Podcast Summary: The Paid Search Podcast

Episode 482 - PPC Basics: How To Manage a Search Campaign

Host: Chris Schaeffer, Certified Google Ads Specialist
Date: October 6, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Chris Schaeffer focuses exclusively on one of the most fundamental questions in Google Ads management: "How do you actually manage a search campaign?" Drawing from over 1,500 training sessions and extensive client experience, Chris breaks down the management process into actionable strategies that apply to all levels of expertise. He introduces his four-phase framework for campaign lifecycle management and offers concrete guidance for setting and achieving goals at every stage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Core of Campaign Management

• Main Principle: Management in Google Ads is about setting a goal based on your campaign's current phase and then managing toward that goal.
• This practical approach moves beyond theory to "what do you do Monday morning?"
• Chris emphasizes that most training glosses over the practical, hands-on actions that campaign managers need on a regular basis.

2. The Four Phases of Google Ads (10:10)

Chris differentiates management strategies based on where the campaign sits in its lifecycle:

1. Phase 1: Get Qualified Traffic
2. Phase 2: Convert That Traffic
3. Phase 3: Achieve & Maintain Performance Metrics (KPI)
4. Phase 4: Growth

Quote [10:40]:

"Management is all about setting a goal based on the phase of Google Ads that you're in, and then managing for that goal."
— Chris Schaeffer

2.1 Phase 1: Get Qualified Traffic (12:20)

• Goal: Acquire traffic that isn’t a waste of money.
• Key Actions:
  • Limit risk (e.g., conservative bidding, tight controls)
  • Stop bad traffic, increase good traffic via negative keywords and match type refinement
  • Get your first lead, sale, or booking ("trophy on the board")
• Example:
  • Chris shares a story about shutting off a risky ad group because it was not producing relevant outcomes (14:35).

Quote [14:55]:

"That is what I mean. That's a practical example of how to manage. You limit risk."
— Chris Schaeffer

2.2 Phase 2: Convert Qualified Traffic (18:15)

• Goal: Establish and achieve a meaningful KPI (Cost Per Lead, ROAS, total conversions)
• Key Actions:
  • Add negative keywords, adjust bids
  • Shrink or expand ad schedule
  • Optimize geographic targeting
  • Test and iterate on tactics to reach cost/conversion goals
• Insight: You often need to "make cuts" to improve efficiency.

Quote [19:05]:

"Establish an acceptable KPI… If you are above that acceptable cost per conversion or you're below that acceptable return on ad spend, you gotta make cuts."
— Chris Schaeffer

2.3 Phase 3: Maintain KPIs (22:34)

• Goal: Keep performance at desired levels through regular optimization and reaction.
• Key Actions:
  • Adjust bids in response to over/under-performing keywords
  • Ignore moderate performers; instead, focus on outliers (big winners and big losers)
  • Use long-term data to identify and optimize for high and low performers
• Analogy: Chris compares this phase to spinning plates — focus energy where immediate action is needed, leave ‘okay’ areas alone.

Quote [24:30]:

"That's you in Google Ads… What you want to do is ignore the plates that are spinning and are fine. Ignore the aspect of your campaign that is moderate… focus on the outliers."
— Chris Schaeffer

2.4 Phase 4: Growth (28:55)

• Goal: Achieve long-term scale and success beyond daily or weekly improvements.
• Key Actions:
  • Aim for quarterly or annual growth, not short-term wins
  • Form and test new hypotheses (e.g., experiments with creatives, landing pages, or targeting)
  • Explore "extremities" in account data: break out big spenders or nurture underutilized niches

Quote [31:10]:

"Form a hypothesis and test that hypothesis with an experiment… that's the kind of thing a phase four person will be doing."
— Chris Schaeffer

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Practicality in Management:

  "How do I turn the wrench? How do I apply this practically on Monday morning, I get up, what do I do?" (03:20)

• The Realities of Risk Management:

  "Because I've set this goal of limiting risk, maximize conversions might be a very bad decision for a Phase 1 Google Ads campaign." (13:50)

• On the Value of Hypothesis Testing:

  "Form a hypothesis and test that hypothesis with an experiment… If I change my call to action buttons to pink, I wonder if we'll get better conversion rates…" (31:10)

• Target Audience Insight:

  "Typical clients that I work with, by the way, you know, usually only spend a few thousand a month… I tend to prefer those." (35:18)

Important Timestamps

• 00:15 — Introduction & framing the question of campaign management
• 10:10 — Introduction of the four phases
• 12:20 — Phase 1: Managing for qualified traffic
• 14:35 — Real-life example: turning off underperforming ad groups
• 18:15 — Phase 2: Setting and managing for KPIs
• 22:34 — Phase 3: Maintaining and reacting to KPIs (spinning plates analogy)
• 28:55 — Phase 4: Growth strategies and experiments
• 31:10 — Emphasis on experiment-driven growth
• 35:18 — Closing remarks on client types and service offering

Summary Table: Phases & Core Actions

| Phase | Main Goal | Example Actions | |---------|----------------------|----------------------------------------------| | 1 | Get qualified traffic| Limit risk, adjust bids, negative keywords, get first lead | | 2 | Achieve KPI | Optimize for cost per conversion, make strategic cuts | | 3 | Maintain KPI | Focus on outliers, optimize performing/non-performing assets | | 4 | Long-term growth | Form/test hypotheses, unpack “extremities”, scale iteratively |

Final Takeaway

“Set a goal based on the phase you’re in, and manage specifically for that goal.”
Chris reiterates that campaign management is a perpetual process fueled by goal-setting tailored to campaign maturity. Whether you’re managing risk, optimizing conversions, maintaining KPIs, or pushing for growth, deliberate, phase-specific actions are the path to success in Google Ads.