded campaigns. Apply this to all of your campaigns (non-brand and competitor).
Competitor Keywords - These will be all of the competitors keywords that come through any campaigns that aren’t competitor focused. Apply to all non-competitor and brand campaigns.
Branded Keywords - Fairly straightforward and standard but worth the mention nonetheless. Apply to all your non-brand and competitor campaigns.
As you begin to scale your spend you will need to review search terms more frequently. Make sure your adding your terms to the correct Negative Keyword list.
Pro Tip: Google Ads has a cap on the number of terms you can add to a list (5,000). So if you need to create multiple negative keyword lists for the same category (i.e. Irrelevant), you can simply name it v1, v2, etc. This is something you’ll run into especially as you expand into Broad Match campaigns, which we’ll touch on a bit in the next section.
5. Broad Match
If you read this title and alarm bells went off in your head - you’re in good company. Broad Match is something that has built a deep distrust with Google Ads marketers for a long time.
That’s because for a long time it’s been bad. Really bad.
But this is the new broad match. It’s a different match type but something more than that.
It leverages signals, outside of what phrase and exact match pull to deliver results that are based more on search intent than the keyword itself.
Now those alarm bells, might be sounding more like register ca-chings!
Maybe. But Broad Match is still as it titles states “Broad” so we recommend a few requirements before heading down that road:
5. Broad Match
If you read this title and alarm bells went off in your head - you’re in good company. Broad Match is something that has built a deep distrust with Google Ads marketers for a long time.
That’s because for a long time it’s been bad. Really bad.
But this is the new broad match. It’s a different match type but something more than that.
It leverages signals, outside of what phrase and exact match pull to deliver results that are based more on search intent than the keyword itself.
Now those alarm bells, might be sounding more like register ca-chings!
Maybe. But Broad Match is still as it titles states “Broad” so we recommend a few requirements before heading down that road:
5. Broad Match
If you read this title and alarm bells went off in your head - you’re in good company. Broad Match is something that has built a deep distrust with Google Ads marketers for a long time.
That’s because for a long time it’s been bad. Really bad.
But this is the new broad match. It’s a different match type but something more than that.
It leverages signals, outside of what phrase and exact match pull to deliver results that are based more on search intent than the keyword itself.
Now those alarm bells, might be sounding more like register ca-chings!
Maybe. But Broad Match is still as it titles states “Broad” so we recommend a few requirements before heading down that road:
15-20+ conversions on average per month
Broad Match needs a steady stream of current and historical data to perform well. This range is a starting point but you can play it safe at 30 conversions/mo.
Automated bidding strategy (ideally Target CPA)
Broad Match without an automated bidding strategy in place is a recipe for disaster. Keep Google in line with a Target CPA so it doesn’t go off the rails.
Optimizing for down funnel conversions
Ideally you want to be optimizing for SQL/Opportunities but if you don’t have the volume for that - we’d recommend MQL.
Active negative keyword management
Broad Match can show for a lot of irrelevant search terms. You need to be actively reviewing and excluding search terms to provide guard rails to maintain performance.
Testing initially in an experiment
We recommend launching an Experiment to test Broad Match against your existing campaign(s). Let it run for at least 3 weeks to determine if the results are valid. Then roll them out in your existing campaign if results are positive.
Further when evaluating the success or failure of this experiment look at both your front end metrics (i.e. Demo Request/MQLs) as well as your down funnel metrics like SQL/Opportunities. This way you’re not making a decision without the complete performance picture.
In this example we used “converted salesforce” leads to evaluate beyond just the improvement we saw in cost/conv (request a demo form fill).
Pro Tip: We don’t recommend starting a new campaign because this new campaign will have a lot less data on it. So add them to your existing campaign. I’d recommend then pausing your phrase match keywords so you have both exact and broad match keywords in your Ad Groups.
6. Scaling Beyond Search Campaigns
This is going to serve as more of a general catch all for the remaining campaign types. That’s not to reduce their importance. As each of these has a role to play. However these campaign types are generally what you’re using after you’ve followed steps 1 - 5 first. Once you’ve got those in place, now we can discuss expansion to different ad channels.
Display Ads
We think of Display Ads as the always-on marketing that keeps you top of mind with your customers. Long after they’ve visited your site.
But Display isn’t a guarantee. Just think. When’s the last time you clicked on a Display ad? It's for that reason, we only recommend Display Ads when you’ve built up enough data and have a steady flow of website traffic that you can segment.
How should you segment that traffic? Stick with 30, 60, and 90 day windows and specifically to your key page views (pricing, demo, solutions, why us).
Note: Prospecting can work but that’s a whole article unto it’s own. And not one that’s generally worth the fight.
When you’re running Display Ads, you can choose between Responsive Ads or Static Ads. If you’re conscious about your brand, we’d recommend uploading static ads as responsive ads can create off-brand combinations that your CEO may not like.
Demand Generation Ads (formerly Discovery Ads)
This is the newer kid on the block, though this ad type has been around for years. The name recently was updated from Discovery Ads to Demand Generation. I think mainly because Google wanted something that resonated with the Demand Generation movement of the past few years.
These ads will show on Youtube (including Youtube Shorts), Discover and Gmail. If you have the Google Search app, you’ll also see this on your Google Home screen. Usually the 3rd news article down.
Here’s an example of Demand Generation ads showing across all 3 placements:
6. Scaling Beyond Search Campaigns
This is going to serve as more of a general catch all for the remaining campaign types. That’s not to reduce their importance. As each of these has a role to play. However these campaign types are generally what you’re using after you’ve followed steps 1 - 5 first. Once you’ve got those in place, now we can discuss expansion to different ad channels.
Display Ads
We think of Display Ads as the always-on marketing that keeps you top of mind with your customers. Long after they’ve visited your site.
But Display isn’t a guarantee. Just think. When’s the last time you clicked on a Display ad? It's for that reason, we only recommend Display Ads when you’ve built up enough data and have a steady flow of website traffic that you can segment.
How should you segment that traffic? Stick with 30, 60, and 90 day windows and specifically to your key page views (pricing, demo, solutions, why us).
Note: Prospecting can work but that’s a whole article unto it’s own. And not one that’s generally worth the fight.
When you’re running Display Ads, you can choose between Responsive Ads or Static Ads. If you’re conscious about your brand, we’d recommend uploading static ads as responsive ads can create off-brand combinations that your CEO may not like.
Demand Generation Ads (formerly Discovery Ads)
This is the newer kid on the block, though this ad type has been around for years. The name recently was updated from Discovery Ads to Demand Generation. I think mainly because Google wanted something that resonated with the Demand Generation movement of the past few years.
These ads will show on Youtube (including Youtube Shorts), Discover and Gmail. If you have the Google Search app, you’ll also see this on your Google Home screen. Usually the 3rd news article down.
Here’s an example of Demand Generation ads showing across all 3 placements:
6. Scaling Beyond Search Campaigns
This is going to serve as more of a general catch all for the remaining campaign types. That’s not to reduce their importance. As each of these has a role to play. However these campaign types are generally what you’re using after you’ve followed steps 1 - 5 first. Once you’ve got those in place, now we can discuss expansion to different ad channels.
Display Ads
We think of Display Ads as the always-on marketing that keeps you top of mind with your customers. Long after they’ve visited your site.
But Display isn’t a guarantee. Just think. When’s the last time you clicked on a Display ad? It's for that reason, we only recommend Display Ads when you’ve built up enough data and have a steady flow of website traffic that you can segment.
How should you segment that traffic? Stick with 30, 60, and 90 day windows and specifically to your key page views (pricing, demo, solutions, why us).
Note: Prospecting can work but that’s a whole article unto it’s own. And not one that’s generally worth the fight.
When you’re running Display Ads, you can choose between Responsive Ads or Static Ads. If you’re conscious about your brand, we’d recommend uploading static ads as responsive ads can create off-brand combinations that your CEO may not like.
Demand Generation Ads (formerly Discovery Ads)
This is the newer kid on the block, though this ad type has been around for years. The name recently was updated from Discovery Ads to Demand Generation. I think mainly because Google wanted something that resonated with the Demand Generation movement of the past few years.
These ads will show on Youtube (including Youtube Shorts), Discover and Gmail. If you have the Google Search app, you’ll also see this on your Google Home screen. Usually the 3rd news article down.
Here’s an example of Demand Generation ads showing across all 3 placements:
While Google wants to push this as a Demand Generation (hence the name) ad type, we like to use it for both. Especially retargeting since you’re getting put on placements that in our opinion (and in our testing) have better real estate than Display.
If you plan to use the ad type for Prospecting, you’ll want to measure it similar to your Youtube efforts. That is, without the goal of seeing direct ROI. Because similar to Youtube, this is not an ad type (unless you’re retargeting) that you’ll see a high volume or solid ROI.
If that’s not something you’re able to push for or rationalize given your budget or CEO’s expectations, we recommend sticking with this ad type for retargeting only.
While Google wants to push this as a Demand Generation (hence the name) ad type, we like to use it for both. Especially retargeting since you’re getting put on placements that in our opinion (and in our testing) have better real estate than Display.
If you plan to use the ad type for Prospecting, you’ll want to measure it similar to your Youtube efforts. That is, without the goal of seeing direct ROI. Because similar to Youtube, this is not an ad type (unless you’re retargeting) that you’ll see a high volume or solid ROI.
If that’s not something you’re able to push for or rationalize given your budget or CEO’s expectations, we recommend sticking with this ad type for retargeting only.
While Google wants to push this as a Demand Generation (hence the name) ad type, we like to use it for both. Especially retargeting since you’re getting put on placements that in our opinion (and in our testing) have better real estate than Display.
If you plan to use the ad type for Prospecting, you’ll want to measure it similar to your Youtube efforts. That is, without the goal of seeing direct ROI. Because similar to Youtube, this is not an ad type (unless you’re retargeting) that you’ll see a high volume or solid ROI.
If that’s not something you’re able to push for or rationalize given your budget or CEO’s expectations, we recommend sticking with this ad type for retargeting only.
Performance Max (PMAX) Campaigns
Performance Max (PMAX) Campaigns
Performance Max (PMAX) Campaigns
Oh boy, where do I begin with Performance Max (PMAX). Let’s first address the elephant in the room which is over-attribution. PMAX will take credit for everything. And I mean everything.
On the surface PMAX will look great. It’ll will look like PMAX is the golden goose you’ve been waiting for - poised to scale your account to the moon. However what is happening behind the scenes is PMAX is going after all of your remarketing audiences and branded terms. It’s goal is to find the easiest conversions.
Further, PMAX takes priority over any other ad campaign and match types except exact match for search. That means if you’re running a Demand Generation Ad campaign, a Youtube ad campaign, Display and Search campaigns (used phrase/broad match keywords) - PMAX will be first in line ahead of all of those.
For this reason we recommend approaching PMAX carefully. What does carefully mean? It means you’ll want to have PMAX optimizing only for down funnel events like MQL but ideally SQL or Opportunities. Further, you’ll want to make sure you’re generating at least 20 - 30 of those conversions each month.
If you give Performance Max any other conversion, say a demo form fill - you’re be filling your CRM up with a lot of low quality leads or worse - bots.
Oh boy, where do I begin with Performance Max (PMAX). Let’s first address the elephant in the room which is over-attribution. PMAX will take credit for everything. And I mean everything.
On the surface PMAX will look great. It’ll will look like PMAX is the golden goose you’ve been waiting for - poised to scale your account to the moon. However what is happening behind the scenes is PMAX is going after all of your remarketing audiences and branded terms. It’s goal is to find the easiest conversions.
Further, PMAX takes priority over any other ad campaign and match types except exact match for search. That means if you’re running a Demand Generation Ad campaign, a Youtube ad campaign, Display and Search campaigns (used phrase/broad match keywords) - PMAX will be first in line ahead of all of those.
For this reason we recommend approaching PMAX carefully. What does carefully mean? It means you’ll want to have PMAX optimizing only for down funnel events like MQL but ideally SQL or Opportunities. Further, you’ll want to make sure you’re generating at least 20 - 30 of those conversions each month.
If you give Performance Max any other conversion, say a demo form fill - you’re be filling your CRM up with a lot of low quality leads or worse - bots.
Oh boy, where do I begin with Performance Max (PMAX). Let’s first address the elephant in the room which is over-attribution. PMAX will take credit for everything. And I mean everything.
On the surface PMAX will look great. It’ll will look like PMAX is the golden goose you’ve been waiting for - poised to scale your account to the moon. However what is happening behind the scenes is PMAX is going after all of your remarketing audiences and branded terms. It’s goal is to find the easiest conversions.
Further, PMAX takes priority over any other ad campaign and match types except exact match for search. That means if you’re running a Demand Generation Ad campaign, a Youtube ad campaign, Display and Search campaigns (used phrase/broad match keywords) - PMAX will be first in line ahead of all of those.
For this reason we recommend approaching PMAX carefully. What does carefully mean? It means you’ll want to have PMAX optimizing only for down funnel events like MQL but ideally SQL or Opportunities. Further, you’ll want to make sure you’re generating at least 20 - 30 of those conversions each month.
If you give Performance Max any other conversion, say a demo form fill - you’re be filling your CRM up with a lot of low quality leads or worse - bots.
Youtube Ads
Youtube Ads
Youtube Ads
I’ve saved Youtube for last because of all the non-search based campaign types, it is the one with the most untapped potential but also the channel with the most difficult attribution problem.
Unlike the other campaign types listed above, Youtube will not show the direct ROI that you’ll see with say your Competitor search campaign or PMAX campaign. Youtube Ads are purely an awareness play.
Generally we wouldn’t recommend Youtube Ads for a brand that’s spend less than $50,000/mo and I’d push that up towards $100,000/mo.
Don’t me wrong Youtube is an excellent channel for generating brand awareness and familiarity with your audience. However it requires an initial investment (producing the video) and then a follow on investment that’s not earmarked for returns.
Most organizations, outside of the larger players can stomach this - but for those who can, Youtube Ads are among some of the most attractive ad types across all platforms for generating awareness.
I’ve saved Youtube for last because of all the non-search based campaign types, it is the one with the most untapped potential but also the channel with the most difficult attribution problem.
Unlike the other campaign types listed above, Youtube will not show the direct ROI that you’ll see with say your Competitor search campaign or PMAX campaign. Youtube Ads are purely an awareness play.
Generally we wouldn’t recommend Youtube Ads for a brand that’s spend less than $50,000/mo and I’d push that up towards $100,000/mo.
Don’t me wrong Youtube is an excellent channel for generating brand awareness and familiarity with your audience. However it requires an initial investment (producing the video) and then a follow on investment that’s not earmarked for returns.
Most organizations, outside of the larger players can stomach this - but for those who can, Youtube Ads are among some of the most attractive ad types across all platforms for generating awareness.
I’ve saved Youtube for last because of all the non-search based campaign types, it is the one with the most untapped potential but also the channel with the most difficult attribution problem.
Unlike the other campaign types listed above, Youtube will not show the direct ROI that you’ll see with say your Competitor search campaign or PMAX campaign. Youtube Ads are purely an awareness play.
Generally we wouldn’t recommend Youtube Ads for a brand that’s spend less than $50,000/mo and I’d push that up towards $100,000/mo.
Don’t me wrong Youtube is an excellent channel for generating brand awareness and familiarity with your audience. However it requires an initial investment (producing the video) and then a follow on investment that’s not earmarked for returns.
Most organizations, outside of the larger players can stomach this - but for those who can, Youtube Ads are among some of the most attractive ad types across all platforms for generating awareness.
To Wrap Things Up
If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate your time and attention. And I imagine you’ve learned a thing or two along the way. To do a quick review on how we got here, we covered:
The importance of simplifying your account structure.
Why setting up offline conversion tracking (OCT) is mission critical.
The efficiencies gained with automated bidding strategies.
Why negative keyword list management matters as you scale.
Why broad match can be helpful under certain conditions.
And the viability of the other ad campaign types like Demand Generation, Display, PMAX and Youtube.
The goal of this article was give you the structural framework to create a Google Ads account that can scale far beyond $50K/mo. it ad spend. So whether you’re at $5K or $25K/mo, you can employ these principles to set your account up for scaling success.
To Wrap Things Up
If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate your time and attention. And I imagine you’ve learned a thing or two along the way. To do a quick review on how we got here, we covered:
The importance of simplifying your account structure.
Why setting up offline conversion tracking (OCT) is mission critical.
The efficiencies gained with automated bidding strategies.
Why negative keyword list management matters as you scale.
Why broad match can be helpful under certain conditions.
And the viability of the other ad campaign types like Demand Generation, Display, PMAX and Youtube.
The goal of this article was give you the structural framework to create a Google Ads account that can scale far beyond $50K/mo. it ad spend. So whether you’re at $5K or $25K/mo, you can employ these principles to set your account up for scaling success.
To Wrap Things Up
If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate your time and attention. And I imagine you’ve learned a thing or two along the way. To do a quick review on how we got here, we covered:
The importance of simplifying your account structure.
Why setting up offline conversion tracking (OCT) is mission critical.
The efficiencies gained with automated bidding strategies.
Why negative keyword list management matters as you scale.
Why broad match can be helpful under certain conditions.
And the viability of the other ad campaign types like Demand Generation, Display, PMAX and Youtube.
The goal of this article was give you the structural framework to create a Google Ads account that can scale far beyond $50K/mo. it ad spend. So whether you’re at $5K or $25K/mo, you can employ these principles to set your account up for scaling success.
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