{"id":73088,"date":"2022-10-28T17:38:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T14:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creatopy.com\/blog\/?p=73088"},"modified":"2023-07-24T14:15:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T11:15:24","slug":"ad-campaign-optimization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creatopydevelopmentblog.kinsta.cloud\/blog\/ad-campaign-optimization\/","title":{"rendered":"Ad Campaign Optimization: How to Reach the Highest Performance on Your Online Advertising Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leaders aren’t born, they are made.<\/span><\/i> The same goes for successful ad campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n

I added the second part since Vince Lombardi’s famous quote came before online advertising, but that doesn’t make it less accurate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ad campaigns may need adjustments to reach the highest level of performance, and <\/span>t<\/span>his practice is commonly known as ad campaign optimization.<\/span><\/p>\n

You’ve probably come across this term before, whether you possess a deep understanding of it or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article will expand on ad campaign optimization, starting with why it is important and how it works and finishing with ten practical tips you can use to optimize your future display, video, or search ad campaigns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s jump right in.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Why Is Ad Campaign Optimization Important?<\/h2>\n

Ad campaign optimization is the only way to get the maximum return on investment in an online advertising campaign, whether it’s a display, video, or search one.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I previously mentioned, initial campaign settings usually leave room for improvement. If you keep them as they are, you might end up wasting your budget on advertising that doesn’t bring the desired results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ad campaign optimization allows you to improve creatives, landing pages, targeting, bidding, and other elements in order to get closer to your campaign goals. It is not a one-time thing but an ongoing process that is strongly connected to performance data and interpreting it to spot improvement opportunities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As long as you strive for the best possible campaign performance, optimization should remain an ongoing process.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. How Does Ad Campaign Optimization Work?<\/h2>\n

The ad campaign optimization process can be divided into three main steps:<\/span><\/p>\n

2.1. Collecting and analyzing data<\/h3>\n

You can\u2019t optimize your ad campaigns with no performance data because this is exactly what tells you what works and doesn\u2019t work as well as you hoped.<\/span><\/p>\n

You will need to track certain KPIs depending on your campaign goals. The most revealing ones usually are impressions, clicks, CTR, CPC, CPA, website visits, and conversions. You can read more about these metrics in our <\/span>display advertising guide<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

All ad platforms have campaign monitoring functionalities. However, if you want to keep ad design and campaign performance data in one place, you can track campaign results straight from Creatopy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You simply <\/span>generate an ad tag that will also measure ad performance<\/span><\/a>, and you will be able to see clicks and impressions, plus data on how many of your ads were requested from the ad server and how many were loaded and displayed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"analytics<\/p>\n

2.2. Identifying improvement opportunities<\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve been observing your campaign for a while, it\u2019s time to interpret the data and think about what changes you can make to boost performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, a low CTR means your ads get many impressions but few clicks, which indicates your creatives are underperforming and need optimization.<\/span><\/p>\n

A high bounce rate is a tell-tale sign of landing page issues. However, it might also signal issues with the campaign\u2019s audiences. To establish whether it\u2019s your landing page that needs optimizing, check the CTR. If it\u2019s also high, it means there is definitely a problem with the landing page, as the ad was relevant for the target audience you set.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line is that you need to have a clear understanding of the KPIs and how they relate to one another to identify improvement opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.3. Implementing changes<\/h3>\n

This is the hands-on part of ad campaign optimization. By now, you should know exactly what you need to adjust, so it\u2019s simply a matter of getting it done.<\/span><\/p>\n

It might imply designing new campaign creatives, making changes to the landing page, setting up A\/B tests, adjusting campaign settings, or a combination of these and other campaign optimization practices you\u2019ll discover in the following paragraphs.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Tips for Ad Campaign Optimization<\/h2>\n

As a disclaimer, most of these tips apply to display ad campaigns and video campaigns, but there are some that only work for search campaigns, as we wanted to cover those too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, we\u2019ll be talking a lot about Google Ads, as it is the most popular online advertising platform. However, this doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t benefit from these tips if you use a different advertising platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.1. Create effective ad designs and ad copy<\/h3>\n

Ad campaign optimization extends beyond campaign settings. It also applies to ad design and ad copy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since design is usually what catches people\u2019s attention first, it\u2019s important to give it some thought. For starters, use the right colors. If keeping brand consistency is a must for you, stick to the brand\u2019s color palette. Otherwise, go for color combinations that stand out and convey strong emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in need of inspiration, check out our <\/span>listicle of 40 curated color palettes for display ads<\/span><\/a> that are bound to make an impression.<\/span><\/p>\n

Try not to overcrowd the design\u2014keep it simple but visually appealing so it invites users to click. You can even animate it to make it even more engaging. It\u2019ll certainly help, especially on mobile devices where static designs tend to be more easily ignored.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what is great ad design without <\/span>compelling ad copy<\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n

One could argue the message is the most important aspect of an ad, so writing it is no easy task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You need a clear and strong headline that tells users why they should click on your ad<\/a>. Emphasize the value proposition of the brand\/product and maybe include incentives like price reductions or limited offers to further encourage action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to include a CTA in the form of a button that tells users exactly what you want them to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you design your ads in Creatopy, you can publish them to the desired ad networks<\/a> using the <\/span>ad serving features<\/span>. Post-publishing, you may change design elements, ad copy, or any other aspect of an individual creative on our platform and then sync the changes with your live ads.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ad<\/p>\n

If case you run <\/span>dynamic ad campaigns<\/span> served via Creatopy, you can still make real-time updates to your creatives. The main difference is that in this scenario, you will make changes to the data feed, which will then be reflected in your published campaign creatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

These agile banner optimization features give you more control and the flexibility to make changes to your ad campaigns whenever needed<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.2. Optimize your ad landing page<\/h3>\n

Landing page experience is one of the three factors Google’s quality score is calculated on<\/a>. To provide a good user experience, your page should have relevant content for your ads, appear trustworthy, and be easily navigated from various devices and different browsers, with a quick loading time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But that may not be enough to ensure your landing page’s performance is at its best. If you notice a high bounce rate and you’re certain it’s the landing page that needs improvement and not the audience, use heatmaps and A\/B testing to determine what could be optimized. It might be one of the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

Value proposition visibility<\/b><\/p>\n

Make sure the reason why users should choose your product\/service is not buried in the content on the page. If so, move it up, so it’s one of the first things on the page.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transparent pricing<\/b><\/p>\n

Giving users information about pricing is vital as they want to know the cost before making the purchase decision. If you can’t include it directly on the landing page, add a button that takes them to the pricing page.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accessible contact options<\/b><\/p>\n

If users have some questions about your product\/service, they should be easily able to get in contact with you. Add contact information, a form they can fill in, or offer live support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Effective design<\/b><\/p>\n

Keep the landing page simple as far as typography, graphics, fonts, and color palettes are concerned. The point is to get your message across, and an overly complex design can get in the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below you can see an example of a clean landing page design used by Wix for one of its ad campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wix<\/p>\n

If you think it’s necessary, create a different landing page for each ad group. For instance, Creatopy’s PPC team ran some campaigns with two different landing pages\u2014one targeted toward designers and the other toward marketers.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.3. Target the right audience<\/h3>\n

A well-established target audience gets your ads in front of those people who are most likely to make a purchase. I mean, if you were running an ad campaign for snow tires, you wouldn\u2019t want your ads reaching people living in Fiji, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

In Google Ads, besides the basic targeting options, you can add one or more of the following audience segment targeting options to refine your reach:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ad<\/p>\n

Similar audiences<\/b><\/p>\n

This allows you to reach people like your current website visitors. All you have to do is import an audience list into your Google Ads account, and your ads will be shown to users with similar characteristics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Custom audiences<\/b><\/p>\n

This is another very powerful targeting tool that you can use to target people based on habits, interests, and recent purchase intent. For instance, you can reach users who have visited certain competitor websites.<\/span><\/p>\n

In-market audiences<\/b><\/p>\n

With this audience segment, you can reach people who are ready to buy products or services that resemble your own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Affinity audiences<\/b><\/p>\n

This helps you get in front of people with specific interests that relate to your product or service. These interests are attributed based on the web pages they browse and vary from cooking enthusiasts to technophiles, sports lovers, and travel buffs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Retargeting audiences<\/b><\/p>\n

Most users visit a website multiple times before making a purchase, so re-engaging with past website visitors will increase the chances of conversion because they have already shown interest in your brand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides setting the audience when preparing the ad campaign, you need to assess the performance of your initial audience after a while. The quality score can give you a hint on whether you should update your keyword selection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pause audiences if you notice they are underperforming or add new ones that might be a better match for what you\u2019re promoting.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.4. Allocate your budget properly<\/h3>\n

Before deciding how to spend the budget for your ad campaign, you should think about your campaign goals. Is it introducing more people to your brand or product? Increasing website traffic? Getting contact information from users? Or is it generating sales?<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you know exactly what it is you want to achieve through display advertising, start building a strategy that makes the best use of the amount you have to meet your campaign goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set up a monthly budget and then divide it by 30.4 to find out how much your daily budget is going to be. Alternatively, start with the daily budget, which is the average amount you want to spend each day, and multiply it by 30.4 to calculate the monthly budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Google recommends a daily budget of at least 10 times the cost per acquisition so make sure to keep these in mind when calculating your ad campaign expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

You might see fluctuations in the daily budget over the course of a month. Google will try to get you the most conversion within the monthly budget you set, so it can spend $300 one day and $200 the next, even if you have a daily budget of $200.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ad<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make frequent and sudden changes to your budget, like increasing your daily budget from $20 to $70 and then dropping to $10, because it might affect your conversion rate as Google needs to keep redoing your budget allocation for that month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, put aside some budget for testing. We\u2019ll expand on it in one of the following tips, but it can greatly improve your campaign\u2019s performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.5. Choose your keywords carefully<\/h3>\n

Any Google Search campaign needs a proper keyword strategy to perform well, and there\u2019s more to keywords than search volume.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For one, you need to pay attention to search intent to ensure the keywords you choose are relevant to your business goals<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you run a campaign for a business selling pool filters, and your goal is to generate sales. You shouldn\u2019t target an informational keyword like \u201cpool filter types.\u201d Instead, go for \u201cpool filter price\u201d or \u201cbuy pool filter,\u201d which clearly shows a transactional intent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Give some thought to the keyword match type as well. The Google Ads platform allows you to choose between the following ones:<\/span><\/p>\n