Note: Performance Max and OCT are excellent ad products for larger accounts with high conversion volumes.
However, SMBs without at least 30 conversions at the campaign level often don’t perform as well as traditional campaigns using form fills and phone calls.
I encourage testing these tools. If they work, great!
However, in most cases, a more human-centered approach will stretch small budgets further.
Dig deeper: Paid search for lead gen: Tips for new accounts with limited budgets
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Ecommerce for SMBs
Typical ecommerce advice for large-scale accounts often includes:
Building a branded campaign set to tROAS.
Creating multiple PMax campaigns segmented by top performers and the rest of the catalog.
Relying on Google’s AI to manage and optimize performance.
While this advice may work for larger accounts with diverse product types, profit margins, and higher budgets, it falls short for SMBs.
Performance Max’s bid algorithm must learn across the entire product catalog and all Google ad inventory, which is challenging for smaller businesses with limited budgets.
Instead of functioning primarily as a shopping campaign, PMax often ends up filling budget gaps, reducing its efficiency for SMBs.
So, what do I recommend?
My advice aligns with the approach I suggested for lead generation: focus on the core of your product offering and avoid over-relying on automation.
Build a branded search campaign on manual bidding
Use manual bidding or a CPC cap for branded campaigns.
Without this control, Google may overbid on terms like “brand name + coupon,” driving costs unnecessarily high.
Even though five dollars might not seem like a lot, when it amounts to 10 times the campaign’s average.
Small adjustments like using a CPC cap help control costs without sacrificing volume.
Build one generic search campaign with a few SKAGs focusing on exact match, set it to a conservative tROAS with a CPC cap
Like lead gen, this setup reduces irrelevant, high-CPC broad match traffic, often arising from automated systems lacking sufficient signal volume.
In the example above, the ecommerce firm doesn’t sell rain-related or similar products.
Build one feed-only PMax campaign targeting the entire catalog or standard shopping with tROAS and a dynamic remarketing campaign
Focus on shopping investment through either feed-only PMax or standard shopping combined with tROAS and a remarketing campaign.
If tROAS targets are the same, use a single campaign to aggregate data, which will allow the algorithm to learn more effectively.
Avoid spending time trying to “learn” how to leverage PMax’s expanded inventory, as shopping is the core driver of its performance – unless it’s absorbing all your branded search volume.
Shopping delivers high ROI since clicks are prequalified by both the product image and price.
For example, in a search like “best running shoes,” you are likely to click only on listings whose style and price match your preferences.
Dig deeper: Lead gen vs. ecommerce: How to tailor your PPC strategies for success
Human touch excels for SMBs
To maximize PPC investment, SMBs are often more successful when prioritizing a human touch.
Limited data volume can restrict the benefits of machine learning, and small budgets can’t absorb costly mistakes an algorithm might make without context.
If your ad spend is $3,000 per month, avoid managing them like those with $300,000 monthly budgets.
Focus on what works, even if it means deviating from widely accepted industry best practices.
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