Introduction
This case study examines our experience with one of our earliest clients, who initially set up their own advertising campaign. The client approached us to review their existing search campaign and enhance its effectiveness. Here’s what we observed:
- One advertising campaign covering four countries.
- Zero conversions, despite having goals set up.
- A total ad spend of just over 40 dollars.
- The ad was showing for a myriad of irrelevant searches (e.g., “how to make slime at home”).
- 377 keywords (broad match type) all in one group for a single ad.
- A Click Through Rate (CTR) of just 1.74%, which is extremely low.
Our Approach
- We refined the semantic core – divided keywords into meaningful groups and created a list of negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches.
- Wrote a minimum of three ads for each group of keywords.
- Created individual advertising campaigns for each country and separated ads for major cities into their own campaigns.
- Set an average budget of 30 UAH per day for each campaign.
Achievements in 8 Weeks
- Determined the conversion cost for each country or region.
- Three weeks after the start, at the client’s request, we stopped advertising in countries where the conversion cost was high (over 30 UAH).
- Optimized the remaining campaigns (disabled expensive keywords, removed ads with low CTR, wrote new ads, improved quality score, adjusted bids on keywords, added more negative keywords, etc.).
- Set up retargeting for those who didn’t complete the first goal.
Results in 60 Days
We achieved 348 conversions at the cost of 15.29 UAH each. Out of 8 advertising campaigns, only 2 remained active, bringing the most conversions at a cost-effective price for the client. The focus then shifted to increasing conversion rates and reducing the cost per click.
Key Takeaways from this Case
- Avoid lumping together campaigns for multiple countries. By separating each country into its own campaign, you can accurately measure results and desired metrics (expenses, profits, and overall interest).
- If a country has major cities, consider creating separate campaigns for these cities. Often, the cost per click may be higher for these cities, but their effectiveness should be evaluated separately from the rest of the country.
- It’s crucial not only to properly assemble the semantic core (including negative keywords) but also to vigilantly monitor the search queries triggering your ads.
- The value of setting goals in Analytics and importing them into Adwords cannot be understated. Knowing the cost and number of conversions is essential for both the client and the specialist.
