--- name: ppc-paid-search description: Manage pay-per-click advertising campaigns across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and other search platforms including keyword strategy, ad copy creation, bidding optimization, and performance analysis. Use when creating search ad campaigns, optimizing PPC performance, managing ad budgets, conducting keyword research for ads, or analyzing paid search ROI. Triggers on phrases like "PPC", "paid search", "Google Ads", "adwords", "search advertising", "cost per click", "ad rank", "quality score", "bidding strategy", "paid search ROI". --- # Paid Search & PPC Management Maximize ROI from paid search advertising through strategic campaign management and optimization. ## Workflow ### 1. Campaign Strategy & Planning 1. **Campaign objective setting**: - Objective definition (awareness, traffic, leads, sales, calls) - Budget allocation by campaign, ad group, and keyword - Geographic and demographic targeting - Device and network targeting strategy - Conversion goal definition and tracking setup 2. **Account structure design**: - Campaign organization by product, service, or objective - Ad group structure (STEA: Single Theme Ad Groups) - Keyword grouping strategy (tight thematic relevance) - Negative keyword list development - Landing page mapping 3. **Keyword research for paid search**: - Keyword discovery (Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush) - Match type strategy (exact, phrase, broad, broad match modifier) - Search volume and competition analysis - Cost-per-click estimation and budget planning - Commercial intent keyword prioritization ### 2. Ad Development & Creative Strategy 1. **Ad copy development**: - Responsive search ad (RSA) creation - Headline variation development (15 headlines per RSA) - Description optimization (150 characters, benefit-focused) - Call-to-action optimization - Ad personalization and dynamic keyword insertion 2. **Ad extension strategy**: - Sitelink extensions (key pages and offers) - Callout extensions (unique selling points) - Structured snippet extensions (product/service categories) - Call extensions (phone number, call tracking) - Location, review, and price extensions 3. **Landing page alignment**: - Ad-to-landing page relevance optimization - Message match and continuity - Landing page conversion optimization - Quality Score improvement strategy - A/B testing landing pages ### 3. Bidding & Budget Optimization 1. **Bidding strategy selection**: - Manual CPC (control, learning phase) - Target CPA (conversion cost optimization) - Target ROAS (revenue return optimization) - Maximize conversions/conversion value - Enhanced CPC (balanced automation) 2. **Bid management and optimization**: - Keyword-level bid adjustment - Ad schedule bid adjustment (dayparting) - Device bid adjustment - Location bid adjustment - Audience bid adjustment (remarketing, similar) 3. **Budget management and pacing**: - Daily and monthly budget setting - Budget pacing and spend monitoring - Budget reallocation between campaigns - Shared budget vs individual budget strategy - Seasonal and event budget adjustment ### 4. Campaign Optimization & Testing 1. **Continuous optimization routine**: - Search term analysis and negative keyword addition (weekly) - Keyword performance review and bid adjustment (weekly) - Ad performance testing and creative refresh (bi-weekly) - Landing page performance review (monthly) - Audience and demographic optimization (monthly) 2. **Quality Score improvement**: - Expected CTR improvement (ad relevance, ad extensions) - Ad relevance improvement (tight ad groups, keyword matching) - Landing page experience improvement (relevance, speed, mobile-friendly) - Quality Score monitoring and trending - QS impact on CPC and ad position analysis 3. **A/B testing framework**: - Ad copy testing (headlines, descriptions, CTAs) - Landing page testing (layout, copy, form, offer) - Bidding strategy testing - Audience targeting testing - Statistical significance and test duration ### 5. Performance Analysis & Reporting 1. **KPI tracking and analysis**: - Impressions, clicks, CTR, CPC - Conversions, conversion rate, CPA - Revenue, ROAS, return on ad spend - Impression share, absolute top impression share - Search lost impression share (budget vs rank) 2. **Attribution and cross-channel analysis**: - Attribution model selection and impact - Multi-touch attribution analysis - Assisted conversion analysis - Paid vs organic overlap analysis - Cross-channel contribution assessment 3. **Reporting and presentation**: - Weekly performance snapshot - Monthly performance report - Campaign optimization recommendations - Budget reallocation proposals - Strategic insights and opportunities ## Templates & Frameworks ### PPC Campaign Structure Template ``` PAID SEARCH CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE =============================== ACCOUNT STRUCTURE: Account → Campaign: [Product/Service Line] — [Objective] → Ad Group: [Specific Feature/Use Case] → Keywords: [5-15 tightly themed keywords] → Ads: [2-3 Responsive Search Ads] → Negative Keywords: [Campaign-level and Ad Group-level] → Landing Page: [Dedicated, relevant URL] CAMPAIGN ORGANIZATION: Brand Campaign: [Brand keywords — high priority, exact match] Product A Campaign: [Product A keywords] → Ad Group: Product A — Feature X → Ad Group: Product A — Feature Y → Ad Group: Product A — Pricing Product B Campaign: [Product B keywords] Service Campaign: [Service keywords] Generic/Consideration Campaign: [Industry, category keywords] Competitor Campaign: [Competitor brand keywords — if strategy allows] Remarketing Campaign: [RLSA, dynamic remarketing] MATCH TYPE STRATEGY: Brand keywords: Exact match High-intent commercial: Exact + Phrase Consideration/awareness: Broad match (with smart bidding + negatives) New keyword testing: Phrase match initially, expand if performing NEGATIVE KEYWORD STRATEGY: Account-level: Irrelevant terms, free, download, jobs, review Campaign-level: Competing products/services, different intent Ad Group-level: Different features, different use cases Search term review: Weekly addition from search term report BUDGET ALLOCATION (EXAMPLE): Brand: 20% (high conversion, defend presence) Product/Service: 50% (primary revenue driver) Generic/Consideration: 20% (top of funnel growth) Remarketing: 10% (conversion optimization) ``` ### PPC Weekly Optimization Checklist ``` WEEKLY PPC OPTIMIZATION CHECKLIST ================================== SEARCH TERM ANALYSIS: [ ] Review search term report for all campaigns [ ] Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords [ ] Identify high-performing search terms for keyword promotion [ ] Check for wasted spend on irrelevant matches KEYWORD PERFORMANCE: [ ] Review keywords with high spend, low conversion [ ] Pause or reduce bids on underperforming keywords [ ] Increase bids on high-ROAS keywords [ ] Check for keywords ready to promote (search term → keyword) [ ] Review keyword match type performance AD PERFORMANCE: [ ] Review RSA performance (headline, description combinations) [ ] Pause underperforming ad variations [ ] Identify winning ad combinations for learning [ ] Check ad strength scores [ ] Refresh ads with low CTR (< industry average) BID & BUDGET: [ ] Check budget pacing (on track for monthly target) [ ] Review bids for keywords approaching/exceeding target CPA [ ] Check ad schedule performance — adjust if needed [ ] Review device performance — adjust bids if needed [ ] Check location performance — adjust if needed QUALITY SCORE: [ ] Check QS for keywords scoring < 5 [ ] Identify QS improvement opportunities [ ] Review expected CTR, ad relevance, landing page experience CONVERSION TRACKING: [ ] Verify conversion tracking is firing correctly [ ] Check for missing or duplicate conversions [ ] Review conversion value accuracy [ ] Validate attribution window consistency REPORTING: [ ] Update weekly performance dashboard [ ] Document optimization actions taken [ ] Identify opportunities for next week [ ] Flag issues requiring strategic review ``` ## Integration Points - Google Ads: Primary search advertising platform - Microsoft Advertising: Bing and Yahoo search advertising - Conversion tracking (Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4): Conversion measurement - CRM platforms: Lead quality and pipeline tracking - Analytics platforms (Google Analytics): Traffic and attribution analysis - Bid management tools (Optmyzr, WordStream, Skai): Automated optimization - Landing page platforms (Unbounce, Instapage): LP testing and optimization - Call tracking (CallRail, Invoca): Phone conversion attribution ## Edge Cases - **Low search volume markets**: Broad match with smart bidding; related audience targeting; content marketing to build search demand; long-tail keyword expansion - **Highly competitive keywords**: Ad copy differentiation; landing page optimization; quality score improvement; long-tail alternative targeting; audience refinement - **Brand protection campaigns**: Exact match brand keywords; competitor monitoring; ad scheduling; search term analysis for brand mention capture - **Multi-location local search**: Location extension management; local keyword targeting; location-specific ad copy; landing page localization - **E-commerce paid search**: Shopping campaign management; dynamic product ads; product feed optimization; remarketing for abandoned carts ## Output ### Paid Search Dashboard ``` PAID SEARCH PERFORMANCE — April 2025 ====================================== SPEND & RETURNS: Total ad spend: $47,200 Total clicks: 18,420 Avg CPC: $2.56 (↓ $0.12 from last month ✓) Total conversions: 2,340 Conversion rate: 12.7% ✓ CPA: $20.17 (↓ $1.80 from last month ✓) Revenue attributed: $187,400 ROAS: 3.97x ✓ CAMPAIGN PERFORMANCE: Brand: Spend $9,400 | Conv: 847 | CPA $11.10 | ROAS 6.2x ✓ Product: Spend $23,600 | Conv: 1,023 | CPA $23.07 | ROAS 3.8x ✓ Generic: Spend $9,400 | Conv: 342 | CPA $27.49 | ROAS 2.9x Remarketing: Spend $4,800 | Conv: 128 | CPA $37.50 | ROAS 4.1x KEYWORD METRICS: Total keywords: 1,240 Keywords generating conversions: 687 (55.4%) Top keyword: "[primary keyword]" — 234 conv, ROAS 5.1x New keywords added: 47 Keywords paused: 23 QUALITY SCORE: Avg Quality Score: 7.2/10 ✓ QS distribution: 8+ (42%), 6-7 (35%), <6 (23%) QS improvement (this month): +0.3 avg CPC reduction from QS: 18% vs last quarter IMPRESSION SHARE: Total impression share: 67% Absolute top IS: 42% Search lost IS (budget): 12% Search lost IS (rank): 21% Opportunity: Increase budget by 15% to capture 8% more IS AD PERFORMANCE: Avg CTR: 6.8% ✓ Ad strength (RSA): Good (avg) Top performing headline: "Free Trial — [Benefit]" Extensions utilization: 94% ✓ MONTHLY OPTIMIZATION ACTIONS: Negative keywords added: 89 Bid adjustments: 234 Ads refreshed: 12 Landing pages tested: 4 Budget reallocations: 6 ``` ## Trigger Phrases "PPC", "paid search", "Google Ads", "adwords", "search advertising", "cost per click", "ad rank", "quality score", "bidding strategy", "paid search ROI", "ROAS", "ad copy", "keyword match", "search term", "conversion tracking"