It’s often hard to tell when you’ve missed an opportunity with your online ads. This is especially true when your reporting shows that they’re performing to your expectations. It might just be time to stop resting on your laurels and see what could be waiting out there for your ads.
Google’s Solution
Since 2009, Google has offered up an “Opportunities” tab in their interface.
The tab was recently revamped to provide a cleaner report. What was once a long list of plain text recommendations is now an infographic-lite layout that’s much easier to read and act upon. These recommendations range from simple budget fixes to full keyword recommendation lists.
A Real-World Example
In an effort to take my own advice, I looked at the opportunities tab for one of the search engine marketing accounts I run through Google. Here are a few of the findings:
Thankfully this isn’t news to me, as I (like all online marketers) am running to a consistent budget. However, that doesn’t mean I should just ignore this. If there are missed opportunities in this campaign, it might be worth shifting some budget around from another campaign that doesn’t perform as well.
This campaign runs on a nationwide basis, but Google knows where all of the traffic is coming from and how it’s converting for us. If you click on the “View opportunities” button you’ll get to some more specific recommendations.
By lowering my bids in low-conversion geographies, I can free up some money without sacrificing conversions. This could allow me to, for example, raise that budget in the first recommendation and drive additional conversions elsewhere.
Nobody’s Perfect
Do yourself a favor and check on your Opportunities tab occasionally. Every campaign could use a little tinkering from time to time, even if it’s performing to your expectations. The tools aren’t going to run your advertising program for you, but they might give you a few ideas here and there.
