TPE #54: 50 PPC tasks for this Summer (2/2)
Aug 07, 2023Read time: 5 minutes
Welcome back to The PPC Edge — this issue is part 2 of a two-part series about 50 tasks you can do this Summer in the following categories:
- Audit
- Hygiene
- Learning & research
- New tests
- Preparation
- Reporting
- Tools
- Sales
- Other
It would be an overkill to share all 50 tasks at once, so we’re splitting them up in two newsletters.
In part 1, we looked at 24 tasks for the first 3 categories (Audit, Hygiene, Learning & Research)
Today, we’ll dive into part 2 as we look at new tests, preparation, reporting, tools, sales, and other.
Let’s dive in!
New tests
In this section, we want to inspire you with a series of tests you can run in your accounts. Remember: never stop testing! :)
25: Set up an advanced conversion tracking technique (profit, OCT etc.)
Basic tracking setups are no longer sufficient. If you want to take your results to the next level, you need to implement advanced tracking techniques like:
- Offline Conversion Tracking for Lead Gen
- Profit Tracking for Ecom
- Serverside Tagging
Whoever has the most high-quality data, wins.
There’s a LOT that goes into proper conversion tracking. If you want to upgrade your tracking skills with the latest techniques, check out this free training we created. It will help you understand and master the entire Google Ads tracking landscape from Rookie to Master.
It’s live up on our YouTube channel.
26: Optimize your ads (write better copy)
Responsive Search Ads have made Google Ads Specialists lazy. Don’t forget to keep testing new ad copy. Pro tip: use ChatGPT to speed up the process!
27: Make a list of high-impact tests for H2
We give you a lot of test ideas in this newsletter, but you need to make a list of tests that will be high-impact for your account(s). So list out everything you can do, and rate them according to the ‘ICE’-framework (Impact, Confidence, Effort). Start with the low-hanging fruit, and then work your way towards tests that potentially have the highest impact.
28: Test Automatically Applied Recommendations (JOKE)
Just for fun: see what happens if you test Google’s AARs. You might be surprised by their impact.
This is a JOKE — do not apply all of them. We created a guide to help you understand which AARs are harmless, and which ones are harmful. Check it out here.
29: Dust up Microsoft Ads
Microsoft Ads generally has around 5-10% of the search market share worldwide. In some countries and demographics is more, some less.
Are you running Microsoft Ads? If not, now is the time to set them up (again). It’s an easy 5-10% revenue uplift with minimal extra effort because you can sync your Google Ads campaigns.
30: Test third-party attribution tools
Google Ads, just like any other ad platform, LOVES to take credit for every conversion. As you account grows and you start to spend on more channels than just Google, you need to use third-party attribution tools. Play around with them, see how the data is different. Recommendations: Hyros, Rockerbox, Northbeam, TripleWhale (or even GA4 if you want to go the free route).
31: Test new audiences
Use the Summer time to test new audiences on your upper funnel campaigns. An important learning of something we often see: if you can profitably scale an audience in the low-season, you can easily scale it in the high-season. Test new audiences now, so that you can run them up in Q4 for max growth and profit!
32: Test broad match
Broad match… You either hate it or love it. Honestly, it’s really good. If you haven’t already, run a few tests. Don’t want to take too much risk? Start with small controlled tests. There’s no way around broad match. Tested it with poor results? Ok sure, then stick to exact and phrase match. But if you haven’t tested it just because you don’t trust Google, then please go ahead and test again.
33: Optimize your landing pages
What happens after the click is often more important than what happens before the click. Optimize your landing pages. Even a 5% conversion rate uplift can be massive at scale. Just imagine if you’re able to increase your CVR by 10, 20 or even 30%.
34: Test account consolidation
Since Summer is the low-season for most brands, you have the time to test new account structures. Test with consolidated structures (the benefit: more data at the campaign-level makes it easier for Smart Bidding to optimize for more conversions).
35: Optimize your sales funnel
This goes hand-in-hand with optimizing your landing pages. Do a deep analysis of your entire funnel and see where the weak spots are. Then, optimize wherever you see the biggest dropoffs of users. Again: what happens after the click is often more important than what happens before.
Preparation
In this section, we’ll look at some tasks you can do to prepare yourself and your accounts for better results in the future.
36: Create a roadmap
There is always a lot that you can do. This makes it easy to get overwhelmed. Create a roadmap of what you want to do and when. Don’t forget to share it with your client. Working with roadmaps causes trust as you have something to refer to. It also helps to keep everything structured.
37: Dive into the new updates
Every week, Google releases a TON of new updates. Use this Summer to catch up on everything you’ve missed. Here are a few good resources to start:
- 12 Performance Max updates
- Follow Adriaan Dekker on LinkedIn (he shared all the updates daily and in his weekly newsletter)
38: Start preparing for Q4 (Black Friday)
Trust us when we say Q4 is around the corner. You really need to start preparing now. Urge your clients to start thinking about their offers and marketing strategy. The last thing you want is to have to do everything a few days before.
We’re less than 2 months away from Q4. Just so you know. Start preparing now.
Reporting
In this section, we’ll look at how you can improve your reporting this Summer.
39: Build a Looker Studio dashboard
We love using Looker Studio dashboards to report to our clients. They’re easy to use for everyone, even with no marketing background. The setup can be a bit technical, but the reward is huge: automated dashboards are the best. Use your time this Summer to build dashboards for yourself and your clients. Pro tip: templatize them so you can use them across multiple accounts.
40: Optimize your client reports
As an extension of your Looker Studio dashboards, look at how you can improve your client reports. Can you make them shorter? Have you ever asked your client if they like the report? Experience learns us that we tend to over-report. Understand who you’re reporting to and what they want to see, and show them nothing more.
CEOs don’t care about impressions, CPCs and Quality Scores. They care about costs, revenue, ROAS.
Marketing managers might be more interested in granular reports with more data points.
Adjust your reports accordingly.
41: Do a deep H1 analysis and report to client
This is how you can overdeliver to your clients: do a deep H1 analysis of their business and Google Ads results, and send it to them with concrete action steps. What do you see in the data that can help their business move forward? What do you see in the data that you can use to optimize your campaigns further?
Clients love these types of reports. Pro tip: keep them short and to the point, with concrete action steps!
Tools
Let’s look at some tools you can test this Summer.
42: Implement a few scripts
Scripts are great to help you get more grip on your campaigns. Use this guide to help you get started with 8 high-impact scripts we use in our own accounts.
43: Test a new tool
Don’t like script? Test out a new tool! Some ideas:
- ProfitMetrics for ecom profit tracking
- Creatopy for image/video ad creation
- ProductHero for Performance-Based Bucketing
44: Test Labelizers
Speaking of Performance-Based Bucketing… You can do that with Labelizers (either paid tools or free scripts). Check out this guide to help you get started for free.
Sales
In this section, we’ll look at some things you can do to boost your own sales.
45: Write content for LinkedIn (focus on inbound leads)
All of our leads are inbound, mostly via LinkedIn. Write a few pieces of content, and see if you can get some inbound leads too. You have to be persistent and it might be slow at the start, but it will pay off in the end.
46: Reach out to your dream clients
Have you ever wanted to work with a specific client or business? Reach out to them! If you don’t ask, you’ll never get it. Check out this story about how Miles got his first freelance client by reaching out to companies via job boards.
47: Look for a new job
Are you still enjoying your job? If not, what’s keeping you there? Look for a new job! Life is too short to live on other people’s terms. You don’t HAVE to pursue a freelancing career and you don’t HAVE to build your own business. If you’re happy working a regular job, that’s completely fine and more power to you. But please, don’t work at a job you hate.
48: Start a side hustle
Don’t want to leave your job, but looking for some extra income? Start a side hustle! Some ideas:
- Freelancing for a few clients
- Set up an affiliate project
- Test dropshipping
49: Increase your prices
Are you a freelancer or agency owner? Ask yourself if you’re happy with your current rates. If not, what’s stopping you from increasing them? Be bold — make a case for why you should make more, and pitch it to current or new clients. Pro tip: make a connection between your increased rate and the improved results they have been getting by working with you. Numbers talk!
Other
The most important tip is in this last section:
50: Take a break!
Don’t forget do take a break. Go on a holiday with family and/or friends. Do some fun stuff. Sit in the sun (if it doesn’t rain like here in NL lol).
The Summer period is nice to catch up on some of the tasks we added in this newsletter, but it’s also nice to slow down a bit and enjoy life.
So please, take a break and leave your laptop at home!
That concludes it for this two-part series. A lot went into creating these newsletters so we’d love to hear some feedback.
Enjoy the rest of your Summer and see you next week!
Cheers,
Bob & Miles
