It baffles me that after 15+ years doing Google Ads, almost no one tells you exactly how to properly manage and optimize your account.
I mean, sure, there are lots of articles giving you tips and tricks, hacks and whatnot, but no one seems to tell you EXACTLY how to manage an account on a day to day basis.
I’m ending that with a series of posts.
First of all, and this is VERY important.
I learned this lesson after years of messing around in Google Ads and working much harder than I had to:
IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT.
In other words, if your account is generally performing, i.e. you are achieving your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), such as Cost Per Conversion/Cost Per Sale, Lead Volume, etc., but you have a rough day, you don’t have to do ANYTHING.
I can’t stress this enough.
A day or two of underperformance, or even a few in a row, doesn’t mean your account is in trouble.
Many times, an account will fix itself when left untouched.
There’s a lot of randomness and external factors involved in digital advertising and just like in life and love, you need to let things flow.
But how do you define REAL underperformance?
In my view, an account is underperforming if two conditions are met:
- It hasn’t met your KPIs for 3 days in a row
- It hasn’t met your KPIs when looking at the last 30 days worth of data
If both are met, it means there is a serious issue that must be corrected.
If not, let it run a while more and see if it fixes itself.
Odds are, it will.
You only make changes if BOTH conditions are met.
Credit where credit is due… I actually learned this principle from Jason Hornung’s excellent Facebook Ads training, and I saw that it makes total sense for Google Ads as well (and probably other platforms).
Next time, I will give you a general overview of what you need to do on a day by day basis, once you confirm that your account is indeed underperforming.
I have a set of changes I recommend making, and I like to do them on specific days for a more consistent account performance and work schedule.
Don’t miss that post!
P.S.: If you need help with your Google Ads, go here to book a free consultation with me.