Anna Simpson, Author at Cedarwood Digital

How To Add Negative Keywords To Performance Max Campaigns

23rd October 2024

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

Incorporating negative keywords into a campaign can enhance ad relevance, increase CTR, lower CPC, and ultimately help save on budget. This raises the question, ‘can negative keywords be added to performance max campaigns?’. The short answer is yes, and the long answer is also yes, but it’s a bit complicated. There are currently two methods for adding negative keywords, with a third coming very soon. In this blog post, we’ll run you through them to help simplify the process and give your campaigns a boost.

Option 1: Adding negative keywords manually

The first option is to add the keywords manually. While straightforward, this approach does come with some limitations to be aware of before you begin. The main thing to bear in mind is that you can only add keywords at an account level, thereby excluding them from all campaigns, which is not always the best option. This can be frustrating if you want more granular control over your campaigns, and it could result in you unintentionally excluding valuable traffic from campaigns where those terms could be relevant.

With this in mind, to go ahead with the manual option, simply follow the steps below.

Begin by signing in to your Google Ads account and navigating to ‘Account Settings’.

Once there, click the dropdown arrow for ‘Negative Keywords’.

Click the blue plus button, and then insert the specific negative keywords you wish to implement. Lastly, click save.

Option 2: Using Google Support

To add negative keywords to specific campaigns, you’ll need to use option 2, which requires you to contact Google support.

Again, sign in to your Google Ads account, and click the ‘Help’ icon in the top left navigation bar. This will bring up the quick help panel, in which you scroll down and click ‘Contact Us’.

In the ‘Tell us what you need help with’ bar, type something along the lines of “I want to add negative keywords to a performance max campaign”, then click ‘Next Step’.

At this point, a page similar to the one below will appear, where you can select an option which matches your request, or simply ‘Other’, then click ‘Next step’

Here, you select the relevant Google Ads account from the drop-down menu, and click the ‘Email’ icon. Then, input your contact name and the name of the company associated with the Google Ads account you just selected.
In the ‘Summary of the issue’ section, adapt the message below to explain that you would like to add specific negative keywords to a specific campaign, and then submit your request.

“On behalf of [company name], I authorise Google to implement the following adjustments in Google Ads account [google ads account number] without prior notification. Please link the negative keyword list, titled [negative keyword list name] to the campaign named [Performance Max campaign name]:

[here paste your keyword list]

Kind regards.”

Option 3: Sit back and wait!

The last option is nice and easy; if you aren’t pushed for time, you can simply wait until the end of 2024. Google has announced the launch of campaign-level negative keywords in Performance Max in late 2024, a significant update that will address many advertisers’ concerns. This adjustment will provide greater control over negative keyword exclusion and is designed to facilitate greater harmony with brand and audience preferences.

If your PMax campaigns are currently performing well, waiting for the update may be a viable option for you. You can use this waiting period to analyse your current campaigns, identify crucial negative keywords, and prepare for the update.

In summary…

We’ve presented three options for you here, if you’re looking to start implementing negative keywords. The best approach for you will come down to your specific business needs and campaign performance. But, whichever route you take, it’s definitely worth looking into how negative keywords can help your campaign performance for several reasons:

By excluding irrelevant search terms, your ads are more likely to appear for searches that truly matter to your business; this can lead to higher click-through rates and better overall ad performance.

Negative keywords help prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches, reducing wasted ad spend on clicks that are unlikely to convert.

More relevant ads typically lead to better Quality Scores, which can result in lower costs per click and better ad positions.

Negative keywords can prevent your ads from appearing alongside content that might be detrimental to your brand image, or in contexts that are inappropriate for your product or service.

Need a hand?

Cedarwood Digital are a PPC agency based in Manchester, working with a range of clients, from SMEs to large multinationals. We know exactly how to maximise your marketing spend and extract the most from your campaigns. When it comes to paid advertising, sometimes it’s best to leave it to experts who know how to get the very most for your money.

If this sounds good to you, why not get in touch with us today?

PPC Landing Page Best Practices: Tips for Better Conversion Rates

17th August 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

With PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, every click carries a cost. It is imperative to convert those hard-earned visitors into customers to maximise the return on investment (ROI) of your ad spend. In this blog post, we will explore essential strategies for conversion rate optimisation (CRO) in the context of PPC advertising. We will cover overall optimisation techniques, desktop-specific tactics, and mobile-specific approaches. By implementing these recommendations, you can enhance user experience, increase trust, and amplify the impact of your PPC campaigns.

Overall Optimisation:

💡Ease of Navigation: Simplify your website’s navigation structure and ensure that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for without having to click through to different pages and get lost in the website.

💡Streamlined Conversion Funnel: Optimise the conversion process by reducing friction and eliminating unnecessary steps. Make it easy for visitors to convert by simplifying forms, minimising data entry requirements, and providing clear instructions.

💡Trust Signals from Third-Party Reviewers: Incorporate testimonials, ratings, and reviews from reputable third-party sources. Positive feedback and social proof enhance trust in your brand, ultimately influencing purchase decisions.

💡Unique Selling Propositions (USPs): Clearly communicate your company’s unique value propositions to visitors. Highlight what sets your business apart from the competition and why customers should choose your products or services.

💡Address Pain Points: Identify common pain points or challenges faced by your target audience and emphasise how your offerings provide effective solutions. Focus on addressing customer needs to increase the likelihood of conversion.

💡Landing Page Relevance: Ensure your landing pages directly related to the keywords and messaging used in your PPC ads. Consistency between your ad and landing page creates a seamless user experience, increasing the likelihood of conversion. Users should find what they expect to see, fostering trust and minimising bounce rates.

💡Speed and Performance: Mobile users expect fast-loading pages. Optimise your mobile landing pages to load quickly, keeping visitors engaged and reducing the chances of abandonment.

Desktop Optimisation:

💻Design-Driven Content: Desktop users often desire more comprehensive information before making a purchasing decision. Create visually appealing landing pages that incorporate detailed content, including product features, benefits, and customer testimonials.

💻Clear CTAs: Use visually appealing, attention-grabbing Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons that stand out from the surrounding content. Ensure that they are strategically placed to drive conversions and guide users towards desired actions.

💻A/B Testing: Continuously test different elements, such as headlines, images, colours, and CTAs, on your desktop landing pages. This iterative approach helps identify the most effective combinations that yield the highest conversion rates.

Mobile Optimisation:

📱Responsive Design: Ensure your landing pages are fully optimised for mobile devices, providing a seamless browsing experience. Responsive design guarantees that your PPC ads drive mobile users to mobile-friendly landing pages, reducing friction and improving conversion rates.

📱Thumb-Friendly CTAs: Optimise mobile CTAs by aligning them with users’ natural thumb placement. Placing important buttons within easy reach improves user experience and encourages conversions.

📱Visible Contact Information: Make sure that essential information like phone numbers and contact details are clearly visible on mobile devices. This enables users to quickly reach out and establishes trust and accessibility.

📱Minimise Scrolling and Text: Mobile users have limited screen space and attention spans. Reduce the amount of scrolling required and keep the text concise, ensuring key information and CTAs are visible without excessive scrolling.

📱Prominent CTAs: Place CTAs near the top of the mobile screen to capture users’ attention without the need for excessive scrolling. Make them highly visible and intuitive for quick and effortless conversions.

Conclusion:

PPC advertising requires a strategic approach to ensure that your investment translates into tangible business results. Conversion rate optimisation is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, testing, and refinement. By implementing these conversion rate optimisation strategies, you can increase the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns, boost user engagement, and ultimately improve ROI. Remember to tailor your optimisations to both desktop and mobile users, leveraging the unique advantages and challenges each platform presents. Stay proactive, continuously monitor performance, and refine your campaigns based on user behaviour to unlock the full potential of your PPC advertising efforts.

Challenging Digital KPI Metrics in PPC Advertising: Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics

10th August 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

In the realm of PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, businesses often rely on key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and drive their digital marketing strategies. However, it is crucial to recognize that not all metrics are created equal, and some may not directly translate into real, tangible business value. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the shortcomings of certain KPIs, especially in lead generation industries, and discuss how to approach challenging KPIs internally with clients to focus on metrics that truly drive value for the business.

The Pitfalls of Vanity Metrics

👎Lead Generation: Quantity ≠ Quality

Lead generation is a popular KPI in PPC advertising, as it reflects the number of potential customers expressing interest in a product or service. However, the quantity of leads alone does not guarantee revenue generation. It is essential to consider the quality of leads, i.e., how likely they are to convert into paying customers/clients that will drive revenue for your business. Simply increasing the number of leads without considering their qualification may result in wasted resources and inefficient marketing efforts.

👎Form Submissions: Beyond Surface-Level Engagement

Form submissions are often seen as an indicator of customer engagement. While they demonstrate an initial interest, they do not provide a comprehensive understanding of the lead’s intent or potential value to the business. For example, someone who submits a form for a free e-book might have different intentions than someone who requests a personalised demo. Relying solely on form submissions as a KPI can lead to skewed insights and misguided decision-making.

Approaching Challenging KPIs with Clients

➡️Educate on the Limitations

When working with clients, it is crucial to educate them about the limitations of vanity metrics and the importance of focusing on metrics that align with the business’s bottom line. Explain that not all leads are created equal and emphasise the need to assess the quality and conversion potential of leads to drive actual revenue.

➡️Shift Focus to Sales-Qualified Leads (SQLs)

Instead of fixating on increasing the overall number of leads, shift the emphasis to identifying and nurturing sales-qualified leads (SQLs). An SQL is a lead that has been vetted and determined to have a higher likelihood of converting into a paying customer/client. By focusing on increasing the percentage of SQLs within the lead pool, businesses can drive more effective marketing campaigns and maximise their return on investment (ROI).

➡️Cost-Effectiveness over Quantity

Highlight the cost-effectiveness of focusing on increasing the percentage of SQLs instead of simply aiming for higher lead numbers. Share examples to demonstrate how an increase in SQLs from, say, 20% to 40%, can result in a higher conversion rate and a more significant impact on the bottom line. This approach ensures that marketing efforts are optimised to generate revenue, rather than being diluted by a high volume of unqualified leads which can overload the internal teams. This becomes even more important when growing an account – as costs increase you want to ensure that the budget is being spent as effectively as possible to drive the best ROI.

The Benefits of SQL’s for Agencies

👍Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

By challenging traditional KPIs and focusing on metrics that drive real business value, agencies can establish a unique selling proposition in a crowded market. Positioning themselves as partners who prioritise the client’s bottom line sets them apart from competitors who may solely focus on vanity metrics. This USP showcases the agency’s commitment to delivering results that directly contribute to the client’s success.

👍Client Respect and Trust

Shifting the focus to metrics that align with the client’s business goals demonstrates a deep understanding of their needs and objectives. It showcases the agency’s dedication to the client’s success and long-term growth. When clients see that their agency is actively working towards maximising revenue and ROI, they develop a higher level of trust and respect for the agency’s expertise and strategic guidance.

👍Enhanced Collaboration

Challenging KPIs and aligning marketing efforts with true business value fosters a collaborative relationship between the agency and the client. It encourages open and constructive conversations about the most effective strategies, target audiences, and campaign optimisation. The agency becomes a trusted advisor, collaborating closely with the client to identify the metrics that truly matter and tailoring campaigns accordingly.

👍Long-Term Partnerships

By focusing on metrics that directly impact the client’s revenue and business growth, agencies are more likely to forge long-term partnerships. As the agency consistently delivers value-driven results, the client recognises their expertise and commitment to success. This increases the likelihood of repeat business, referrals, and the opportunity for the agency to become an integral part of the client’s marketing strategy for the long haul.

👍Increased ROI for Clients

Ultimately, by challenging KPIs and prioritising metrics that drive real business value, agencies help their clients achieve a higher return on investment (ROI). By focusing resources on attracting and nurturing sales-qualified leads, marketing efforts become more efficient and cost-effective. This, in turn, leads to increased revenue generation and a higher ROI for the client, solidifying the agency’s reputation as a valuable partner.

Conclusion

While lead generation and form submissions are popular metrics in PPC advertising, they often fail to equate to true business value. To effectively challenge and overcome these vanity metrics, it is crucial to shift the focus towards metrics that directly impact the bottom line. By educating clients about the limitations of vanity metrics, emphasising the importance of sales-qualified leads, and prioritising cost-effectiveness over quantity, businesses can drive meaningful results and ensure that their PPC advertising efforts contribute to tangible revenue generation. Challenging KPIs and focusing on driving real business value not only benefits clients but also provides unique advantages for agencies. By positioning themselves as partners who prioritise the client’s bottom line, agencies can earn respect, trust, and long-term partnerships.

Remember, in digital marketing, true success lies not in the number of leads generated but in the quality of leads and their conversion potential.

Maximising ROI: Importing Phone Call Vetted Leads into Google Ads

3rd August 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

In the digital age, businesses rely on various online marketing channels to generate leads and drive conversions. However, for certain industries, phone calls remain a vital source of qualified leads. To ensure a holistic view of lead generation and optimise marketing efforts, it’s crucial to import phone call vetted leads back into the Google Ads interface. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of this approach and outline the steps to successfully import phone call vetted leads into Google Ads.

Benefits of Importing Phone Call Vetted Leads:

⚡Comprehensive Lead Tracking: Importing phone calls of leads that turned out to be qualified back into Google Ads allows you to consolidate your lead tracking efforts. By capturing and analysing both online and offline conversions, you gain a more comprehensive view of your marketing campaign’s effectiveness.

⚡Enhanced Conversion Attribution: Phone call conversions often represent high-value engagements. Importing these leads into Google Ads helps attribute conversions accurately, giving you insights into the true impact of your ad spend and optimising your return on investment (ROI).

⚡Refining Targeting and Optimisation: Incorporating phone call data enables you to identify patterns and trends related to high-converting leads. You can leverage this information to refine your audience targeting, ad messaging, and bidding strategies, leading to more effective campaigns.

⚡Closed-Loop Reporting: You can bridge the gap between offline and online activities, enabling closed-loop reporting. This allows you to assess the entire customer journey, from the initial ad impression to the phone call conversion, gaining valuable insights into your marketing funnel.

Steps to Import Phone Call Vetted Leads into Google Ads:

➡️Step 1: Set Up Conversion Tracking:

Ensure that you have conversion tracking set up in your Google Ads account. Create a conversion action specifically for phone call leads.

➡️Step 2: Track Phone Call Conversions:

Use call tracking software or a call analytics platform to track and record phone call conversions. Assign a unique phone number to each marketing campaign or channel to accurately attribute leads as well as record the GCLID.

➡️Step 3: Define Conversion Parameters:

Identify the parameters that determine a qualified phone call lead for your business. This could include call duration, intention to proceed or other relevant criteria.

➡️Step 4: Export Call Data:

Export the call data from your call tracking software or call analytics platform in a compatible format, such as a CSV file.

➡️Step 5: Prepare Import File:

Format the exported call data into a CSV file that aligns with Google Ads’ import requirements. Include details such as the GCLID, date and time to allow Google to map this back to specific campaigns.

➡️Step 6: Import Call Data into Google Ads:

Access the Google Ads interface and navigate to the Tools & Settings menu. Select “Conversions” and click on the “+” button to create a new conversion. Choose the “Import” option and upload the CSV file containing your call data.

➡️Step 7: Map Data Fields:

Map the fields in your CSV file to the appropriate conversion tracking fields in Google Ads. Ensure accurate data mapping to facilitate seamless integration and reporting.

➡️Step 8: Verify and Save:

Review the imported call data to ensure accuracy. Save the settings, and Google Ads will begin attributing imported phone call leads to your campaigns.

Conclusion

Importing phone call vetted leads into the Google Ads interface provides invaluable insights into the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. By consolidating online and offline conversions, you gain a comprehensive view of lead generation and can optimise your advertising efforts accordingly. Follow the outlined steps to seamlessly import phone call leads into Google Ads, enabling more accurate conversion tracking, refined targeting, and closed-loop reporting. Embrace this holistic approach to maximise your ROI and make data-driven decisions that drive business growth.

Best Practices To Improve Your PPC Landing Page

27th July 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

Best Practices To Improve Your PPC Landing Page

As a PPC expert, you will understand the critical role that landing pages play in the success of our campaigns. A well-optimised landing page can significantly improve conversion rates, enhance user experience, and improve your ad rank. In this blog post, we will go through some of the best practices to help you improve your PPC landing pages and boost the effectiveness of your campaigns.

⚡Trust Signals and Social Proof

Building trust and credibility on your landing pages may be what encourages a customer to complete a conversion action. This provides strong trust signals to the site and should be visible to increase user confidence. To do this, consider including customer testimonials, client logos, security badges and any relevant awards or certifications that your business/staff have acquired. Trustpilot is one of the most well-known review sites that users recognise as this is a transparent third-party site where previous customers can report back on their experience. Put emphasis on receiving reviews from customers to build up your score and then display them in a widget or banner on your website.

⚡Align Landing Pages With Ad Copy

Making sure there is a seamless transition between your ad copy and landing page content is important. Maintaining consistent messaging, keywords, and design elements will reassure the user that they’ve arrived in the right place. By delivering a consistent experience, you can reduce bounce rates and improve the chances of conversion.

⚡Clear and Compelling Headline

Make sure you create a clear and attention-grabbing headline that instantly communicates the value proposition of your product or service. Make it relevant, concise, and interesting to the ad that brought the user to the landing page. Most people don’t read every word on the page, they skim through it – a strong headline captures attention, engages the user and encourages them to stay on the page and engage further.

⚡Optimise for a fast loading speed

Page load time is crucial for both user experience and ad quality scores. Optimise your landing pages to load quickly by compressing images, minifying code, and leveraging browser caching. Fast load times can enhance user experience, and also positively impact ad performance. According to Google, two seconds is the acceptable threshold for loading times on an e-commerce website.

⚡Concise and Engaging Content

Create concise and persuasive content that clearly communicates the benefits of your product or service. Use bullet points, subheadings, and visual elements such as icons and logos to break up the text and make it more digestible for the user. Focus on the unique selling points and address any pain points customers may have. Remember when the user has clicked on your ad they already have a higher intent to convert. Optimise all content on this page to make sure that it all directly contributes to a conversion.

⚡Strong Call-To-Actions

Include a clear CTA that guides users to complete the action. There is no point in paying to bring a user to the site if we aren’t going to give them a clear path to conversion. Use action-orientated words such as ‘Shop Now’, ‘Start Your Claim’ and, ‘Sign Up Today’ to create a sense of urgency and encourage the customers to make prompt action. Make the CTA visually stand out so that it cannot be missed. Some ways to do this are using encapsulation and bold colours. If you have more than one CTA, prioritise them to have the most desired first.

⚡Mobile-Friendly Focus

It is crucial to optimise your landing pages for mobile devices. Ensure that the design is suitable, and provides easy navigation for the user. What works on desktop may not on mobile. Text-heavy landing pages can mean that the user has to scroll many times before reaching a CTA. Make sure you test your landing pages across different devices and screen sizes for a seamless user experience.

Some things to consider when optimising for mobile:

👉CTAs are centred or aligned to the right – design with thumb in mind.

👉Keep clickable elements large and spaced out – many people use their phones with one thumb or finger.

👉Design for less space – prioritise your landing page elements.

👉Make each word count – you have less space for text on the page so cut out any fluff and prioritise.

👉Make speed your top priority – users are especially picky about page speed on mobile.

⚡A/B Testing

Make sure you’re continuously testing and optimising your landing pages to improve their performance. Conduct A/B tests to compare different versions of your landing page elements, such as headlines, CTAs, layout, and images. Collect data and analyse your results, and make data-driven decisions to refine and enhance your landing pages.

⚡Conversion Tracking

Lastly, ensure your conversion tracking is working and accurate to measure the effectiveness of your landing pages. Set up conversion events and track key metrics such as conversion rate, bounce rate, time spent on a page, and average session duration. You can then leverage this data to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions to benefit your PPC campaigns.

Conclusion:

To round this up, optimising your landing pages is a vital part of running successful Google Ads campaigns. By following these best practices, you can create landing pages that engage users, deliver a seamless user experience, and drive conversions. Continuously test, analyse, and refine your landing pages to achieve the best results for your client. Remember, a well-optimised landing page is a key ingredient in maximising the return on investment of your PPC efforts.

Targeting Shopping Ads Only with Performance Max Campaigns

20th July 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

Targeting Shopping Ads Only with Performance Max Campaigns

In the ever-evolving world of digital advertising, advertisers are often faced with the challenge of meeting the demands set by platforms like Google. With Google’s push to expand targeting options across various channels, advertisers are compelled to broaden their reach beyond traditional avenues. However, there is a workaround with Performance Max campaigns whereby advertisers can strategically focus their efforts solely on shopping ads while excluding other channels like Maps, YouTube, Discover & Display. In this blog post, we will explore how to set up Performance Max campaigns exclusively for shopping ads, highlighting the benefits and considerations of this approach.

Setting Up Performance Max Campaigns for Shopping Ads Only:

1️⃣ Campaign Creation: Start by creating a new Performance Max campaign within Google Ads.

2️⃣ Campaign Goals: Define your campaign goals, such as maximising sales or conversions, aligning with the specific objectives of your shopping ads.

3️⃣ Campaign Settings: Ensure that any “Automatically Created Assets” are unticked.

4️⃣ Bidding Strategy: Utilise a bidding strategy that aligns with your shopping goals and budget, ensuring it reflects your intention to serve ads exclusively on shopping platforms.

5️⃣ Asset Group: Ensure that all images, videos, logos headlines and descriptions are left empty. This is crucial as it makes sure that Google doesn’t have the correct assets to utilise on the other channels we want to exclude.

Benefits of Exclusively Targeting Shopping Ads with Performance Max Campaigns:

👍Precise Targeting: By setting up Performance Max campaigns solely for shopping ads, you can precisely target customers who are specifically interested in the products you offer.

👍Simplified Campaign Management: Excluding other channels streamlines campaign management, allowing advertisers to focus their attention and efforts on optimising shopping ad performance.

👍Cost Efficiency: Since Performance Max campaigns are not serving on other channels, advertisers can allocate their budget more efficiently, ensuring maximum return on ad spend (ROAS) for shopping campaigns.

👍Increased Relevance: By exclusively targeting shopping platforms, your ads can be shown to users who are actively searching for or browsing products, thereby enhancing the relevance of your ads.

Considerations and Drawbacks:

👎Limited Reach: Excluding other channels narrows the reach of your ads, potentially reducing the overall impressions and exposure for your brand. This can be a drawback if you aim to maximise visibility beyond shopping platforms.

👎Reduced Inventory: By excluding non-shopping channels, you may miss out on potential conversions from users who may discover your products outside of dedicated shopping platforms.

👎Competitive Landscape: Since other advertisers may be utilising Performance Max campaigns for multiple channels, focusing exclusively on shopping ads may result in increased competition for limited shopping ad placements.

Conclusion:

The workaround for Performance Max campaigns offer advertisers the flexibility to focus their efforts exclusively on shopping ads, allowing for precise targeting and streamlined campaign management. By excluding non-shopping channels, advertisers can optimise their budget, increase ad relevance, and enhance conversions on dedicated shopping platforms. However, it’s essential to carefully consider the potential drawbacks, such as limited reach and increased competition within the shopping ad landscape. By weighing the benefits against the drawbacks and aligning them with your specific advertising goals, you can leverage Performance Max campaigns to effectively serve and optimise your shopping ads.

Cedarwood Win Two UK Digital PR Awards!

13th July 2023

by Anna Simpson Cedarwood Digital News Digital PR & Outreach tips

We’re delighted to win not one, but two awards at the UK Digital PR Awards yesterday!

We took home:

🏆Digital PR Agency Of The Year

🏆Digital PR Campaign Of The Year – E-commerce

Here’s what the judges had to say:

Digital PR has been a huge area of success for Cedarwood over the last 12 months, so we’re over the moon that this is now being recognised in such a competitive space🎉.

A big congrats to the team, for all their hard work! 👏

Leveraging Google Ads and SEO for Enhanced Online Visibility

13th July 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search SEO

Leveraging Google Ads and SEO for Enhanced Online Visibility.

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, gaining organic visibility for your brand can be a challenging endeavour. However, with the right strategies, such as utilising Google Ads and optimising for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you can bridge gaps where organic visibility may be lacking. In this blog post, we will explore how leveraging Google Ads can enhance short-term visibility, especially against dominant competitors in the organic SERPs. Additionally, we will discuss how SEO can save costs for high-cost-per-click (CPC) keywords. By combining both PPC and SEO, businesses can establish a powerful and cost-effective marketing strategy.

Part 1: Using Google Ads to Cover Organic Visibility Gaps

1.1 Filling Organic Visibility Gaps:

When there are certain keywords or search queries where your client’s website lacks organic visibility, Google Ads can come to the rescue. By targeting these specific keywords through pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, you can ensure that your client’s ads appear prominently on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). This allows you to reach a wider audience and gain immediate visibility, driving more traffic to your client’s website.

1.2 Overcoming Dominant Competitors:

In highly competitive industries where larger competitors with high domain authority dominate the organic SERPs, it can be difficult for smaller businesses to break through. However, Google Ads can provide a level playing field by enabling you to bid on keywords that your competitors are targeting organically. By strategically outbidding them, you can position your client’s ads above their organic listings, gaining increased visibility and effectively challenging their dominance.

Part 2: Harnessing SEO to Save Costs for High CPC Keywords

2.1 Utilising Organic Visibility for High CPC Keywords:

If your client has strong organic visibility for high-cost-per-click keywords, they can save significant advertising costs. By leveraging their existing organic visibility through SEO efforts, they can capitalise on the traffic they are already receiving without having to pay for every click. This strategic approach enables your client to allocate their budget to other marketing initiatives or expand their online presence without incurring additional expenses.

2.2 Maximising Long-Term Growth:

SEO plays a crucial role in building sustainable organic visibility over time. By investing in optimising your website’s content, architecture, and backlink profile, you can improve organic rankings and drive continuous organic traffic. As a result, your reliance on paid advertising for high CPC keywords decreases, resulting in substantial cost savings in the long run. SEO acts as a foundation for consistent visibility and ongoing growth without solely depending on PPC campaigns.

Conclusion:

In the dynamic world of digital marketing, it’s essential to adapt and utilise the available tools to maximise your client’s visibility. By leveraging Google Ads to cover organic visibility gaps and utilising SEO to save costs for high CPC keywords, businesses can establish a comprehensive and cost-effective marketing strategy. Google Ads helps overcome organic limitations and effectively compete against dominant competitors in the digital landscape. On the other hand, SEO offers a sustainable approach, minimising dependence on paid advertising for high-cost keywords. Integrating both PPC and SEO ensures enhanced online visibility, targeted traffic, and optimised marketing budgets, leading to long-term success in a competitive market.

Google Merchant Center: Optimising your products for position #1

6th July 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search

Google Merchant Center: Optimising your products for position #1

If you have e-commerce clients, you’ll understand the importance of achieving maximum visibility for their products. Google Merchant Center plays a crucial role in driving conversions by allowing businesses to showcase their products through Google Shopping ads at the top of a Google Search page.

In this blog post, we will explore the significance of Google Merchant Center and share best practices to optimise your product listings to achieve the most desirable first position.

Understanding Google Merchant Center:

Google Merchant Center is a platform that allows businesses to upload their product data and make it available to potential customers through Google’s shopping channels, including Search, Shopping, and Images. The goal of this is to enhance the visibility of their offerings by showcasing elements like images, prices, special offers and compare these with other advertisers within the auctions. This allows for competitive advantages and therefore helps to attract customers to the business.

The Importance Of First Page Positions:

With paid shopping listings, it’s important to secure positions at the start of the shopping listing carousel as it makes products visible with no other interaction on the page. Achieving positions close to the front of the listing carousel provides significant advantages, including higher visibility, increased CTR, and a higher chance of conversions. In order to do this a strategic approach is needed alongside careful optimisation of your product data.

Key areas to focus on:

Feed Optimisation:
⚡Ensure accurate product data: Provide precise information such as title, description, pricing, and availability. Avoid vague or misleading details that might frustrate users.

⚡The general best practices for the order of product titles are brand + product type + attributes (such as colour, size, material).

⚡Utilise relevant keywords: Conduct thorough keyword research and incorporate them naturally into your titles and descriptions. Focus on long-tail keywords that align with user intent.

⚡High-quality images: Use high-resolution, visually appealing product images that showcase your offerings. Ensure that the photos aren’t misleading showing more products that could lead the user to think that both are part of the listing. Optimise them for size and load speed without compromising quality.

⚡Detailed product attributes: Provide as much relevant information as possible, including colour, size, material, brand, and any other attributes that could influence a user’s decision.

2. Competitive Pricing and Offers: To stand out from your competitors, regularly analyse market trends and adjust your pricing strategy accordingly. Offer competitive prices, discounts, promotions, or exclusive deals to incentivise potential customers to choose your products over others.

3. Product Reviews and Ratings: Encourage customers to leave reviews and ratings for your products. Positive reviews not only boost consumer confidence but also influence Google’s algorithms, potentially improving your chances of securing higher positions.

4. Ad Campaign Optimisation: Combine your product listing efforts with Google search campaigns to enhance your visibility further. Implement well-structured, targeted campaigns that align with your product listings and optimise ad copy, bids, and targeting to improve ad relevancy and increase your chances of securing the top position.

Conclusion:

Optimising your product listings in Google Merchant Center is crucial for achieving a high position and maximising your Pmax and shopping campaign success. By following the tips outlined in this blog post, you can improve your chances of appearing at the top of Google’s shopping platforms, increasing visibility, attracting new customers, and driving conversions. Continuously monitor and refine your efforts to stay ahead of the competition and ensure your clients’ products receive the attention they deserve!

A Guide To Meta Creatives

11th May 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search Paid Social

Meta ad creatives come in various forms and formats. From single images to videos, carousels, and collections, Meta offers a range of options for you to choose from to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives. But, with all these options it can sometimes get a little confusing on which ones are the right ones to pick.

This blog is going to run through the different types of ad formats, their specifications and best practices for each one.

Ad Formats

Image Ads

These are the most basic type of ads on Meta platforms and consist of a single image that is usually accompanied by text and a call to action (CTA) button. The image should be eye-catching and relevant to the ad’s message. Image ads are easy to create and are a great option if you have a limited budget.

Best Practices for Image Ads:

⚡Use high-quality images that are relevant to your ad’s message.

⚡Keep text to a minimum to avoid clutter.

⚡Use a clear CTA button that is in line with your campaign objective.

⚡Showcase your USPs to attract your audience.

Video Ads

Video ads have become increasingly popular in the last few months. They can be used to showcase a product or service, tell a story or entertain the audience. Video ads can be in-feed or story ads and can be a maximum of 60 seconds long. They are a great way to connect with the audience and build engagement.

Best Practices for Video Ads:

⚡Grab the viewer’s attention within the first few seconds.

⚡Always use subtitles or captions to make your message clear, even when muted and for accessibility purposes.

⚡Tell a story or create an emotional connection with your audience.

⚡Include clear CTA buttons to encourage action from the viewer.

⚡Keep the video short and sweet (under 30 seconds is ideal).

Carousel Ads

Carousel ads consist of two or more images or videos that the user can swipe through. Each card has its own headline, description, call to action button and link to its landing page. You could use this feature to showcase different products, highlight multiple benefits, or you can create a story for the user to swipe through.

Best Practices for Carousel Ads:

⚡Use high-quality images/videos that showcase your product or service.

⚡Create a story with your slides or highlight different products or features.

⚡Make sure you are sending users to the most relevant URL for each card.

⚡Select a clear CTA on the card that aligns with your campaign objective.

Collection Ads

This format shows a collection of images that can be used to showcase multiple products. Users can click on a collection ad to view a fullscreen instant experience. This provides the user with a seamless instant experience without leaving the app. This is only available for Facebook feeds, Instagram feeds and Instagram stories.

Best Practices for Carousel Ads:

⚡Use high-quality images/videos that showcase your product or service.

⚡Create a story with your slides or highlight different products or features.

⚡Select a clear CTA on the card that aligns with your campaign objective and encourages users to click through to an instant experience.

Image and video specifications

Placement	Ad Format	Recommended Ratio	Recommended Size (Px)	Recommended Length	File Type
Feed	Image	1:1	1080×1080		JPG or PNG
Feed	Video	1:1 or 9:16	1080×1080 or above	15-30 secs	MP4 or MOV
In-stream	Video	1:1 or 9:16	1080×1080 or above	15 secs to 10 mins	MP3 or MOV
Carousel	Image	1:1	1080×1080	2-10 cards	JPG or PNG
Stories	Image	9:16	1080×1920 or above		JPG or PNG
Stories	Video	9:16	1080×1920	5-15 secs	MP3 or MOV
Reels	Video	9:16	1080×1920	15-30 secs	MP3 or MOV
Right Column	Image	1.9:1	1200×628		JPG or PNG

Top takeaways

💥If you are unsure it is best to keep the size 1080×1080 pixels as this fits the most placements.

💥Keep ad copy short and to the point to make it easier for the audience to digest.

💥Include clear CTAs that align with your campaign objective.

💥Remember to highlight your USPs to attract your audience.

💥Trial different creatives to see what works best for you and your objectives.

Understanding Audiences In GA4

4th May 2023

by Anna Simpson Paid Search Uncategorised

As an agency or business, understanding your audiences is crucial for driving meaningful results. By collecting and analysing insights into your website visitors, you can make informed decisions to optimise your digital marketing campaigns. With Universal Analytics sunsetting at the end of June, it is important for you to understand audiences within GA4 and how you can unlock powerful insights that can benefit you.

What are the audiences in GA4?

Audiences let you split your users into ways that are the most important for your business. They are made from groups of people that share common characteristics or behaviours that are based on data collected by GA4 from your website or app. These audiences can then be used for targeting and observation within Google Ads.

What are the differences between Universal Analytics and GA4?

GA4 doesn’t collect the same data as Universal Analytics did. GA4 can now track users across different devices, domains, and apps. These audiences can create a more holistic view of your users’ behaviours and interests compared to previous Universal Analytics. It goes beyond traditional demographic targeting and uses machine learning to enable you to create more sophisticated and dynamic audience segments based on a wide range of user behaviours and attributes.

How do GA4 audiences work?

GA4 audiences are created based on events and parameters that you define within your GA4 property. Events are actions that users take on your website or app, such as page views, clicks, conversions, and others. Parameters are additional pieces of information associated with events, such as the user’s location, device type, or referral source. GA4 uses these events and parameters to build a profile of your users, allowing you to create highly targeted and personalised audience segments.

Creating Audiences in GA4

To create an audience:

➡️Navigate to “admin > audiences” to set up a new audience in GA4.

➡️You can go on to create an audience from GA4’s suggested audiences.

➡️Or start from scratch and create a custom audience using your own conditions.

Transferring audiences from Universal Analytics.

If you already have audiences set up within a Universal Analytics account you can easily transfer these over to GA4 using the GA4 Migrator for Google Analytics. However, not all Universal Analytics audiences are supported within GA4 so you may not be able to transfer them all.

This involves a few steps:

➡️Step 1: Install GA4 Migrator for Google Analytics.

https://workspace.google.com/u/0/marketplace/app/ga4_migrator_for_google_analytics/472716783070

➡️Step 2: Create a new blank Google Sheets (type sheets.new in the search bar for a shortcut).

➡️Step 3: Open ‘Extensions’ on the menu bar and GA4 Migrator for Google Analytics will appear. Hover over this and select the option to Migration audience definitions to GA4.

➡️Step 4: Follow the instructions to import audience definitions from your Universal Property and migrate to GA4 property.

Best Practices for GA4 audiences:

Now that you have a better understanding of GA4 audiences and how they work, you can use these to help optimise your campaigns. Here are some tips for best practices:

⚡Take advantage of the built-in audiences: Start with the built-in audiences that GA4 has to offer. These will automatically generate audience segments based on user behaviour. These include purchasers, non-purchasers, recently active users and more. This is a fast way you can gain insights into your user base and tailor your marketing messages accordingly.

⚡Define custom audiences: Creating custom audiences allows you to define audience segments that are specific to your business goals. You can create custom audiences based on a wide range of parameters, such as demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. Explore the different options available to you to create audiences that are more valuable for your business.

⚡Analyse and optimise your audiences: GA4 has powerful reporting capabilities that allow you to measure the performance of your audiences. You can track specific key metrics to determine the effectiveness of your audience segments. This will allow you to make data-driven decisions to refine your audience segments, achieve audiences that are no longer relevant to you, create new audiences, or adjust your strategy for better results.

⚡Ensure data privacy compliance: It is vital that you are collecting and using data in compliance with relevant data privacy laws and regulations, such as GDPR rules and regulations. Make sure to review and follow any updates to Google’s data usage policies and guidelines to ensure that you are using your audiences correctly. This includes obtaining user consent where necessary and providing transparency on data collection and usage.

To conclude, GA4 audiences are a powerful tool that can help you create highly targeted and personalised marketing campaigns. By leveraging the data collected from your website or app, you can create audience segments based on user behaviours, demographics and interests that will be valuable for your business. Audiences allow you to deliver relevant and tailored messages to our users that can be used within your Google Ads campaigns for better targeting and observation.

Cedarwood Wins Digital PR Campaign Of The Year 2023!

27th April 2023

by Anna Simpson Cedarwood Digital News Digital PR & Outreach tips

💥We’re Winners!💥

We are thrilled to announce that Cedarwood has won the Digital PR Campaign of the Year award at the PR Moment Awards 2023 for our outstanding work with Little Loans. Our team of digital PR experts, including Alex, Amber, Beth & Elle, put in tremendous effort to bring this campaign to life and we are proud to see their hard work being recognised.

Digital PR has been a significant area of success for us at Cedarwood in the past 12 months. This award, in addition to our recognition at the UK Search Awards, we are delighted that we have also been recognised for this directly within the PR space.

The judges were impressed by our well-researched and well-thought-out campaign, which produced excellent results. Our team worked closely with Little Loans to create a unique campaign that not only raised their brand awareness but also increased their online visibility.