How to Improve Your Google Ads Optimization Score
How to Improve Your Google Ads Optimization Score
Google Ads optimization score is a metric that measures how well your campaigns are set up and performing. It ranges from 0% to 100%, with 100% meaning that your campaigns are optimized to their full potential.
Optimization score is based on a list of recommendations that Google provides for each campaign. These recommendations are tailored to your account's performance history, campaign settings, trends across Google, and more. They can help you introduce new features, increase efficiency, and grow your business.
However, not all recommendations are equally relevant or impactful for your goals. Some may even conflict with your strategy or lower your return on ad spend (ROAS). That's why it's important to review and evaluate each recommendation before applying it.
In this blog post, we'll explain how to use Google Ads optimization score for your benefit, not Google's. We'll cover:
- How to access and interpret your optimization score
- How to prioritize and apply recommendations
- How to opt-in or opt-out of automatic recommendations
- How to track and measure the impact of recommendations
How to Access and Interpret Your Optimization Score
You can find your optimization score in the Recommendations page of your Google Ads account. You'll see an overall score for your entire account, as well as individual scores for each campaign.
The optimization score is calculated in real-time, so it may change as you make changes to your campaigns or as new recommendations are generated. The score also reflects the seasonality and market conditions of your industry.
Each recommendation has a percentage next to it, indicating how much it can improve your optimization score if you apply it. The percentages are based on historical data and projections, but they are not guarantees of performance.
You can also see the potential impact of each recommendation on your key metrics, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost. These estimates are based on the last 7 days of data and assume that everything else remains constant.
To view more details about a recommendation, click on View or Edit. You'll see a preview of the changes that will be made if you apply it, as well as an option to dismiss it if you don't want to see it again.
How to Prioritize and Apply Recommendations
Not all recommendations are created equal. Some may have a higher impact on your optimization score and performance than others. Some may align with your goals and strategy, while others may not.
That's why you need to prioritize and apply recommendations carefully. Here are some tips to help you do that:
- Start with the recommendations that have the highest percentage and potential impact on your optimization score and key metrics. These are usually the ones that address issues or gaps in your campaign settings, such as adding extensions, fixing disapproved ads, or updating bids and budgets.
- Next, look at the recommendations that can help you explore new features or opportunities, such as creating responsive search ads, adding new keywords, or using smart bidding strategies. These can help you expand your reach and optimize your performance, but they may also require more testing and monitoring.
- Finally, review the recommendations that can help you increase efficiency or save time, such as removing redundant keywords, pausing poorly performing ads, or opting in to automatic recommendations. These can help you simplify your account management, but they may also reduce your control or flexibility.
- Before applying any recommendation, make sure you understand what it does and why it's suggested. Check the preview of the changes and the estimated impact on your metrics. Compare it with your own data and analysis. If you're not sure about a recommendation, you can always test it on a small portion of your traffic or budget first.
- After applying a recommendation, track its performance and measure its results. You can use the History tab in the Recommendations page to see which recommendations have been applied and when. You can also use the Change history page to see how your account settings have changed. To evaluate the impact of a recommendation on your campaign performance, you can use reports and experiments.
How to Opt-In or Opt-Out of Automatic Recommendations
Some recommendations can be automatically applied to your campaigns without your manual approval. These are usually low-risk and high-reward recommendations that can help you save time and improve performance.
You can choose which types of recommendations you want to automatically apply by opting in or opting out of them. To do that, follow these steps:
- Go to the Recommendations page of your Google Ads account.
- Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner.
- Under "Automatic recommendations", you'll see a list of recommendation types that can be automatically applied, such as adding ad suggestions, adding keywords, or updating bids.
- Check the boxes next to the recommendation types that you want to automatically apply, or uncheck the boxes next to the ones that you don't want to automatically apply.
- Click Save.
You can change your preferences at any time. You can also review and undo any automatic recommendations that have been applied in the History tab.
How to Track and Measure the Impact of Recommendations
Applying recommendations can have a significant impact on your campaign performance and optimization score. That's why it's important to track and measure the results of your actions.
There are several ways to do that in Google Ads:
- Use the History tab in the Recommendations page to see which recommendations have been applied, when they were applied, and how they affected your optimization score and key metrics. You can also undo any recommendations that you don't want to keep.
- Use the Change history page to see how your account settings have changed over time, such as adding or removing keywords, changing bids or budgets, or enabling or disabling features. You can also compare your performance before and after a change using the Compare feature.
- Use reports and experiments to analyze and compare your campaign performance across different dimensions, such as time, location, device, or ad group. You can also use experiments to test different versions of your campaigns with different settings or features.
Conclusion
Google Ads optimization score is a useful tool that can help you optimize your campaigns and improve your performance. However, it's not a magic bullet that can solve all your problems. You need to use it wisely and strategically, taking into account your own goals and data.
By following the tips in this blog post, you can use Google Ads optimization score for your benefit, not Google's. You can prioritize and apply recommendations that are relevant and impactful for your campaigns, opt-in or opt-out of automatic recommendations that suit your needs, and track and measure the impact of recommendations on your results.
If you need more help with Google Ads optimization score or any other aspect of Google Ads, feel free to contact us. We're a team of experts who can help you create and manage effective Google Ads campaigns that drive results for your business.
