Are you feeling anxious as July 22nd approaches?
For those that don’t know, that is the date Google will automatically upgrade all legacy campaigns to enhanced campaigns. The unknown is often accompanied with anxiety and trepidation, but at Skai we believe that if you are prepared to answer the four questions below you will be ahead of the curve and back to enjoying your summer in no time!
1. When and where should I start?
As basic as it sounds, creating a migration plan that outlines key milestones with dates will keep your team on task. Planning will also help you identify any risks and isolate them (i.e. don’t enhance a campaign right before it is scheduled to end) and many Skai clients have taken a phased approach instead of upgrading everything at once. You might consider migrating small or uncomplicated campaigns in order to become familiar with the new enhanced features. You can also dip your toe in the water by migrating campaigns that won’t run on mobile devices and setting the mobile bid adjustment to -100%. It’s best to start early to allow time to uncover and address any unforeseen issues.
2. How do I direct traffic by device?
The easiest method is to use a server side redirect which will automatically detect and send the searcher to the appropriate site (mobile or desktop) based on the type of device they are on. This is ideal because it does not require managing two sets of landing page URLs. You can use Google preferred mobile ads if you do not have a server side redirect solution and are not using keyword level destination URLs. If needed, duplicate your “all devices” ads with “mobile preferred ads” and set appropriate landing pages at the ad level.
If you require keyword destination URLs and don’t have a server side redirect, use {ifmobile:}{ifnotmobile:} value track parameters to enter the appropriate landing pages for each mobile and desktop/tablet devices. If you use this method along with additional tracking parameters through an automated URL builder, be sure to confirm all parameters are compatible.
3. What should my mobile bid adjustment strategy be?
If you had separate bidding strategies for mobile and desktop campaigns previously, you should take those into consideration when setting your mobile bid adjustments. Skai has several bid policies that recommend mobile bid adjustments. The new bid policies use patent-pending Skai ActiveCluster™ technology, which allows you to implement advanced algorithm-based bidding on lower volume campaigns. These new policies are also specially tailored to maximize your return under enhanced campaigns.
4. How do I report by device with an enhanced campaign to gather insights for optimization?
Understanding performance by device will be key in optimizing enhanced campaigns. This information will give you proper insight into how to set your bid adjustments. One way to get this information is to use the {device} value track parameter which records the type of device that drives traffic and conversions. Skai supports this parameter in its tracking and reporting so that you can understand how various keywords and ads perform on each device. This powerful insight can truly make the difference in a post-enhanced campaigns world.
Taking these four areas into consideration will help you during your migration to enhanced campaigns.
So stop fretting and start planning!