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Welcome to Cultivative’s weekly roundup for all things PPC from around the web—everything you need to know right now about PPC!

At Cultivative, we’re all about making your life easier. We’ve gathered the top PPC news and innovations from around the web and getting it into your hands. Check out what we found this past week.

What Is A/B Testing? A Comprehensive Beginners’ Guide

By Semrush Team | Aug 17, 2023 | Semrush

A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a research technique used in marketing, web development, and user experience (UX) to compare and analyze the effectiveness of different versions of elements like webpages or advertisements. This method involves simultaneously testing variations labeled as “A,” “B,” and so on, across similar audiences to assess their impact on user behavior. A/B testing empowers marketers, designers, and developers to make informed decisions based on data, leading to increased awareness, clicks, and conversions. This testing can be applied to various elements, such as email subject lines, content formatting, call-to-action buttons, and ad placements. It allows businesses to refine their strategies by optimizing key aspects that engage their target audience effectively.

7 Things You Need To Do AHEAD Of Your Black Friday Facebook Ads According To Meta

By Lauren Petrullo | Aug 17, 2023 | Digital Marketer

Lauren Petrullo emphasizes the importance of preparing Facebook and Instagram Ads strategies for Black Friday. She notes that due to changes in advertising after the iOS update, the Meta algorithm is undergoing adjustments. Petrullo provides seven key tips for success in this scenario:

1. Ad Learning Phase Update: The learning phase now requires 20 completed events in a 7-day period for campaign optimization, instead of the previous 50. This allows quicker optimization and simplifies decision-making.
2. Segmentation of Cold and Warm Audiences: Cold and warm audiences should be kept separate to optimize for more cost-effective bidding strategies. Warm audiences are more likely to convert, while cold audiences are new prospects.
3. Define CPA Targets: Set clear cost-per-acquisition (CPA) targets for both cold and warm audiences. Be cautious not to limit your reach by setting bids too low or missing out on potential customers by setting them too high.
4. Patience in Ad Campaigns: Avoid constant changes to ad campaigns as it resets the learning phase and hinders the algorithm’s optimization. Allow campaigns to run for a full 7-day period before making significant edits.
5. Accurate Data Input: The algorithm relies on the data provided. Ensure accurate information is given, from target audience to ad spend, to prevent negative campaign impacts.
6. Advantage+ Placements and Budgets: Utilize Advantage+ placements and Advantage Campaign Budget features to optimize campaign delivery across various platforms, making the most of your budget.
7. Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns: The new Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns feature automates the end-to-end process of ad campaigns, leveraging AI for better performance and ease of management.

Advanced Scaling With Facebook Ads

By Michael Stelzner | Aug 17, 2023 | Social Media Examiner

Michael Stelzner presents three advanced strategies for scaling Facebook ads to grow businesses. He suggests combining these strategies to create a comprehensive and powerful Facebook ad campaign. Stelzner provides specific steps and timelines for each method, explaining how to implement them effectively to maximize profitability while scaling Facebook ad campaigns:

1. The Shotgun Method: This involves creating numerous ads and ad sets to increase the chances of finding successful combinations. It emphasizes quick identification and removal of underperforming ads while funneling budget to high-performing ones, ultimately leading to improved Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
2. The Bully Method: This approach uses high manual bidding to outbid competitors in target audiences and keywords. This strategy aims to secure the top position in ad placements, yielding higher click rates, quality leads, and lower competition.
3. The Surfing Method: Similar to riding good waves in surfing, this method bets on well-performing ads for a short period, usually 24 hours. Budgets are doubled for such ads, capitalizing on their success within the Facebook algorithm’s 24-hour cycle.

Meta Ads vs. Google Ads: 6 Key Differences (+Which Is Better?)

By Jyll Saskin Gales | Aug 18, 2023 | WordStream

Jyll Saskin Gales discusses the differences between Meta Ads (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) and Google Ads and the challenges practitioners may face when transitioning from one platform to the other. She highlights key disparities in various aspects of campaign setup and emphasizes that understanding these differences ensures a smooth transition and optimal utilization of each platform’s capabilities.

1. Campaign Objectives: While both platforms require selecting campaign objectives, Meta Ads focuses on campaign types, leading to different setup processes. Google Ads provides optional objectives that impact available options in later setup steps.
2. Platforms and Placements: Google Ads offers a broader range of placements, including Search, Display, and Video on various partner sites, whereas Meta Ads lack a direct Search equivalent. Meta Audience Network corresponds to Google’s Display Network. Meta Ads require ads to be linked to pages/profiles, enabling user engagement, unlike Google Ads which is evolving in displaying business names.
3. Budgets: Meta Ads’ budget is set at the ad set level, with options for shared Advantage campaign budgets. Google Ads sets budget at the campaign level and allows daily budgets except for video campaigns. Budget behavior differs, with Meta Ads spending up to 25% over daily budget per day but not exceeding 7 times weekly budget, whereas Google Ads may spend up to 100% over daily budget but not exceed 30.4 times monthly budget.
4. Creative: Meta Ads involve creating standalone ads with headlines, descriptions, and primary text, while Google Ads use responsive ads with multiple assets that can generate various combinations.
5. Targeting: Lookalike audiences are viable in Meta Ads, whereas Google Ads phased out similar segments. Both platforms encourage automated targeting.
6. Reporting: Google Ads provides more granular reporting, allowing detailed analysis of targeting components. Meta Ads reporting is offered at campaign, ad set, or ad levels, potentially leading to less detailed insights.

Google AdsLiaison On Performance Max Brand Safety Controls

By Kristi Hines | Aug 21, 2023 | Search Engine Journal

Google’s AdsLiaison addressed misunderstandings about brand safety controls and reporting in Performance Max (PMax) by providing a comprehensive overview on X. The controls aim to ensure PMax ads appear alongside appropriate content on Search, Shopping, Display, and Video inventories. For Search and Shopping, PMax allows advertisers to exclude their ads from specific brand queries and utilize account-level negative keywords. Display and Video suitability controls include customizable features like content labels, inventory type options, content type exclusions, sensitive content categories inclusion, and up to 1,000 keyword exclusions. PMax placement reports assist in tracking ad appearances, and Google emphasizes adherence to content ratings and guidelines for brand safety.

5 ways to improve PPC lead quality

By Chelsea So | Aug 22, 2023 | Search Engine Land

Chelsea So highlights the importance of focusing on high-quality leads in PPC campaigns to drive meaningful business outcomes. Improving lead quality enhances return on investment and enables salespeople to concentrate on promising opportunities, streamline their process, and cultivate loyal customers. She provides several key strategies for achieving better lead quality:

1. Teach Google about Good Leads: To optimize Google’s bidding algorithm, provide clean conversion tracking, customer lists of high-quality users, and conversion values for more profitable leads.
2. Offline Conversion Tracking: Implement offline conversion tracking or Enhanced Conversions for Leads to link online ad interactions with offline actions, aiding Google’s bidding algorithms.
3. Exclude Low-Quality Sources: Use audience demographics and placement exclusions to identify and exclude low-quality lead sources, ensuring budget allocation to higher-quality channels.
4. Attract High-Quality Leads: Enhance your brand strategy by refreshing brand identity, resonating with target audiences, clarifying value proposition, and implementing personalization.
5. Disqualify Leads Early: Apply the 80/20 rule by disqualifying leads before they click through your ad using techniques like displaying prices, asking qualifying questions, and utilizing urgency.

Bonus: Get Sales Feedback: Obtain targeting feedback directly from salespeople to inform exclusion and targeting strategies and improve campaign profitability.

Move Over Google Discovery Ads, Get Ready For Demand Gen Campaigns

By Brooke Osmundson | Aug 22, 2023 | Search Engine Journal

Google has confirmed the transition of Discovery campaigns to the new Demand Gen campaign type, with the announcement made by Google Ads liaison Ginny Marvin. The Demand Gen campaign type, introduced alongside Video View campaigns, employs AI to drive demand from users in the mid-funnel. These campaigns feature “social” ad formats that amplify top video and image assets across platforms like YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Discover, and Gmail. Advertisers can utilize various ad formats, including short-form videos, carousels, portraits, and square images. The transition timeline involves a beta sign-up, automatic upgrades of existing Discovery campaigns to Demand Gen campaigns, and a phased rollout concluding by March 2024.

We hope you learned something new you can apply to your PPC business strategy. Let us know in the comments below what you want to start implementing. As always, we are happy to be a resource for your paid advertising needs. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

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