to identify the root cause for PPC performance fluctuations //
Your PPC will eventually take a dive. You will probably face many crises once you have managed PPC campaigns for a long time.
It can be difficult to pinpoint the cause of an issue. Here are some ways PPC managers can use root cause analysis in order to resolve performance issues.
Root Cause Analysis for PPC Accounts
Root Cause Analysis is required to identify the factors that impact PPC account performance.
This process is a systematic way of identifying the problem and collecting data. Then, the data are analyzed to determine the root cause.
Here is a list of steps that you can use to perform root cause analysis on your PPC account.
Define the problem
Declare the problem clearly and explain its impact on PPC campaigns. Make sure that everyone understands the problem.
Gathering data
Collect data on the cause of your problem.
Identify possible causes
Consider all the possible causes. To identify the root causes, use fishbone diagrams or “Five Whys”.
Test for the cause
Analyze your data to determine which root cause is likely. Test your hypothesis using a solution that you implement and measure its effectiveness.
Use a solution
Implement a solution to address the root cause. Monitor your PPC results and make adjustments as necessary.
Document the entire process to learn from the mistakes and avoid them in the future.
This process can be used to solve almost any type of business problem. This process is most relevant for diagnosing PPC accounts.
How to get to the heart of your PPC campaign
In the third step of our root cause analysis, we mentioned ” The Five Whys Technique,” which is a tool that helps identify the underlying causes of a problem. This is a general principle which is applicable to our PPC process.
This technique asks “why” 5 times in order to get to the core of the problem. It is based on the belief that every issue has a deeper root.
Here is an example of a thought experiment when analyzing a PPC campaign:
- Between April 15th and April 18th, conversions fell by 25%. Why?
- Analyze PPC traffic. The traffic remained constant, while other metrics appeared to be stable. However, the average conversion rate decreased. There were also no notable changes in targeting, bid algorithms, or audience signals. Why?
- Website traffic is not a problem. Look at the website. The engagement metrics, such as bounce rate and the time spent on the site, look stable. Site engagement is stable, but the purchase rate has declined. Why?
- Ask the team that manages the website if there have been any changes made to the site. They did indeed make changes during this time. Why?
- A series of popular items were removed by the development team due to low stock. The team still had to give all teams a chance of being notified.
There are many ways to diagnose a PPC campaign. You can see that this process encourages account managers continue to dig for the best solution.
Isolating the affected timeframe
To identify and analyze an issue in a PPC campaign, the first step is to isolate the timeframe when a change took place.
It is easier to identify the cause of a problem and to develop a strategy for addressing it.
Account managers can analyze data thoroughly by narrowing the period and including keywords, landing pages, and ad copies to identify factors that contribute to the decline.
This analysis will help account managers to develop a customized strategy that will improve performance and avoid future declines.
Additionally, by separating the timeframe from the solution, search marketers can measure the efficacy of the implemented solution and ensure that performance is stable and positive.
Determine macro and micro issues
It is important to distinguish between macro- and micro-issues when analyzing the performance of a particular account.
Macro issues can affect your entire account, and may be caused by external factors like changes to search algorithms or new competitors. Macro issues can include:
- Ad messaging or targeting problems.
- Budget shortage
- Landing pages: Problems and solutions
Account performance can be significantly improved by resolving macro-issues.
Account performance can be affected by external factors, such as changes in search algorithms, user behaviour, and seasonal variations.
To determine potential problems within a PPC campaign, teams must consider these factors when developing an effective root-cause analysis process.
Micro issues, on the other hand are unique to a campaign and require a higher level of attention. Micro issues can include:
- Low click-through rate
- High bounce rates
- Low conversion rates
However, micro issues can be addressed to improve the performance of a campaign.
Root cause analysis tools for PPC
The root cause analysis framework is a great way to diagnose your PPC campaigns. You will require tools to activate this process.
Here are some tools to help you identify issues that arise in PPC.
History of account changes
You can usually trace a performance change to a particular campaign change. The account change history log is the first place you conduct your analysis within Google and Bing.
Account reporting
In our five-step procedure, you will need to isolate the affected timeframes and campaigns.
You can use your Google and Bing Adwords accounts to access the data you need for your root cause analysis.
Pair your account report to isolate the time and campaigns with your change history log to understand if a specific change is the cause of your issue.
Google Analytics
You should consider the trends of all digital channels when performing your root-cause analysis. Google Analytics can help you analyze all traffic sources including organic, paid, and social.
You can use Google Analytics to determine if there are multiple channels that have been affected.
Google Trends
We have already discussed how macro-trends influence account performance. Google Trends can help you understand the high-level trends in your industry/vertical.
The usefulness of this tool is variable. Google Trends offers the most data and is least customized to your account.
You can still use it to identify industry trends when you are conducting your analysis.
Analysing PPC issues in a systematic way
To identify the factors that affect PPC performance, a robust root cause analysis is essential.
PPC marketers who follow a systematic method of identifying problems, collecting relevant data, analysing it and determining its root cause can create a customized strategy to improve performance.
Remember not to panic when performance fluctuations occur (and they will). Instead, take a systematic approach to solving the problem.
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