Machine learning is now integral to running Google Ads accounts, which is why it’s critical for PPC marketers to understand how it works and how you can leverage it to your advantage. And, to stay ahead of the competition, you’ll want to keep up as Google rolls out more and more machine learning going forward.
Google Ads Smart Bidding
Gone are the days of constantly monitoring and manually changing bids. Now you can and should rely on automated bid strategies, which allow you to focus on more important things: growing your account, feeding information for machine learning, and other strategic initiatives.
Choose from several bid strategies based on your goals and your data in Google Ads. For example, if your conversion is a lead form, you might not be able to use tROAS automation. Here are some of the bid strategies available:
- Maximize Conversions instructs Google to seek as many conversions as possible while attempting to use your entire budget.
- Maximize Conversion Value tells Google to seek out the maximum conversion value while attempting to use your entire budget.
- Enhanced Cost Per Click helps you automatically adjust bids to try to maximize conversions.
- Target Cost Per Action (tCPA): When you set a CPA, it tells Google to target conversions that will average out to your selected CPA. This helps you spend less when demand is low and spend more when demand is high.
- Target Return On Ad Spend (tROAS): Setting a tROAS tells Google to target conversions that will average out to your tROAS.
- Maximize Clicks tells Google to send you the most clicks your budget allows.
- Manual CPC: Manage bids yourself and adjust them as needed.
- Target Impression Share tells Google to set your bids to get you to the top of the SERPs to achieve the highest impression share.
- CPM: Pay based on the number of impressions you get on Google Display Network.
- tCPM: Similar to CPM, but you set an average you will pay for every 1,000 impressions.
- vCPM: Manual bidding strategy that will help you get the most impressions. You set the most you will pay per 1,000 impressions.
Responsive Ads
All Google display and search ads will only allow you to create responsive ads. While search and display ads require different forms of creative, you feed the ad content – images, headlines and descriptions – as you have in the past. The responsive ad will test combinations of the ads, find the most effective configurations, and then serve the best versions of the ads. Over time, you can observe results and remove and replace poorly performing ad content.
Google still lets you use some old ad types without the responsive feature. If you have any of these, make sure all your ad groups run at least one responsive ad. Responsive ads require a learning phase, but over time they help you find the most effective ad content for your customers.
- Responsive Search Ads: Use up to 15 headlines and four descriptions in one ad. Google will use AI to find the best ad combination.
- Responsive Display Ads: Feed your display images, logos, headlines, descriptions and videos into the ad. It will use Google Ads AI to find the best combination for the ad.
Performance Max Campaigns
The new Performance Max campaigns complement your search campaigns. They target all Google advertising channels in one campaign, to boost your campaigns objective. These campaigns utilize Google Ads machine learning across channels, creative, audiences, attribution, and more.
Performance Max has replaced Smart Shopping campaigns, so you can link your products from Google Merchant Center to them. Performance Max campaigns aren’t limited to ecommerce. Use them for any kind of goal completion. Think of them as combining shopping campaigns with display campaigns, so you can target your customers at the right time on the correct channel.
Data-Driven Attribution Model
Of all the available attribution models, Google recommends the Data Driven Attribution. It works beautifully with automated bid strategies, so you can spend your budget effectively and efficiently. This attribution model learns how your customers engage with your site, determines the most important touch points, and bids accordingly. It evaluates keywords, ads, and campaigns, and it learns which will have the biggest impact.
This model improves on Position-Based. It learns which clicks are most important for your company, and that knowledge enables your smart bidding to optimize your bids more effectively.
If you need guidance or assistance with your digital advertising initiatives, don’t hesitate to reach out to our expert team. We’re here to help!