Optimize Google Ads with Low Budget Testing

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Low Budget Google Ads Testing Strategy
3. Importance of Not Wasting Money
4. Account Management Services
5. Starting with a Low Budget Strategy
6. Case Study: UK Campaign
7. Setting Up the Campaign
8. Choosing the Objective and Bidding Strategy
9. Setting the Budget
10. Selecting Standard Shopping
11. Campaign Name and Additional Settings
12. Bidding and Budget Section
13. Selecting Manual CPC
14. The Role of Enhanced CPC
15. Setting the Daily Budget
16. Campaign Priority and Network Selection
17. Setting the Target Countries
18. Start and End Dates
19. Ad Group Name and Cost Per Click
20. Filtering Bids Using Product Groups
21. Using the Google Keyword Planner
22. Setting Maximum CPC Bids
23. Bid Adjustment Example: Tower Fan
24. Strategy Evaluation and Optimization
25. Transitioning to Performance Max Campaigns
26. Conclusion

Low Budget Google Ads Testing Strategy

In today's video, I'm going to share with you a low budget testing strategy for Google Ads. This strategy is perfect for beginners who want to avoid unnecessary spending and optimize their ads for conversions. With this strategy, you can start small and gradually scale your campaigns based on their performance. I've personally used this strategy in the past and have seen great results, so I'm excited to teach you how to implement it for your own campaigns.

Introduction

Before we dive into the details of the strategy, let me quickly introduce myself. I'm a Google Ads expert and I offer account management services to businesses. If you need help with your Google Ads account or want me to grow it for you, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram. I'll be happy to assist you.

Importance of Not Wasting Money

When it comes to advertising, it's crucial to make every penny count. Wasting money on ineffective campaigns can drain your budget and hinder your overall marketing efforts. That's why it's essential to have a testing strategy in place, especially if you're working with a limited budget. By testing your ads and optimizing them based on their performance, you can ensure that your money is being spent wisely.

Account Management Services

As mentioned earlier, I offer account management services for Google Ads. If you're overwhelmed or unsure about managing your ads, don't hesitate to reach out to me. My team and I can take a deep dive into your account, analyze its performance, and provide you with actionable insights to improve your campaigns. Outsourcing your account management can save you time and resources while ensuring optimal results.

Starting with a Low Budget Strategy

Every successful Google Ads campaign starts with a well-structured and thought-out strategy. The low budget testing strategy I'm about to share with you is perfect for beginners who want to dip their toes into Google Ads without risking a significant investment. This strategy allows you to test the waters, evaluate your campaigns, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your ads for conversions.

Case Study: UK Campaign

To illustrate the effectiveness of this low budget testing strategy, let's take a look at a real-world example. In November 2020, I launched a standard shopping campaign targeting the UK market. With a daily budget of £20, I achieved a 6x return on ad spend (ROAS) and a cost per purchase of £5.46. This campaign proved to be highly profitable and served as a testament to the power of a well-executed low budget strategy.

Setting Up the Campaign

When creating your low budget testing campaign, it's essential to pay attention to certain settings and options. Let's walk through the steps together to ensure you set up your campaign correctly.

Choosing the Objective and Bidding Strategy

In the campaign creation screen, select "Sales" as your objective. This indicates that your goal is to drive purchases or conversions. For bidding, choose "Manual CPC" to have more control over your campaign's performance. In my experience, I've found that using enhanced CPC doesn't always yield better results.

Setting the Budget

Since we're working with a low budget, start with a daily budget of £20. As your campaign grows and starts to generate results, you can adjust your budget accordingly. Remember, the goal here is to optimize your ads and get the most out of your limited resources.

Selecting Standard Shopping

When it comes to campaign type, choose "Standard Shopping" over "Smart Shopping." While Smart Shopping may be a viable option for some advertisers, we want to stick with the standard approach for this low budget testing strategy. Standard Shopping provides more control and allows us to target specific networks like the Google Shopping network, which is ideal for driving conversions.

Campaign Name and Additional Settings

For the campaign name, use something descriptive like "Standard Manual Shopping" to clearly indicate the type of campaign you're running. In the additional settings section, there's no need to make any changes at this point. You can leave those options as they are.

Bidding and Budget Section

Now, let's move on to the bidding and budget section. Here, you'll select "Manual CPC" and untick the "Enhanced CPC" option. By choosing manual CPC, you have more control over your bids, which is crucial for optimizing your campaign's performance.

Selecting the Target Countries

Make sure to choose the correct country for your campaign, such as the United Kingdom in this case. The selection of target countries will depend on your business and target audience. Accurately selecting your target countries ensures that your ads reach the right people, maximizing your chances of generating conversions.

Start and End Dates

The start and end dates for your campaign are flexible. You can set them based on your objectives and marketing timeline. If you want to run your campaign continuously, you can leave these fields blank or set them to a distant future date.

Ad Group Name and Cost Per Click

For the ad group name, you can simply use "Ad Group 1" or any other descriptive name that makes sense to you. As for the cost per click (CPC), we'll be setting this on a product level in the next step.

Filtering Bids Using Product Groups

To optimize your bids further, it's essential to set maximum CPC bids on a product level. This allows you to control how much you're willing to pay for clicks on specific products. To do this, go to the product groups section and select the product groups you want to test. You can choose individual products or groups of products based on your strategy.

Using the Google Keyword Planner

To set your maximum CPC bids, you'll need to refer to the Google Keyword Planner. This tool helps you identify the right bid for your keywords based on their search volume and competition. For example, let's say you're selling a tower fan. Search for relevant keywords like "tower fan" in the Keyword Planner and observe the suggested bids. Aim for the lower range bids to keep your costs low while targeting more specific and intent-driven search terms.

Bid Adjustment Example: Tower Fan

Taking the example of the tower fan, suppose the lower range bid suggested by the Keyword Planner is 23p. In this case, you can set your maximum CPC bid for the tower fan product at 24p or 25p. The goal is to bid slightly above the minimum bid to ensure your ads are competitive, while still maintaining a low budget strategy. Repeat this process for each product or product group, adjusting the bids accordingly.

Strategy Evaluation and Optimization

As your low budget testing campaign progresses, it's crucial to evaluate its performance and make data-driven optimizations. You can use various strategies such as managing keywords, excluding irrelevant search terms, and optimizing your bids based on conversions. Remember, this strategy may take time to yield significant results, but the key is to avoid wasting your budget and focus on capturing highly targeted clicks that are more likely to convert.

Transitioning to Performance Max Campaigns

Once you've reached a stage where your low budget testing campaign starts to hit a ceiling and further scaling becomes challenging, it may be time to transition to performance max campaigns or other advanced strategies. This is a topic for a different discussion, but it's worth keeping in mind that scaling your campaigns will require different approaches and strategies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the low budget testing strategy for Google Ads is an excellent way for beginners to optimize their campaigns without risking significant investments. By following the step-by-step process outlined in this video, you can set up your campaigns correctly and start capturing highly targeted clicks within your budget. Remember, testing and optimization are ongoing processes, so be patient and data-driven in your approach. If you need any assistance with your Google Ads account or want to explore account management services, feel free to reach out to me. Thank you for watching, and I wish you success on your Google Ads journey!