Google Ads Remarketing for Search Demystified

Targeted advertising by Google Ads RLSA
Targeted advertising by Google Ads RLSA

Just because you want to target website visitors in the search results using Google Ads remarketing for search (RLSA) – you may not be able to.

Google sets a threshold of needing over 1,000 remarketing cookie sets in a 30 day period to show remarketing for search ads. For many advertisers this bar is just too high. You will only need 100 cookie sets in a 30 day period to show remarketing ads in the Google Ads display network, but the bar is much, much higher for search ads.

I recommend that you try to lengthen the period of your cookie set from 30 days to 90 days to see if this will make a difference in your ability to use RLSA.

RLSA ads can be a great way to target in search results advertising shopping cart abandoners and other site visitors. Consider bidding a minimum of +30% to get action if you do have enough cookies.

Consider setting up a separate program for RLSA and use general keywords so your ads will appear on more queries, set the bid low, but boost up with a bid adjustment, and consider a -100% bid adjustment for mobile to start to keep your costs low until you know the program will generate a return for your needs.

Showing ads to people who have visited your website already using a target and bid strategy can be very good to add conversions to your monthly plan.

For more information on our services for Google Ads advertisers please visit our website at www.mccordweb.com.

What is Attribution?

What is Attribution in Google Ads Speak?
What is Attribution in Google Ads Speak?

With over 10 years of experience in professional management of AdWords account, I wanted to share tips on an often overlooked yet important item in conversion tracking – attribution.

First to see what I am talking,(in the old interface)  about go to Tools > Conversions. Click one of the names of the conversions you have set up. Look to the bottom to Attribution Model. If you’ve done nothing it has defaulted to Last Click. Click Edit and change your conversion model to Position Based.

Position Based is my preferred attribution model. Over time you will be able to see keywords in your account that you might have pause that are actually a part of the conversion path.

The first click and last click will be weighted to 40% each and the middle clicks will split the remaining 20%. What happens is important for your keyword monitoring. You will start to see keywords that previously in the last click model may not be driving as many conversions as you had thought.

Your data drives your decisions in AdWords, put your data to work for you by changing your Attribution Model to the right one for you.

To get to the prior interface if AdWords defaults to the new interface, click the three vertical dots next to the gear in the top right and click go to prior version.

There are just some things that are easier to see and faster to do in the old interface.

Need an AdWords manager? Please take a moment to find out more about what we do.

How to Determine Your Starting Google Ads Budget

We Are a Google Partner Specializing in Search Marketing.
We Are a Google Partner Specializing in Search Marketing.

When you start advertising on Google Ads, how do you determine your starting budget?

There is no mystery to deciding your budget for Google Ads. I use the Keyword Planner to determine the best budget for starting out. Here are my tips.

  1. Create a list of 10 two to three word phrases that you feel will help drive qualified traffic.
  2. Go to your Google Ads account or ask your Google Ads consultant to run the numbers for you, but putting each keyword in the Google Keyword Planner to check for traffic, competition, and typical bids.
  3. Plan on these potential bids being about 20% lower than the real auction for clicks when your account is set up.
  4. Take the average of these ten keyword’s click costs and then decide how many clicks you would like to have a day before your ads stop showing.
  5. Look at the number generated in step 4 and determine if you can realistically live with this number. Never get over your head in regards to a budget that is way beyond your means. It is not typical to get leads in Google Ads the day ads serve. For some account it can take as long as three weeks for optimization to start to see the first lead conversion.
  6. Remember a lead conversion or beneficial action you are recording as a conversion is not always a sale. Sometimes it is just the first step in the sales process.
  7. Understand that it takes time for a Google Ads account to become profitable. Google Ads is a dynamic auction with bids changing for each query and many factors determining if your ads show or not.
  8. Work with a professional Google Ads account manager or consultant like McCord Web Services to get the most out of Google Ads.

I invite you to visit our website to learn more about Google Ads and our Google Ads consulting and account management services.