After running your B2B google ads account, as a beginner, you might feel confused on how to optimize. Here are some suggestions to consider, especially for keywords match strategy and keywords to target. Those tips are paid from my past work experience and I even spent 200 $ dollars to learn the useful recommends.

B2B Google Ads Eight Tips for Starters

1. About Keywords Match Strategy

- Each keyword match type works differently. Long story short, we usually use a combination of 3 match types to start with and let it run for 1 to 2 months and review per location as each location has a different search behavior.

• Ex. Target location 1 may get more clicks with Phrase match while other may get more clicks with Broad Modified. It is important to give it enough time and then check the Search Term Report to find out what it is the Searchers are actually typing on the search bar.

2. Competitor Brand as Keywords

- Targeting competitor names as keywords is risky. We have to make sure that there is no mention of the competitor brand name in the ad copy. This usually results in low quality score and high CPC but would sometimes generate conversions. Especially if we highlight a selling point in the copy that the competitor does not have.

3. SKAGs (Single Keyword Ad Groups)

- Is usually very effective, has high Quality Score and generates good conversions if setup correctly.

- The first thing to remember is to make sure that there is only one keyword in one match type in the Ad Group.

• Usually use the exact match so that it is easily manageable. So if you are using [laser cutting machine], that will be the only keyword in the ad group. Do not use Broad Modified or Phrase anymore because this will cause conflicts for the other similar keywords in the other ad groups or campaigns targeting the same location.

- Another thing to remember with a SKAG is to make sure that you add that keyword as negative in every other campaign you have so that all queries around that keyword is served only by the SKAG.

4. Landing Page Score

- You are right to suspect that "below average" landing page experience is also related to the number of keywords in an ad group. Google will always suggest to minimize the number of keywords in an ad group so that it is more specific to the details in the landing page and ad copy.

- However, we have observed (from our other accounts) that low landing page experience is not always a big deal. What is important is that the page loads fast on Desktop and Mobile and that it contains the keywords that we are targeting in the Headers (h1 or h2 or h3 etc.) or in the Body copy.

5. Keywords to target:

- Since the account has been running for about 2 months or more, we should have enough data in the Search Term report to see what searchers are actually typing in. We will need to review that and add those as Keywords or Negative keywords depending on the relevance of those terms.

- We also need to review existing keywords and match types so to see which ones we want to

✓ Keep and which ones we can pause/remove.

✓ Keep keywords with good CTR (over 3%)

✓ Keep keywords with conversions

✓ Pause keywords with good CTR but high CPC (depending on how much you are willing to pay per click)

✓ Remove keywords that has low or no impressions in the past 3 months

✓ Adjust CPC for keywords that are below first page bid (increase amount but only up to amount that you are willing to pay)

6. Regarding Ad Copy

- The concept of ad copy is different from keywords. For keywords, as long as it is in the landing page and in the ad copy, it has served its purpose. For ad copy, it is slightly different. What we say in the ad copy does not necessarily exactly show in the landing page. What is important is that it grabs the attention of the Searcher and that the Keyword is mention somewhere in the headline and/or description and/or display path.

7. Regarding bidding strategy and CPC cost

- To test we usually use Maximize clicks for bidding (set a maximum CPC if you don't want to pay more than a specific amount).

• Reason for this is that we can gather as much data as we can on how much a keywords cost, what schedule gets the most clicks or conversions and amount automatically adjusts if a competitor bids higher on the same keywords.

• Once the campaigns start to generate conversions (at least 5 in the last 15 days, consistent)

we usually change over to maximize conversion. If there are not enough conversions, Google will not be able to accurately select which clicks are most likely to convert.

• If we want full custom control on what amounts to bid for on specific keywords, manual bidding would be the option. This option requires more attention because some keywords increase CPC so suddenly that if we don't make changes right away, our ads may not show.

- Bidding strategies are a bit tricky, it is best to read about them and see which one works for you.

- CPC amount usually changes (increase) because of two reasons:

1. More advertisers are bidding on the term so there is more competition

i. ex: keywords around "movies" are bid on by several business types [cinemas, TV

channels/studios, pay-per-view services, movie directory websites]

2. Only a few advertisers are bidding on the term, but they feel that bidding high on that

keyword is worth it because the profit a conversion generates will pay for the cost.

- It is important to set limits if there are budget concerns when running Google Ads. It will depend on how much a conversion/lead is worth to you as a company.

8. Location and Ad Schedule Bid Adjustments

- We usually base our adjustments on CTR and conversions

- The amount of bid adjustment to add depends on the current CPC and the max amount you are willing to spend on a click

• EX: Current CPC is 0.50 and you are willing to spend up to 3 dollar per click, then maybe add +50% bid adjustment to days with high CTR and conversions.

- Time frame to look at will depend on the how long a campaign will run. For indefinite

campaigns (those that are running continuously) look at the last 3 months and the previous month trends.

B2B Google Ads Suggestions

• Improve CTR by adding ad copy that highlights a unique selling point. Something that sets you apart from others.

• Set Up SKAG correctly to gain the most of its benefits

• Review the Search Term Report Regularly to find new keywords to target and negative keywords to exclude

• Review schedule and location performance and add bid adjustments to locations and schedules that have high CTR and conversions• Check what other competitors are doing and see if there is something you can copy in terms of

promotions, ad copy or do something more interesting that what competitors are doing in terms of Google Ads

• Test out Responsive ads and Dynamic ads as they have shown very good CTR improvements.