It is a wild job market right now, and if you’re applying for a PPC role, you’re probably feeling the pressure to stand out in interviews that are increasingly demanding and often unclear in their expectations.
Whether you’re interviewing for a specialist, manager, or hybrid media role, one thing is certain: You need to be ready to demonstrate platform expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to connect performance with business outcomes.
One reader put it this way:
“I’m preparing for a performance marketing job, specifically in PPC, and I want to focus on Google and Meta ads. Have you any advice that would help me with interview preparation for these roles?”
This question is particularly timely because it doesn’t just ask about one platform. It is looking for dual fluency in Google and Meta, which represent paid search and paid social. That nuance matters.
Stopping there, however, is a mistake. Savvy employers will appreciate an applicant who can speak to Microsoft Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, and emerging platforms, even if those channels are not in scope right now. That breadth of perspective signals that you’re not just a button-pusher; you’re a strategist.
Below is a breakdown of the three core areas most interviewers will evaluate: Paid Search, Paid Social, and General Marketing and Culture Fit.
Modern paid search, especially within Google, demands more than keyword-level tactics. You need to understand how campaigns serve business objectives.
Expect strategy questions like, “X business has Y budget and Z goals – what kind of campaign would you run and why?” Strong candidates will be able to discuss budgeting frameworks, auction mechanics, audience segmentation, and creative message mapping.
You will likely be asked about reporting. Expect to reference tools like Looker Studio, Google Analytics 4, Power BI, Adobe, or Triple Whale. Even speaking confidently about one tool while showing awareness of others can be impressive.
Mention tools like Microsoft Clarity when discussing conversion rate optimization. Behavioral analytics insights reinforce that you understand the full user journey and do not treat campaigns as isolated events.
One frequently asked question involves account structure. You might be asked, “Why would you structure a campaign/account this way?” Never cite “best practices” or default methods as your rationale. Interviewers want reasoning rooted in context, goals, and a test-and-learn approach.
Stay current on innovations. Be ready to speak about features such as Performance Max, audience expansion tools, or any other platform updates that impact strategy. Share why you find them valuable and how you would explain their relevance to a client.
To stand out even further, draw comparisons between Google and Microsoft Ads, or highlight how Reddit and Amazon are bringing new energy to the paid search space.
Paid Social Interview Prep (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Etc.)
Paid social requires creative fluency, audience empathy, and an understanding of privacy constraints. These platforms are less about exact keyword intent and more about relevance, scale, and emotional resonance.
Prepare to talk about platform-specific ad types and creative strategies. Discuss how you would use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, and how your tactics might differ on TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts, or Reddit.
Understand how platforms organize their campaign hierarchies. For instance, Meta emphasizes the ad set level for budgeting and targeting, whereas Google does not. Create a reference sheet for yourself so you can confidently speak to the differences during interviews.
Expect questions around creative production and reporting. Interviewers may ask, “What would you do if the client is picky about creative but refuses to supply any?” or “How would you prove that your campaign delivered results if the client questions the attribution?” These are behavioral and strategic tests rolled into one.
Be prepared to explain your approach to budgeting. Paid social often involves very large or very small budgets, and employers want to hear how you allocate funds based on audience size, objective, and creative lifecycle.
Show an understanding of creative testing frameworks, including how you develop variations of hooks, visuals, or calls to action across placements and formats.
General Marketing And Culture Fit
Some parts of the interview will focus less on tactics and more on how you think and collaborate. These are just as important to prepare for.
Be ready to answer questions like, “Tell me about a campaign that worked – and one that didn’t.” Use those stories to demonstrate analytical thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and your ability to learn from both success and failure.
You will also likely get questions about how you communicate performance. You might be asked how you handle underperformance and how you keep stakeholders aligned and informed during those periods.
Come prepared with thoughtful questions of your own. Ask, “What’s behind hiring for this role?” This can give insight into whether the role is tied to growth, turnover, or team restructuring. It also helps you gauge whether expectations are realistic.
Another useful question is, “What does success look like in this role?” This will tell you whether the role is tied to long-term strategic goals or short-term revenue. Follow that up with, “How will I be measured in the first six months versus the next two years?” This demonstrates that you are serious about growth and longevity.
Culture questions are also important. Asking, “Do people tend to hang out or do their own thing?” invites a conversation about the team dynamic, without feeling overly formal or forced.
Preparation Support
You do not need to prepare alone. Use AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini to help you simulate interviews, organize your thoughts, or analyze job descriptions. Ask the AI to role-play as an interviewer and challenge you with platform-specific or scenario-based questions.
Use those tools to map out which metrics, frameworks, and features align with each platform. You want your prep to feel structured so you can walk into the interview with clarity and confidence.
Ultimately, interviews are not just an audition. They are a dialogue. Prepare thoroughly, think critically, and lead with the mindset of a strategist. That is how you stand out in a sea of applicants, and that is how you set yourself up for success.
If you have a PPC question you want answered in a future edition of Ask the PPC, send it in. Whether you’re prepping for interviews, troubleshooting performance issues, or pitching channel expansion, we are here to help.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
There’s nothing worse than watching your own products compete against each other.
When your paid media strategy starts pitting your product lines against one another, you’re not just inflating costs; you’re undercutting your own chances at conversion.
That’s the question this month’s “Ask A PPC” will tackle:
“I work for a company that has three brands in the same niche with a high ticket item for house renovation. All companies have high spend on search ads, but we are targeting the same keywords and we are seeing cannibalization.
What can we do with our bidding strategy to try and reduce our CPC and still compete on the same products/keywords, but not cannibalize each other?”
Let’s break down how to avoid keyword cannibalization, particularly when dealing with premium products, and how to structure campaigns in a way that keeps everything working together.
The Hard Truth: You Can’t Avoid All Cannibalization
Let’s start here because this is what no one wants to hear: If you’re targeting the same non-branded keywords, the same geographies, and similar audiences with similar value props, some level of internal competition is inevitable.
Search campaigns don’t know your product lines are siblings. All they see are bids, relevance scores, and conversion data. Some keywords/ads will win. Some won’t.
The goal is to mitigate the internal crossfire and make strategic decisions that give every product its best shot to shine.
Prioritize: Which Products Get Which Keywords?
We don’t like to play favorites with our products, but when it comes to generic, high-volume keywords, you might have to.
Unless you have contractual obligations to spend equally across product lines (try to avoid this), you’ll need to assign certain non-branded queries to one product or another.
Here’s how you can do it:
Segment by market: Allocate geographic zones to different products based on performance trends, sales reps, or product-market fit.
Use keyword research as a compass: Both Google’s and Microsoft’s keyword planners can show you which search terms have better affinity with which product.
Establish thematic lanes: If Product A is more “entry-level” and Product B is the “pro version,” let them own different stages of the funnel.
Use Category Pages, Not Product Pages
One workaround, especially with Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) and Performance Max (PMax), is to avoid pushing people directly to product pages. Instead, drive them to category or collection pages.
Why this works:
It gives consumers options without forcing them to pick one.
You can still control targeting and ad creative at the campaign or asset group level.
It creates a more balanced distribution of visibility without inflating cost-per-click (CPCs) by bidding on the same SKUs.
DSAs and PMax campaigns do this particularly well. You’re not bidding on keywords in the traditional sense; you’re letting Google’s (or Microsoft’s) AI determine which queries to match based on content and intent.
On Google, AI Max lets you guide that intent more narrowly through ad group-level settings.
On Microsoft, PMax can do something similar, especially if you feed it clean, structured data and lean into visual creative.
Build A Branded Safety Net
You likely already have branded campaigns in place, and if you don’t, this is an important go do.
Branded search and Shopping should ensure that anyone looking for a specific product by name sees only that product. This is where you can (and should) be strict about campaign segmentation.
Branded campaigns give you clean performance data, protect your CPCs from cannibalization, and provide the clearest attribution path.
Leverage Visual Differentiation
This is where platforms like Google Demand Gen and Microsoft Audience Ads really shine.
Visual content lets you sidestep keywords altogether and lean into product storytelling. You can target by interest, topic, or custom segments – not search intent – which means you can:
Run one campaign per product and assign each a budget.
Or run one big campaign and let the creative guide user choice.
You can use PMax here, too, especially on Microsoft, where PMax makes it more likely to secure Copilot placements across mobile and desktop.
Copilot has been shown to have 25% more relevancy than traditional search, according to Microsoft internal data.
The key is to treat these upper-funnel plays as audience builders. Then, once users engage, you can segment them with remarketing across both platforms.
Pro tip: On Microsoft, even just an impression is enough to build an audience. Which means your remarketing and exclusions can get very precise, very quickly.
So long as there’s at least one audience ad campaign in your impression-based remarketing sources, you can allow PMax to remarket to PMax and Search/Shopping to remarket to Search/Shopping, i.e., you can capture intent from Copilot even if they didn’t engage with you there.
Does This Really Solve Cannibalization?
The only surefire way to fully prevent cannibalization would be to run entirely separate ad accounts, one per product. But that opens up a Pandora’s box of compliance risks.
Google and Microsoft are both very aware of efforts to double-serve, and if they perceive your accounts as trying to game the system – even if you’re just trying to stay organized – you could end up suspended.
So instead, your best move is to manage the overlap, not eliminate it. Focus on:
Using category pages for non-branded queries.
Owning branded queries with tightly segmented campaigns.
Differentiating products visually through audience-first formats.
Using geographic and thematic separation when assigning generic keywords.
When done right, the consumer makes the final decision, not your CPC strategy. That’s not cannibalization. That’s just a user choosing which of your great products fits their needs best. And either way? You win.
Final Takeaways
To recap:
You can’t fully eliminate cannibalization without risking violating platform policies.
Smart segmentation of campaigns by geography, theme, and intent, helps mitigate overlap.
Category pages + visual ads can guide consumers to the right product without inflating CPCs.
Branded campaigns are your best friend; keep them clean, tight, and product-specific.
Audience-based targeting gives you control without competing on search terms.
At the end of the day, your campaigns should reflect how your users shop: exploring, comparing, deciding. Make that process easier for them, and less expensive for you.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
As some of you have already heard, I accepted the role of Microsoft Ads Liaison in June of 2025. That means I will start sharing Microsoft-first strategies. It doesn’t mean:
Giving preferential treatment to Microsoft if something else is genuinely a better answer.
Telling you to do something because Microsoft has a quota (this isn’t how Microsoft operates anyway).
Ignoring the valid critiques of how Microsoft could serve the humans we care about better. I’d love as much of that feedback as possible!
With that out of the way, this month’s question is:
“How can I make Microsoft Advertising profitable?”
Before I put pen to paper, I asked my LinkedIn community whether they found Microsoft Advertising profitable. The majority indicated they do make money when they invest in Microsoft Advertising.
Screenshot from author’s LinkedIn poll, June 2025
Obviously, I’m thrilled that most advertisers see a positive return on Microsoft Advertising. Many commented that they see better results than other ad networks.
However, if Microsoft Advertising always won for our customers, we would have a stronger market and mind share.
The other part of this poll asked users what about Microsoft Advertising makes it less than profitable. No one could voice exactly what makes it unprofitable, so instead, I used previous conversations and comments.
In this post, I’m tackling two core areas: First, I’ll walk through common complaints I’ve seen in conversations and client experiences. Second, I’ll highlight what profitable Microsoft Advertising accounts have in common.
While this was originally shared in 2025, Microsoft Advertising regularly updates and expands its tools. The core ideas and strategies discussed here remain useful, even as specific features evolve.
Tackling Common Frustrations
Account Setup Considerations
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Account setup can be frustrating. Microsoft puts security at the center of everything, which means compliance and verification play a big role.
If your brand email changes or you add a super admin after setup, the account might be suspended until verification is complete.
To avoid this, you need to prepare. Make sure your brand email is correct and tied to the advertising account. Only add users you trust. If you’re linking to an agency’s manager account or MCC, remember that the advertiser must initiate that link.
Should You Import Or Start Fresh?
Microsoft has made major investments in import technology. You can now import from Google (Search, Shopping, Multimedia Ads, Performance Max), Meta (Audience Ads), and Pinterest (Audience Ads) accounts, which can save time.
However, importing isn’t the same as optimizing. Microsoft has distinct rules of engagement that differ from other platforms.
If you import and leave everything untouched, achieving profitability is going to be a challenge. That’s why many advertisers choose to import for efficiency, but follow up by tailoring campaigns to Microsoft’s nuances.
Some of these include:
Ad group level settings.
Microsoft-specific extensions (disclaimer, call to action, and filter link, just to name a few).
You can also take advantage of Copilot, which now helps with keyword generation, creative development, and targeting.
If you’re tight on time, import first, then edit, especially in Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Audience campaigns.
Taking The Friction Out Of Conversion Tracking (UET)
Once you’ve set up your account, the next big challenge is conversion tracking: specifically, the Universal Event Tracking (UET) pixel.
Once UET is configured correctly, it provides reliable conversion data. However, the initial setup can be tricky if you’ve never done it before.
Because this is such a friction point, we’re going to spend a bit of time talking through each step:
Step 1: Create Your UET Tag In Microsoft Ads
What to do:
Sign in to Microsoft Ads, navigate to Tools > UET Tag, and click “Create UET tag.”
Give it a clear, descriptive name (like “Main Site UET – June 2025”) and optionally include a description for future reference. Once saved, you’ll get the tracking code snippet.
Why it matters:
This tag is your entry point to all tracking capabilities: conversions, remarketing, audience targeting, and more.
Common pitfalls:
Creating multiple UET tags for one site unnecessarily. Unless you have distinct tracking needs across business units or privacy contexts, keep it centralized.
Vague naming conventions. Naming it “UET Tag 1” is setting yourself up for confusion later when troubleshooting or auditing.
UET only works when the tag is loaded consistently across your site. It needs to be present early enough in the page load to catch user behavior effectively.
Common pitfalls:
Placing the tag in the wrong location (like the or footer), which can delay firing or break tracking altogether.
Only tagging a subset of pages (like just the homepage), which limits your ability to track full-funnel activity or build meaningful remarketing audiences.
Duplicating the tag by installing it through both GTM and a CMS header. This can lead to inflated or broken data.
Step 3: Customize For Conversions, Events, And Goals
What you can do:
Once the base tag is in place, define what success looks like.
You can set up goals based on URLs (thank-you pages, order confirmations), session duration, page depth, or custom events like clicks and scroll depth.
For ecommerce or lead generation, include revenue values or dynamic lead scoring if possible.
Why it matters:
This is where you shift from “we tracked it” to “we know what worked.” Custom configurations allow Microsoft Ads’ smart bidding to optimize for real business value, not vanity metrics.
Common pitfalls:
Vague goal definitions. If you’re tracking a generic “page view” as a conversion, you’re not giving the platform anything meaningful to learn from.
Missing dynamic parameters like revenue or product category, especially in ecommerce. If you skip this, you’re losing out on valuable reporting and optimization signals.
Incorrectly implemented event syntax. One typo in your manual code and the whole tracking chain breaks. Always test in staging environments or with a QA plan.
Step 4: Verify And Troubleshoot Your UET Setup
What to do:
Install the Microsoft UET Tag Helper browser extension to validate that your tag is present and firing correctly.
Within Microsoft Ads, go to Tools > Conversion Tracking > UET Tags and monitor whether the tag is active and data is flowing.
Why it matters:
Just because the tag is on your site doesn’t mean it’s working. Validation ensures that you’re not wasting media dollars due to misfiring or silent failures.
Common pitfalls:
Assuming that tag presence equals functionality. Some tags may show as present but won’t collect data properly due to cookie issues, browser blocks, or incorrect implementation.
Not accounting for browser-specific privacy limitations, particularly with Safari and Firefox, which restrict third-party cookies and may block certain scripts if you’re not using first-party integrations.
Expecting real-time conversion data. Even with a perfect setup, there may be a 24-48 hour lag between data collection and platform visibility.
You have options. You can upload your existing conversions via feed, or configure UET using Microsoft’s native integrations.
For ecommerce advertisers, Microsoft integrates directly with platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce. These apps handle the UET configuration without requiring deep platform navigation.
For lead generation, I recommend working through the UET setup. But if you’re stuck, uploading offline conversions is a viable workaround.
Regardless of your path, you must have conversion tracking in place. Microsoft can’t optimize performance with only clicks and impressions.
Can I Trust My Conversions?
The rise of bots is a legitimate concern for all ad platforms. Microsoft takes these threats seriously and has a strong history of refunding for confirmed bot activity.
However, not every suspicious conversion is caused by bots. They can result from misconfigured settings and well-intended humans.
If your location targeting is set to “People in, searching for, or viewing webpages about your targeted locations” your region, you might inadvertently welcome irrelevant traffic.
Similarly, many advertisers forget to set ad schedules when importing campaigns, relying on Google’s bidding strategy to compensate.
On Microsoft, using ad schedules can significantly improve your efficiency.
You can also choose between account time zones and user time zones for scheduling. This allows you to allocate budget when your customers are most likely to convert.
The Myth That No One Uses Bing
A common misconception is that no one uses Bing. That simply isn’t true.
1 billion unique users per month across Microsoft’s network.
200 million monthly unique visitors are reached exclusively through Microsoft’s Display & Native advertising inventory.
63 million consumer subscribers engage monthly with Microsoft’s owned-and-operated properties.
500 million+ monthly readers access content via Microsoft’s Display & Native ad ecosystem.
3 billion+ minutes played on Microsoft Casual Games are part of this engaged audience.
Even within Bing, search ads come in rich formats: standard search, shopping, multimedia, and vertical ads.
Additionally, Copilot has introduced AI-specific ad types like Showroom Ads. Showroom Ads blend paid and organic listings with dynamic filters to help users find exactly what they want.
Microsoft placements reach unique users you can’t access anywhere else. With audience targeting tools and contextual signals, these placements are often higher quality than they appear at first glance.
What Profitable Microsoft Advertisers Do Differently
Once we remove those friction points, profitability becomes much more achievable. Successful advertisers consistently engage with their accounts.
They Don’t Set And Forget
Learning periods matter. Anytime you make a major change (budget, bidding strategy, or conversion tracking), you need to allow two to four weeks for performance to stabilize.
However, “set it and forget it” won’t get you far. Successful advertisers review their search terms weekly.
Microsoft gives you access to detailed search term reports, which allow you to make informed decisions about match types and optimization strategies.
If you’re running exact match only, you may hit low search volume. Testing phrase or broad match can expand your reach – and reviewing search terms helps validate or challenge your assumptions.
They Refresh Creative Frequently
Microsoft Advertising offers suggestions for creative updates, and Ad Studio makes editing and creating assets easy. Advertisers who monitor and test creative consistently see stronger performance over time.
Ad Studio allows you to bring your own creative or work with Copilot to generate new assets. It can help you format for all Microsoft inventory.
They Monitor Share Of Voice
Share of Voice (similar to impression share on Google) shows how often your ads appear relative to your competition. But don’t stop at the percentage.
Different ad types occupy different search engine results page (SERP) positions, and some are more likely to be eligible for Copilot placement.
Understanding which formats you use, and when they serve, will help you prioritize the right creative and bidding strategies.
They Use Impression-Based Remarketing
Impression-based remarketing allows advertisers to build audiences based on users who saw an ad – even if they didn’t click.
You can’t remarket search to search, but you can remarket across all other combinations.
Start with Audience Ads as your first touch. Build remarketing lists from those impressions. Then re-engage those users with stronger offers or creative in later funnel stages.
You can apply more aggressive tCPA or tROAS bidding because these users have already shown interest.
Matching the creative to the audience’s preferred experience (visual or text) creates a powerful flywheel.
They Stay Open To New Ad Types
Some Microsoft ad formats, like Audience Ads or PMax, launched to lukewarm reception. Those early impressions don’t reflect today’s performance.
Audience Ads are now closer to Google’s Demand Gen, and Microsoft’s PMax tends to serve more often in Copilot placements. This isn’t favoritism; Search, Shopping, and Multimedia ads are also eligible for Copilot placements.
If you run only Search campaigns, be sure to layer in all available ad extensions. Microsoft offers several unique options that increase your footprint and engagement.
Final Takeaways
It is very possible to be profitable with Microsoft Advertising.
The tools from 2015 and 2016 have evolved. Don’t let outdated perceptions block your opportunity.
Understand conversion scarcity. Microsoft reduces budgets when conversions are low if you’re using Max Conversions or Target CPA. If you can’t reach 30 conversions in 30 days, switch to enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) or add micro-conversions to maintain optimization.
Microsoft Advertising is a strategic platform in its own right – not just a Google backup.
With the right attention and tactics, it can become a high-performing part of your PPC mix.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
Regular audits are one of the foundational workflows in any paid media strategy.
Whether you’re investigating account anomalies, evaluating growth opportunities, or preparing to transition strategies or vendors, audits are an essential pillar of PPC success.
Here’s the thing: Not every audit strategy fits every account. A one-size-fits-all checklist won’t account for platform quirks, business goals, or campaign maturity.
That’s why in this month’s Ask the PPC, we’re taking a closer look at the value of doing regular audits – and how to do them in a way that actually drives meaningful insights and actions.
We’ll focus on cross-platform audits, with takeaways that apply whether you’re managing paid search or paid social campaigns.
Why Regular Audits Matter
At its core, the biggest benefit of auditing is clarity. If you’ve ever been surprised by an ad invoice and found yourself wondering, “What exactly did I pay for?” – you’re not alone.
Regular audits demystify performance. They help you understand why certain trends are happening and whether your structure is actually supporting your goals.
Beyond performance monitoring, audits unlock three critical value areas:
1. Budget Access For Net-New Entities
Ad platforms generally prefer putting spend behind “known” quantities – ads, keywords, and audiences with conversion data.
While that makes sense from a machine learning standpoint, it can sideline your new campaigns, ads, or targeting experiments unless you’re intentional about how you test.
Auditing helps ensure that newer entities aren’t starved for budget simply because older ones exist in competing campaigns/portfolios.
You can spot opportunities to move testing into separate campaigns or determine whether an older asset already covers the newer idea.
Go Do: When reviewing entity-level spend, ask: Are my new tests getting a fair shot? If not, consider spinning them out into their own campaigns with protected budgets. You’ll be able to tell if they’re being stifled by checking for impressions and budget access.
2. Active Vs. Passive Management Ratios
One of the biggest indicators of an account’s strategic health is the ratio of active to passive management.
Active management includes strategic actions like testing new creatives, adding keyword themes, or refining audiences.
Passive management is more operational: pausing campaigns, adjusting bids, or relying on automated IP exclusions and pacing scripts.
If your audit reveals a lopsided emphasis on passive tasks, it may mean strategic opportunities are being missed.
While there’s value in letting campaigns run and gather data, relying too much on autopilot can result in performance stagnation.
Note: Passive tasks are important and shouldn’t be discontinued, but they shouldn’t be the only ones completed in an account.
Go Do: Review the change history. Are most changes bid-based or budget-related? If so, build a cadence to test new creative or targeting ideas each month.
3. Testing Your Own Strategic Biases
We’re all susceptible to sticking with what’s worked in the past. That’s human nature. Yet, strategies that delivered last year might not be relevant today.
A solid audit can uncover blind spots, such as missing impression share, rising cost per click, or declining lead quality, and challenge assumptions you’ve made about your best performers.
Go Do: Build a comparison view of top-performing assets this quarter vs. last. Are your “winning” campaigns still winning? Or are they riding on past success?
How To Perform Audits That Actually Drive Value
Now that we’ve explored the why, let’s get into the how.
1. Put Audits On The Calendar
Block off time every quarter for structured audits. One to two hours per quarter per account is a good benchmark – not because the audit takes that long, but because carving out dedicated time ensures it actually gets done.
Pro Tip: Treat it like a client meeting, even if it’s internal. If it’s on your calendar, it’s happening.
2. Audit Against The Right Benchmarks
A good audit doesn’t just ask, “Is my CPA low?” It asks, “Is this CPA real, and does it reflect meaningful conversions?”
If you’re seeing great-looking cost-per-acquisition numbers, dig deeper:
Are micro-conversions inflating results?
Are conversion actions properly weighted?
Are your ads reaching qualified users?
Make sure you differentiate between reported cost per acquisition (in your CRM or Google Analytics 4) and platform CPA (Google, Meta, Microsoft, etc.). If there’s a mismatch, it might be time to clean up your conversion tracking setup.
Go Do: Pull a side-by-side view of your platform-reported CPA vs. your actual revenue-driving conversions. Audit the quality and intent behind each tracked action.
3. Audit Creatives For Performance And Compliance
Creative audits aren’t just about freshness or click-through rate. They’re also about compliance, especially in regulated industries. Messaging that skirts policy lines (even unintentionally) can tank account performance.
This is where industry-specific knowledge becomes non-negotiable. Your creative might be attention-grabbing, but is it allowed in your vertical?
Go Do: Cross-reference your current ad copy and creative with the platform’s most recent ad policy update. Bonus: Loop in your legal or compliance team before launching new assets.
Final Thoughts: Audits As Strategy Enablers
Audits are more than housekeeping; they’re strategic resets. They help you validate your current direction, challenge stale assumptions, and carve out space to innovate.
Too often, accounts get stuck in maintenance mode. Auditing breaks that cycle.
By incorporating regular, structured audits into your workflow, you create a feedback loop that protects budget, sharpens strategy, and ultimately drives better results.
Tariffs – and other international trade turbulence – tend to live in the operations or finance side of the house.
In reality, these shifts disrupt marketing, media efficiency, and PPC strategy more than many brands are prepared for.
When the ripple effects hit, they often show up first in your performance metrics.
This month’s Ask A PPC is focused on:
The impact of tariffs.
What you can do about it.
Adjacent implications.
National & International Implications Of Tariffs For PPC
When new tariffs are imposed or existing ones are expanded, they change the fundamental cost structure of goods.
That alone is enough to throw a wrench into your performance benchmarks, but the real chaos comes from how differently brands respond.
Some advertisers raise prices, hoping to preserve margins.
Others eat the cost, at least in the short term, to maintain market share.
Still others pull back spend entirely in affected markets or shift budgets into “safer” channels.
This reshuffling affects auction dynamics. If big players reduce spend in your vertical, you might see the cost-per-click drop – temporarily.
But, if a price increase tanks your conversion rate and you’re still optimizing for return on ad spend (ROAS), your cost-per-acquisition can spike even with stable CPCs.
As Mike Ryan of Smarter Ecommerce (SMEC) reported, Temu’s sharp decline in impression share indicates fear in investing in a chaotic market:
Temu Google Shopping spend gone to zero. App rank plummeting. Here it is in one picture. Temu truly can’t last a day without ads.
For international brands, the implications are even more tangled.
A product line that’s suddenly 20% more expensive in the U.S. might still perform normally in the EU or Canada. That means different messaging, different ROAS targets, and possibly different bid strategies across markets.
This is why it’s really important to segment markets by Google campaign so you can dynamically adjust budgets. It’s worth noting that Microsoft, Meta, and LinkedIn allow for ad group/ad set location targeting.
How Tariffs Influence CPCs (Even When They Don’t Change the Bid)
One of the biggest misconceptions is that tariffs = higher CPCs. The reality is more subtle.
Tariffs increase the cost of doing business. For physical products, that usually means higher retail prices or tighter margins. And that, in turn, changes how efficiently your ads can convert.
Higher prices can depress conversion rates, especially if your landing pages haven’t been updated to match the current world state.
Softening conversion rates make your CPAs more expensive, even if the platform’s reported CPC hasn’t changed.
Smart bidding reacts to this. If ROAS or CPA targets aren’t being hit due to lower conversion rates, Google and Meta will either scale back delivery or hunt for cheaper (possibly lower-intent) clicks.
So no, tariffs don’t directly change your bids, but they will change how your bidding strategy performs – and whether you’re hitting your key performance indicators (KPIs).
What Should Advertisers Do?
There is no right or wrong answer here. Developing a success plan in the tariff world requires balancing proven tactics and empathy for evolving consumer sentiment.
Here are some good places to start:
1. Your PPC Accounts
Check your conversion rates by market. A dip in one region but not another could indicate a local pricing or availability issue. If a market is no longer profitable enough to justify the budget, consider pausing the investment and moving that spend to other regions
Refine your audience targeting. Consider excluding in-market and life event audiences that are too far out of your core market, as well as layering on segments from YouTube content, custom intent, and lookalikes (Demand Gen only).
Adjust your creative. Emphasize non-price value props: longevity, warranty, local support, sustainability. Also, make sure your creative doesn’t pigeonhole you into one country or another. This is a great time to audit your assets (formerly known as extensions) to ensure nothing comes across in a way you don’t intend.
Recalibrate smart bidding. Adjust your ROAS or CPA targets to reflect new economic realities as well as any micro-conversions you may introduce. If performance is drastically different, you may need to input exclusions into Google’s algorithm.
2. On Your Landing Pages
Be transparent about pricing changes. Consumers are more forgiving when they understand why something costs more, especially if the messaging is human and upfront. Additionally, make sure your language speaks to all customers, not just those in the U.S.
Lean into trust-building elements: Shipping policies, customer reviews, and return guarantees help offset price sensitivity. This is especially important above the fold.
Highlight sustainable or local production practices, but with care. “Made in USA” messaging can work for domestic campaigns, but be cautious with international audiences. What resonates in one market might alienate in another.
Bonus: Don’t Forget The Environmental Angle
Tariffs aren’t just about money. They often reflect or trigger shifts in global logistics. That means longer shipping routes, more warehousing costs, and bigger carbon footprints. Consumers are paying attention.
If your brand has made changes to source materials domestically or reduce emissions, that’s worth testing in ad copy and landing pages. Sustainability isn’t just a PR point; it’s a conversion lever.
Final Thought
PPC doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Every economic policy, trade shift, or tariff war changes the playing field, often before your attribution model can catch up.
As paid media managers, we can’t control tariffs, but we can recognize their downstream effects early, respond quickly, and guide our brands through the storm with a smarter strategy.
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Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
There have been lots of really good questions, but this one from Phil of Trumbull stood out:
“What is the average amount companies take for running a PPC campaign?”
Factors That Influence PPC Management Costs
Here are key factors that determine how much you should expect to pay:
Vendor Experience Level: Seasoned experts often charge more but bring efficiency and strategic insight that can offset higher fees.
Scope Of Services: Are you asking the vendor to handle creative (ad design, landing pages) or just campaign management?
Number Of Channels: Managing multiple platforms (Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.) requires more effort and expertise.
Strategic Vs. Tactical Execution: Do you want a partner who proactively optimizes and strategizes, or someone who executes based on your direction?
Bundled Services: Some agencies offer PPC as part of a broader digital marketing package, such as SEO or social media management, which can provide cost efficiencies.
There’s no universal “cheap” or “expensive” option. What matters is that you align expectations with investment.
What also matters is that you set reasonable expectations for your vendor and the campaigns they will be creating/managing for you.
When engaging a PPC vendor, you pay for expertise and time – whether for technical execution or strategic oversight.
Below are the most common pricing models:
1. Percentage Of Spend + Flat Fee
Historically, the percentage-of-spend model was popular, but it has fallen out of favor because it doesn’t always align the management fee with the client’s well-being.
If an agency makes more money simply because you’re spending more on ads, there’s less incentive for them to optimize your budget efficiently.
Flat fee component typically ranges from $500 to $2,500 per month.
Percentage of spend varies between 5% and 15%, though agencies increasingly favor alternative pricing models.
2. Flat Rate Pricing
Some agencies prefer a predictable flat rate. This can either include ad spend or be separated into management fees and media costs.
Flat-rate management fees generally range from $2,500 to $10,000 per month.
Pricing increases based on additional services such as:
Ad creative and landing page design.
Advanced conversion tracking setup.
Frequent campaign pivots due to evolving business goals.
3. Performance-Based Pricing
In this model, agencies charge per lead or conversion rather than a fixed fee.
While appealing, it often means the agency retains account ownership, which can be problematic if you ever want to take control of your campaigns.
If you’re comfortable never owning your PPC account, this could work. However, if transparency and long-term flexibility matter, a traditional pricing model is a safer bet.
Choosing The Right PPC Vendor For Your Budget
Beyond cost, choosing the right PPC management partner depends on your budget, goals, and internal capabilities:
Budgets under $2,500/month: Consider managing PPC in-house or using automation tools, as agency fees may eat up too much of the ad budget.
Highly seasonal businesses: Flat-rate pricing may make sense to smooth out cost fluctuations.
Stable spend accounts: Percentage-of-spend pricing often results in lower overall fees, but ensure it aligns with your business goals.
Looking for strategy and execution? Higher-priced agencies provide strategic insight and proactive management.
Need a hands-on executor? Lower-cost vendors typically require you to direct the strategy.
Considering a full digital strategy? Some agencies bundle PPC with SEO and social media management, which can provide better synergy and cost savings.
What you pay depends on the level of support and expertise you need. The key is balancing cost with expectations to ensure a strong return on investment.
Have a question about PPC? Submit via this form. See you next month!
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Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
Micro conversions are among the most misunderstood – and underutilized – tools in a PPC marketer’s toolkit.
While they don’t represent final goals like sales or leads, they can provide critical signals that improve campaign performance, inform audience strategy, and enable smarter automation.
Here’s what marketers need to know to harness micro conversions effectively.
What Are Micro Conversions In Google Ads?
Micro conversions are the smaller, trackable user actions that occur on the path to a primary (macro) conversion. These can include:
Button clicks (e.g., “Learn More” or “Book a Demo”).
Time on site thresholds.
Scroll depth (e.g., 50% or more of a page).
Video views or completions.
Downloads of gated or ungated assets (PDFs, white papers, brochures).
Add-to-cart or view-a-product actions (especially in ecommerce).
Account creations or newsletter signups (in lead gen or SaaS).
In technical terms, micro conversions are events configured in Google Ads or Google Analytics 4 (GA4) events to be imported into Google Ads. These actions need to be set as primary actions so they impact the algorithm and reporting.
Advertisers can also create campaign-level conversions or conversion groups within Google Ads to group and value these actions based on their strategic importance.
It’s important to note that conversion data is stored at the conversion action level, so using both account-level and campaign-level conversion actions isn’t advisable. This is because you might end up double counting.
Who Should Use Micro Conversions?
While all advertisers can benefit from micro conversions, there are specific cases where they’re particularly critical:
Long Sales Cycles
For B2B, high-ticket, or enterprise brands, the conversion path often spans weeks or months. Relying on sparse “true” conversions (like closed deals) limits algorithmic learning.
Micro conversions feed Smart Bidding strategies with faster, more frequent signals, improving optimization while nurturing intent.
Low Conversion Volume Accounts
Advertisers with fewer than 50 conversions per month often find themselves stuck with suboptimal bid strategies.
Layering in high-quality micro conversions, like “contact page views” or “start checkout” events, can help reach the volume threshold needed to unlock Maximize Conversions, Target CPA, or Target ROAS bidding.
Top-Of-Funnel Or Awareness Campaigns
Display, Video, and Demand Gen campaigns often drive engagement but not immediate conversions.
Micro conversions give advertisers a way to demonstrate value and engagement upstream, helping justify investment in brand-building initiatives.
Brands With Multi-Touch Journeys
If a business relies on several touchpoints, such as a blog reader later becoming a webinar attendee and eventually a customer, micro conversions allow marketers to track and optimize for each meaningful step, rather than only the final destination.
How To Report On Performance Using Micro Conversions (Without Losing Credibility)
The biggest risk with micro conversions is miscommunication, especially when stakeholders assume that all “conversions” reported in Google Ads are sales, leads, or revenue-driving actions.
To keep reporting accurately and strategically, advertisers should lean heavily on Google Ads’ conversion settings and be proactive in setting expectations.
1. Use Primary Conversions Wisely
In Google Ads, each conversion action includes a toggle for primary vs. secondary:
If Primary is toggled, the action contributes to the “Conversions” column and influences Smart Bidding strategies.
If Secondary is toggled, the action is still tracked but only appears in the “All Conversions” column.
Best Practice: Only include high-intent micro conversions (e.g., “Start Checkout,” “Request Demo Click”) in the “Conversions” column if they reflect a strong signal of purchase or lead intent and your account doesn’t yet have sufficient macro conversion volume for Smart Bidding.
For awareness-stage micro conversions (e.g., video views, scroll depth), keep them out of the bidding unless you are struggling to hit conversion thresholds.
2. Be Honest About Conversion Rate Discrepancies
There’s a difference between the conversion rate in Google Ads and the actual business conversion rate (e.g., sales closed, qualified leads, or revenue).
When micro conversions are included in the primary column, Google Ads will report an artificially high conversion rate.
Example:
Google Ads reports a 7% conversion rate (including ebook downloads and demo button clicks).
Customer relationship management (CRM) data shows that only 1.5% of those sessions became qualified leads or customers.
To maintain credibility and stakeholder trust:
Label micro conversions clearly in both platform naming and external reports.
Segment performance by conversion type (e.g., “Soft Conversion Rate” vs. “True Conversion Rate”).
Use blended metrics like “Cost per Qualified Lead” or “Lead-to-Sale Rate” alongside platform metrics to provide the full picture.
3. Set Up Custom Columns For Clean Reporting
Google Ads allows advertisers to build custom columns that isolate specific conversion actions. This is key to preventing performance inflation and aligning reports with what actually matters.
You can create:
A column for Primary Conversions Only (macro).
A column for Micro Conversions.
A column for All Conversions.
This structure helps teams tell the story: “Here’s how many people meaningfully engaged, here’s how many took the final action, and here’s what we spent to get both.”
4. Strategically Value Micro Conversions
If you’re using Target ROAS or Maximize Conversion Value bidding, assigning values to micro conversions must be done carefully.
These should reflect relative business importance, not just arbitrary numbers.
For example:
Demo Request = $50.
Ebook Download = $10.
Video View = $1.
This hierarchy ensures Google’s bidding logic prioritizes actions that are more likely to lead to revenue, without starving the algorithm of lower-funnel signals.
Final Takeaways
Micro conversions are powerful, but they’re also easy to misuse, especially in reporting. They must never be presented as equivalent to actual sales or leads unless there’s proof of correlation.
Advertisers should:
Structure Google Ads conversion settings to clearly separate micro and macro actions.
Educate stakeholders on what each “conversion” type means in context.
Bridge the platform vs. reality gap by layering CRM or offline data into their performance analysis.
In environments where the final conversion volume is too low to fuel automation or draw meaningful insights, micro conversions provide the volume and behavioral data needed to optimize, but they’re only as valuable as the strategy behind them.
The key is transparency. Micro conversions can absolutely drive long-term success, but only when advertisers set the right expectations, use Google Ads’ tools to their full extent, and align campaign optimization with real business outcomes.
Historically, Google has been the default for most marketers, especially when it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. However, for low-budget accounts, the question arises:
Is Google Search the best value for money?
This article explores how Google Search can still provide value for money for lower-budget accounts and where to allocate the budget if Google isn’t feasible.
Understanding Low Budgets
When we refer to low budgets, we typically mean anything below $5,000 per month in ad spend. Some brands may even operate with budgets as low as $1,000 a month or less.
With a budget of $1,000 or less, relying solely on search as your main strategy may not be viable.
However, it can still be used for remarketing or branded search to dominate your search result page and direct users to specific services.
When users click on these extensions, they pay the same price as they would for a click to the headline of the ad. This strategy allows you to pre-qualify potential customers and direct them to higher-value services, even if you sacrifice appearing directly in search results.
The other benefit of branded campaigns is they tend to have better results than non-branded campaigns. Averaging branded campaigns into an account can help ramp up a low-volume ad account.
Dynamic Search Ads
For those with a budget allowing for some data acquisition, Dynamic Search Ads can be a powerful tool.
These ads can capture queries that align with your brand while allowing you to set bid caps to avoid expensive auctions. This allows you to learn what ways of searching will fit your budget, as well as give you a useful sense of how Google understands your site.
Screenshot from Google Ads, February 2025
Targeting less popular queries can lead to more affordable auction prices.
Due to close variants, you only need to bid on one version of your keyword. Dynamic Search Ads can help you discover which ways will be useful without guessing.
Performance Max (PMax)
Using PMax as a volume play can also be beneficial. However, it’s crucial to apply extensive exclusions for display and YouTube placements at the account level to protect your budget from ineffective placements.
It’s also important to remember that PMax requires smart bidding, which means meeting the 50+ conversion threshold in a 30-day period.
Performance Max works best when integrated with other campaigns, such as search or video, making up 15-20% of your overall budget.
It’s important to remember that it represents a bias-free way of investing marketing dollars, so it should only be brought into a low-budget account when conversion tracking is perfect and there’s the budget for that kind of investment.
While Google Search is a significant channel, it’s essential to remember that Google offers more than just search options.
Leveraging Video Campaigns
Video inventory is relatively inexpensive, allowing you to achieve volume without a hefty investment in traditional media buys.
Video campaigns can include non-skippable, skippable, or in-sequence ads, helping users understand your service and why you’re the best fit.
Additionally, investing in video can help you build a scalable audience targeting list, enhancing the return on investment (ROI) of your search investments.
When you invest in YouTube, you’re also buying into an audience type that can be used on other Google inventory. Advertisers can target users who have seen content, interacted with a channel, and other actions.
Aside from YouTube and PMax, there are also Demand Gen ads.
Demand Generation encompasses video, discovery, and display ads. It borrows the most from paid social and allows marketers to have multi-channel distribution with more control than PMax.
Exploring Other Platforms
After discussing Google’s opportunities, let’s consider alternatives like Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft has long been viewed as a cheaper alternative to Google. However, its audience size is smaller, which may not suit those needing high volume.
Still, Microsoft offers specific targeting options and transparency in ad serving. Key differences include ad serving in the user’s time zone, flexible ad group settings, and impression-based remarketing.
Meta Advertising
Meta has been a go-to for small- to medium-sized businesses, especially those with low budgets.
However, it’s shifting focus towards A/B testing, meaning brands need a budget for testing.
Generally, a budget of at least $500 to $1,000 per month is recommended for effective campaigns.
Amazon Advertising
For sellers, Amazon media buying is essential for improving organic rankings.
Non-sellers can also benefit from sponsored display and video ads, leveraging Amazon’s precise targeting signals. However, these options are still in beta, making return on ad spend (ROAS) calculations challenging.
Conclusion: Is Google Worth It For Low Budgets?
The answer to whether Google is a good value for low-budget accounts depends on three key factors:
Lead Volume And Quality: Can you support the lead volume and quality from various Google channels? If yes, investing in Google is a smart choice.
Campaign Objectives: Are your campaigns focused on volume or value? Google can cater to both, but you need to choose the right settings.
Capacity For Video: Do you have the resources to invest in video? Video remains a cost-effective way to reach the right audience, as many are still hesitant to embrace it.
If you have any more questions, feel free to submit them here, and I look forward to connecting next month!
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Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
The latest question for Ask A PPC is based on Ad Strength and Creative. It comes from Isha in Delhi, who asks:
“Should extended text ads be paused or kept running as we can’t edit?”
The short answer is the age-old, “It depends.”
However, recent data indicates there may be more value in moving away from expanded text ads.
In this post, we’ll go over:
The state of expanded text ads (ETAs).
Reasons to keep them.
Reasons to pause.
This is a Google-specific perspective. However, the same logic could be applied to Microsoft.
The State Of ETAs
Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) allow users to include three 30-character headlines and two 90-character descriptions.
These ads serve creative in the order specified in the original ad, but they might be truncated based on the search engine result pages (SERP) they served on.
As a general rule, mobile SERPs would only show headlines one and two (with some truncation possible in headline two).
They also were “deprecated” in June of 2022. The quotes exist because – while advertisers can no longer create or edit ETAs – ETAs were allowed to continue running.
This is similar to standard ads (which received the same treatment in September 2017).
While I can’t share a concrete number of how many ETAs are still running, a recent Ad Strength study from Optmyzr found around 20% of advertisers still have some ETAs running in their accounts (~5,000 accounts).
There is no clear answer on ETAs. It truly depends on the state of your business and performance.
Reasons To Keep ETAs
The biggest reason to keep ETAs is they are performing well.
Most agree that 200% ROAS is the baseline for passable performance (i.e., put $1 in and get $2 back). Based on the data, ETAs seem to struggle to meet this:
Length Bucket
No. Of Ads
CPC
CPA
CTR
Conversion Rate
ROAS
0-20
69296
1.49
34.80
5.98%
4.27%
159.38%
21-30
165899
1.78
30.52
6.61%
5.83%
148.83%
31+
8964
0.91
4.93
9.00%
18.42%
161.40%
(Data from the Optmyzr Study)
However, if you’re not using conversion values, you might need to use conversion rate and CPA to determine success.
To contrast ETA data, here’s the Optmyzr data for RSAs:
Heading Length Bucket
No. Of Ads
CPC
CPA
CTR
Conversion Rate
ROAS
0-20
92744
1.26
17.36
8.85%
7.26%
208.78%
21-30
716888
2.20
30.61
7.95%
7.19%
181.35%
31+
31631
1.86
40.01
7.75%
4.65%
224.73%
While longer ads are close to ETA performance (which makes sense because longer ads are a tactic from the ETA era), it’s clear shorter ads outperform their predecessor.
However, big data doesn’t always translate to your individual performance.
That’s why, it’s critical to establish your own thresholds for performance. If you’re seeing your ad underperform (likely due to not being as eligible for enough SERPs), you may want to make the switch.
It’s important to remember that you can’t “undo” this choice.
Another reason to keep these ads is just so you can have them. Once they’re paused, you’re not getting them back.
Reasons To Pause
The main reason to move away from ETAs is you want the most access to all placements for your search terms.
Google has many different SERPs which can force truncation. Leaning into RSAs and PMax ensures you have the most opportunity to succeed.
Final Takeaway
There is no right or wrong answer on whether to move away from ETAs. However, it is important that you honestly audit your ETAs and confirm they’re still working for you.
Have a question about PPC? Submit via this form or tweet me @navahf with the #AskPPC hashtag. See you next month!
This month’s Ask A PPC comes from Vijay, who asks:
“Why are my Google Ads approved but have no impressions? How do you fix it?”
We’re going to go into the timely question of why a Google Ad entity (keyword, ad, ad group, and campaign) might not have impressions.
We will tackle the main and solvable ones, but there will always be edge cases.
If you have questions beyond these, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Why Doesn’t A Google Entity Have Impressions?
The biggest reason is low search volume.
If you’re targeting a long-tail (5+) exact match keyword or a keyword in a hyper-niche industry, that keyword concept may have zero impressions. Also, if the keyword is in a brand-new ad account, it will have a really, really hard time ramping up.
This is why Google tends to suggest using looser ideas in the beginning. You need data to get the ad account up and running, though it’s important to put protections in place.
A common way to do this is to put in bid caps (either through bidding strategies, portfolio bidding, or manual bidding).
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) can help you get ideas of how people search. When paired with max clicks with a bid cap, DSA can give you a reasonable sense of how much your industry will cost as well as search volume.
You may also decide that you want to use a limited broad match with lots of negatives. If you go this route, be careful about which conversion actions you set, as broad match does factor in conversions when considering matching.
There is a reality that some ideas will have lower search volume. If you’re creating a new offering, you may benefit from running visual content (Performance Max should only be used if you have at least 30+ conversions in a 30-day period).
Another reason a keyword might have zero impressions is that the ad hasn’t been approved yet. Google can take up to two days to approve ads (especially in new accounts), so it’s important to factor those timelines in.
Additionally, a previously running ad might have been flagged for editorial review (very common when discussing a trademarked term or anything relating to credit).
You also may have accidental duplicate keywords, which can cause serving issues. If you have more than one keyword that can capture the same traffic, there will be inevitable winners and losers. However, sometimes, they can cancel each other out, and neither will serve.
Another reason for low impressions or zero impressions is that your bids and budgets don’t align with the keyword concepts you’re targeting.
We know that Google has instituted a floor for the auction. If you’re not able to bid for the correct idea or if you ask for a budget to support too many things, you will inevitably end up with zero impressions.
A great way to check for this is to use the Keyword Planner to get a rough sense of what the auction prices will be.
You’ll also want to leverage Google Trends to see how people in different areas are searching and what is trending in different parts of the country that you’re trying to target.
How Can You Solve Low Impressions?
If your low impressions are tied to budgets or bids, and there is no way to invest more, you will need to look for traffic and leads on other channels or other types of Google properties. This may include using display or video.
You may also want to look at Microsoft or other social plays like Meta/Instagram. Part of why auction prices can be cheaper on those channels than Google Search is the inherent transactional bias towards buying off of the search.
If the issue is structure, you likely have too many entities in an ad group or campaign. The answer is to move a little bit of budget and set up a different campaign to cover those ideas or to pause ideas that are hogging the budget that aren’t worth as much.
A very common problem, particularly in campaigns that are running smart bidding, is that there will be initial winners and losers. If you include too many keyword concepts, valuable ones may get lost.
This is part of why Google will be pausing keywords that have zero impressions in the past 13 months so that your account isn’t penalized for having too many zero impression keywords.
If the issue is creative, then the best advice is just to use responsive search and display ads, as well as Performance Max, and keep cycling through the creative and ways to talk about it.
Consider layering in Google’s AI for creative because you’ll have something that they have outright said is correct. Granted, you want to make sure that the creative meets your brand standards.
Final Takeaways
It’s very frustrating when a keyword or ad has zero impressions, and you’re not sure why.
As we’ve discussed, it could be a low search volume issue – you may need to widen what you’re willing to accept.
It could be a bid and budget issue, and you’re just not entering the auction at all (or at least not enough for the spend to matter).
Have a question about PPC? Submit via this form or tweet me @navahf with the #AskPPC hashtag. See you next month!
More resources:
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
