This post is the second in a series of “how do I say this” for PPC professionals. Pulling from my 25 years in business, I’m offering my thoughts on how I might handle specific situations. All suggestions offered here are just that – suggestions. Only you know what is best in your specific situation.
Time to deal with another common and sticky client or stakeholder situation – how do you handle it when a client or stakeholder is being insistent on doing something in the account that you know will either not work or negatively impact the account’s performance.
This one can be really tricky! Especially if the person really, really, really wants you to do something. People get dug in on the weirdest stuff sometimes and no amount of reasoning will move them off their idea. If you find yourself in this situation, my best advice is to document your objections and then do what they ask.
So, for example, let’s say that a client or stakeholder is insisting that you test broad match in Google Ads. They are reading all the information being pushed by Google and think that they are missing the boat by not doing broad match in their account. I would lay out why I had not already done this in their account. And that may sound something like this:
Broad match and automated bidding is a strategy that can work well in some accounts. Based on available case studies and knowledge shared among PPC professionals, those types of accounts tend to be large volume accounts that are e-commerce in nature. Your account, in contrast, is lead generation oriented and lower volume. In accounts like yours, broad match often does not have the runway to find efficiency. And that is why we generally do not test it at any type of scale for accounts like yours.
You have laid out why doing this particular thing is not the right move for their specific account. But they might say, basically “I hear you, but I want to do it anyway.” In which case, you are going to have to do it in some way, shape or form.
Continuing this example, if my client were to insist on testing broad match over my objections, I would agree to do it, but I would reiterate my concern about its performance potential when I agreed to do it. That might sound like this:
Per your direction, we will set up a test using broad match in your account. My original concerns remain in pursuing this strategy in your account, so we will utilize a pilot method for this testing. We will select x number of terms to test as broad match versions (you can set this amount based on the size of your account) and place them in a separate ad group in the (abc campaign). We will let the test run for 30 days and evaluate the results at that time to see if it makes sense to continue the experiment.
Please be aware that this type of testing, if not assigned its own budget, can negatively impact keywords which are currently performing well, as broad match terms can quickly eat up budgets.
With your written approval (reply to this message may serve as that approval) we will create the new ad group and activate it as quickly as our production schedule allows.
The key in any situation like this is to make sure that you have voiced your concerns in writing to the client or stakeholder. And, reiterated that when you agreed to do what they are asking you to do. That will minimize the chances of things blowing back negatively on you when it plays out like you suspected it would. At least if you do it this way, you have something to point back to if it goes poorly and/or if previous performance takes a hit during the experiment/test period.
It can be hard when clients or stakeholders regularly insist on inserting themselves into your account management. Remaining professional and using data will always be your most effective option. Remember – nothing proves your case like data! So, if you must do something you disagree with, document everything so you can’t be falsely blamed if things go poorly.