Budgets, bidding strategies, conversion tracking and the weekly optimisation routine

Campaign structure and ads decide whether the right people see you. Bidding, budgets and conversion tracking decide whether the account makes money. A first job in paid search is largely a weekly routine built on these three.

Bid strategies and when each fits

• Manual CPC: you set the maximum per click. Fits small accounts and new keywords where you want control.
• Maximise clicks: spends the budget for the most clicks. Fits the first weeks before conversions exist.
• Maximise conversions and Target CPA: the system bids for the most conversions, or conversions at an average cost you set. Both need conversion tracking and a steady flow of conversions to learn from.
• Target ROAS: bids to hit a return on ad spend; needs conversion values, so it suits e-commerce.
• Target impression share: bids to appear in a share of searches; used for brand campaigns.

Worked example: a lead-generation account has 10 conversions a week. Start with Maximise conversions, then switch to Target CPA once the real cost per lead is known. Budgets are set per campaign per day and spend is balanced over the month, so a day above budget is normal. Work the budget backwards: if a lead is worth paying 40 for and you need 50 leads a month, the budget is 2,000 a month, about 66 a day.

Conversion tracking done properly

A conversion action is an event worth paying for: a form submit, a call, a purchase. Install the tag through Google Tag Manager or the site code, create the action, and set whether it counts once per click (leads) or every time (purchases). Test it by completing the action yourself. Mark only the real goal as primary; page views and button clicks go in as secondary so they do not inflate the numbers automated bidding learns from. A conversion that fires on every page load is the most expensive tracking error, because the system then optimises for nothing.

The weekly routine

1. Search terms report: add negatives for irrelevant searches, and add converting terms as keywords in the right ad group.
2. Keywords: pause those with high spend and no conversions; raise bids or budget where cost per conversion is below target.
3. Ads: pause the weakest ad in each group and test a new one.
4. Budget pacing: compare month-to-date spend with the plan, and note every change with the date.

Common mistakes and a practice habit

• Switching to Target CPA on day one with no conversion data.
• Changing bid strategy, budget and ads in the same week and not knowing what caused the change.
• Counting every form view as a conversion.
• Judging a strategy after three days; automated bidding needs time to settle.

Practice habit. Take any imaginary business and write its conversion actions, its target cost per lead, and the monthly budget worked back from it. Then draft a one-page weekly checklist.