Solved: Google Ads Campaign Scaling Issues & Optimisation

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch. I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your Google Ads campaign. I've reviewed your situation, and here are a few areas we can explore to improve performance and scalability.

We'll need to look at your location targeting...

I understand you're considering reducing your campaign radius from 35km to 20km. This is a good starting point, especially if you're finding that many of your leads are coming from outside your ideal service area. The further you have to travel to a job, the bigger the reduction to your profit margins. We had a similar situation with a plumbing company client. By narrowing their target area, we not only increased their profit margins, but also reduced their fuel costs as well!

However, before making this change, I would recommend that we take a look at your location performance report in Google Ads. This report will show you exactly where your leads are coming from and the cost per lead for each location. This level of insight can help you identify the most profitable areas within your existing 35km radius.

For example, you might find that you're getting a high volume of cheap leads from one particular suburb, even if it's on the edge of your target area. In that case, reducing your radius too aggressively could actually hurt your overall performance.

Another approach to consider is using location bid adjustments. With this method, you can increase or decrease your bids based on the location of the searcher. So, for areas closer to your base of operations, you could bid more aggressively to capture those leads. For areas further away, you could reduce your bids or even exclude those areas entirely if they're not profitable. This can be quite effective!

I'd say you should carefully review Google's Recommendations...

I understand that Google is suggesting a number of optimisations for your campaign, but it’s important to approach these with caution. Google's recommendations are not always aligned with your specific business goals and could potentially waste your budget if not implemented carefully. Think about what Google's goal is here - and it's not your ROI.

For example, the recommendation to "Create a Performance Max campaign" can be tempting, as it promises to reach a wider audience across Google's network. However, in my experience Performance Max can work really well for eCommerce businesses with a broad product catalogue but tends to be less effective for service-based businesses where targeting precision is key. It may sound like a good option, but make sure that your goal is Google's goal.

Similarly, the suggestion to "Add broad match versions of your existing keywords" should be approached with caution. While broad match keywords can help you reach a wider audience, they can also attract a lot of irrelevant traffic, especially if you don't have a well-defined negative keyword list. If you are to do this - make sure to add a very robust list of negative keywords to prevent ad spend from irrelevant searches. One of the biggest mistakes I see is people not implementing negative keywords - it's really costing them!

Before implementing any of Google's recommendations, I would recommend that you carefully evaluate the potential impact on your campaign performance and make sure they align with your overall business objectives.

You probably should adjust your Bidding Strategy...

You mentioned that your ads aren't spending during typical business hours. This is a common problem, especially when you're using a limited budget. There are a couple of things you can do to address this issue.

Firstly, I would recommend that you consider using ad scheduling. With ad scheduling, you can specify the days and times you want your ads to run. This will ensure that your ads are only shown when your target audience is most likely to be searching for your services. This can also help to maximise your budget by focusing your spend on the most profitable times of day.

You might also want to consider using accelerated bidding. With accelerated bidding, Google will attempt to spend your daily budget as quickly as possible. This can be useful if you want to ensure that your ads are shown throughout the day, but it can also lead to higher costs per click. You might want to consider this in conjunction with ad scheduling.

Another approach to consider is adjusting your bidding strategy. If you're currently using manual bidding, you might want to consider switching to an automated bidding strategy like Target CPA or Maximise Conversions. These strategies can help you to optimise your bids in real-time based on your target cost per acquisition (CPA) or conversion rate.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Implementing these changes can be complex and requires a deep understanding of Google Ads. You might find it beneficial to consult with an expert who can help you develop a tailored strategy for your business and implement it effectively. Also agencies can be a bit slow to adopt new changes and you might find they are not spending the right amount of time optimising your campaign.

We offer a free consultation where we can discuss your campaign in more detail and provide you with specific recommendations. We've helped several service based businesses increase their leads at a lower cost through Google Ads and are confident we can help you too.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh