8. Target Impression Share Target Impression Share is one of the relatively newer bidding strategies, having come out of beta in 2018. With Target Impression Share, advertisers set a goal impression share percentage in the same way you would set a target CPA for that bidding strategy. There are three placement options for bidding with Target Impression Share: Absolute Top of Page Top of Page Anywhere on the Page Each of these will tell the Google algorithm different things about your preferences, and it will adjust bids accordingly. Advertisers are also able to set a max CPC bid with Target Impression Share bidding to help guard against overspend, but Google cautions against setting it too low and throttling performance.     Cautions for Target Impression Share Like any other bidding strategy, this one has the potential to increase your bids beyond profitability level if you’re not careful. This strategy is focused on awareness and reach (though it can be used for performance), but there are still limits to what makes sense monetarily for your campaigns. Keep an eye on CPC Always set a max CPC bid to ensure you don’t pay too much for any individual click. Although Google cautions against it, don’t worry about setting this bid too low to start. Try setting it at a percentage increase over your current bid of 20%-50%. If that works well, then leave that cap. If you’re not seeing the volume you’d like, increase the max CPC. Very few auctions will actually see 100% coverage anymore. So although you set a target to 100%, don’t be surprised or frustrated if you show up closer to 95% as a top achievable number. Always keep an eye on CPCs and performance outcomes to ensure this bidding strategy is achieving your goals before continuing with this strategy.

5. Don’t neglect impressions Small business owners are quick to focus on the bottom line. Understandably so. However, while there are many PPC metrics that can tell you how well you’re using your ad spend, there is one metric that sadly gets overlooked. If you want local awareness, your impression share in the local market matters. Use tools like Google Trends to identify searches that are popular within your local community and target keywords associated with those searches with your Google Ads. Don’t be disappointed if you’re only pulling in impressions, that’s still a win for a small business!

2. For best performance, highlight something different in each headline & description Avoid repetitive and boring variants of the same headline. Google actually won’t even show your responsive search ad if your headlines or descriptions are too similar! Use your creativity and highlight different value props, offers, and calls to action with each element of your responsive search ad. Be sure to include a top keyword in at least 2 of your headlines. Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion to insert your Keywords into responsive search ads. Be sure to have at least three headlines that do NOT include your keywords. This will prevent your ads from becoming overly repetitive and allow you to highlight more value to searchers. Have headlines & descriptions of different lengths. This will increase the likelihood of you serving a third headline or second description. Don’t try to maximize the character count in each element every time. A good responsive search ad has a lot of unique messages that can be combined. Avoid repetitive language or the same call to action!

For this example, I used Template #1 from Step #2 to create my ad, which is: Keyword focused – Call to action – Price comparison Each headline that is keyword-focused is pinned into Headline position #1, calls to action are in Headline position #2, and price comparisons are pinned in Headline position #3. As you can see above, you can pin multiple components into the same placement, but the key here is to make sure you pin appropriately. If you pin at least one headline into all three headline placements, then leave other headlines unpinned, those unpinned headlines will not be used. So to employ this strategy appropriately, pin every headline.

Responsive search ad copy best practices To fully understand this strategy, you’ll want to make sure you know RSA best practices. You can find them all in this responsive search ad 101 post, but here are the basics: Don’t use the bare minimum. Use at least 8-10 of the 15 headlines, and at least three of the four descriptions available to you. Keep your headlines distinct. Google will not show similar variations. Don’t put keywords in every headline. At least three of your headlines should not be keyword-focused (i.e., shares a feature, benefit, or CTA). Pin sparingly. Over-restricting can limit Google’s ability to maximize your ad combinations and performance. Vary headline lengths. This will allow Google to show ads with two or three headlines, so don’t use all 30 characters for all headlines.

results for our clients! Primarily though, you could sum us by saying that we work with businesses to optimise their online presence. We do this through the art of digital strategy, which includes website design and building, SEO work, social media management, copywriting, and much, much more.

Now you have the extension up and