- PPF Points
- 2,888
Man, if you've ever looked at your PPC bill and felt your soul leave your body for a minute, trust me, same. Watching that spend go up and conversion numbers basically tap out? Pure pain. But, hey, you can totally rein in those costs—without nuking your results or spiraling into a panic and rage-deleting all your ads. This is more “surgical snip” than “chainsaw massacre,” you know?
First thing I do, every time—check those search terms. Like, really comb through 'em. You’d be stunned (or maybe not, honestly) by the amount of cash Google gobbles up pushing your ads to people who have zero intention of buying from you. Seriously, negative keywords are basically a financial lifeline. For one client, I saved them over $1,200 a month just by telling Google “hey, stop showing us for these trash queries.” It's wild how much difference that makes.
Next, campaign structure: Oh boy. You run everything lumped together, and you’re begging for wasted dollars. I break things up by intent, products, sometimes even by device. That way I can yank down bids on the parts that aren’t working—like mobile, for example, if the site looks like a hot mess on someone’s phone. Little tweaks like that? Actual lifesavers.
And then there's Quality Score. People think their high CPC is because competitors are out to get them, but half the time it’s just because Google basically hates your ad relevance. So—tighten up that copy, match your keywords to the landing page, make it all feel like it actually belongs together… suddenly CPCs start behaving. I’ve seen 20-30% cuts after a round of relevance boosting, not even joking.
Oh, and don't get sentimental about your ads. I kill underperformers fast. If a headline or a landing page flops, it's gone. Every test is a shot at greatness—or at least slightly lower costs.
Here's a mental shift that took me a beat to really vibe with: stop obsessing over cost per click; start caring about cost per qualified action. Feels weird at first, but it forces you to stop trying to cast the widest net and instead focus on real results. Better targeting, tighter offers, messaging that doesn’t put people to sleep—actual improvements, not just box-ticking.
But hey, that’s my toolbox. What sneaky tricks have you picked up to keep PPC spend from trickling into the abyss?
First thing I do, every time—check those search terms. Like, really comb through 'em. You’d be stunned (or maybe not, honestly) by the amount of cash Google gobbles up pushing your ads to people who have zero intention of buying from you. Seriously, negative keywords are basically a financial lifeline. For one client, I saved them over $1,200 a month just by telling Google “hey, stop showing us for these trash queries.” It's wild how much difference that makes.
Next, campaign structure: Oh boy. You run everything lumped together, and you’re begging for wasted dollars. I break things up by intent, products, sometimes even by device. That way I can yank down bids on the parts that aren’t working—like mobile, for example, if the site looks like a hot mess on someone’s phone. Little tweaks like that? Actual lifesavers.
And then there's Quality Score. People think their high CPC is because competitors are out to get them, but half the time it’s just because Google basically hates your ad relevance. So—tighten up that copy, match your keywords to the landing page, make it all feel like it actually belongs together… suddenly CPCs start behaving. I’ve seen 20-30% cuts after a round of relevance boosting, not even joking.
Oh, and don't get sentimental about your ads. I kill underperformers fast. If a headline or a landing page flops, it's gone. Every test is a shot at greatness—or at least slightly lower costs.
Here's a mental shift that took me a beat to really vibe with: stop obsessing over cost per click; start caring about cost per qualified action. Feels weird at first, but it forces you to stop trying to cast the widest net and instead focus on real results. Better targeting, tighter offers, messaging that doesn’t put people to sleep—actual improvements, not just box-ticking.
But hey, that’s my toolbox. What sneaky tricks have you picked up to keep PPC spend from trickling into the abyss?
