The thought of restructuring a PPC campaign is something that tends to strike fear into the hearts of many digital marketers. However, it doesn’t need to be so daunting if you have a simple blueprint to follow that will allow you to restructure your campaign in a very easy manner. Whilst you may not want to restructure a PPC campaign there are going to be times when this is necessary because you are not getting the results you want.
If your campaign isn’t performing then it is most likely that a few things that are wrong. It could be something like the wrong keywords, poor ad copy, mismanaged ad groups or flaws in your landing pages. In this post I’m going to outline the 5 things you can do to restructure your PPC campaign so you can get it back on track and get the results you want.
The Decision to Start All Over or Cut Your Losses?
So now you’ve determined your PPC campaign just isn’t working as well as you’d hoped it would. Now you need to make a decision. Do you scrap your current campaign and start all over again or do you modify your existing campaign?
Ultimately, you can do either. It may appear easier to scrap your current campaign and start all over again but this may well result in similar poor performance. Instead you can restructure your campaign, asses what’s going wrong and implement some positive changes through your findings. Restructuring a campaign can be tricky so you need to have a simple plan to follow so you get it right the first time.
Here are the five things you need to do to restructure your existing campaign.
1. Get Rid of Non-Performing Keywords
The first thing you need to do is take a look at your keywords and get rid of the ones that aren’t performing. This is arguably the most important step you will take in restructuring your campaign. To do this effectively you need to take a look at your keyword data for the last 90 days and filter out the keywords based on their cost, CTR, conversion, CPC, match type impressions, etc.
It’s important that you filter these keywords so you can weed out the keywords that aren’t performing the way you’d like. Make sure that you generate some kind of pain points to measure these keywords up against so you can see which ones are performing. However, you’ll notice some anomalies along the way like keywords that have a low quality score but are still converting.
In this instance you want to keep those keywords and then see how they perform once you’ve finished restructuring your campaign.
Also, spending time to find long tail keywords is a great place to start as it will only help to keep ad spend down but drive high quality relevant traffic.
2. Analyse and Restructure Your Ad Groups
Next step is to look at your ad groups. What you need to do here is make sure that you put like-themed keywords into their own ad groups and keep them at 10-15 keywords per ad group. This is also what Google recommends when structuring ad groups so this is what I also recommend you do.
3. Elevate Top Performing Keywords
Look at what your top performing keywords are and then put them in their own ad group. Think about how much more effective this is rather than leaving them in other ad groups. By putting your top performing keywords in their own ad group you are segmenting them and giving them an even greater chance for success. Alternatively, if you have the budget for it, you can also create a separate campaign focusing only on your top performing keywords. This can reap some massive rewards if done properly.
4. Keep Your Ad Copy Targeted
Now that you’ve restructured your ad groups they are going to need new ad copy. Each new ad group needs to have targeted ad copy and that is the only way that you will get the results you want from your copywriting. The reason it’s so important each ad group has separate ad copy rather than some generic type of ad copy is because it makes it more targeted and narrow for those keywords. This is how you get best results from your copy.
Here are a few simple rules to follow when writing targeted ad copy:
Use the keyword - best practice is to use it in the title but if it won’t fit there then put it in the description.
Make the message enticing - something that contains a benefit that will draw them in.
Have a strong call to action - try and fit this into the second line of your ad copy.
Use vanity URLs - this is a great way to re-emphasize your keywords in the ad.
Consider using seasonality in your ad copy to tap into current trends and events which will attract more clicks.
5. Revisit Your Landing Page
Whenever you are restructuring a PPC campaign it’s always a good idea to revisit your landing pages and see where you can possibly improve on them. Check simple things like whether or not the landing page is relevant to the ad and the keywords, and that the call to action matches what you are selling on the landing page.
Test, Watch, and Wait
Now that the restructure is complete it’s now time to test it and see how it performs. PPC is all about trial and error until you land upon a winning formula for your campaign. One great thing to keep in mind is restructuring each section at a time rather than doing all of them at once. This is so you can get a better idea for which parts of your campaign weren’t performing very well.
Restructuring a PPC campaign is a time intensive process but it’s crucial if you are not getting the results you want from your advertising. If you want to restructure your campaign then following these 5 steps will allow you to do so without all the headaches typically associated with doing so.
For further detailed information on how to improve your PPC campaign check out our 10 pillars to successful adwords marketing.
To discuss how we can help your PPC campaigns, improve ROI and drive more traffic to your site, contact us today on 0161 266 1040.
Have you ever restructured a PPC campaign before? What kind of results has restructuring a PPC campaign given you?