Google Ads Display Network Optimization Ideas
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers essential tips for optimizing Google Display Network (GDN) campaigns. It discusses the initial use of 'Maximize Clicks' to gain traction before switching to 'Maximize Conversions', analyzing ad variations, and focusing on viewable CTR over overall CTR for ad performance. The script also covers expanded and optimized targeting, and the importance of reviewing and controlling ad placements to ensure brand safety, providing practical steps for advertisers to enhance their GDN strategy.
Takeaways
- 📈 The Google Display Network (GDN) is an effective platform for brand exposure to potential customers, offering remarketing and various targeting options.
- 🔍 For new display campaigns, starting with 'Maximize Conversions' as the bid strategy can be challenging; switching to 'Maximize Clicks' temporarily can help gain traction before reverting back to conversions.
- 🎯 Ad performance should be reviewed by ad type, distinguishing between image ads and responsive display ads, as they have different dimensions and placements.
- 📊 Viewable CTR (Click-Through Rate) is a more accurate metric for ad performance on the GDN compared to the overall CTR, as it accounts for whether the ad was actually visible to users.
- 📐 When comparing ad performance, ensure comparisons are made within the same ad size and format to get a true measure of effectiveness.
- 🚫 Expanded and optimized targeting should be reviewed regularly; if it's underperforming compared to custom segments, it may be beneficial to disable it.
- 📝 Placement performance should be monitored to ensure ads are appearing in appropriate locations; underperforming placements can be excluded at the ad group or campaign level.
- 📲 Mobile apps can be excluded from GDN campaigns if they are not performing well or if the advertiser prefers not to have their ads shown in app environments.
- 🛡 Content controls and exclusions can be set at the campaign level to prevent ads from appearing alongside content that doesn't align with the brand's image or values.
- 🛠 There are nuanced ways to optimize GDN campaigns that differ from other campaign types like search or video campaigns, and understanding these can maximize ad budget efficiency.
- ❓ The video encourages viewers to ask questions about GDN optimizations or campaigns in the comments for further assistance.
Q & A
What is the Google Display Network and how can it benefit brands?
-The Google Display Network is a platform that allows brands to display ads to potential customers, whether they are already aware of the brand or not. It offers various targeting options to reach the right audience and can be optimized for conversions or performance goals.
Why is it recommended to start a new Google Display Network campaign with 'Maximize Conversions' bid strategy?
-Starting with the 'Maximize Conversions' bid strategy can be beneficial as it allows the campaign to focus on achieving conversions. However, it may be challenging to get the campaign off the ground without initial traction, which is why sometimes switching to 'Maximize Clicks' temporarily can help.
What is the significance of switching from 'Maximize Conversions' to 'Maximize Clicks' and then back in a Google Display Network campaign?
-Switching to 'Maximize Clicks' temporarily can help a new campaign gain traction by driving more immediate clicks. Once the campaign has gathered some volume, switching back to 'Maximize Conversions' can help maintain traffic while focusing on conversion goals.
How can one evaluate the performance of different ad types on the Google Display Network?
-Performance can be evaluated by comparing different ad types such as image ads and responsive display ads separately, as they have different formats and placements. Metrics like conversion performance, click-through rate, and viewable CTR should be considered.
Why is it important to consider 'viewable CTR' over the standard 'CTR' when reviewing ad performance on the Google Display Network?
-'Viewable CTR' is more indicative of user engagement as it measures clicks only after the ad has become viewable (50% of the ad is visible on a web page for at least one second). This provides a more accurate reflection of how users are interacting with the ads compared to the overall CTR.
What are some best practices for comparing ad variants on the Google Display Network?
-When comparing ad variants, it's important to compare within the same ad format and size to ensure a fair comparison. For example, comparing a 320x50 ad variant with another 320x50 variant will provide more meaningful insights than comparing across different sizes.
What is 'expanded targeting' and how can it impact the performance of a Google Display Network campaign?
-'Expanded targeting' is an option that allows Google to show ads to users beyond the initial targeting parameters. It can impact performance by potentially reaching a wider audience, but it may also lead to higher costs per lead if not optimized correctly.
How can one identify and exclude placements that are not performing well in a Google Display Network campaign?
-By reviewing the placements where ads have shown in the 'Content' section, one can identify underperforming websites or mobile apps. If necessary, these placements can be excluded at the ad group or campaign level to optimize performance.
Why might it be necessary to exclude mobile apps from a Google Display Network campaign?
-Excluding mobile apps may be necessary if they are not contributing to the campaign's goals, such as conversions, or if the performance metrics like cost per lead or click-through rate are not satisfactory.
What are 'content controls' and how can they be used to ensure ads are displayed in appropriate contexts?
-'Content controls' allow advertisers to exclude their ads from appearing on certain types of content or websites that do not align with their brand. This can be done at the campaign or account level to maintain brand safety and relevance.
How can advertisers ensure their Google Display Network campaigns are optimized for the best results?
-Advertisers can ensure optimization by regularly reviewing and adjusting bid strategies, comparing ad variants, analyzing viewable CTR, using expanded and optimized targeting wisely, and utilizing content controls to exclude inappropriate placements or content.
Outlines
📈 Optimization Strategies for Google Display Network Campaigns
The script discusses strategies for optimizing Google Display Network (GDN) campaigns, especially after they've been running for some time. It emphasizes the importance of analyzing and adjusting targeting options, bid strategies, and ad variations. The speaker shares personal experiences, including a case study of a GDN prospecting campaign that initially struggled with traction but improved after switching from a 'maximize conversions' to a 'maximize clicks' bid strategy. The script also suggests using Google Ads responsive display ads and highlights the need to review ad performance, comparing different ad types and focusing on viewable click-through rates (CTR) over overall CTR for a more accurate assessment of user engagement.
📊 Analyzing Ad Performance and Utilizing Viewability Metrics
This paragraph delves into the analysis of ad performance on the GDN, focusing on the distinction between image ads and responsive display ads. It advises on how to filter and compare ads within the same format and size for a fair evaluation. The script introduces viewability metrics, such as viewable CTR, which measures clicks after an ad becomes viewable (50% of the ad visible for at least one second). The importance of this metric is underscored as it provides a more accurate reflection of user engagement with the ads. The speaker also warns against comparing ads of different sizes directly and provides guidance on how to set up filters for a more meaningful comparison.
🛠️ Targeting Optimization and Content Controls in Display Campaigns
The script continues with a discussion on targeting optimization, specifically the use of expanded targeting in GDN campaigns. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to review the performance of different audience segments and the overall effectiveness of expanded targeting. The speaker uses a campaign example to illustrate the comparison between segment targeting and expanded targeting, highlighting the higher cost per lead and lower click-through rates associated with the latter. The paragraph concludes with instructions on how to disable expanded targeting if it's not performing well. Additionally, the script touches on the importance of reviewing ad placements for safety and brand fit, offering insights on how to exclude specific placements or entire categories, such as mobile apps, from showing ads.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Google Display Network
💡Remarketing campaigns
💡Targeting options
💡Ads performance optimization
💡Maximize conversions
💡Responsive display ads
💡Viewable CTR
💡Ad variations
💡Expanded targeting
💡Placements
💡Content exclusions
Highlights
The Google Display Network is an effective way to reach potential customers through remarketing campaigns and various targeting options.
Google Ads responsive display ads are highly recommended for introducing or reminding people about your company.
Optimizations can be made to Google Display Network campaigns after they have been running for a while to improve performance.
Starting with 'maximize conversions' as the bid strategy can make it difficult for new display campaigns to gain traction.
Switching to 'maximize clicks' temporarily can help new campaigns gain volume before switching back to 'maximize conversions'.
Ad performance should be reviewed by comparing ads of the same type and size for accurate analysis.
Viewable CTR is a more accurate metric than overall CTR for assessing user engagement with Display Network ads.
Expanded and optimized targeting should be reviewed for its effectiveness, and turned off if it's not performing well.
Placements where ads have shown should be reviewed to ensure they are appropriate and safe for the brand.
Excluding placements or app categories can be done to improve the relevance and performance of ads.
Content exclusions can be set at the campaign level to avoid showing ads alongside undesirable content.
Comparing ad variants within the same ad size provides a more accurate measure of performance.
High viewable CTR indicates better user engagement, even if the ad is shown less frequently.
Google Display Network campaigns require specific optimization strategies that differ from search or video campaigns.
The video provides practical optimization tips for making the most of ad budgets on the Google Display Network.
Engagement with the video content is encouraged through likes, subscriptions, and comments for further questions.
Transcripts
the Google Display Network is a great
way to get your brand out in front of
potential customers whether they are
aware of you the remarketing campaigns
or if they're not and you can Target
them through all of the different
targeting options available on the
Google Display Network if you're
interested in checking those out you can
look at this video right here
and there are lots of different ways
that you can put together your ads to
introduce yourself or remind people
about your company if you're interested
in Google ads responsive display ads
which we highly recommend you can check
out this video right here
but what I want to talk about today is
what happens after your campaigns have
been running for a little while what
optimizations can you make what levers
should you be pulling what stats should
you look at so today I want to talk
about a handful of the optimizations
that we like to make in our Google
Display Network campaigns
as we're going through each of the
example optimizations and settings that
I want to show you in this video I'm
going to be using two live client
accounts so there's going to be a decent
amount of blurring but hopefully you'll
still be able to get the gist of it
anyway the first thing I want to talk
about is a problem I run into with new
display campaigns that are optimizing
toward a conversion or performance goal
because the entire account is it's a
problem I run into a lot and it happened
most recently with this gdn prospecting
campaign so I'm going to choose just
that one and I'm actually going to shift
to the change history page you'll see
here the first triangle is going to be
on December 8th and that's where 36
changes were made and if we scroll down
here you'll see that there are a few
line items for December 8th that was
this one where the campaign was created
to start with it then had all of its ad
groups created it had the targeting
added and had all of the different ad
images and data segments added to the
campaigns effectively at this point the
campaign was turned live and everything
should have been up and running but the
one thing that I started with which I
would always like to start with is this
bid strategy as maximize conversions we
didn't have any Target CPA included we
just wanted the campaign to maximize
toward conversions so if I close this
carrot come back up to the chart up here
you'll see that we launched on December
8th and didn't get any traction on any
of this until December 12th that's not
very many days and you might normally
leave things the way they were until you
start to see performance ramp up but
from previous experience I knew that
because we had started with maximized
conversions we're going to have a hard
time getting off the ground so I came
back here on on December 12th I made the
change to maximize clicks as the bid
type as opposed to maximized conversions
since we're in the change history you
can see that nothing else was done that
day and these campaign parameters that
started on December 18th were literally
just campaign parameters but immediately
on December 12th we started seeing
clicks come through it's the only thing
that changed this is the tracking
changes and then all the way on January
3rd after in about a month of
performance maybe a little less we
changed the bid strategy back to
maximize conversions and although the
click volume and the click-through rate
that you can see kind of all dropped
because we're focusing on conversions
rather than clicks we were able to
retain the volume coming through it
might be easier if I switch this to the
week view
yep so you can see that we started off
with high clicks higher click-through
rate which is the red line once I made
the change in bidding strategy both of
those things dropped but we retained
traffic throughout if you start off a
gdn campaign on maximize conversions and
it doesn't get any traction try
switching it to maximize clicks for a
short period of time and then switching
back to maximized conversions once it's
got a little bit of volume under its
belt Google insists that you shouldn't
have to do this and yet this is just one
of many real world examples that I run
into where it ended up working out
pretty well the second type of
optimization and review that I want to
walk you through is ADD variations
there's a couple different ways we're
going to do this because I don't have
the perfect account for this example I'm
going to use this other client account
but I'm going to use ads across
campaigns not within if you're getting
nitpicky on me I know that it's not
perfect but it's a good example so I'm
going to head over to the ads and assets
and click on ads the first thing to note
when you're reviewing any sort of Google
Display Network ad copy performance is
that there are two categories of ads and
we have a couple of them here you can
see in the add type column we have image
ads and we also have responsive display
ads those assets are very different
because image ads are going to be
specific dimensions like 728 by 90 320
by 50 468 by 60 whereas responsive
display ads are going to fit into any of
the different shapes I already alluded
to the responsive display ad video that
we have in the intro this video so I'm
not going to go further into that but
when reviewing ad performance I want
want you to always make sure that you
know when you are comparing a responsive
display ad versus an image ad so one of
the different things that I will do for
this is just use my filters I'll filter
for add type and I'll check the box next
to either responsive display ad or image
ad depending on which I want to review
and then I can compare them on the whole
whether by looking down at the filtered
ads which you can see here that have
thirteen thousand dollars in spend which
the total account in this instance which
has 62 000 which isn't a perfect
comparison but you can also compare the
stats among the different ad formats so
here this would be the easiest way for
us to compare which responsive display
ad is performing the best because they
need to be compared to each other as
opposed to compared across all different
ad formats because again responsive
display ads can show up anywhere whereas
banner ads have their own specific area
so here I would probably decide that the
top two responsive display ads are
performing relatively well and then I
would probably want to do something to
change or or remove these next three
responsive display ads because they're
just not doing very well but right now
I'm only looking at the conversion
performance there's also another stat
around the click-through rate that I
want to talk about that I don't think
people pay as much attention to as you
can see here this one has a 3.82 this is
2.7 and then Things fall off a cliff and
we're at 0.32 0.51 0.23 but this is the
overall click-through rate the number of
total clicks divided by the total number
of Impressions but the display network
has a few nuances because of the way
that the ads appear so I'm going to
close the filter and now I'm going to go
to columns and click modify and here I
want to show you the viewability metrics
we already have some of these as
suggested columns down here on the side
but one of the metrics I like to use is
viewable CTR as you can see by the
example here it represents how often
people click your ad after it becomes
viewable it might seem silly but an ad
is only considered viewable when 50 of
it shows on a web page for at least 1
one second so what that means is that a
number of the times that your ad is
populating on a page or generating an
impression it's not actually viewable
because you can't say 50 of it and it
wasn't viewable for at least one second
so one of the other suggested columns
Google has is this viewable Impressions
I'm gonna go ahead and add it and that
is the number of times an ad was
viewable and again fifty percent at
least one second I'm going to move these
to a better place in our column so we'll
be able to see it better in the live
example and just click apply now when
we're looking at these same ads we can
see that we have a little bit of a
difference here the number of
Impressions that a viewable are a bit
less than those total so it's not too
far off but you can see that the
click-through rate is also a bit
different there's not really any change
in performance here we still see that
the top one has the best by far the next
one is the next one down and so on and
so forth in the same order that they
were before but you can see that the
viewable click-through rate is quite a
bit higher than the click-through rate
overall so when you're reviewing your
Display Network work ads I encourage you
to look at viewable CTR for performance
compared to other ads rather than
click-through rate because what you want
to know is how the users are engaging
with your ads they can't engage with
them or make a determination about if
they like them if they don't actually
see them so use viewable CTR instead of
CTR overall for ad copy review on
Display Network the one other caveat I
want to talk about is four image ads so
I'm going to change my filter here the
same thing applies for click-through
rate versus viewable click-through rate
but I also want to caution you against
saying that this top ad is better than
the second ad because this top one has
dimensions of 468 by 60. it only shows
up in placements that fit that the
second one is 320 by 50. what would be a
better comparison is saying that this ad
which is 320 by 50 is better comparable
to another ad which is 320 by 50. so let
me set up a filter for names real quick
and now we can see all of the different
ad creatives that are 320 by 50 compared
to each other so we still see that this
top one has click-through rate of 0.34
first 0.36 as a viewable CTR but this
add variant down here further has a
viewable CTR of 0.77 and the one down
even a little bit more is 0.98 this I
would categorize as better than this top
one because it's being clicked on at
almost three times the rate even though
it's not being shown very often so
whenever you're comparing your ad
variants on the Google Display Network
make sure that you're doing comparable
across ad formats and within formats as
well as within add sizes to get the best
performing for that specific ad variant
the next thing I want to talk about is
expanded and optimized targeting and for
that we're going to head to the
audiences tab I'm going to go ahead and
choose one of these campaigns and I
chose this specific campaign because I
know it is opted into expanded targeting
but if you've been setting up your
display campaigns or if somebody else
set them up for you and you have opted
into that Network which if you're
interested in learning more about and
expanded targeting you can review the
video at the top of the screen right now
but if you want to know how that's
performing you just need to come to the
audiences tab be in this audience
segment section and then click show
table and now down below we only have
one competitor customer segment in this
campaign but you can see that we have
different line items for total segments
and total expansion and optimized
targeting so if we scroll over a little
bit this table isn't super easy to view
you can see here that our segments have
generated 58 conversions for 124 dollar
cost per lead whereas the targeting
expansion and optimized targeting has
generated six at a 363 dollar cost per
lead the click-through rate is also bad
and the cost per click is higher this in
my mind is not a good idea so in this
example I would suggest turning this off
and to do that we would need to jump
into the ad group itself jump into
settings then click on ad group
targeting and then all the way down at
the bottom here you'll see optimize
targeting that you can just uncheck the
Box on and click save clearly Google
doesn't really want you to do this
because they hit it pretty well it's not
just in any of the other settings but
now you know how to do it for the last
piece I want to talk about placements
mobile apps and content controls because
once your ads have been running for a
while you need to make sure that they're
showing up in safe places so the first
thing to do is review the placements
where your ads have shown and that's
going to be in the content section under
where ADS showed from here you'll easily
be able to review the individual
websites or mobile applications that
your ads showed in so you can just
review regular performance metrics for
these and try and optimize what you want
if you want to exclude a placement all
you need to do is check the box next to
it you can click edit and you can
exclude from the ad group or for the
campaign but if you notice like with
this list of placements here a lot of
them are mobile apps depending on
whether you want your ads to show on
mobile apps and how they're performing
you can first set up a filter so let's
just go for placement and see how mobile
apps do
overall these are pretty bad they have
1600 in spend zero conversions this does
not make sense to me so I already showed
you how to exclude individual placements
which can be by checking the box but if
you want to exclude wider swaths of
content you can head over to the
exclusions tab then you need to choose
whether you want to exclude topics
placements or keywords for this one I
want to exclude placements click the
pencil to add new ones exclude
placements and now to exclude all mobile
apps you just need to come down to app
categories and you can check the box
next to all of these different
categories to exclude them and by
checking the box next to all of these
including all of the Google Play Pieces
down here which is only the one you'll
be able to exclude all mobile apps from
your campaigns now it does take a little
bit to go through and check all these
boxes you can't just do it automatically
in one box check but that's neither here
nor there this is the way you exclude
mobile apps from your gdn campaigns I'm
not going to say this right now
but let's say you don't want to exclude
individual placements or apps as a
category let's say that you noticed in
that placements list that you were
showing up alongside a lot of content
that you really don't want to be next to
so rather than taking care of that on
this content tab you can actually run to
the settings tab within your campaign
click on additional settings and down
here at the bottom you'll see content
exclusions which will open up a little
bit and this section allows you to opt
out of showing your ads on content that
doesn't fit your brand at the campaign
level we have a video that Joe has put
together that already covers all the
different ways these content exclusions
work whether it's from the campaign
level or at the account level which you
can see a handful of these are already
excluded at the account level so I'm not
going to go too far into it but just for
sake of being able to see it here if you
wanted to exclude all of your ads from
being on parked domains or live
streaming YouTube video or if you want
to make sure that you're not alongside
any of the sensitive content categories
or just making sure that you're
following only certain content labels
you can easily check the box for that at
the campaign level rather than adjusting
it in the content controls and
exclusions Display Network campaigns
definitely have a few nuanced ways of
optimizing them that are different than
other campaign types whether video or
search campaigns and they might not
always necessarily be intuitive to
people who haven't run those campaign
types before so hopefully this rundown
of this four to five optimization tricks
for Google Display Network campaigns is
going to help you make the most of your
ad Budget on the network but if you have
any additional questions about some of
these optimizations or display campaigns
in general feel free to leave us a note
in the comments below thanks for
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