What are the basic requirements of a successful Google Ads Campaign for a Webshop?
If we want to set up effective Google Ads advertising campaigns, first we will have to define our main goals. Since reaching the primal goals all require a different advertising approach, it is important to choose these goals carefully in the beginning of the planning phase. For example, our main goal might be increasing the profit or increasing the return on investment. It is also important to examine if we have all the necessary prerequisites for launching Google Ads Shopping (and also other sorts of) Campaigns. In this article we will show you which are the most indispensable conditions that are needed for running successful Google Ads campaigns for webshops.
Preliminary assessment
Before setting up webshop advertising campaigns we need to prepare a preliminary compliance assessment and do the necessary preparatory tasks.
The first preparatory stage is implementing complex keyword research. With the help of this it will be possible to define if there are any Google search queries for the products or product categories available in our webshop. The second step is to find out what is the average CPC (cost per click), and the weekly or monthly search volume for our products – the Google keyword planner tool will provide us with statistical data. After getting to know the above metrics we should examine our main competitors (second stage).
The online competitor analysis is the part of the assessment that helps to outline our competitors’ online activities. Based on this it is possible to define our marketing channel mix. Examining the online presence of our competitors is an important step towards defining our USP-s, and also helps to size up our actual market situation.
Defining the business goals
Definition of the business goals is a key requirement in order to form the ppc campaigns in a way that they support the fulfilment of these goals. We recommend defining short-term, mid-term and long-term main goals as well. Having realistic goals will make us able to plan the right Google Ads campaign strategy and also the specific campaign structure.
Let’s see an example of the main business goals of a webshop. These overall goals give a sound basis for panning the Google Ads campaign goals as well.
- Profit maximisation (indirectly maximisation of the ROI, Return On Investment)
- Revenue maximisation (increasing the sales revenue)
- Sample sale (selling out the stranded inventory to support the next season’s procurements)
- Increasing brand awareness.
Separate determination of the above goals is important, because each business goal requires a different advertising strategy.
After deciding on the main business goal (or goals) the next step is to define the optimal Google Ads advertising budget. The monthly budget should be allocated based on the target goals. It also might happen that the planning of the budget depends on the available amount of money, in this case the goal is to reach the best results among the given circumstances.
Measurements and product feed
Implementation of the correct Google Ads conversion measurements is vital for the future analysis and optimization of the Google Ads campaigns. There are more ways to set up conversion tracking, the easiest one is when a PPC agency tunes up all necessary measurements via Google Tag Manager. In this case there is no need for a web developer’s help, in contrast to the other methods when all measurement codes need to be placed on the website by a developer.
It is necessary to set up a Google Analytics account in order to objectively evaluate the performance of our website and our online presence. This will be the central platform that receives all data and makes it possible to track the results generated by all online sources. In case we are dealing with a webshop, the enhanced ecommerce measurements are definitely recommended to be turned on. Enhanced ecommerce provides valuable data on the performance of products, product categories, webshop purchase events and other online events which might be the key performance indicators of a successful online campaign.
Moreover, it is very important to place a dynamic remarketing tag in the source code of the website. Using the information this tag provides, our remarketing campaigns will be able to display exactly the same product or product category that was earlier visited (but not purchased) by a potential customer. We can further improve our remarketing activity by creating and using custom remarketing audience segments in our Analytics account.
To improve campaign effectiveness, it is recommended that we set up measurements in our webshop using Google Ads’ own tags too. Google Ads tags are definitely needed for certain campaign types, for example we have to use Ads tags for measuring the new Performance Max campaigns.
Google Shopping advertisements are the best tool for promoting and selling webshop products. Let’s see what prerequisites are needed before starting a Shopping campaign. First, we have to register a Google Merchant Center account. In this account we can upload our products, define shipping, returns and tax adjustments and indicate our company data. In order to launch Shopping Ads we need to create a product feed that contains all necessary product information and upload it to the Merchant Center account. If this product feed meets the requirements listed on this link, we are all set for starting a Google Ads Shopping campaign.
Defining advertising goals and setting up Google Ads campaigns
When planning Google Ads campaigns it is important to think strategically. Our campaign strategy should be formed taking into account the steps of the buyer journey (or with other words, the stages of the marketing funnel). This approach will help us to cover all stages of the buying process from the simple product interest to the deliberate purchase intention. Defining and knowing the steps of the buyer journey is necessary to address all our target audiences with tailored messages and hence maximise the revenue/ROI of our campaigns.
Here are some tips for choosing the right campaign types for certain purposes. For example, if increasing brand awareness is amongst our goals, then it is useful to set up a video campaign regardless of its ROAS (Return On Ad Spend), to increase the reach. If our goal is strictly to increase revenue and ROAS or ROI, then the best choice is to employ Google Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
Interpreting the campaign results
The best thing that can be done with the reports we receive from our PPC agency is that we draw conclusions from them. The report data can be a great advisor for making strategic decisions. For the support of strategic planning the report has to include key performance indicators and an executive summary, that sums up the steps made toward campaign optimisation and highlights the reached results. The executive summary is complete if it helps to draw conclusions and suggests further steps.
Be aware that numbers never lie. The accurately set measurements will always provide obvious insights regarding the Google Ads campaign performance and the performance of our webshop. It is very important to continuously improve the results not only from the campaign side, but also from the side of the webshop itself. The critical points (for example the page load speed, or any other user experience indicators) need to be improved on the website in order to maximise business achievements. The webshop is the central element of the campaigns, so the Google Ads campaigns might only be as successful, as optimised our webshop and product feed is.
Summary
The successful Google Ads campaign needs to meet several important prerequisites, the same applies when talking about webshops. In order to reach outstanding results we have to build everything on clear business goals, realistic evaluation of the market situation, appropriate planning and implementation, professional measurements and a working campaign strategy. PPC agencies are only able to provide help when the ‘homework is done’ from the business side too. This, in other words means the continuous technical and contextual development of the webshop, adjustments and corrections that support the unobstructed buyer journey and the excellent website usability.