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.
Remarketing Vs. Retargeting: Are They The Same Thing?
By Susan Wenograd | Oct 26, 2023 | Search Engine Journal
Susan Wenograd clarifies the distinctions and similarities between retargeting and remarketing, two frequently interchanged terms in online advertising. Retargeting focuses on targeting potential customers who have interacted with a brand using online ads, while remarketing aims to re-engage existing customers primarily through email or paid ads. Over time, the lines between these two strategies have blurred, especially with platforms allowing targeting based on email lists. The choice between them depends on the brand’s goals, and integrating both into a marketing strategy can lead to increased conversions. The convergence of retargeting and remarketing reflects a broader trend in digital marketing towards more integrated and flexible strategies.
4 Genius Ways to Drive More Calls from Google Ads
By Alessandro Colarossi | Oct 26, 2023 | WordStream
Alessandro Colarossi provides a comprehensive guide on how to drive call conversions using Google Ads. He outlines four main strategies: adding call assets to ads, using Call Ads, optimizing ads and landing pages to encourage calls, and adding a call button to your landing page. Colarossi also emphasizes the importance of tracking call conversions to understand campaign effectiveness, suggesting the use of Google Analytics 4 or Google Ads conversion tracking tags. Additionally, he highlights the need to optimize ad copy, target audience, location, and ad scheduling for better results.
Google Performance Max Evolves With New “Search Themes” Feature
By Matt G. Southern | Oct 26, 2023 | Search Engine Journal
Google has introduced “Search Themes” for Performance Max campaigns, providing advertisers more influence over its AI-powered system by allowing them to input specific categories or topics relevant to their business. This feature enhances Performance Max’s ability to connect with users across various Google platforms and is particularly beneficial for addressing complex or novel information not easily discerned from existing campaign data. Advertisers can add up to 25 search themes per ad group, and these themes function similarly to phrases and broad match keywords in standard Search campaigns. Currently available in beta, Search Themes has received positive early feedback, and Google plans to enhance this feature with additional search term insights and guidance in 2024.
Google Ads best practices: The good, the bad and the balancing act
By Rémi Kerhoas | Oct 27, 2023 | Search Engine Land
Rémi Kerhoas discusses the cautious approach required when dealing with PPC best practices suggested by Google Ads and other sources. While these practices can be beneficial, advertisers should critically evaluate them based on their unique context and goals. Kerhoas suggests that automated bidding, broad match keywords, data-driven attribution, and Performance Max campaigns, all powered by AI, offer advantages but also have limitations. Advertisers are encouraged to understand these limitations and not blindly follow best practices, especially when these are driven by AI. The overarching message is to balance the use of AI-driven tools with critical thinking and a deep understanding of one’s specific market and business needs.
New ‘Search Themes’ Boost Performance Max Ads
By Armando Roggio | Oct 30, 2023 | Practical Ecommerce
The new beta feature in Google Ads Performance Max campaigns called “search themes,” aims to enhance audience targeting by allowing advertisers to provide additional information about their business. This feature aims to bridge the gap between AI automation and human insights, helping to target the right audience more effectively. It enables advertisers to add up to 25 unique search themes per asset group, enhancing control and precision in targeting. Armando Roggio highlights the importance of combining human expertise with machine intelligence in digital advertising, emphasizing that while AI brings efficiency and precision, the human touch is irreplaceable for ensuring brand authenticity and resonance. Tools like Performance Max and features like search themes represent the future of sophisticated, AI-driven advertising.
Easy Guide to Offline Conversion Tracking in Google Ads
By Alessandro Colarossi | Oct 30, 2023 | WordStream
Alessandro Colarossi emphasizes the necessity of tracking offline conversions in digital advertising, highlighting challenges introduced by recent iOS updates and cookie deprecation debates. He presents “enhanced conversions for leads” as a robust alternative to the Google Click Identifier (GCLID) for tracking offline conversions. The method involves setting up lead form tracking, creating tags and triggers in Google Tag Manager, and notifying Google Ads of offline conversions, ensuring a more secure and efficient process. Colarossi encourages adoption of this method for a comprehensive understanding of ad effectiveness, spanning both online interactions and offline conversions. Additionally, alternative methods such as call tracking numbers and in-store conversion tracking are briefly discussed.
How To Use AI in Today’s Digital Marketing World
By Joshua Dreller | Oct 30, 2023 | Skai
Joshua Dreller discusses the transformative impact of AI-powered marketing, highlighting its ability to reshape business interactions, campaigns, and operations. Specific areas impacted by AI in marketing include workflow enhancement, organic marketing, paid search optimization, planning and forecasting, consumer research and behavior, and retail media. The article provides examples of how AI-driven strategies can lead to improved efficiency, personalized customer experiences, and increased return on ad spend.
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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