The Ultimate PPC Spring Cleaning Checklist

Spring is here, which means the season of cleaning is underway. While most people are cleaning out their homes, desks, and cars, shrewd marketers know that this post-holiday lull is the perfect time to clean out their PPC accounts as well. 

PPC accounts that are utilizing old keywords and ads are not only less likely to engage searchers and convert, they can also generate significant budget waste. Furthermore, accounts that haven’t been updated in some time can portray your business negatively, doing substantial brand damage. Avoid these perils by cleaning out your account using this actionable checklist:

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Keywords
Keywords are the lifeblood of your PPC account but failing to update your keywords as performance data is generated can cause conversions to taper off and costs to rise needlessly. 
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 Pause keywords without any clicks
 Pause keywords few impressions
 Pause keywords with low click-through rates (CTRs)
 Pause unprofitable keywords (where average cost per click is higher than average conversion value)
 Increase bids for keywords with an average position of greater than 3
 Increase bids for keywords with low impression share metrics
 Move top-converting keywords into smaller, more specialized ad groups 
 Add keyword phrases to ad groups from the search query report that have substantial search volume and high CTRs (ensure they are closely related to the ad group’s theme to keep a tight focus)

Ads
Ongoing ad testing provides a basis for evaluating value propositions, promotional offerings, and calls-to-action. However, this can only occur when ads are updated regularly to provide the right conditions for testing. 

 Pause any ads providing outdated information (old promo codes, incorrect stock information, seasonally inappropriate verbiage, etc.)
 Pause ads with low CTRs and/or low conversion rates 
 Pause ads with countdown timers that have expired
 Use top-performing ads to generate new ad text using an A/B testing approach
 Utilize dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) to make ads more appealing to searchers
 Create ads of varying lengths to test performance
 Include current promotions in ad text (only one offer per ad)
 Utilize top keywords in ad text to increase quality scores

Ad Extensions
Well-maintained ad extensions can enhance your PPC efforts by increasing the size of your ad text to dominate valuable real estate on the search engine results page (SERP). 

 Replace underperforming callout extensions with new callouts to test
 Turn off call extensions during non-business hours
 Ensure call extensions are still working (if using a Google Voice number, test it periodically)
 Update sitelink extensions to utilize current versions of pages

Settings
Improperly managed settings can hamper ad exposure by limiting visibility in instances when ads are most likely to succeed. 

 Manage bid modifiers to increase clicks during the times, on the devices, and in the locations where searchers are more likely to convert
 Geographically target specific areas with campaigns to achieve better conversion rates
 Minimize work by setting ads to optimize rotation
 Use the conversion optimizer bid setting to increase conversions and reduce costs 

Still not sure where to start? Let us clean up your PPC account for you! We’ll review your AdWords or Bing account for budget waste, mistakes, outdated practices, and missed opportunities. The result will be a sparkling clean account that converts better and is easier to manage moving forward. Contact us today to find out more!

Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and two children and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!