Google Ads 102: Core Settings and Best Practices

For new accounts, and when first reviewing existing customer account you’re taking over. (Link: Process for Creating a New Adwords Account)

Covers: linking to Analytics, importing goals, setting bid type, other account settings, Keyword, ad, and extension best practices.
Note: Google AdWords is now called Google Ads. If you see either name in this document, it is the same product.

  1. Linking Accounts:
    You MUST link to Analytics, also recommend linking to Webmaster Tools (unlocks extra features). Note: must have access to both AdWords and Analytics with same Google account – e.g. if you set up AdWords on the clients@ account, add clients@ as an admin in Analytics as well.

    1. Link to Analytics: In Analytics, Admin>Adwords Linking > Click the correct ID #. Under Link Configuration, make sure to check the box for “Share my Analytics data with linked Google Ads account” or you won’t be able to import goals into Ads.
    2. In AdWords Google Ads: Settings/Tools > Linked Accounts > Google Analytics > Details > Click link on the correct account
    3. How To View AdWords traffic in Google Analytics: Acquisition > Adwords > Campaigns
  2. Setting Up Conversion Goals in Google Ads: MUST link to Analytics with Data Sharing enabled to import Ecommerce and VG conversions. But just linking isn’t enough – you have to manually import goals (Transactions and VG). Ecommerce conversion tracking must work in analytics to show revenue conversion.
    1. Transactions & VG: Tools > Measurement/Conversions > Add Conversion Actions > click plus sign > hit Import > Google Analytics > Select Vacation Guide and Transactions > Import
    2. Phone Calls: Tools > Measurement/Conversions > Add Conversion Actions > click plus sign > hit Phone Calls > Select “Calls from ads using call extensions or call-only ads” > Click Continue > Name Conversion (just use “Phone Calls”), leave the Conversion Type set to “Lead,” for Value select “Don’t Use a Value,” then click “Create and Continue”.
  3. Individual Campaign Settings:
    1. Campaign Goals: Sales is the best goal but outliers sometimes apply. Ex: restaurants or other revenue sources where guests don’t book directly on the website. For those, use Lead Gen or Website Traffic, as appropriate.
    2. Networks: Google Search Network (Check this one), Google Search Partners (Check this one***), Display Network (Leave unchecked. If you want to use display ads, e.g. photo ads, create a separate campaign that is only Display Network.
      *** Note: Google Search Partners has wildly varying efficacy. Start with it on and then refer to this guide to examine its performance vs Google Search Network after a month or so to determine if you should leave it on or not.
    3. Locations: By default, select USA and Canada.
      1. Location Options (under Additional Settings at the bottom) – Select “People in your targeted location” not “People interested in your target locations”
      2. Specific Location Targeting: You can add additional areas within the category so you can add bid adjustments based on state or city. Can increase the % of the bid based on who is more likely to book with you. (You get this information in Analytics under location. Select cities/states based on high traffic and good conversion rates.)
      3. Example: You can target the US and Canada, and also target Ohio and Pennsylvania and add a +15% bid adjustment for each if you see that they send a lot of traffic to your site that has a high tendency to convert).
      4. Narrow/Local Location Targeting: If you have a campaign for a customer’s on-site restaurant that’s open to the public, not just guests, it is best to have that as a separate campaign and only target people in a ~ 50-mile radius around their location.
    4. Budget: While customers give us monthly budgets, this setting based on daily ad spend. Equals (monthly budget x 12)/365, OR monthly budget / 30.4.
      1. If a specific campaign isn’t converting, either find ways to improve it or pause it and allocate the budget to other, more effective campaigns.
    5. Recommended Bidding Styles:
      1. Maximize Clicks: A good general best practice is to start with Maximize Clicks because you won’t initially have historic conversion data. Make sure to link to Analytics (with Ecommerce working) and import your conversion goals ASAP to begin collecting data from day 1.
      2. Maximize Conversions: Switch to Maximize Conversions AFTER you’ve had several conversions track (need to get 10-15 conversions before you switch).
    6. Other Bidding Styles
      1. CPA (Cost per acquisition): you really need to know how much you want to spend to acquire a new guest. We rarely use this one.
      2. Target Search page location: You can target the top result in Google or any of the positions on the first page. Google will adjust bid in order to do that. Worth testing if you want to build awareness and get a lot of traffic.
      3. Enhanced CPC (Cost per click): Manual bids that you set for an ad level. Google will up it automatically based on the bid needed. Not used as much due to new automated bidding features. However, this can be effective if you know there are specific keywords that have a high tendency to convert because then you can manually raise their bids.
    7. Campaign start and end date: doesn’t matter except for seasonal or limited time campaigns.
    8. Ad Rotation: It is almost always best to use the default option of Optimize, prefer best performing ads. The exception is if you have a campaign with ads for different properties/landing pages/etc. and you want them each to get equal distribution and clicks.
      We don’t usually use Campaign URL options and IP exclusions.
  4. Demographics, Advanced Bid Adjustments, Locations, and Devices:
    These settings can be used to increase or decrease your bid amount based on specific criteria such as location, device type (desktop, mobile, or tablet), age range, and Interaction type (e.g. Calls). Worth it if you have data indicating that your ads/website converts better with specific audiences or people in specific locations, etc.

    1. Devices: To find devices in Google Analytics: Audiences > Mobile > Overview
    2. Age Ranges: To find age ranges in Google Analytics go to Audiences >
  5. Drafts & Experiments: You can do an A/B test in this setting. Worth testing for a month or two to see the results.
  6. Additional Setup Notes
    1. Branded Search campaign: Those perform well and are good if OTAs are bidding on your customer’s brand name. Always have this as a separate campaign, not as an AdGroup within a broader lodging campaign.
    2. Naming: Be sure to use clear Campaign and AdGroup names when setting it up.
  7. Next look at each of the ads within the AdGroup
    1. Create at least 3-5 ads within an AdGroup
      1. This helps you to target different keywords within the AdGroup with a high degree of relevancy
      2. Enables Google to test different ads to see which is the most effective
      3. For every keyword, you need an ad that targets that keyword (or a close variant – you do not need an exact-match ad for every keyword). If you do not do this, you will get low keyword quality scores (see below).
      4. Update: Ads can now contain 3 headings instead of two (30 characters each) and 2 description sections instead of one (90 characters each).
    2. Keywords
      1. Quality Score: Check the quality score for keywords by mousing over the “Eligible” in the “Status” column. The higher the quality score, the less you pay per click and the more your ad will show. The minimum viable score is 6/10. (Quality Score Factors: Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page Experience).
      2. Modify Columns: If you click on 3 bar icon (Modify Columns), you can change what columns are displayed to more easily see Keyword Scores, etc..
      3. Keyword Planner: You can see what keywords you aren’t using yet when you use your website URL. You can also use “search keywords” to find new ones
      4. Negative Keywords: Prevents you from paying for keywords that are not relevant. Ex: “For Sale”, “Cheap,” “Real Estate,” “For rent”.
      5. Search terms: Gives you insight into how Google is pairing your keywords with other keywords. If you see irrelevant search terms triggering ads, create Negative Keywords to block them, and/or make your Keywords more targeted.
      6. Auction insights: Can compare to other groups/competitors competing for the same keywords
  8. Extensions:
    Add every extension that is eligible for the customer. The more the better.

    1. Sitelink extensions – Sub-categories of things you offer (use site navigation for ideas).
    2. Callout extension – Features separated by a dot. Highlights special features of your property or things that make you stand out from the competition.
    3. Structured Snippet – Amenities will work for most customers. Neighborhoods could apply for Vacation Rentals.
    4. Call extension – only shows on mobile but it shows a phone icon that makes it easy to call them.
    5. Price extensions – If you want to show room rates.
    6. Location – Can link to Google My Business account.
      Message – If text messages are set-up for them. Make sure this is something the customer would want.
    7. Promotion extension – Can set a start and end date for it. Great for specials.
    8. Review extension – Need over 150 3rd party reviews, and not something you can manually activate. Google will automatically enable it if you’re worthy. You aren’t.
  9. Metrics to watch:
    1. Click-Through-Rate: Pause or improve ads, AdGroups, or campaigns with low CTRs (shoot for 5-8%, much higher for branded search campaign)
    2. Cost-Per-Click: Lower is better. If any one ad or keywords has an above-average CPC, look into creating more relevant ads, improving landing page, etc.
    3. Conversion Rate: Optimize or pause underperforming campaigns, AdGroups, or ads (View Ecommerce conversions in Analytics)
  10. What do do with Limited by Budget Prompt by Google:
    Google wants more money. Upping the budget may be worthwhile if the campaign has a strong ROI. But first, look into how can you make your ads more efficient by improving CTR, improving keywords score, improving landing pages, or lowering cost per click. After that, if it is still saying it then talk to the customer about upping their budget.
  11. Additional Account Settings
    1. Go to account
    2. Click on Settings in the left-hand menu
    3. Click on Account Settings (top menu)
      1. Tracking – leave off because this is if you use a third-party tracking provider. Not applicable
      2. Auto-tagging – make sure this is turned on.
      3. Message reporting – turn this on, but we don’t use message ads/extensions, so it won’t really apply
      4. Call reporting – I recommend turning this on. Note that it will use Google forwarding numbers rather than your customer’s actual phone numbers (i.e. the person calling won’t see the official business number). That’s really the only con. Pros: track call duration, area codes, start and end time, whether call was connected. You can then set calls of a specific duration to count as conversions.
      5. Inventory type – N/A (video campaigns only)
      6. Excluded content – can prevent ads from showing on certain kinds of websites/content. Suggest checking boxes for “Tragedy and conflict,” “Sexually suggestive,” “Sensational and shocking,” and possibly “Sensitive social issues” (not sure what qualifies for this, hence the “possibly”).
      7. Excluded types and labels – Recommend checking “DL-MA: Mature audiences” and “Parked domains”.
      8. Ad suggestions – Set to auto-apply after 14 days. (set to this by default)

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