Google Partners Academy: Experiment & Automate – Key Takeaways

As a future-focused business and a Google Premier Partner, Yes Digital is really fortunate to have Google’s support in helping keep our clients’ businesses future-ready. As part of that continued support, our team attended the exclusive Partners Academy event last week, where we learned about the changing world of Google Ads. 

The event covered three main areas – pointers on how to get more conversions for clients, how automation can lead to new growth for clients, and the need for being in an experimental mindset with regards to the new tech available to deliver on clients’ objectives. We left with many takeaways from this information-packed session.

1 – Get More Conversions: Apples in the Orchard

A metaphorical apple tree formed the storyline for this part of the session – where the apple was a conversion and the tree was the budget.

The more apples you wanted to pick, the tree would need to grow or the smaller apples would need to be picked. To pick more apples at the top, use a taller ladder. Use your apple picking machine to pick the apples best suited to you. Finally, make sure your tree’s roots are strong enough to keep it healthy and growing. We know what you must be wondering…so, what does all this mean?

In a nutshell, being “Always On” does not always mean increasing budgets. If you can improve your impression share, it will help get more conversions and drive better overall performance.

Key takeaways:

• If your campaigns are budget constrained, you are getting less conversions than you should. You need to either  increase budgets or reduce bids to drive more conversions. 
• By increasing keywords and removing negatives, broadening your match types and leveraging Dynamic Search Ads, you can keep your CPA the same but get more conversions.
• Set the right CPA and budget, cover all keywords in the category, and then let Smart Bidding find the profitable conversions for your business.
• Build strong measurement foundations for your search strategy. This includes:
  • Attribution beyond last click,
  • Measuring conversions wholly and accurately (conversion tracking and offline conversion imports), and
  • Setting clear and correct KPIs that are aligned to business outcomes.

2 – Unlock Growth with Self Driving Advertising

In the second session of the day, we learned about using the power of automation to unlock new growth with Google’s suite of self driving formats.

We were taken through pathways to maximising results such as Smart Display, Universal App Campaigns and Google’s latest format Discovery Campaigns.

Key takeaways:

• With Smart Display Campaigns, there is generally a +20% on conversions at same CPA compared to other display campaigns running at the same time.
• For smart bidding to succeed, it is important to have more creative options (at least 5, if not more). This gives the algorithm more options to optimise towards, which increases performance.

3 – Marketing with an Experimental Mindset

When the pressure is on to identify the true impact of marketing spend, understanding the advertising approach that works best for your brand and campaign objectives is crucial.

In our always changing marketing landscape, tech continues to revolutionise the way brands and consumers connect. While exploring these new opportunities is exciting, navigating the ever-evolving possibilities can be overwhelming too.

In this session we looked into how experimentation helps test and learn ads solutions to make better informed marketing decisions for our clients.  

Key takeaways:

• Experiments help uncover optimisation and/or growth potential to make better informed marketing decisions based on proven results.
• Every well-designed and executed experiment should be insightful even if the results are unexpected.
• Embedding a culture of experimentation helps drive success.

We’ve mentioned it here, and you’ve seen the badge on our site – but what exactly is a Google Premier Partner, and why does it matter to you to work with one?

A Google Premier Partner badge means that Google recognises Yes Digital as a Google Ads (previously AdWords) certified partner, which most digital agencies are. However, what sets us apart as a Premier Partner is that on top of having the certifications, we continuously meet Google’s requirements in three areas: certification, ad spend, and performance. In Google’s words, “The badge recognises companies we trust to help you succeed on the web with our products.”

Working with a Google Premier Partner gives your business a boost and a definite edge over the competition. As part of our responsibilities towards maintaining our Premier Partner badge, we are responsible for millions in Google Ads management – and we’re doing this successfully and effectively. Not only are our experts constantly updating their knowledge, they are continuously building campaigns that are converting at a high rate, driving higher ROI for clients. 

We are also able to provide you with tips and first-hand insider insights that we get early access to, such as those outlined in this piece, that boost your results and drive your conversions – across PPC management and developing online SEO strategies that work.