6 Tips for Successful E-Commerce Search Campaigns
From best practices in labeling to optimizing automated bidding – these tips will make your e-commerce advertising campaigns more efficient.
A clear e-commerce search strategy is essential – especially during the holidays.
Ready to optimize your PPC strategy? Success depends on seamless collaboration between sales, marketing, and media teams.
While specifics may vary, the following tips provide universal guidance:
1. Label Everything
Consistent and clear use of labels is a key success factor for retail ad accounts. Apply labels at every possible level:
– Campaign
– Ad group/asset group
– Ad
– Keyword
Labels, like any naming convention, should be logical, informative, and agreed upon by the entire team. Ensure that labels include:
– Relevant date ranges for ad reports.
– Useful information for bidding (e.g., “revenue”).
– The label creator’s initials for easy tracking.
Don’t forget: Labels must be applied manually after creation, as they are not automatically assigned.
2. Differentiating Campaign Types
E-commerce campaign types vary by advertiser, complicating the decision of which campaign to launch at different stages of the sales cycle.
Performance Max, Search, and Demand Gen campaigns each have their own advantages and disadvantages for retail. Simultaneously, Google’s AI Overviews may soon influence e-commerce by displaying ads.
Strategic Use of Campaign Types
When selecting a media mix, set specific goals and KPIs for each campaign type.
Example: If using Performance Max (PMax) and Search with a target ROAS of 3X, it might be more effective to prioritize PMax with a higher ROAS target and a larger budget.
Demand Gen works well alongside PMax and/or Search when it has standalone goals such as:
– Increasing revenue through “add to cart” actions
– Customer acquisition
Treat Demand Gen as a mid-upper funnel campaign, launching it with metrics like conversion values or acquisition targets rather than ROAS.
Deep Dive: “Lead Gen vs. E-Commerce: Adapting Your PPC Strategies”
3. Leveraging Automation
Google’s latest automation features (e.g., Broad Match, Value-Based Bidding, Performance Max, auto-generated assets) have sparked skepticism among many advertisers. However, for most e-commerce businesses, these tools are designed to utilize revenue signals and improve performance.
Key Takeaways:
– Revenue-based bidding – ideally on a net profit basis (once available) – is critical for success in paid search.
– Broad Match helps understand customer intent and provides insights into search queries customers use for products or brands.
– Automation tools save optimization time, boost ad rankings, and enhance competitiveness in retail.
AI Overviews often appear in response to educational or informational queries, beyond regular search ads. Automated bids are essential to leverage media optimally rather than compete against it.
Paid campaigns should focus on website conversion goals, ideally with assigned values. This approach targets buyers at the right time and place – including AI Overview placements.
4. Utilizing Automated Rules
Automated rules are a proven practice in e-commerce, especially helpful in planning sales in advance to ensure promotions start and stop on time.
For multiple concurrent sales, automated rules for campaigns, ads, or keywords streamline promotional management.
Tip:
Combine automated rules with labels for added control. This allows you to activate or pause assets based on existing labels.
Consider using conversion value rules if a campaign targets specific conversion actions (e.g., collecting email addresses before a promotion).
5. Documenting Insights in Real Time
Maintaining detailed notes and an optimization/change log is invaluable. Just a few minutes of daily documentation provide valuable context for clients, teams, or new members.
Track questions in real-time, such as:
– Was a conversion tag faulty? If so, which one?
– Was the website temporarily down?
– Were there issues with the product feed?
– Did a product go viral on TikTok, leading to a surge in search queries?
These records support both planning and collaboration.
Additionally:
Collaborating with customer support – in real time or during debriefs – provides valuable insights. Updates to return rates, customer feedback, or product changes can:
– Better inform new product launches
– Highlight key features in ad copy
Deep Dive: “How to Optimize E-commerce Ad Spend for the Best ROI”
6. Learning from Past Campaigns
Analyzing previous data is essential for better planning holiday promotions, sales, or product launches.
Historical data can reveal trends such as:
– Do customers add products to their cart a week before a promotion?
– Does customer acquisition increase during promotions?
– Do repeat customers spend more in November and December?
These insights refine strategies for conversion value rules, customer acquisition, and bid targets.
Important:
Do not rely solely on past performance patterns to measure success. The retail market, optimization tools, and competitive dynamics evolve quickly – with new trends and viral products emerging unpredictably.
Post-Campaign:
– Use tools like Google Trends to assess brand and non-brand data performance.
– Conduct mid-campaign checks for real-time insights.
– Third-party tools like Semrush, Similarweb, or Spyfu provide further insights into competitor spending and category performance (free versions work well!).
Smarter PPC Strategies for Retail Success
The holiday season presents a great opportunity for e-commerce success. Refining your PPC strategy can make all the difference.
Best Practices:
– Strategic labeling
– Automation
– Learning from historical data
Focus on uniting teams, tools, and tactics to ensure seamless, data-driven campaign execution. Post-campaign, analyze results in detail to gather insights for future strategies. With these tips, your PPC campaigns can drive revenue and customer growth well beyond the holidays.