Structure Your SEM Campaigns Wisely

The Benefit of Separate Campaigns and Narrow Ad Groups

Performance criteria for Google Ads has evolved. It used to be more cost effective to have one Campaign and various Ad Groups within. Similarly, these Ad Groups were targeting multiple ​“similar” keywords. As Search has grown and become more competitive, the problem with this structure is that budget can only be assigned on a campaign level. This meant Google has to prioritize ad delivery between all the Ad Groups, based on overall CTR or Conversions.

It’s best to create multiple Campaigns as appropriate. What used to be Ad Groups that were keyword driven, are now best converted to Campaigns. This provides more control over how budgets are spent while providing the flexibility to improve results. Assigning a separate budget for different categories of products or services will align them with customer needs and search strategies. Google is still going to prioritize the best performing Ad, but now you’re in control of allocating money to the right place. 

Since keywords become Campaigns, your Ad Groups need to be more specific, narrowing the number of keywords within, so that they are more similar. This strategy is called SKAG (single keyword ad group). It works better because it helps ads to become more relevant because the ad copy includes the targeted keyword. The goal of this optimization is to reduce cost per click and increase chances of getting qualified leads. 

SEO strategies play an important role. Remember that Google Ranks ads and this ranking affects how much you spend per click. So, if you have an ad optimized for certain keywords and your website is also optimized for these keywords, then you can expect lower CPC and improved conversions.