Google Ads Tips

Escape PPC Maintenance Mode: 4 Advanced Tactics for an Account Breakthrough

For all the shiny new objects in the world of PPC, the majority of the…

Sticking to the Point in PPC: Lessons from Alexa, Coldplay, and Broad Match

Here’s an actual conversation I had not long ago: Me: “Alexa, set a 13-minute timer.”Alexa:…

Crazy Bids, Smart Bidding: Under the Hood of Google’s Wildest CPCs

The days of debating whether or not smart bidding is worth using are long behind…

Don’t Be Undersold on the Upside: When Google's Forecasts Miss

Google’s campaign forecasting tools can be useful. The keyword tool, for example, remains the best…

Grow and Prune: How Expansion and Refinement Work Together in Google Ads

PPCers are often working in one of two modes: • Expand targeting to increase volume•…

Account-level automated extensions: which to keep, which to cut

Account-level automated assets (as in automated ‘ad extensions’: a clearer name before Google changed it…

The value of exact matches in Google Ads

Although Exact Match is no longer worthy of the name when applied to a keyword,…

#5 Overlooked Features in Google Ads

Search Term Match Type Here’s a useful dimension that doesn’t get its fair share of…

What to know before Black Friday

Black Friday has always been closely associated with some kind of a ‘mad rush’. In…

How to uncover hidden performance patterns with AI

The impact of AI on our day-to-day marketing doesn’t grow gradually – it moves in…

How (not) to use PMax Search Themes

Despite a few recent positive updates, Performance Max continues to suffer from a notorious lack…

The #5 most important Google Ads updates of the year so far

1 Bid to profit 🤑 Announced at Marketing Live in May, initially expected to arrive…

The La La Landing Page Effect, and how to avoid it

It was the big moment of the Academy Awards, 2017. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway…

Phrase Match and the End of the Middle Ground

What happened to Phrase Match? https://youtu.be/zbITxUoxiTk It’s easy to think of Phrase Match as a…

Google Ads Updates - Q1 2024 Roundup

No slowdown in the pace of change with Google Ads updates in Q1 2024… Here’s…

#5 Ingenious GPT Use Cases for Smarter PPC

Google has so far languished behind in the recent AI revolution. It may well catch…

#3 Tips to boost your PPC in 2024

1 Get creative with custom columns Custom columns have long been a valuable, underused feature…

Beyond Transparency. How to balance clarity and impact in Google Ads

Observe the following text, on the glass door of an Italian restaurant not far from…

New Search Term Insights in Google Ads

Last week, a new segment option showed up in the keywords view: ‘Search terms match…

How to use ROAS (or CPA) targets in Google Ads

What happened in Dublin? I’ve done my fair share of grumbling over the loss of…

#3 Advanced proxy metrics in Google Ads

The Beginning of Infinity: David Deutch The E.T.-detecting cork is a particularly satisfying example –…

Google Ads Updates - Q1 Roundup

We’ve had a raft of Google Ads Updates in Q1 2023. Here’s a roundup and…

How to Test RSAs

The fluid nature of RSAs poses a challenge when it comes to rigorous testing. But…

Ad Slurry: The problem of low-quality inventory and how to deal with it

The problem You’ve heard it many times… PPC practitioners face a growing problem with the…

Getting the most out of RSAs

Ad optimisation used to be pretty simple. Run 3-4 ads together Check them frequently Pause…

#6 Ways to Improve CPA with Smart Bidding

1) Targets The simplest way to influence smart bidding behaviour, is by actively adjusting CPA…

Guardrails for the Google Ads Algorithm

There’s a growing tension in Google Ads. Should decisions around targeting, bidding and optimisation be…

What are your Paid Search ads for?

Two (very broad) qualities that you want your paid search ads to have are: Relevance…

Top 5 Paid Search issues in large accounts

I have mixed feelings about audits. On one hand there’s something refreshing about opening up…

The Broad Match Defence

Last week I attended a Google Workshop with the following title: Maximise Performance and Reach…