The Paid Search Podcast | Episode 455: Custom Labels in Google Ads Shopping

Host: Chris Schaeffer, Certified Google Ads Specialist
Guest: Joey Bidner
Release Date: March 24, 2025

Overview

In Episode 455 of The Paid Search Podcast, host Chris Schaeffer delves deep into the intricacies of managing Google Ads campaigns, with a particular focus on two main topics:

1. Optimizing Agency Management with Optio
2. Advanced Targeting Strategies for the Tourism Industry
3. Mastering Custom Labels in Google Ads Shopping

Expert guest Joey Bidner joins Chris in the latter part of the episode to provide a comprehensive guide on using custom labels to enhance Google Shopping campaigns.

1. Optimizing Agency Management with Optio

Timestamp Highlight: [00:18] "Optio is a good solution... it's the most reasonably priced, most powerful tool out there."

Chris begins the episode by addressing a question from Isaru, an agency owner in Australia, about the suitability of Optio for managing multiple client accounts. Chris, affirming his sponsorship and endorsement of Optio, emphasizes its affordability and robust features tailored for agencies.

Key Points:

• Cost-Effectiveness: Optio offers a competitive pricing model, especially beneficial for agencies handling numerous accounts. Chris notes, “There are some tools that do a lot more, but my goodness, they're expensive. It's ridiculous.”

• Team Unification: Optio aids in standardizing decision-making across teams, ensuring consistency in account management. “As an agency, you need to be able to unify your team... Opteo is a great solution for that.”

• Exclusive Offers: Chris mentions a special 28-day free trial for listeners, encouraging agencies to leverage Optio’s features without immediate financial commitment.

Quote:
“Optio does almost everything that these big tools do, but do it at such an affordable price.” - Chris Schaeffer [00:30]

2. Advanced Targeting Strategies for the Tourism Industry

Timestamp Highlight: [05:22] "If you're in the tourism industry... this is how I would basically approach any new tourism campaign myself."

Responding to Lamar’s inquiry about targeting strategies for a cabin vacation rental service in the Poconos, Chris outlines a “near and far” approach to optimize campaign performance.

Key Strategies:

• Near Campaigns: Target individuals within a specific radius (e.g., 50-100 miles) who are geographically close but not immediately adjacent. This captures local interest without intense competition.

• Far Campaigns: Extend targeting to broader regions, ensuring inclusion of geographic terms like "Poconos" to attract users explicitly searching for vacation rentals in that area.

• Risk Management: Utilize phrase match keywords to control ad spend and ensure relevance, particularly when targeting far regions where search intent is higher.

• Bidding Strategies: Start with manual bidding or maximum clicks bidding to gauge performance before transitioning to more automated strategies.

Practical Example:
Chris describes how differentiating bids between near and far campaigns can balance risk and maximize return on ad spend, especially when targeting diverse geographic areas.

Quote:
“My guess is the far is going to work better, particularly because you're going to get millions of possibilities of good searches.” - Chris Schaeffer [07:45]

3. Mastering Custom Labels in Google Ads Shopping

Timestamp Highlight: [19:04] "Custom labels are easily one of my favorite Google Shopping attributes to segment necessary products by."

In the second half of the episode, Joey Bidner takes the spotlight to discuss the strategic use of custom labels in Google Shopping campaigns. Custom labels allow advertisers to segment products beyond standard attributes like brand or product type, enabling more nuanced bidding and budgeting strategies.

Detailed Insights:

• Segmentation for Sales:
  By tagging products on sale with a custom label (e.g., "sale"), advertisers can create dedicated ad groups. This allows for tailored bidding strategies, recognizing that sale items typically have different profit margins and return on ad spend (ROAS) targets.

  Example:
  "You can bid accordingly, maybe offering a little bit of a lower bid on them." - Joey Bidner [21:15]

• Highlighting High-Margin Products:
  Custom labels can identify products with higher profit margins within a product type. This segmentation ensures that these high-margin items receive more focused ad spend, enhancing overall campaign profitability.

  Example:
  "I keep it in the base campaign, especially if it's just like a small set of products. I put more dollars on those products in this segmented campaign." - Joey Bidner [26:00]

• Seasonal Campaign Structuring:
  For industries with seasonal fluctuations, such as fashion, custom labels can distinguish between different seasonal collections. This allows advertisers to adjust bids based on the current season's demand, ensuring optimal ad performance throughout the year.

  Example:
  "We made a custom label for every collection type... I will do it manually and bid it down as we transition out of a season." - Joey Bidner [28:30]

Implementation Tips:

• Excluding Products:
  When segmenting with custom labels, it's crucial to exclude these labeled products from other ad groups to prevent overlap and ensure accurate bidding.

• Using Phrase Match:
  Applying phrase match keyword strategies can help in maintaining control over which search queries trigger ads, especially when dealing with segmented campaigns.

Quote:
“Custom labels can be really great for segmenting out sale products or pulling certain products out to drive more spend to or possibly restructuring a whole campaign based off product type.” - Joey Bidner [29:50]

Conclusion

Episode 455 provides invaluable insights for Google Ads professionals looking to optimize their campaigns through efficient tool usage and advanced segmentation strategies. Chris Schaeffer’s endorsement of Optio offers agencies a practical solution for managing multiple accounts, while Joey Bidner’s expertise on custom labels equips advertisers with the knowledge to fine-tune their Google Shopping campaigns for maximum profitability and efficiency.

For further assistance or consulting, listeners are encouraged to visit joeybidner.com or chrishaefer.com.

Notable Quotes:

• “Optio does almost everything that these big tools do, but do it at such an affordable price.” - Chris Schaeffer [00:30]

• “My guess is the far is going to work better, particularly because you're going to get millions of possibilities of good searches.” - Chris Schaeffer [07:45]

• “Custom labels can be really great for segmenting out sale products or pulling certain products out to drive more spend to or possibly restructuring a whole campaign based off product type.” - Joey Bidner [29:50]