At the moment of the takeover, our team noticed several technical errors. Even if the client wished to obtain contact forms or phone calls, Google Ads did not track these two events, and thus, the algorithm could not be optimized in this respect.
Another aspect that stood out was at a strategic level. The client was running Search campaigns, but all keywords were placed in the same ad group, so there was no clarity for the end client. Even if the Goole platform recommends that we have 10-15 keywords in an ad group, we do not stand by this strategy. Why? This is obvious – because we cannot have ads that cover such a widespread search base since the quality score of every word will be very low. A low-quality score will bring higher costs since it needs to compensate for the lack of quality.
In the case of Search campaigns, our specialists usually examine three quality indicators: Expected Click-Through Rate, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience. To get high quality for every indicator, we have created a set of procedures every specialist must follow. After they are implemented, we get an “average/above average” score.
It is very important to have high-quality scores because, during bidding, the algorithm determines the position of your ad according to the CPC Bid x Quality Score. Therefore, the first account modifications were made to the level of words and an ad group. Automatically, the quality score went up.
When the account was taken over, our colleagues identified several mistakes.
Being an industry where competition is fierce, with many developers present in the advertising space, Alphaville has enough confidence to allocate a much higher marketing budget. This is how goals were set higher compared to the previous period. The most important objective was lowering the cost per conversion, which had to stay under a monthly threshold of RON 300. Complementary to this objective, the expectation was that these Google Ads campaigns generate as many forms sent to potential clients for apartment purchases as possible.
The client was already running Google Ads campaigns, and the agency change could have automatically led to a period with fewer conversions. Since the client was using Google Ads to generate leads for the sales team, they quickly understood that there was no room for interruption, and our team just took up the campaigns and the account and ran with them. After solving the platform’s technical setup, we “cleaned” the main Search campaign without starting any new ones.
Each new campaign needs 14-21 days until it gets optimized and until it learns whom to display ads to – the well-known Learning period. Our colleagues created ad groups in the main campaign, each with a maximum of 10 keywords. The ads were written closely connected to the keywords, and the Landing Page was chosen according to the keywords.
After this campaign division, we very carefully followed the cannibalization of the ad groups. Where a group consumed its budget and generated results, it was taken out into a separate campaign.
After verifying these technical settings, we went into the market research phase, followed by the shaping of the marketing strategy. Since we had a good budget at our disposal, one that allowed us to structure campaigns this way, we focused on Search campaigns dedicated to each type of apartment, respectively, for general searches, which do not also contain the type of apartment (with the number of rooms), with a local, national and international target. Also, apart from these campaigns, whose purpose was to generate conversions, we created Awareness campaigns for the cold audience and Remarketing for those who went online but did not convert.
In both cases, we used Display and YouTube campaigns, and the difference was made in the creative content used according to the established goal. It is important that the visuals used for the cold audience, for example, be different from the ones used for the public who already knows the product/ service
(Google Ads :: Video preview demo – example of a video dedicated to the cold audience; Google Ads :: Video preview demo– example of video for remarketing).
Alongside this campaign, we also implemented a YouTube campaign with a dedicated video for those who see the purchase of an apartment as an investment opportunity. (Google Ads :: Video preview demo).
With this granular marketing strategy, we could see which types of apartments were in higher demand or which types of campaigns were responsible for more traffic on the website. With this data and knowing the direction we wish to take, scaling the account has become much easier, with more accessible goals.
Communication with the HOLD team is easy, as they are always open to using all existing channels, are solution-oriented, and are quick to solve our requests. I strongly recommend the HOLD Marketing services to those looking to work with a team they can trust. All the team members are well-trained, professional, and highly involved in what they do. The team is young, enthusiastic, and updated on everything new in their industry.
Sorin Trifu
Managing Partner
HOLD Marketing
