Shopping Campaign Tree – creating and effectively optimizing campaigns
One of the most important elements of a well-thought-out marketing strategy is the structure of a Google AdWords account. A proper arrangement of campaign elements allows for analysis and improved effectiveness. Account structure is even more crucial when using tools that automate the optimization process – a well-thought-out shopping campaign tree allows for more flexible use of the tool to achieve business goals.
What is the Google AdWords campaign structure?
To better understand the subject of this article, we should first consider the basic issue – the Google AdWords account and how its individual elements are structured.
A Google AdWords account is divided into four basic elements: campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and ads. Properly structuring these elements will allow us to more effectively and efficiently assess the effectiveness of individual channels for reaching potential customers during the campaign optimization process (actions aimed at improving account results).
A proper account structure must take into account the structure of the website the campaign is targeting, as well as the advertiser's business goals and the nature of the ads themselves. A proven method for preparing an AdWords account is to divide the campaign into individual offer elements. Let's assume an advertiser runs an online store that offers products from four segments:
(The rest of the article can be found below the form)
tableware, tablecloths and table decorations, home decorations and bed linen.
- The above division will certainly also apply to the categories that the client has in the store, so when dividing the account into 4 campaigns, we will take into account all the elements – the structure of the website, the business goal and the nature of the ads.
- Next, ad groups are divided into ad groups, so items assigned to the appropriate campaign will appear – cutlery, knives, forks, tablecloths for special occasions, decorative lamps, pictures, etc. Ad groups constitute the next “layer” of account division.
- Ad groups contain keywords with various matching. These keywords ensure that ads are displayed for the desired terms. It's important to remember that keywords must be closely related and address the same element the ad group addresses. This setting allows for analysis of results at a higher level, i.e., the group level, and also positively impacts the quality score and, consequently, the visibility and cost of the ad.
- The final essential element is the ads that trigger the display. If all the other elements are constructed correctly, the ads will display correctly because they will always be relevant to the phrase the user is typing.
The above principles apply to text ads on the Search Network, and only by following them will you be able to control your campaign's effectiveness. In my opinion, only such a structure allows for proper campaign optimization, as it allows for multi-level actions. Furthermore, the above structure organizes the account and, consequently, our optimization work.
After this brief introduction, the question is, what is the PLA campaign structure and how does it differ from text ads on the Search Network?
PLA Campaign Structure – Many Possibilities, Different Solutions
The structure of a Shopping campaign differs in many respects from that of a text campaign. In a Shopping campaign , we don't select the keywords we want to display ads for – Google matches keywords based on the product feed we submit to Google Merchant Center. Thanks to the product information contained in this feed, products are displayed to search engine users when Google matches information from the product feed to the user's query. In a PLA campaign, we won't see standard ads either, as they are also automatically generated based on the product feed containing information about the price, name, description, and product images.
When creating a shopping campaign, we start with a single group containing all products and a single rate per click. This default setting allows for virtually no optimization. We then have no control over the rate per click for an individual product. We can then "break down" a single group, thus building a shopping campaign tree. The division can be arbitrary and is largely dependent on the structure of the product feed generated by the shopping platform. An example of a campaign division would be:
The above method of "breaking down" the file into smaller elements allows us to analyze the effectiveness of individual products at various levels - we start with the whole, then check the effectiveness of the brand, the effectiveness of different product categories of this manufacturer, then subtypes within these categories, up to the product.
A well-prepared product feed, followed by its skillful breakdown, allows advertisers to control their bids and analyze campaign effectiveness at various depths within the product feed. In the remainder of this article, I will focus on the opportunities offered by this campaign breakdown.
Campaign optimization
Regardless of whether optimization relies on manual bidding or the process is automated using specialized tools, properly separating the product feed allows advertisers to analyze and optimize campaigns in a user-friendly and transparent manner. First, I'll assume that the advertiser manages bids independently.
It's important to remember that optimization becomes more effective the more data AdWords receives. Therefore, it's crucial to analyze conversions not only for sales, but also for those that are important to the advertiser. Depending on the industry, these may include email clicks, clicks to the contact tab, or contact form submissions. This is even more important if the store generates few direct transactions, but customers order products more frequently by phone or email.
After approximately two weeks, you can begin implementing the first optimization changes. This period usually allows for the collection of sufficient data, which, once analyzed, can serve as a guide to the direction of development for a given campaign. First, you should look at the products that convert best and, for example, increase your bid for them. If you notice that products are not appearing as often as they could with an increased bid, consider increasing your bid.
Filters are helpful in this regard, allowing you to, for example, select the most effective products and increase bids for groups that meet specific criteria. Select a filter, set this parameter to the metric you're interested in, e.g., conversions > 2 – impression share < 20%, and AdWords displays a list of products that meet these criteria.
We increase the rate for those products that meet the conditions we have set for ourselves.
For example, if we know that the transaction cost is approximately 5 PLN, we want to reduce the rate for less profitable products. So, we can set a filter: conversion cost > 5 PLN and conversions
Additionally, it's important to remember to optimize other elements, such as bid settings for mobile devices. If we see significantly higher conversion rates on mobile devices, for example, we can increase the bid percentage by an additional 25% for devices with higher conversions. If a campaign converts better on desktop and laptop devices, it's worth reducing this bid.
It is important to remember that optimization is the most difficult challenge for an advertiser, because the initial setting is only the starting position of the account - what changes we make later will influence whether the ad will bring better results.
Optimization success can be defined by various factors, depending on the positive effect achieved:
- decrease in transaction costs,
- increasing the number of transactions,
- selecting the best-selling products and promoting them,
- selecting products that generate a cost without conversion and decisively cutting this cost.
The above optimization measures would be impossible to implement if the product feed is poorly structured – lacking a breakdown or a opaque campaign structure. In Google AdWords campaigns, campaign preparation determines its future. Therefore, it's important to ensure that the planned campaign is prepared conscientiously and in a way that facilitates further work with the account.
The issue of automation
The structure of your product feed is crucial when setting your own bids per click. The true benefits of a properly designed campaign come to light when using systems that automate the optimization process.
Automation systems rely on advanced self-learning algorithms. They analyze results in real time, adjusting bids for individual products based on their historical performance and sales potential. Properly preparing the product campaign tree is a key element of the optimization strategy when using such a system.
This is how our proprietary platform for advanced Google AdWords campaign optimization – Verseo Campaign Manager (VCM) – works . This system has built-in algorithms specifically designed for optimizing product campaigns. Dedicated solutions are much more complex in this case, as such a system manages only a small portion of a complex campaign structure (e.g., managing products belonging to campaign x, excluding ads from campaign y and z). This gives the advertiser full control over the algorithm that governs the click rates for a given product, and the entire process occurs in real time.
Platforms often optimize more than just product bids. VCM platforms , such as DoubleClick , allow for automated bid adjustments for devices, locations, and audiences.
Using the platform to optimize PLA campaigns is the most effective solution for large online stores with a wide range of products. The more products, the more data the platform collects, which contributes to the platform's faster response to changes.
Additional possibilities
The above article referred to a campaign based on a single ad group, which was then broken down into smaller components. It's possible, for example, to split a product feed into multiple ad groups (e.g., product categories). However, this is only recommended for very high website traffic, as the amount of information flowing into the platform is large enough to impact effectiveness.
Each ad group can then be optimized independently for devices, locations, audiences, etc. This makes the optimization process more advanced, and the optimization applies to a narrower range of data. However, this solution is suitable for very complex online stores with a large number of products and categories – only then can the amount of category data allow for drawing conclusions at this level of structure.
When preparing a campaign using this structure, remember to keep only the group you want to manage at the group level active in each ad group. By default, an ad group contains all products available in the store.
Inside one of these groups is a campaign tree:
Summary
A Shopping campaign is Google's best advertising tool for online stores. It's characterized by a relatively low cost per click, wide reach, and, above all, precise traffic generation. Furthermore, campaign preparation requires specialized knowledge and experience, which, combined with appropriate structure and optimization, can yield excellent results. However, it's important to remember that campaign success largely depends on skillful preparation and subsequent manipulation of changes within the campaign.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- the importance of Google Ads account structure in effective campaign management,
- organization of advertising campaigns and its adaptation to the website structure and business goals,
- operation of PLA campaigns, automatic ad matching and the role of the product feed,
- practical optimization activities, such as rate modification and product selection,
- using algorithms to manage rates and analyze results in real time,
- campaign management at the ad group level.
