7 mistakes to avoid while managing large-scale AdWords Campaigns

Managing search campaigns at scale for several lakh keywords is very different from managing campaigns for just few thousand keywords. After a point, you may end up realising that it is becoming increasingly difficult and cumbersome to achieve your sales targets and you have started getting lost in CPC, CPA, conversions, sessions, bounce rate, etc.

A poorly managed campaign can cost more than it brings in, whereas a well-managed campaign can be instrumental in the growth and success of your business.

This article enlists seven common mistakes that we see while reviewing large scale campaigns:

1. Incorrect or incomplete analytics implementation

While in most of large-scale account that we audit, analytics is implementedwell, but very few seem to have it very well thought, proficientlystructured and error free. Performance and user data is invaluable.It is important to ensure that a robust tracking mechanism and analytics framework is in place and also implemented such that it is easily comprehendible. It is very crucial to do it right to be able to observe user behaviour and consequently draw useful patterns from it, in-order to successfully draw meaningful insights and optimise.

1. Non-scalable structuring

Just putting the effort in finding the right keywords is not sufficient. The structuring of ad accounts is also equally important and it should be done such that it is scalable in every sense.All the keywords in an ad group should be representative of a unique user intent so that highly personalisedad copies can be written. Also, the account structure should be such that there should be room for adding more and more keywords and ad groups at a regular intervals without making the account haphazard.

1. Not using a defined nomenclature and documentation

Creating a well-defined standard nomenclature and ensuring proper tagging and documentation is important to be able to analyse the tones of data once you start scaling. If left unorganised, it’s going to become highly challenging and time-consuming to draw insights from it. Furthermore, it will be very difficult for someone new to takeover the account if the need arises.

1. Not doing a regular SQR analysis

SQR or Search Query Report is one of the most useful as well as overlooked features of Google AdWords. Search query data is a goldmine to identify new keywords and negative keywords and if used regularly, it can go a long way in helping you deliver significantly better results in terms of higher coverage and reduced wasted spends.

5.Not using bid adjustmentsto full potential

Bid Adjustments help businesses in micromanaging their bidding strategy as they can decrease the bids for unprofitable options or increase it for the ones performing. It allows them to show ads more or less frequently based on when, where, and how people search. Leveraging the various bid adjustment options on AdWords can create a positive long term impact on the efficacy of the campaigns.

1. Not testing extensively using campaign experiments

ACE (AdWords Campaign Experiments) is a brilliant tool that helps you roll out a change partially and experiment with it before implementing it on the entire account. This tool is perfect for testing the waters before optimising large accounts. It’s surprising to see that many SEM marketers do not use this tool extensively to make more informed decisions.

1. Not using advanced automations

There are a number of automated rules you can use to save yourself from manually making a ton of edits. Common ways to use the rules include:

• Scheduling ads to switch on and off.
• Pausing low performing ads.
• Pausing low performing keywords.
• Altering bids.
• Bid scheduling.
• Budget scheduling.
• Automated rules are ideal for changing the budget on peak shopping days or editing Max CPC bids based on CTR. They can also be used to enable ad text directing users to promotional landing pages.

For more complex rules and automation, you have the option of AdWords scripting. And if you really want to push the envelop, you can apply for Google AdWords API access which opens up whole new world of possibilities.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)