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.
4 Killer Google Ads Optimizations to Stretch Your Budget Further
By Asi Dayan | Aug 24, 2020

PPC is becoming more critical than ever in many marketing strategies, while at the same time, most marketing budgets are being reduced to lower than ever. For many, now has become a time to rethink how you manage your Google Ads during this “new normal” period. Asi Dayan recommends four ways to optimize your Google Ads performance while on a reduced budget, including:
- Get rid of vanity metrics.
- Create an “Impression to Conversion” (ITC) column.
- Add more exact keywords (and pause your phrase match).
- Use In-Market Segments in Google Analytics.
The Kenshoo 5: Five Pro Walmart Advertising Strategies During Prime Day
By Kenshoo | Aug 25, 2020

This year’s Prime Day event will be huge due to the surge of online shopping from COVID-9 combined with the fact that it’s going to kick off the Q4 holiday shopping season. Kenshoo recommends preparing with these strategies:
Tip #1 – Be ready for the halo effect…it’s real
Tip #2 – Be ready for the Prime Day season
Tip #3 – Build up retargeting in the weeks
Tip #4 – Be careful about inventory
Tip #5 – Play the BOPUS game in your favor
PPC Naming Conventions Guide [New Resource]
By Alaina Thompson | Aug 26, 2020

PPCHero has released The Complete Guide To PPC Naming Conventions by Vasco Vasconcelos. Be sure to download your copy and check out:
- What to consider to add to your naming convention before launching new campaigns
- What is a parameter, a field, a separator, and an anchor
- Guidelines and best practices
- Basic structure for you to follow and put in place in your campaigns
- Big account restructures and misleading data
Introducing asset performance ratings for Responsive Search Ads
By Joseph Damiani, Juan Sepulveda | Aug 28, 2020

Microsoft Advertising has announced it will be introducing asset performance ratings for Responsive Search Ads (RSAs). RSA is delivering on its dual promise to both save time and increase return-on-investment (ROI). According to Microsoft, “On average, clients using RSAs saw an increase of 13% in clicks, 16% in conversions, 6% in conversion rate, and a decrease of 2% in CPA in June.” Asset performance ratings help you understand which of your headlines and descriptions are working well and which are not; when an asset’s performance is currently being evaluated, its rating will show as Learning. Once an asset performance rating has been determined, it will be Low, Good, Best, or Unrated.
Top Tips To Get The Most From Microsoft’s New Shutterstock API
By Danielle Strouther | Aug 28, 2020

Microsoft Advertising’s new partnership with Shutterstock gives its advertisers access to 330 million free images to use in their display campaigns on the Microsoft Audience Network. Danielle Strouther shares some tips in selecting the best images using the Shutterstock APIs, including:
1. Make sure they’re relevant
2. Think emotionally
3. Expressions count
4. Colors also play a role
Advertising for Cavemen: Exploring the Psychology of PPC Ad Copy
By Brent Csutoras | Aug 30, 2020

Centuries-old human psychology principles can be remixed for proven success with today’s paid search customers because primal drivers that inspire people to take action have not changed. For her SEJ eSummit session, Purna Virji, Senior Manager of Global Engagement at Microsoft Advertising, showed how centuries-old human psychology principles can be remixed for proven success with today’s paid search customers; here’s a recap of her presentation.
9 Must-Know Ecommerce Marketing Trends of 2020 (With Examples)
By Leigh-Anne Truitt | Aug 31, 2020

Businesses must work harder than ever to set themselves apart in a crowded digital environment. Leigh-Anne Truitt reviews some of the most critical e-commerce marketing trends that are gaining attention and lifting sales for businesses and shares 9 essential strategies worth trying for yourself, including:
1. Quality content is still the most important
2. More customers are shopping through social media
3. Personalization is a new standard
4. Influencer collaborations are a must
5. Conversational commerce for customer service
6. Videos, videos, videos
7. Growth of AI and machine learning
8. Cross-channel marketing is a must
9. Smart retargeting ads are effective
6 Simple Tips to Create Profitable Paid Search Offers
By Amy Hebdon | Aug 31, 2020

Paid search marketers don’t control the products and services they promote, so it’s hard to ensure the offers are compelling. Offer development can become an afterthought or receive no thought at all. Amy Hebodon suggests using this process to develop profitable paid search offers that eliminate the pre-launch guesswork and post-launch depression:
1. Determine What You’ll Sell with Paid Search
2. Check for Product-Market Fit
3. Use MoFu Offers (Or Lower)
4. Make a Plan to Review Back-End Profits
5. Use Landing Pages That Specifically Promote Your Offers
6. Strengthen the 3 Ps of Your Offer
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.