12 Advanced Ways to Optimize Google Ads To Get High ROAS
In the digital advertising realm, Google ads stand as a colossus, boasting over 90% market share in search across the globe. This dominance translates into a vast inventory for Google Ads, spanning search, display, and video platforms, reaching billions of users daily.
With millions of businesses competing for visibility, achieving a high Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) has become more crucial than ever. In 2024 alone, Google Ads has driven conversions and sales across industries, showcasing its unmatched potential to target and engage the right audience.
This blog delves into 10 strategic ways to optimize your Google Ads campaigns, aiming to leverage Google’s extensive inventory and sophisticated targeting capabilities.
By employing these strategies, businesses can enhance their ad performance, elevate engagement rates, and significantly improve their ROAS.
From fine-tuning keyword strategies to optimizing ad targeting & placements and beyond, we’ll provide you with the insights needed to tap into the vast potential of Google Ads, turning clicks into customers.
Let’s get started with 10 Optimizations for Google ads
1. Keyword Optimization
The era of single-keyword targeting or single-keyword ad groups is long gone, the algorithms are more powerful in determining the intent behind the keyword. Now what matters is search intent rather than search keywords.
Keywords are now grouped based on themes and matching intent, such as causal shoes for men and everyday shoes for men are both inside the same ad group while previously this was always in two separate ad groups
Taking it one step further, Dynamic Keyword Insertion is underutilized in ad copy. In this the keyword the user has typed appears dynamically in the headline of ad, this creates high relevance and user more likely to click.
If you are running any offer, then you can also add a dynamic timer on ad headlines (with a fallback default option) this again leans into FOMO strategy
2. Dynamic search ads
Search ads is the biggest revenue machine for Google, but there are instances when search ads aren’t triggered and hence a dynamic search ad targeting a particular category, product or collections page helps avoid losing conversions
Unlike search ads no headlines and no keywords are provided in this, only the product or collection page URL along with 2 descriptions and ads are live. For best keywords always target them in standard search ads only.
You can use dynamic search ads in 2 ways
- To sweep through and collect search terms and build a repository to target these keywords and keep updating the search ads keyword list
- Act as a fallback campaign when some keywords are not targeted in standard search ads these ads take priority and are shown
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3. Use of Ad Customizer
Don’t confuse this with ad extensions they are different, ad extensions are additional assets like site link, structured snippet, and call extension to provide more information in the ad
In the below image, the outlined areas are all ad extensions
Ad customizers are most under-utilized, unknown but powerful feature of search ads to trigger additional assets. Ad customizers allow you to automatically customize the text of your search ads. You can adapt your ad text based on keywords.
Here is an ad customizer example
Ad customizers work like keyword insertion or countdown timers, in which you add dynamic content, directly into your ads.
Here is an example
Suppose you are Scott and are targeting keyword say Prowhip series refrigerators and one of the model is Prowhip 300 and Prowhip 400. Normally you couldn’t personalize your ad to show ProWhip 300 in headline based on keyword but with ad customizer you can
Now ad customizer helps you trigger a very personalized text other than the headlines and descriptions you have provided in ads
Such as if a user types Prowhip 300 in search then you can dynamically change the ad headline to show ProWhip 300, like this
KeywordCustomizer: ModelCustomizer: CapacityCustomizer: TypeCustomizer: Start_priceCustomizer: Sale_endsprowhip 300ProWhip 3005tilt-head$199 USD2015/05/15 20:00:00
The “Keyword” column shows what keyword should trigger the details in the other columns.
When Scott writes his ad, he uses customizers that reference each column in place of specific details. The first part of the customizer (“Mixers”) is the name he gave to his data set, and the second part (for example, “Model”) is the name of a column. ={Mixers.Model} Stand Mixer
www.example.com{=Mixers.Capacity} quart {=Mixers.Type} stand mixer.{=Mixers.Start_price} - sale ends in {=COUNTDOWN(Mixers.Sale_ends)}.
Now, if someone searches for “buy prowhip 300” on May 10, 2015, and this ad appears, the customizers update the ad according to the “prowhip 300” keyword, like this:
ProWhip 300 Stand Mixer
5 quart tilt-head stand mixer.
$199 USD — sale ends in 5 days.
Scott’s ad now gives people confidence that he has what they’re looking for (a 5-quart tilt-head stand mixer), and an incentive (sale price) to buy a mixer from his store.
That’s some serious ad personalization and high relevancy to get that ad click
4. Negative Keywords
Ok, you have heard a lot about adding negative keywords, this that, but this isn’t about best practices.
Suppose you are targeting two keywords casual shoes, work shoes in two different ad groups. There are chances for and ad from work shoes to be shown for some variation of keyword around casual shoes. To eliminate this always add target keywords from one ad group as negative keywords in every other ad group in the campaign
Negative keyword need not be just bad search terms but also add negative keyword from other ad groups as it eliminates the wrong ad being triggered if the keywords are closely related
5. Branded and Non-branded Shopping Ads
If you run a shopping campaign, you get a lot of conversions from branded terms one way to eliminate this is use negative keyword of every possible variations of brand name.
But since the shopping placement occupies a higher priority than search results there is a chance competitor shopping ads are shown for your branded search term, classic Google
So to eliminate this you have to create a dedicated brand shopping ad and non-branded shopping ad
But if shopping ads have no keyword targeting how to trigger a shopping campaign only on branded terms
There is a workaround
How to run a branded shopping ad?
If you have ever run a shopping ad you know there is no option to add keywords, then how to still show ads only on brand keywords?
Run 2 shopping campaigns
In campaign 1
Go to negative keywords and add brand name and all it’s variations
Next go to settings > Priority > Set to Medium
In campaign 2
Go to settings > Priority > Set to Low
This way campaign 1 captures all non-branded search terms as it has higher priority and campaign 2 captures all branded search terms only
6. Try no-asset PMax
Performance Max (PMax) campaigns have a sneaky habit of overspending on waste inventory of display network and hence the relation with PMax for the client accounts we manage has been of ally and adversary. One thing we have seen predominantly work for in PMax is running an asset group with no assets, no images, no headlines, no URL, just targeting appropriate products.
This forces Google to deliver mostly on high-converting shopping placement, but first you have to see in auto-applied settings and PMax campaign settings ability to create automatic assets is unchecked. Otherwise, Google creates its own asset and starts delivering in-display network inventory
7. Exclude bad locations
If you are spending a decent amount on ads then this should be a good optimization setting to check weekly/monthly. Go to locations report and pull up data. Then go from top to down country > state > city > pincode…
If there is a huge mismatch in target ROAS (Conv value/cost) and actual ROAS then consider diving deep into pincode, city level and excluding bad locations, avoid eliminating the state entirely
8. Segment Bestsellers to Create Top Campaigns
If some products are performing well consistently then run a separate campaign with higher targets and a dedicated budget allocated to them, this provides more control on delivery and optimization
This helps double down on what’s working and get better results with ads for ecommerce brand
9. Optimize Shopping Feed with Search Ads
Shopping feed is the backbone of Shopping ads and often overlooked part of optimization of shopping ads, as optimization requires you to switch to a different platform and hence a friction.
Use the search ads to optimize the title and description of shopping feed. Pull out data of search ads for a particular product and look at search terms.
Find the search terms with high impressions, clicks or conversions then use these exact keywords to create a optimized title and use them organically to improve the description in the Google Merchant Center feed.
Suppose you see for shoe product “Causal shoes” has higher impressions and conversion than the rest, then include the word Casual Shoes in the title, The description helps deliver ads to refined higher-converting searches and hence improve Google ads results
Along with search ads data you can also look at shopping ad search terms data to refine the keywords and match if the products shown are correct or not according to the keyword
10. Exclude Trash — Inventory, Location, Device
Monthly/weekly based on ad spend look at data around “Where ads are delivered”, Location, and device settings and eliminate bad inventory, location, and device. Eliminating bad spend is the best way to improve performance. Don’t repeat mistakes in ads
11. Leverage Seasonality Adjustments in Smart Bidding
For businesses with clear seasonality trends, use seasonality adjustments to inform Google’s smart bidding algorithms about expected changes in conversion rates during specific periods.
This provides a separate signal to Google to bid more aggressively while meeting the goals due to increased demand during the season
12. Performance Max audience signal optimization
Performance Max campaigns are different from standard search ads as they have no keyword targeting, instead rely on quality audience signal. We have seen again and again how there is improvement in performance just by optimizing audience signal while rest of the things remain unchanged
How to give good quality audience signal to optimize Google ads Performance Max campaign?
Build audience signals based on
- Use Search ads search term data to create custom keyword segments
- Create custom segment based on keywords in insights tab of Performance Max campaign
- Use custom pixel and GA data, upload customer list
- Use Shopping ads search terms to create custom segments
- Use insights tab to target particular interests
- Utilize competitor websites
- Exclude low-level income demographics
- In custom segments provide information and website links and apps of competitors
- Create a dedicated custom segment targeting only competitor names
Case Studies and Success Stories
Here are some of our other Google ads case studies and articles
https://bharatmavens.com/50000-%e2%82%b953l-for-a-autoparts-brand-in-uk/
https://bharatmavens.com/increased-total-revenue-by-2-25-times/
Conclusion
Getting your Google Ads to work harder for you and bring in more bang for your buck isn’t just a dream — it’s totally doable. We’ve walked through 10 kickass strategies that can help crank up your ROAS. From getting smart with your bidding to knowing exactly who you’re talking to with your ads, it’s all about making those ads as effective as possible.
But here’s the thing: none of this is set-it-and-forget-it. The digital world changes fast, and keeping your Google Ads in top shape means staying on your toes, trying out new things, and always looking at what the numbers are telling you.
So, give these strategies a shot, play around with them, and see what moves the needle for your campaigns. Remember, every little improvement is a step towards making your ads more profitable. And who doesn’t want that, right?
OFFER
Want help with Google ads?
With over a 4+ years of experience we can help you deliver consistent-profitable growth with Google Ads
