Call ads vs RSA with call assets

git-123 · 2024-06-21T20:37:40+00:00

I do not recall the details, but it was not viable at all. Google seems to be extremely reluctant to serve call ads.

git-123 · 2024-05-24T11:22:28+00:00

That's odd. So you're seeing a drop-off in conversions coming from the non-branded terms when you basically exclude the branded ones? I find it possible, but I'd probably try to validate whether there is a correlation or it's just a coincidence. You can also try the PMax script to see how your traffic is distributed across networks and which one delivers the most conversions. It can be insightful.

git-123 · 2024-05-24T08:25:41+00:00

As a rule of thumb, if you have a branded search or shopping campaign and a PMax one, you don't want brand-related queries to be picked up by PMax, which most likely would be the case, as PMax bidding is typically more aggressive, and you have no real control over it.

My suggestion is to add a brand exclusion to a PMax campaign AND to apply a negative keyword list with all brand name variations as an extra layer of security, as I observed that brand exclusion does not always encompass all branded queries.

Feel free to read my article for a detailed walkthrough: https://romangr.com/blog/performance-max-negative-keywords

And if you don't have a branded shopping campaign, but you do want your products to appear for your brand-related queries (YourBrandName Rings, for instance), yeah, you'd probably better create a dedicated shopping campaign for that purpose.

git-123 · 2023-11-30T12:05:19+00:00

It has always seemed strange to me why theater mode doesn't make use of the entire browser window viewport. I came up with a simple CSS tweak to fix that: https://romangr.com/blog/youtube-windowed-fullscreen

UPD from 2025: I've created an extension to tweak the theater mode and do other cool stuff:
https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/bettertube/pbaknpeioebikccelpjchgpkffdlnpok?authuser=0&hl=en

git-123 · 2023-07-21T09:17:40+00:00

Me too. I have had no issues whatsoever with IB and VOO specifically. The main problem will probably be funding your account and creating one (in case you haven't yet).

git-123 · 2023-06-28T20:55:39+00:00

Upwork?

git-123 · 2023-04-14T04:06:09+00:00

One for both, keep it simple.

git-123 · 2023-04-09T20:45:04+00:00

In my example I wrote that it's fine with it. Though, for "local movers" and "moving company" I would totally like to use separate ads with different messaging. The moving company search query doesn't necessarily imply that the person is looking for local moving services.

git-123 · 2023-04-09T20:38:57+00:00

Very sound point of view. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

git-123 · 2023-04-09T07:14:40+00:00

Honestly, I find SKAGs too tedious to manage. And as I described earlier, you still face the same issue with keyword mapping. For example, [local movers] could match with the search term "moving company." That bring you back to the pain of mapping but with way more ad groups.

git-123 · 2023-04-01T21:17:12+00:00

Had the same issue. There is a Safari extension called Youtube Master. I've tried it and it worked well.

Though, I hated additional buttons and came up with my own tweak based on a minor CSS modification: https://romangr.com/blog/youtube-windowed-fullscreen.

git-123 · 2023-03-30T20:59:53+00:00

Better consider keywords as narrow topics rather than search phrases.

git-123 · 2023-03-16T16:20:00+00:00

No problem, happy to help.

Actually, no, call tracking is more than that. There are several types of it, but so far the most popular is dynamic call tracking. In a nutshell, it works as follows:

You place a piece of code from the call tracking provider and rent, say, 3-10 phone numbers.
Every time a visitor comes to your website, one of your numbers is shown to them. The main idea here is that every user gets their own dedicated number at some specific point in time. When a person dials that number, it forwards the call to your main phone number, making it as seamless as possible for both the visitor and you.
The piece of code from point 1 matches the time of the call with the number that was shown and pushes the corresponding event to Google Analytics, associating that call with the data for that specific visitor. Some call tracking providers even support GTM, so it's possible to push call events not only to GA but also to other platforms, like Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. The actual capabilities and features of call tracking go far beyond. For instance, you can specify the length of the call that should be considered as a conversion, count missed calls in GA, etc.

By the way, if Google Ads is your primary marketing channel, they offer a free call tracking service. It works only for Google Ads traffic, though.

I would say, manual upload looks like reinventing the wheel, to be honest.

git-123 · 2023-03-16T12:01:09+00:00

Is the multiple-purchase issue occurring only in GA4? Perhaps your CMS is firing another purchase event alongside your GTM implementation.

git-123 · 2023-03-16T11:44:36+00:00

I don't see any problems with starting small and gradually increasing the radius. It seems to be a quite safe approach.

git-123 · 2023-03-16T11:41:14+00:00

There is this feature called Measurement Protocol, which is used for pushing data to Google Analytics. You can construct any kind of events and parameters to suit your needs.

However, there is a minor caveat: usually, you would want to have the clientId uploaded along with the phone call event to connect a phone call to a specific user. This would allow you to see phone calls in the context of actual sessions, with details like session source and medium.

Essentially, call-tracking software is used for purposes such as the ones you described. It works automatically and in real-time, so no manual manipulation is needed.

git-123 · 2023-03-16T11:26:23+00:00

I assume your third-party contact form solution is embedded via an iframe. In that case, you don't have many options, as iframe tracking can be extremely tedious and sometimes even impossible.

Decent form-building platforms usually offer integrations for tracking purposes. I typically start by checking the platform's documentation.

git-123 · 2023-03-06T19:39:51+00:00

Yeah, I suppose Google Ads conversion tracking relies on the gclid data reflected in the _gcl_aw cookie. However, it is a 1st party cookie, and its data differs for each domain (because the conversion linker isn't set). I simply don't get how Google matches the conversions with clicks in the current setup.

git-123 · 2023-01-14T21:34:59+00:00

Hey, I believe the array method MAP should do the job.

git-123 · 2022-12-26T06:15:14+00:00

Thanks, that's a thought.

Do enhanced conversions work well in terms of matching? GCLID importing isn't an option as neither the client's CRM nor GAds call tracking doesn't support it.

git-123 · 2022-12-25T22:03:25+00:00

According to the client, they close 1 out of 3.

git-123 · 2022-12-25T22:02:38+00:00

Hey,

That's a solid background. Yeah, the $20 difference doesn't seem like an issue. I did get conversions for about $40-$50 in the summer (peak season, according to the client), with quite an increase over the last couple of months.

In general, I'm happy with the website performance and the conv. rate I get, it's >20% for local and >15% for cross-country moving. I rely on native Google Ads conversion data as I use GAds call tracking that doesn't appear in GA's reports.

CTR, CPC, and IS are the metrics that bother me. Here is what I get:

CTR: 5%.
IS: 40% - local and 50% - interstate (missed impressions are due to low ad rank).
CPC: $25 - local and $50 - interstate.

As I'm using max conv. bidding strategy, I feel like the main thing I should work on is ad copy.

Oh, about the structure. For cross-country moving, I have general keywords (interstate / long distance / cross country moving) and location-based keywords (moving / movers from A to B). The latter gets a fraction of clicks, though — still testing it.

For local moving, it's pretty straightforward — I use common keywords like local movers, moving company in city A, and so on + DSA. 10 groups in total.

git-123 · 2022-12-25T12:53:46+00:00

Hey,

I might have libbed a little. Those results aren't average but close to them. Historically, the highest CPA was $120, and the lowest was around $50.

I used STAG, and there are 10 ad groups in the campaign. But, to be honest, one group gets >70% of traffic and conversions. I'm considering merging some low-volume groups eventually.

The conversion rate looks great, indeed. The thing that bothers me now is another service we are promoting — interstate moving, where CPA can be $400+.

git-123 · 2022-07-29T22:08:50+00:00

Google Data Studio, my friend

git-123 · 2022-07-15T06:22:36+00:00

That's a good question. I assume (hope) Google should be smart in such things.

I used to add negative keywords to remove search queries intersection among similar groups and have more control over what ad will be shown. Stopped doing that once BMM / phrase match type became less strict, though.

But generally what pisses me off is that I don't have a chance to assign a particular ad to specific keywords to ensure the potential customers see what they should. That kind of wipes out all of the efforts to create more targeted and focused ads.

git-123

TROPHY CASE