What 54 Google Adverts experiments taught me about lead gen

For 2 years, my crew ran 54 Google Adverts experiments in a single lead gen (non-ecommerce) account, testing numerous options, together with:

This text delves into these checks, explaining the rationale behind them, the outcomes achieved and the implications to your personal Google Adverts accounts.

TL;DR

• We ran 54 experiments over two years protecting a spread of options for a lead era enterprise.
• Key checks lined bid methods, match varieties and advert copy.
• Actual match key phrases nearly all the time carry out higher than phrase match key phrases.
• Maximize conversion technique tended to underperform different bid methods.
• Goal CPA bidding helped us hone in on an optimum CPA degree for us. 

What are Google Adverts experiments?

Google Adverts experiments enable advertisers to check adjustments inside their campaigns earlier than absolutely implementing them. 

These experiments, carried out on the marketing campaign degree, present a structured framework to simply arrange these adjustments, check for significance and apply the adjustments to the entire marketing campaign if they’re efficient.

For extra detailed data, the official Google Adverts help pages provide further steerage.

Experiment setup overview

Throughout two years, we carried out 54 experiments, testing quite a lot of levers in Google Adverts. Under are a number of examples of the experiments.

Key check classes 

• Bidding: Testing completely different bidding strategies in opposition to one another. For instance, maximize conversions vs. goal CPA or goal CPA of $90 vs. goal CPA of $120. 
• Advert copy: Pinning sure advert copies down, testing sure copies or new touchdown pages.
• Key phrase match: Testing actual match key phrases vs. phrase match.

Timings

There was no set time for every experiment, however we tried to run every experiment for not less than 30 days. 

Nevertheless, typically when the outcomes have been clear in much less time, we decided. Lots of the experiments ran for over three months, and most ran for over two months. 

Analysis

We evaluated all experiments primarily based on conversion fee, conversion quantity and value per acquisition – balancing these metrics to decide. (For advert copy checks, we additionally used CTR.) 

Experiment outcomes 

1. Actual match vs. phrase match 

Actual match key phrases carried out higher on all standards when in comparison with phrase match. That they had decrease CPAs and better conversion charges and maintained related conversion volumes to phrase match key phrases.

Insights

• Though actual match key phrases have been dearer, they nonetheless nearly all the time had larger conversion charges and decrease CPA than phrase match key phrases. 
• Whereas sure phrase match key phrases will be helpful, when taken as a grouped marketing campaign, it was all the time higher for us to run actual match key phrases solely. 
• Phrase match has a spot and will be helpful for search time period discovery and in new campaigns, but when there’s sufficient quantity for actual key phrases, the latter ought to all the time be most well-liked. 
• Actual match key phrases usually carry out higher than phrase match key phrases as a result of Google hides many search phrases on phrase match key phrases. 
• In lots of circumstances, we discovered as much as 80% of search time period impressions and clicks are hidden when in comparison with key phrase impressions and clicks. 
• You’ll be able to see this on the search phrases report. The proportion hidden on actual match is much decrease as a result of the search time period potentialities are far decrease. 
• With phrase, you don’t really know lots of the key phrases you’ve bid on and are unable to unfavourable out many search phrases, which additional lowers the standard of those key phrases.

2. Maximize conversion bidding vs. different bidding methods

In all the experiments the place we ran maximize conversions in opposition to a goal CPA technique, the goal CPA technique all the time outperformed, driving extra leads on the identical value. 

Once we ran maximize conversions in opposition to guide bidding, maximize conversions carried out higher. 

Insights

• In case you are utilizing guide bidding and you’ve got sufficient conversion knowledge, then it is best to transfer to automated bidding. Both goal CPA or maximize conversions can be an excellent choice. 
• In case you don’t have a number of conversion knowledge, it is best to wait or check maximize conversion bidding. Normally, we discovered that in comparison with tCPA, maximize conversion bidding drove bids too excessive to be efficient. It allowed Google to set bids too excessive, typically excessively so.
• Google’s recommendation right here was that the bids would stabilize over time. Nevertheless, we ran these checks usually for 3 months and didn’t see bids come down. 
• It’s possible most advertisers, like us, wouldn’t have the ability to maintain such excessive bids for this lengthy. 

3. Goal CPA vs. goal CPA at completely different ranges 

Basically, we examined tCPA at completely different ranges (e.g., tCPA 90 vs. 120). Roughly half of our goal CPA experiments failed and half succeeded.

Insights

• The outcomes confirmed {that a} goal CPA of round 120 produced the perfect outcomes. 
• Assessments with goal CPAs decrease than 120, corresponding to 110, didn’t enhance efficiency. 
• The 120 goal CPA constantly delivered larger conversions at a greater value per conversion.
• For our account, which is closely lead-based, tCPA tends to be the perfect mannequin. 
• We discovered the optimum goal CPA that maximizes leads inside our finances. Your objective with experiments needs to be to search out your individual optimum goal CPA, which can range.

Subsequent steps

Whereas our outcomes present useful insights, do not forget that each PPC account and marketing campaign is exclusive.

Testing these methods in your particular context will assist verify whether or not our outcomes apply to your state of affairs.

Our experiments can function a place to begin for optimizing your lead gen campaigns. By leveraging our findings, it can save you effort and time in your individual testing course of. 

Validate our outcomes with your individual knowledge, and if the outcomes align, confidently implement these adjustments in your account for improved efficiency.