Perfection is an impossible ideal. The same goes for your Google optimisation score as a PPC advertiser. First, how would one define PPC? In Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, marketers pay Google for every ad users click on. Google offers an optimisation score to improve your account. To the untrained eye, a low score can be a huge cause of concern. It is only natural to want to attain the ideal 100%, right? Not exactly. We’ll take a deeper look into why a perfect Google optimisation score may not be right for all advertisers.‍

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What is a Google Optimisation Score?

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The optimisation score is Google’s idea of how well your Google ad account is performing. The score is calculated based on how Google thinks you can improve your current metrics. Google can rank it anywhere from 0 to 100%.

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Here’s a rundown on common recommendations to improve your Google optimisation score.

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Automated bidding strategy - Google often advocates for an automated bid strategy. Google will adjust your bids based on two main strategies: target return on action and target cost per acquisition. Essentially, you are giving Google free reign to maximise target ROAs, or the highest return. Or you are allowing Google to do what they can with your budget for target CPAs for the most conversions. Machine learning algorithms learn your account over time.This way Google can optimise your Google ads campaign.

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Dynamic search - Using your website for content, Google’s dynamic search ads generate headlines. Headlines are generated in the moment of a Google search. Meaning, Google can match exactly the user’s search query for the most relevant ad.

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Affinity Marketing - Google allows advertisers to layer in audiences for an airtight campaign. Affinity marketing gathers an audience of people with passions and lifestyles in tune with your offering. For example, in display marketing, you can retarget an ideal audience. You can reach people who are actively aligned with your offering based on their interests and past interaction with your site.

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The Problem

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On paper, all these optimisations sound excellent. Who wouldn’t want Google to make your life easier and take control? As a PPC advertiser, you shouldn’t take the bait without consideration.Only you know what works best for your campaign, so it’s best to take all of these recommendations with caution.‍

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Bid Strategy

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Your bid strategy is relative to your overall campaign. If Google’s automated bidding strategy is applied, you might blow half your budget in days. It could be difficult to explain to a client that their biggest budget killer is Google! Bidding is too important to put solely into Google’s hands. Search volume, the average cost per click in your area, and other factors determine what is best for your strategy.

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Dynamic Search Ads

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Dynamic search ads sound intriguing. These dynamic ads can be a good strategy if you have a massive and specific inventory of items. However, most other businesses with a particular product or service do not need them. You lose control of advertising messaging when giving total control to Google.

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Affinity Marketing

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Depending on your campaign, affinity marketing could be useful for ad optimisation. However, when handling a Google search campaign, you may want to reach people higher in the funnel. Not everyone fits into a neat audience for Google search. There are people capable of being reached and converted through a Google search ad.

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Optimisation Score Conundrum

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Clearly, the optimisation score is complex. The main issue with Google’s advertising optimisation score all goes back to overspending. Remember that Google is a business trying to maximise its own profits within paid media accounts.

Another peculiar feature of Google’s optimisation score is its arbitrary nature. A user can go through recommendations and decide none are a good fit. From there, you could dismiss every single recommendation…and raise your optimisation score! Clearly, some elements of this “Google score” are not worth fretting about.

This isn’t to say that Google’s optimisation score is useless. Google has a type of recommendations for repairs. You are alerted if an element of your account is broken. This is useful information!

Google also alerts users of new features with the Google optimisation score. For example, a new ad extension. Read through these recommendations, but don’t dwell on them.

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The Google Optimisation Score Takeaway

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PPC management requires confidence. It is initially difficult to learn how to optimise Google shopping, paid search, or display ads. As a Google ads user, you should know to trust your gut. Only you know (or your PPC agency!) knows how to best optimise your Google ads campaign.There is no need to strive for Google’s idea of perfect Google ads optimisation when your campaigns are driving revenue.