By: Duane Brown, Founder of Take Some Risk
It's April, and there's still plenty of time to whip your e-commerce Google Ads account into shape for a profitable year, whether you're gearing up for summer or the Black Friday rush. But are you unknowingly wasting precious ad dollars? The truth is, many e-commerce businesses are, often due to easily fixable errors.
In this article, I'll dive into key areas of an e-commerce Google Ads audit that can save you significant money. We'll cover:
The critical importance of accurate conversion tracking.
Leveraging the search term report (and its arrival in PMAX) for valuable insights.
Optimizing your campaign structure through effective SKU breakdown.
Why your mobile conversion rate is likely your biggest opportunity right now.
Think of your Google Ads account as a leaky bucket. You're pouring money in, but if there are holes, you're not seeing the full benefit. Let's plug those leaks!
Think of your conversion tracking as the gold in Scrooge McDuck's vault. It's valuable data that tells you what's working and what's not. However, many e-commerce accounts make critical errors here, like double-counting conversions or incorrect conversion values.
Beyond purchases, ensure you're tracking other valuable actions like phone calls (especially for older demographics) and form submissions. Accurate conversion tracking is the foundation of any successful Google Ads strategy.
Despite changes over the years, the search term report remains a valuable tool. It shows you the actual search queries that triggered your ads. Why is this important?
Identifying Irrelevant Spend: You might be spending money on terms for products you don't even sell (like a furniture store wasting money on "recliner chairs" when they only sell massage chairs). The search term report reveals these wasted ad dollars.
PMAX Insights: Even if you primarily use Performance Max (PMAX) campaigns, the search term report (now rolling out to PMAX) and search insights can provide valuable context on the types of searches driving your results. Utilize search themes to guide your PMAX campaigns towards relevant areas.
Don't underestimate the power of understanding what people are actually searching for. It can save you significant money and refine your targeting.
For e-commerce businesses with numerous products (SKUs), campaign structure is critical. A common mistake is throwing too many SKUs into a single campaign with a limited budget.
Instead, segment your campaigns based on product categories, brands, or price points to ensure a more balanced budget allocation and maximize the potential of your entire inventory. Auditing your current SKU breakdown and restructuring can unlock significant performance improvements.
While AI is a hot topic, the biggest opportunity for most e-commerce businesses right now lies in their mobile conversion rate. Consider this:
Mobile Traffic Dominance: A significant portion (often the majority) of your ad traffic likely comes from mobile devices.
Conversion Rate Disparity: Often, mobile conversion rates are significantly lower than desktop, meaning you're potentially wasting a large portion of your ad spend on traffic that isn't converting.
Fixing your mobile user experience (UX) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) can have a far greater impact on your profitability than waiting for AI to revolutionize advertising. Simple changes like reducing pop-ups, increasing text size, and reorganizing your mobile layout can lead to substantial improvements. Don't pour more money into ads, email, or SEO until you've addressed this fundamental issue.
By taking the time to conduct a thorough Google Ads audit focused on these key areas, you can identify and eliminate wasted spend, optimize your campaigns, and set your e-commerce business up for a much more profitable future. Don't wait for your peak season to arrive – start improving your account today.
Duane Brown is the Founder of Take Some Risk. Him and his team help ecom, DTC and retail brands grow through strategy, PPC marketing, and data.
You can find him on LinkedIn