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.
The All-in-One Guide to Facebook Ad Sizes, Specs, & Strategies
By Brett McHale | Oct 29, 2019

Staying on top of Facebook Advertising’s rapid changes can be a challenge for advertisers. Brett McHale provides a comprehensive creative guide to Facebook Ad sizes, specs, and strategies. He provides information, along with the pros and cons, for:
- Facebook static single image ad sizes
- Facebook single video ad specs
- Facebook carousel image ad sizes
- Facebook carousel video ad specs
- Facebook slideshow ad specs
- Facebook instant experience ad specs
- The Facebook ad creative process
Negative Keywords: How to Use Them and Why They’re Important
By Emma Smith | Oct 30, 2019

Negative keywords are the keywords you add to your account that you don’t want your ads to show for in an attempt to reduce wasted ad spend. To find the negative keywords you want to use, you’ll need to do a little research in Google’s Keyword Planner or run a Search Query Report to gain insights into the words you don’t want to be searched for. After knowing which terms you want to exclude, you need to figure out how you want to exclude them. You can exclude on match type or exclude the keyword at the ad group level, the campaign level, or by using a negative keyword list.
PPC Competitive Analysis Tools and Tactics for Marketers with Limited Time
By Pam Neely | Oct 30, 2019

Performing regular PPC competitive analyses can have a significant impact on the performance of your campaigns. It’s easy to go off into the weeds with competitive analyses and get trapped in analysis paralysis. To avoid getting overwhelmed, Pam Neely recommends using the 80/20 rule: focus on the highest-value parts of your campaigns that are driving the bulk of your results and monitor their competition. Neely also offers some tools for saving you even more time.
An Overview of Google Lead Form Extensions
By Tim Jensen | Oct 31, 2019

The new lead form ad extension has been rolling out in Google Ads accounts. This extension allows users to open a form directly within search results, sending you their contact information without having to go to your landing page. Some potential uses for lead forms include: Requesting a callback from a salesperson,
offering a downloadable asset, such as an ebook or a whitepaper, promoting signups for an event, and adding newsletter subscribers. Tim Jensen provides a walkthrough to setting the new feature up.
Preparing for the Holidays with Google Shopping
By Nate Kain | Oct 31, 2019

The holidays are a primary driver for most marketers. Nate Kain explains that, “you will want to budget effectively, ensure your campaign structure can support the expected increase in seasonal traffic, use Shopping formats such as Showcase Ads and Local Inventory Ads to reach new users and support store traffic, and incorporate seasonal offerings from Google and Bing such as Audiences and betas.” He reviews how to budget and strategize for upcoming the holiday shopping season.
6 Simple Steps to Make Engaging YouTube Pre-Roll Ads
By Mary Lister | Oct 31, 2019

YouTube is being watched by more people than broadcast TV networks, making it an ideal place for brands to advertise. Smaller budgets, however, don’t have the capability to hire fancy videographers or advertising agencies. But, there are a few tips they can follow on a shoestring budget to get the most out of preroll ads:
1. Choose your objective
2. Map out your video advertising message
3. Brainstorm video content
4. Make it weird
5. Write a script to match
6. Take advantage of YouTube’s partners
5 Thank You Pages That Take Post-Conversion to the Next Level
By Colin Loughran | Oct 31, 2019

“A thank you page is not the end of the transaction. It’s the next step in keeping people engaged with your brand or product, generating continued goodwill, further qualifying your leads—or even increasing order values or making more sales,” explains Colin Loughran. Check out 5 outstanding Thank You Pages that are sure to boost post-conversion rates.
Listen, All Marketers Should Be Considering Podcast Ads
By Alaina Thompson | Nov 1, 2019

Podcasting platforms offer huge opportunities for advertisers. Alaina Thompson explains, “while over 50% of the U.S. population is listening to podcasts, only 4% of marketers are advertising in the channel.” She provides some resources for getting started with podcast advertising.
Optimizing Facebook Ads for Content Engagement: 4 Custom Conversion Ideas
By Bahador Jamshidi | Nov 4, 2019

Bahador Jamshidi takes a look at some unconventional use-cases for implementing Facebook Pixel custom conversion with a focus on optimizing for content engagement. By utilizing Google Tag Manager, you can set up different triggers for Custom Conversions. Some use cases include:
- Delayed Pixel fire
- Page Scroll Depth
- YouTube Video Views
- Element Visibility
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.