How can you use SEM performance data to schedule ads more effectively?

I found that identifying goals and metrics helps align ad scheduling with business objectives, optimizes resource allocation, considers target audience behavior, helps analyze and optimize performance, and increases cost efficiency. It enables informed decisions, better ad campaigns, and improved outcomes.

In a day and age where CPCs are slowly being inflated, if one of your primary metrics is that of (lowering) CPC, then manual scheduling of ads, needs a rethink. On the other hand, if your goal is to maximize profits, then you must derive optimal CPA and ROAS estimates, based on a multitude of factors. Note that the same metric may change from a first-time visitor (to a repeat visitor); time of the year, and so on. Based on the above, 'goals' must be cherry-picked and then configured on Google Analytics, not to mention primary/secondary 'conversions' on Paid Ad platforms.

Knowing when to run your PPC ads is critical. By analyzing click-through rates, conversion rates, weekday vs weekend performance, hourly metrics, audience behaviors and seasonal trends, you can optimize your ad schedules for better results. Schedule more ad impressions during high-performing days/times. Adjust weekday vs weekend budgets based on conversions. Reduce spend during low-performing hours; increase during peak hours. Align schedules with your audience's buying habits. Optimize around key seasons, dates, and events. Continuously review and update schedules based on the latest data. Getting your PPC ad schedule optimized can drive more qualified traffic, higher CTR, lower costs, and greater ROI

As a best practice we need to understand our business objective first then implement that into a campaign with a consideration of budget, targeted audience. Get more insight from other similar campaign with a good performance. Find out which one works better, in terms of ads materials (text, image or video), ad rotation, impression share, budget optimization and any metrics that help us to increase the performance.

Getting your SMART goals in place is the first step of any strategy. The next step would be to align these goals with the business’ KPIs to get the most out of your marketing efforts. It’s best to focus on the overall ROI as well as CAC and LTV.

Did you know that if you import your conversion data to Google Ads from GA4, you may end up with quite confusing data? Usually the conversions recorded by Google Ads appear much lower (even 30 % lower I've seen) than the ones in GA4 even if the linking itself is fully correct. This is due to the fact that there is a considerable lag in how fast the GA4 conversion data becomes available for Google Ads. This in turn results in confusing figures and may even affect your optimization within Ads when you operate with flawed numbers. Instead use the native Google Ads conversion tracking pixels and you should see better accuracy of numbers.

In the past, I would look to see when we're seeing conversion spikes or drops then compare that with when conversions (purchases, or form submissions) were taking place organically on the website without ads. A drop in search ad conversions during your natural busy times could signal that you are being outbid by your competition. A spike in organic search could mean that its a great time to run more ads. Sometimes the results can be surprising and take place in odd hours; for instance e-commerce purchases can surge in the evenings and late hours (after work or when parents put children to sleep) or hotel bookings can surge on the weekends when people are able to make more plans.

Analyzing historical data helps me evaluate past performance, identify trends, understand target audience behavior, optimize ad scheduling, learn from mistakes, and allocate budgets wisely. By leveraging historical data, advertisers can make data-driven decisions, maximize performance, and improve their ROI.

Scrutinize past SEM data to discern patterns or trends in ad performance. Identify which ads, keywords, and schedules yielded the best results in terms of your established KPIs to inform future ad scheduling and strategy development.

The secret to success lies in leveraging historical SEM data. Thoroughly scrutinizing the performance data of your ads empowers you to tailor your campaigns to match the preferences of your target audience. This data is invaluable for identifying campaign trends, pinpointing the most effective ad copy and imagery, and understanding your audience's behavior, including peak conversion days and hours. One of my personal favorites is delving into past A/B testing results from previous ad campaigns to gain a comprehensive understanding of every facet of the campaign. This is where you'll uncover hidden gems that will guide you in crafting high-performing calls to action, refining your copy style, and optimizing image and video performance.

I utilize data insights for ad scheduling to enhance targeting and its cost-effectiveness, as well as campaign performance. I’m able to target the right audience at optimal times and increase visibility and engagement. Ad relevance and quality score also benefit from aligning ads with high-engagement times.

For example, if you consistently see better CPA and ROAS on Mondays Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week from 7 pm to 11 pm and 12 pm to 4 pm, try scheduling your ads in these timeframes to lock in more efficiencies. These can be great ideas to test your hypotheses for ongoing SEM experiments too.

You can use your SEM data to optimize your keywords by adding new ones, pausing or deleting low-performing ones, or adjusting your match types and negative keywords. You can also use your SEM data to optimize your bids by setting them based on your goals, competition, and performance.

Leverage historical data insights to strategize your ad scheduling, pinpointing peak engagement times. Align ad timings with when your target audience is most active and receptive, thereby maximizing visibility and improving the efficacy of your SEM endeavors.

Testing and optimizing ad schedules helps me to allocate budgets more efficiently, target specific audiences, maximize ad visibility, and manage the competition. Identify the best days and times for ad placement, optimize for audience engagement, and make sure your ads are visible when your target audience is searching. This increases conversions and reduces wasted ad expenses. I can adapt to competition patterns, refine strategies, and make data-driven decisions for better campaign results.

Employ A/B testing for various ad schedules and analyze resulting data to determine optimal timeslots. Continuously refine your ad schedule based on ongoing data, adapting to shifts in user behavior and market dynamics to ensure sustained SEM effectiveness.

Some other factors to consider include the time of day, day of the week, geo-targeting, device targeting, seasonality, competition analysis, cost efficiency, and testing. I analyze peak hours and high-converting days, target specific locations and devices, adapt to seasonal trends, monitor competition, optimize cost per click/conversion, and conduct experiments to refine my ad schedule strategies.

- The first step is to thoroughly analyze SEM performance data, paying attention to peak traffic times, high-converting days, and user behavior patterns. - Based on this analysis, adjust ad scheduling to align with the times and days when the target audience is most active and likely to convert. This fine-tuning ensures ad budgets are used more effectively.

Data is your friend, you can splice and dice it so many different ways but learning your audiences is going to maximize your bidding and scheduling strategies more than anything else. If you’re targeting an audience for a video game designed for young adults, what times of day does it make sense to be running ads? If you’re targeting ads for meal prep service, what are some times this is a real pain point for people? (Maybe Sunday night when they didn’t have time to meal prep like they had planned?) make compelling ads to drive home that pain point and be the solution!

Ensure that your landing pages are congruent with ad content and optimized for conversions. Continually monitor budget allocation in relation to ad performance and be ready to adjust ad schedules to account for seasonality or changing market conditions.