It’s no secret that pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns have become a vital part of digital marketing, thanks to their ability to offer businesses the opportunity to reach their audiences with precision and measurable outcomes. However, the effectiveness of a PPC campaign often hinges on one critical aspect—bidding. Even slight missteps in your bidding strategy can hinder campaign performance, wasting both time and budget. To help you maximize results, here’s a detailed look at the most common PPC bidding mistakes and how to steer clear of them.
Not Allowing Campaigns To Learn Before You Intervene
Every new PPC campaign starts with a learning phase—a period during which advertising platforms like Google Ads or Microsoft Ads gather data to optimize the campaign’s performance. This learning phase is crucial, but it often leads to one of the most frequent mistakes marketers make: intervening too early.
When you launch a new campaign, initial performance may seem unstable, leading some marketers to panic and make unnecessary adjustments. Changes during this phase can cause the campaigns to reset their learning process, effectively prolonging the time it takes for algorithms to optimize.
Imagine a student studying math; if their materials and guidance keep changing mid-study, the student will struggle to grasp foundational concepts. Similarly, constant tweaking of bids, keywords, or targeting during the learning phase disrupts the algorithm’s ability to “understand” your campaign.
Patience is key. Be sure to set up your campaign with the right parameters from the start, but then give it the recommended learning period—usually about 7–14 days—to see what happens. During this time, you should still monitor performance. That way, after this learning period is over, you’ll have more actionable insights to make data-driven decisions on optimizations.
Failing To Strike a Balance With Optimizations
After the initial learning period, optimization will become a vital part of maintaining PPC campaign performance, but finding the balance between acting too frequently and not acting enough is an art form. Adjusting too often—sometimes referred to as “overoptimization”—can harm long-term performance. However, neglecting regular optimizations can also result in missed opportunities or deteriorating results.
Think of your PPC account as a garden. Overwatering every day can drown the plants while forgetting to water leaves them dry and lifeless. Both extremes are detrimental. That’s why regularly scheduled reviews and optimizations based on real performance data are essential.
The secret lies in controlled adjustments. Create a periodic optimization schedule, perhaps weekly or every two weeks, depending on your campaign’s scale and budget. Stick to changes grounded in significant data trends rather than small, insignificant fluctuations, and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as cost-per-click (CPC), clickthrough rate (CTR), and conversion rates to identify clear patterns before making refinements. These strategic touchpoints help you align your optimizations with trends instead of chasing short-term anomalies.
Improper Setup When Establishing a Foundation for Effective Bidding
Your bidding strategy is only as strong as the foundation it rests on. Poor campaign setup is a common yet often overlooked mistake that can sabotage your bidding efforts from the start.
The importance of conversion tracking, audience segmentation, and account structure play a decisive role in how bidding algorithms interpret and execute your strategy. Without accurate conversion tracking, for example, algorithms cannot properly optimize your campaign for desired actions, such as leads, accurate call tracking, or purchases. Similarly, campaigns without a well-defined audience signal risk targeting irrelevant users…so get to know your audience.
It all boils down to the quality of your “build.” Just as building a house requires a solid foundation, designing your PPC campaigns requires careful attention to structure and signals. Review every critical component—conversion tracking codes, audience lists, and campaign objectives—to ensure adherence to best practices. Test your setup before going live to catch potential errors that might derail performance.
Forgetting To Align Bidding Strategies with Campaign Goals
A mismatch between your campaign objectives and your bidding strategy is one of the more common mistakes businesses make in the PPC bidding process. To avoid it, it’s best to start by giving your campaign a well-defined goal, whether it’s driving traffic, generating leads, increasing revenue, or building brand awareness. Then, make sure your chosen bidding strategy reflects that goal.
For example, if the primary goal is to raise brand awareness, using a bidding strategy focused on target return on ad spend (tROAS) can restrict impressions and visibility, defeating the purpose. Instead, a strategy like target impression share that maximizes brand exposure is a better fit. Conversely, campaigns geared toward conversions or ROI should leverage tROAS or maximize conversions bidding to focus on actions that directly impact revenue.
Before selecting a bidding strategy, clarify your campaign’s key objectives. Regularly evaluate whether the strategy and goals remain aligned, especially in response to market conditions or new data insights. Being intentional with strategy selection lays a strong groundwork for sustainable success.
Fearing To Test Outdated Strategies
The fear of failure often hinders PPC success, leading some marketers to stick with outdated bidding strategies long after they’ve outlived their usefulness. However, the nature of PPC is dynamic; algorithms, audience behavior, and best practices continually evolve. Avoiding experimentation out of fear of performance dips not only stifles growth but also limits the potential of your campaigns.
Testing new bidding strategies, tactics, and formats is essential. While not every test will yield positive results, every failure is an opportunity to learn what doesn’t work and refine future approaches. For instance, if you’ve always relied on manual CPC and are hesitant to switch to automated bidding, consider running an A/B test to compare the two. The insights gained can open doors to alternative strategies that better align with modern trends.
Remember, in the fast-paced world of PPC, staying stagnant is equivalent to falling behind. Adopt a mindset that values growth, iteration, and learning to maintain a competitive edge.
Ignoring Seasonality and Other External Factors
Too often, businesses optimize PPC campaigns without accounting for external factors like seasonality, competition, and user behavior. This rigidity leads to poor performance during peak seasons or lulls caused by market shifts (here are some super strategies for inspiration).
For example, a retail business running PPC campaigns during the holiday season will likely see a spike in competition and customer intent. A static bidding strategy fixed to pre-holiday data will struggle to align with increased demand and user behavior. Conversely, failing to tone down bidding after a seasonal boom can blow through budgets with minimal returns.
To avoid this mistake, take a proactive approach to seasonal changes. Use historical data to anticipate performance trends and adjust bids accordingly. Platforms like Google Ads provide tools such as “seasonality adjustments” to help account for short-term surges or declines in activity. Monitoring competitors and industry news can also provide insights into broader market conditions.
How You Can Quickly Improve Your PPC Success
Armed with this knowledge, you can understand that perfecting your PPC bidding strategy is an ongoing process that takes time and effort. While this is certainly something your business can achieve on its own, you may find you need to rely on the pros for help. This is where Logical Position comes in. We have a variety of PPC packages available to companies that need assistance with their advertising campaigns. Simply take the time to review what each one can do for you to decide which option is best for your business.
