Notes on running Google Ads. Short, with the numbers.
What we learn building Oppy and reading real accounts, written down: one question per post, the arithmetic behind the answer, and what to do on Monday.
- Wasted spend2 min readWhy your negative keywords let searches throughYou added 'job' as a negative. Searches for 'jobs' still cost you money. Negatives follow stricter rules than the keywords you bid on.Open
- Tracking2 min readEnhanced conversions: what they do and when to switch them onSome conversions never reach Google Ads: a blocked cookie, a change of device. Enhanced conversions recover part of them, with data you already collect.Open
- Settings2 min readShould your Google Ads run around the clock?A new campaign serves every hour of every day. For a shop that is often fine. For a business that answers a phone, the night can be expensive.Open
- Keywords2 min readBroad match without negatives: what it costsBroad match can find searches you would never have thought of. Without negatives, it also finds the ones you would never pay for.Open
- Running an account1 min readHow to read Google Ads change historyResults moved on Tuesday. Something changed on Monday. Change history usually tells you what, and who.Open
- Wasted spend2 min readWhy '20 clicks and no conversion' is the wrong ruleThe most repeated rule in Google Ads blocks good searches on some accounts and lets bad ones run on others. Your own conversion rate fixes it.Open
- Running an account2 min readA small Google Ads account: what to fix firstMost advice is written for accounts with thousands of conversions. On a few hundred euros a month, the order of the fixes matters more than the fixes.Open
- Tracking2 min readTwo purchase actions, one sale: double counting in Google AdsThe account says 400 sales. The shop made 210. Here is the most common reason, and how to fix it without losing real conversions.Open
- Tracking2 min readOffline conversion imports, explained for lead businessesGoogle Ads sees the form. Your CRM sees the sale. Until the two meet, the bidding optimises for whoever fills in forms.Open
- Settings2 min readSearch Partners: keep them, or switch them off?Every new Search campaign also serves on sites that are not Google Search. Sometimes that is fine. Here is how to find out for your account.Open
- Settings1 min readPresence or interest: the location setting that spends money abroadYou target Lyon. Google also shows your ads to someone in Montreal reading about Lyon. For a hotel, that is the market. For a plumber, it is waste.Open
- Settings1 min readAuto-applied recommendations: what Google changes in your accountSomebody once ticked a box, and since then Google has been editing the account. Here is how to find out what it changed.Open
- Brand2 min readBrand campaigns: defence or waste?People searching your name already chose you. So why pay for the click? Sometimes you should not. Often you should, for a different reason than most reports suggest.Open
- Ads1 min readAd Strength: what it measures, and what it does notExcellent is not the same as profitable. Here is what the rating looks at, and how to use it without writing worse ads to please it.Open
- AI and automation2 min readWhat an AI Google Ads operator should never do aloneThe question is not whether AI can change your account. It is which changes it should make without asking, and what stops it when it is wrong.Open
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