A Comprehensive Guide to the Secret Sauce of PPC Success

Automation in SEM is a powerful tool that is continually growing and evolving. What began as basic bid rules have developed to cover almost all aspects of an account and campaign.

To be honest, many advertisers are scared of automation as they feel that it takes away some degree of control from them, or they cannot see everything that’s happening behind the scenes.

Nevertheless, these feelings are entirely logical and hence should not be disregarded. It’s natural for all of us to want to understand and trust the tools we use.

One way to build trust in automation and confidently utilize these tools is to zero in on Input, Output, and Results. More importantly to focus on leveraging automation consciously and on purpose – matching desired results to automation features.

Integrating intent with powerful automation and intelligent human input will result in the secret sauce that will help you and your campaigns thrive!

SEM Results

While goals and KPIs are excellent and crucial for marketing success all the way, they are not the entire picture. You need to think about some of those less tangible but probably more essential results you are driving towards by opting to implement automation in your marketing campaigns.

Perhaps you want to save some of your precious time (bid strategies, scripts, scheduled Google Import) or scale your business efficiently (auto-applied ad suggestions and Smart Campaigns)?

Maybe you have assigned yourself the job to augment your ad strategy to be more inclusive and connect deeply with your target audience (Responsive Search Ads)?

Or perhaps you wish to build the best keyword research machine around to boost your reach on search (Dynamic Search Ads)?

No matter what your desired result is, knowing what you want to accomplish in advance will help you:

• Match your results to automation features
• Finish the work of getting quality input ready
• Clearly define what output equals success

Input for PPC Automation

When it comes to automation, if there is one thing we have heard consistently, it’s that you will get out of it what you are willing to put in.

So the question is: what could your input seem like? Let’s see.

• Clearly defined goals and KPIs
• Ample data and time frame
• Effective ad messaging
• Powerful landing page copy

Let’s understand this with an example. Suppose you want to have lasagna for dinner, but you are able or willing to spend only 30 minutes cooking and using spaghetti noodles and ricotta cheese.

While there is a slight chance that you could get lucky and end up with a weird but delicious meal, let’s be real here. You will most probably wind up with some hot, terrible-tasting stuff on the table.

So the thing is, in order to get the desired output, your input must be sufficient.

Quantitative Output

Now, your input was of good quality. So, you can just set it and forget about it, isn’t it?

No! That’s not the way it works.

Yes, automation is about efficiency, but that does not imply that you get to take a back seat. Taking full advantage of automation features requires a little patience, iterative testing, and deep curiosity.

If results are qualitative goals, the output is quantitative in this context – insights gained, time, performance.

Did your overall performance trend up or down or remain constant?

Is automation saving your time and increasing your efficiency or acting as a time suck and blocker?

It is our responsibility to conduct a SWOT analysis and even mid-stream examinations to find out what worked well, what did not go well, and what needs to be improved moving forward.

Actual Examples of SEM Results, Input, and Output in Action

Thinking and talking in the abstract is one thing and doing the work is entirely a different thing.

So the real question here is: how to put the Results, Input, and Output concept into action? To understand this better, let’s take a look at a few examples:

Google Import

• Result: You want to save some of your time while managing your campaigns across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.
• Input: First, you need to set up Google Import, then schedule recurring imports, and finally set email alerts.
• Output: New ads, keywords, and campaigns created in Google will be automatically added to Microsoft Advertising. You will save X amount of time every week, month, etc.

Smart Campaigns

• Result: You want to grow your business online with minimum time and ongoing management so you can focus on managing your business.
• Input: Enter your business and billing details, set your advertising goals and basic ad copy in just a couple of minutes.
• Output: Automation drives quality traffic to your website, and precise, understandable results surface on demand.

Auto-Applied Ad Suggestions

• Result: You want to stay updated with the latest ad formats and optimize your ad copies with minimum impact on your time.
• Input: Analyze ad suggestions in the UI or analyze email notifications to accept suggested ad additions or revisions.
• Output: Better campaign performance (assess KPIs such as CTR, conversion rate, etc.), high-quality ads, and X amount of time saved

Responsive Search Ads

• Result: Let’s say you want to deliver search ads that are inclusive as well as let you learn what value-based messaging resonates genuinely with your target audience.
• Input: Pinpoint the words and phrases from the nine feelings of inclusion (hope, relief, acceptance, confidence, clarity, safety, zest, relaxation, celebration) or the three metaphors for inclusion (balance, connection, openness) that you want to test. Next, build Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) that test these words and phrases or metaphors across the 15 title slots and four body copy slots.
• Output: Utilize asset performance reports to find the title and body combinations that worked the best, build new ads to continue testing these themes, and spread this messaging to other aspects of your marketing efforts.

Wrapping It Up

Automation is, without a doubt, a powerful tool available at our fingertips. When we match that power with solid intent and follow-through, that’s when we achieve success. Understanding your desired results for using automation ahead of time, doing the work to give high-quality input, and analyzing the output to make decisions together makes the special secret sauce that we all need for PPC success. So now that you know this secret recipe, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and start cooking (or automating)!