Episode Overview

In Episode 468 of The Paid Search Podcast, titled "Most Advertisers Get Audience Bid Adjustments Wrong", host Chris Schaefer delves deep into the intricacies of audience bid adjustments within Google Ads campaigns. Joined by his guest, Joey Bidner, the episode provides a comprehensive exploration of common pitfalls advertisers encounter and offers actionable strategies to optimize bid adjustments for better campaign performance.

Listener Question: B2B Leak Detection Google Ads Challenges

The episode kicks off with a listener question from Rudra, who faces significant challenges in running a B2B leak detection lead generation campaign tailored for building and multifamily property owners.

Rudra's Dilemma:

Rudra outlines his predicament:

• Low Search Volume for Niche Keywords: His targeted long-tail and niche keywords show no search volume, rendering them ineligible for bids.
• High CPCs with Broader Keywords: When he opts for broader keywords, even with exact match or manual settings, he attracts generic search terms that lead to exorbitant Cost-Per-Click (CPC) rates without meaningful conversions.

Host's Answer: Strategies for Effective B2B Search Campaigns

Chris acknowledges Rudra's challenges and breaks down his response into actionable tactics designed to navigate the complexities of B2B advertising within Google Ads.

Tactic 1: Target the Problem with Broad Match

Chris emphasizes the importance of focusing on the problem rather than the solution initially:

• Problem-Centric Keywords: Instead of embedding B2B specifics like "hotels" or "Airbnb" into the keywords, Chris advises targeting the core issue. Examples include:
  • "How to monitor leaks"
  • "Best way to detect water leaks"
• Rationale: Most B2B searches don't explicitly mention the industry's specifics. By centering on the problem, advertisers can capture intent-driven searches from potential clients actively seeking solutions.

Tactic 2: Separate Campaigns for Problem and Solution

To better manage and optimize the campaign, Chris suggests:

• Dual Campaign Approach:
  • Problem-Focused Campaign: Targets users researching leak detection methods without industry-specific modifiers.
  • Solution-Focused Campaign: Directly targets terms like "leak detection system," "leak detection sensors," and "water leak sensors."
• Exact Match Consideration: For highly specific searches with low tolerance for irrelevant traffic, using exact match keywords can help maintain relevance and control CPC expenditures.

Tactic 3: Building a Funnel to Identify High-Quality B2B Keywords

Chris introduces a funnel approach to uncover and isolate high-value B2B keywords:

• Monitor Search Terms: Run the initial campaigns and analyze search terms to identify any B2B-specific keywords that may emerge organically.
• Isolate and Optimize: Once valuable B2B keywords are identified (e.g., "corporate leak detection center"), create a dedicated campaign targeting these terms exclusively.
• Outcome: This strategy helps in capturing niche B2B traffic without diluting the campaign with irrelevant searches.

Key Insight: "The secret to building a good B2B campaign is sometimes you build it like you're not managing B2B." – Chris Schaefer [13:00]

Guest Segment: Joey Bidner on Audience Bid Adjustments

Transitioning to the guest segment, Joey Bidner shares his insights on audience bid adjustments, a topic often mismanaged by advertisers.

Joey's Key Points:

1. Overuse of Bid Adjustments:

   • Joey observes that many advertisers excessively use audience bid adjustments, leading to inflated CPCs without proportional benefits.
   • "I find it's a little bit overused... just unnecessarily inflating your CPCs." – Joey Bidner [13:45]

2. Correlation vs. Causation:

   • Highlighting a critical mistake, Joey warns against assuming that high conversion rates within an audience directly cause better performance.
   • "Correlation does not mean causation." – Joey Bidner [14:20]

3. Avoiding Irrelevant Audiences:

   • He advises steering clear of broad or unrelated audiences that don't align with the product or service, as they can distort performance metrics.

4. Strategic Audience Targeting:

   • Joey shares a real-life example involving a custom T-shirt client, illustrating how layered audiences based on business ownership can enhance campaign effectiveness.

5. Smart Bidding Considerations:

   • Explaining the nuances of manual vs. smart bidding, Joey clarifies that while audience bid adjustments can still be utilized with smart bidding strategies, the impact differs from manual adjustments.

Host's Insights: Five Critical Points on Audience Bid Adjustments

Building upon Joey's discussion, Chris elaborates on five essential principles to effectively manage audience bid adjustments, ensuring advertisers don't fall into common traps.

1. Use Observation Audiences

• Definition: Observation audiences allow advertisers to monitor how specific audience segments perform without enforcing strict targeting.
• Recommendation:
  • "90% of you guys, maybe 95%, should only be using observation." – Chris Schaefer [19:30]
• Rationale: Observation mode minimizes complexity and maintains broader reach, suitable for most advertisers who aren't yet in advanced phases of Google Ads management.

2. Tiny Bid Adjustments are Counterproductive

• Issue with Small Adjustments: Minor tweaks (5%-15%) often go unnoticed and add unnecessary complexity.
  • "Tiny little bid adjustments will just add complexity to your Google Ads campaigns." – Chris Schaefer [20:15]
• Solution: Instead of micro-adjustments, implement larger, more noticeable bid changes to clearly assess impact.

3. Make Aggressive Bid Adjustments

• Strategy: When adjusting bids for effective audiences, Chris advocates for significant changes (e.g., 50%-100% increases) to determine clear performance outcomes.
  • "Make them big and bold. Don't... adjust something at a small degree." – Chris Schaefer [21:00]
• Monitoring: Closely track the results post-adjustment to decide whether to maintain or tweak the changes based on performance.

4. Target Specificity in Audiences

• Focus on Relevant Subcategories: Selecting narrower audience segments ensures that bid adjustments target truly relevant users.
  • "Choose them in very... smaller subcategory targets." – Chris Schaefer [21:45]
• Example: Using a specific audience like "recently acquired a business loan" can effectively target potential B2B clients with higher lifetime values.

5. Limit the Number of Audiences

• Optimal Audience Count: Chris advises restricting the number of audience segments to between one and ten to maintain clarity and control.
  • "I don't think you should have more than five or 10 audiences." – Chris Schaefer [22:30]
• Avoiding Overcomplication: Managing too many bid adjustments can obscure performance insights and lead to inefficiencies.

Bonus Insight: Automated Bidding and Audience Adjustments

Chris touches upon a point of contention within the PPC community regarding the efficacy of audience bid adjustments when using automated bidding strategies like Target CPA or Target ROAS.

• Differing Opinions: While Joey supports using bid adjustments as signals in smart bidding, Chris remains skeptical based on his experience and Google's documentation.
  • "Using audience bids with those non-manual, non max clicks bidding strategies does not affect it." – Chris Schaefer [23:30]
• Recommendation: Advertisers should experiment and determine the effectiveness for their specific campaigns, acknowledging the ongoing debate among professionals.

Conclusion

Episode 468 provides a nuanced examination of audience bid adjustments within Google Ads, highlighting common mistakes and offering strategic solutions. Rudra's B2B challenges serve as a catalyst for broader discussions on effective targeting and bidding strategies. With Joey Bidner's practical insights and Chris Schaefer's in-depth analysis, advertisers are equipped with the knowledge to refine their bid adjustment approaches, ultimately leading to more efficient and successful campaigns.

Notable Quotes:

• "Correlation does not mean causation." – Joey Bidner [14:20]
• "The secret to building a good B2B campaign is sometimes you build it like you're not managing B2B." – Chris Schaefer [13:00]
• "I don't think you should have more than five or 10 audiences." – Chris Schaefer [22:30]

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