25 Apr Client Case Study – PPC Search Campaigns For a popular UK Gifting Brand.

• Increased conversions 55% Year on Year
• Reduced cost per conversion by 4% year on year
• Maintained client’s target ROAS

The Problem

The client came to Amanda White Digital needing PPC management for a 6 month project.

The account had been working fantastically beating their target Return on Ad Spend – ROAS of 4.0. Meaning, for every £1 spent they were making £4 back. With conversions mostly driven from branded search terms from a business with huge brand awareness.

However, when picking up the project. It was evident that the branded search terms that were historically working for this account were no longer performing quite as well. With impressions and clicks both in decline month on month.

The Strategy

Branded traffic was falling month on month. If left with the current set up. Conversions and revenue would continue to decline to the point where PPC would no longer be viable.

The branded campaigns were set up tightly using a combination of exact match and phrase match keyword ad groups. To keep a tight control on the ad spends and the return. Although this strategy worked amazingly for the brand in 2020/2021. It was no longer working as we approached 2022.

Therefore, I increased the quantity of branded keywords to expand to more longtail keywords that weren’t currently being targeted.

I set up a dynamic search campaign excluding all existing live keywords and negative keywords to expose keywords that were not yet being targeted.

I set up campaigns with small budgets using Broad terms to test whether the algorithms could find more converting terms that were not already included within the exact and phrase match ad groups.

Although this slightly moved the needle in the right direction it was not enough to return to previous results.

The next step was to expand into non branded campaigns. Opening up to non branded keywords can be very expensive and historically doesn’t drive the same conversions that a branded campaign does. Non branded terms can often be higher up in the funnel. These can often be more research and information searches. Things like ‘Womens Shoes’ Or ‘Best Walking Boots’ Which don’t convert as well as bottom of the funnel branded terms. For example ‘Buy Black Size 9 Nike Air Womens Trainers’ or ‘Brooks Launch 5 Size 9 Blue Running Shoes’

Using longer tail non branded keywords with strong ad copy and dedicated landed pages meant that we could open up to more clicks and drive more conversions. Whilst not opening up too much to shorter top of funnel terms that are more difficult to generate returns. Keeping a close eye on the terms generating clicks. Keywords were negated all the time to avoid wasted spends.

The Results

When I took over the account in September, conversions were on a downwards trajectory. Although it is worth mentioning that conversions should increase during Black Friday and Christmas. Many of the conversions have been achieved from the new dynamic and non branded campaigns. It is also noticeable that conversions are still steadily increasing even with peak trading season now behind us.

Conclusion

PPC is never a set it and forget it job. You can hire an agency to set up a campaign and it can perform absolutely brilliantly. But advertising on search engines means that you are working with an ever changing landscape. With goal posts moving all the time. You can’t just assume that because an agency has got you to a level that is working, that it will remain working in the same way forever more. Competitors are changing and evolving what they do on a daily basis. Platforms like Google Ads are changing how they work on a frequent basis and what works one day might not always work the next.

Regular management of a PPC account is imperative to keep on top of the competition and keep an account profitable.

If you’re looking for a PPC agency to manage your account or need help setting up your first campaign please don’t hesitate to give Amanda White Digital a call.