It sounds like we're making it up, right? One single change and a client's AdWords conversions suddenly increase exponentially - well, it really happened! We're going to walk you through our thought process, experiment, and take a deeper look at the crazy results. But, before we get into the specifics and provide Google AdWords tips - let's chat about two topics of interest that brought this case study to fruition.
Running An Experiment In AdWords
If you haven't run an experiment in AdWords, then your PPC AdWords management skills are about to drastically increase. Rather than making several educated decisions in your account throughout the span of a campaign and trying to decipher which change is responsible for making a dip or spike in your conversions, you should focus on experimenting one single change at a time so the correlation is clear.
AdWords enables PPC managers to create an experiment, allocate the split budget for the test and original campaign (50/50 budget recommended), and set a duration of time. You can check on your experiment during the duration of the test and either apply the changes to the original campaign or discard them if you didn't see much success.
The Latest Bidding Method: Maximize Conversions
Last May, AdWords released a new smart bidding method (Maximize Conversions) that is fully automated (hallelujah), so we had to test if the hype was real. This automated bidding method prioritizes getting the most amount of conversions possible while using the entire daily budget and determines when to bid up or down based on historical data in your account. Basically, this method is more concerned with conversion volume rather than investment goals which is right up our client's alley.
Our Experiment: Enhanced CPC Vs. Maximize Conversions
Our client's search network campaign had been running on Enhanced CPC which is a semi-automated bidding method that requires a PPC manager's watchful eye. We wanted to test if a fully automated bidding method which was focused on maximizing conversions could not only save time on our end but also provide fruitful results for our clients. We ran the experiment for a week and realized there was simply NO competition:
One Week Results:
Typically, we run our experiments for two weeks or so in order to gather enough data to make a decision. However, we cut this experiment short because the proof was in the pudding - Maximize Conversions bidding method beat Enhanced CPC by a landslide!
Month Vs Month Results:
January Results (Using Enhanced CPC)
February Results (Using Maximize Conversions)
Side-By-Side Comparison
Conclusion: Maximize Conversions Bidding Method Increased Conversions By 133.96%
Now that is what we call a successful experiment! By testing out a new bidding method, we were able to capitalize on a gold mine. The new bidding method won by a landslide - we have seen a $46 drop in cost/conversion, $3.00 decrease in cost per click, and 31 additional conversions month over month.
Maximize Conversions lowered our usual CPC of $5.00+ to anywhere from $1.50 - $2.50 per click. This resulted in a drop in our paid position and CTR (we’re appearing 2nd or 3rd now), but a major influx of clicks as our budget was able to support MORE clicks. Although we sacrificed being at the top of the paid rankings, we are doing so much better by lowering our CPC, lowering our cost/conversion, and increase the number of people visiting our site. SUCCESS!
Read through some of our other case studies to discover more Google AdWords tips from our PPC management team. If you're wanting to see your campaign experience success as mentioned above, schedule a free consultation with our Director of Marketing, Sara McFarland, and discuss how Atlantic Health Solutions can integrate seamlessly into your business.
Morgan Rudd
Creative Marketing Manager
Morgan is the head of our Paid Search Management and Graphic Design departments at Atlantic Health Solutions, a boutique healthcare marketing agency specializing in digital and creative marketing.