Campaign Restructures: Overhaul for Results

By Alexis Vickery, Account Manager

Paid search campaigns evolve and progress as our goals shift throughout the lifetime of a marketing strategy. Like any other long-term endeavor, we need to continually access and reorganize to facilitate best results. And, to quote a great man, “information is only as useful as the actions that result from it”. By taking our data and knowledge from an account and acting upon it, we make informed decisions on how to organize our campaigns. Therefore, an account restructure creates an excellent opportunity to access, apply, standardize, and expand within our accounts and across search engines.

The first step to any change is accessing the situation at hand and the objective goals. Since there are many different strategies within paid search, consideration of the goal drastically changes the structure of a search campaign. Accessing the direct goal in mind, whether it be awareness or direct response, and how it correlates to the campaign performance will therefore highlight what changes need to be made.

Applying the guidelines for the restructure takes the goals and tactics into consideration and weighing it against performance data to generate a tailor-made model for the campaign in question. For example, taking into consideration the search volume of highly converting keywords can allow structural changes to be made that give top performers the highest budget, quality score, and share of voice. On the other hand, if other keywords drive large volume and budget spend, but with less direct conversions, grouping them in high volume, budget-capped campaigns with match type build-outs could drive more efficiency. Whatever the goal may be, structuring the campaign based on performance towards overall goals will improve results.

A standardized campaign across search engines creates an excellent environment to test and improve the account as a whole. Consistency within search campaigns across all partners generates efficiencies in testing, from creating the concept to applying the key takeaways to other mediums. Having this specific inventory across the board also allows for quick changes and updates in creative, keywords, or budget allocations. We all know that search engines have their own quirks and will behave (and perform) independently of each other, but having a common starting point to optimize from helps to illustrate these specific trends within a particular partner.

While we might like to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done after such a large restructure, we must remember the last step: expansion. Once a campaign has worked the kinks out of its structure and honed in on the core competency of the goal, the results can be replicated across various new partners or keywords. Building outward from solid, time-tested material will drive less inefficient “test” volume and instead work from a solution that has proven its worth in other situations.

By analyzing and reorganizing our account structure, we can apply the knowledge that we have worked hard to receive. A campaign restructure creates the opportunity to take a step back from the minutia involved in running a paid search campaign and take into consideration our goals. If we take the time to access, apply, standardize, and expand our accounts, we will see direct results in what is most important.