New SaaS Product Google Ads Campaign

=== BIDDING STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION ===

Recommended Strategy: MAXIMIZE CLICKS
Confidence: High

WHY THIS STRATEGY:
✓ New campaign with zero conversion history
✓ Need to build baseline data before Smart Bidding can function
✓ $75/day budget provides sufficient volume for data collection
✓ Free trial goal requires learning phase to optimize
✓ Cannot use Target CPA without conversion data (needs 30-50 conversions minimum)
✓ SaaS typically has longer consideration cycles - need time to collect data

STRATEGY DETAILS:
Phase: Data Collection & Learning
Duration: 4-8 weeks
Goal: Generate clicks and conversions to build Smart Bidding foundation for future optimization

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Week 1-2: CTR stabilization, initial click costs establish baseline
• Week 3-4: First trial sign-ups start appearing
• Week 5-6: Conversion rate patterns emerge
• Week 7-8: Sufficient data accumulated for smart bidding transition
• Target: Reach 30-50 total conversions before switching strategies

CONFIGURATION:

Set Up:

• Strategy: Maximize Clicks
• Max CPC bid limit: $4-6 (prevents runaway costs on competitive keywords)
• Network: Search Network only (no Display initially)
• Match types: Start with exact and phrase match only
• Geographic targeting: Focus on 3-5 key markets initially
• Ad schedule: Run 24/7 initially to gather data across all time periods

Starting Settings:

• Daily budget: $75
• Max CPC cap: $5.00
• Campaign priority: Standard
• Bid adjustments: 0% initially (let data guide you)

Monitor Daily:

• CPC (should stabilize at $2-4 for SaaS keywords)
• CTR (target 3%+ for branded, 1.5%+ for non-branded search)
• Clicks (expect 15-25 clicks/day at these CPCs)
• Quality Score (aim for 5+ within first 2 weeks, 7+ by week 4)
• Budget pacing (should spend full $75 daily)
• Search terms report (check for irrelevant queries)

Monitor Weekly:

• Total conversions (free trial sign-ups)
• Conversion rate (expect 3-8% for SaaS free trials)
• Cost per conversion
• Search impression share (lost IS budget vs lost IS rank)
• Landing page experience scores

TRANSITION PATH:

After 30-50 Conversions (Weeks 6-10):
Switch to: Target CPA Bidding

Calculate Starting Target CPA:

• Current monthly spend: $75/day x 30 days = $2,250
• Assumed conversions at that point: 40 trials
• Current CPA: $2,250 / 40 = $56.25
• Set Target CPA: $50-55 (at or slightly below current to drive efficiency)

Why Target CPA Next:
✓ Smart Bidding will have sufficient conversion data
✓ Free trial acquisition aligns perfectly with CPA optimization
✓ Can scale budget while maintaining efficiency
✓ Google’s algorithm can optimize bids across devices, times, audiences

Alternative Path (If Budget Increases):
If you increase budget to $150+/day before hitting 30 conversions:

• Consider switching to Maximize Conversions (no Target CPA set)
• This prioritizes volume over efficiency during growth phase
• Once data accumulates, move to Target CPA

WHAT TO AVOID:
❌ Don’t start with Target CPA (requires 30+ conversions minimum for learning)
❌ Don’t use Manual CPC (too time-intensive, requires constant monitoring)
❌ Don’t use Target ROAS yet (need to track trial-to-paid conversion value first)
❌ Don’t use Maximize Conversions without bid cap (budget too limited, no cost control)
❌ Don’t use broad match keywords yet (wait until Smart Bidding is active)
❌ Don’t make major changes during first 7 days (let algorithm stabilize)

MONITORING CHECKLIST:

Week 1:
[ ] CTR above 1.5% (if lower, improve ad copy)
[ ] CPC below $6 (if higher, add negative keywords or reduce max CPC cap)
[ ] Quality Score 4+ (if lower, improve landing page relevance)
[ ] Spending 90%+ of daily budget

Week 2:
[ ] CTR stable or improving to 2%+
[ ] Quality Score improving to 5+
[ ] Search terms reviewed, negatives added
[ ] First 1-3 trial sign-ups recorded (verify conversion tracking works!)

Week 4:
[ ] 10-15 conversions accumulated
[ ] Conversion rate pattern emerging (4-6%)
[ ] CPA trending in predictable range
[ ] Keyword performance data clear (pause low performers)

Week 6-8:
[ ] 30+ conversions total - READY FOR TARGET CPA
[ ] Consistent daily conversion volume
[ ] Stable CPA week-over-week
[ ] Quality Scores mostly 6-8+

RED FLAGS (Stop and Adjust):
🚨 CPC above $8 consistently (keywords too competitive, refine targeting)
🚨 CTR below 1% after Week 2 (poor ad relevance, rewrite ads)
🚨 Zero conversions after 4 weeks (conversion tracking broken or landing page issue)
🚨 Spending <70% of daily budget (targeting too restrictive, expand keywords)
🚨 Quality Score stuck at 3 or below (major relevance issues, rebuild campaign)
🚨 Conversion rate below 1% after 20+ conversions (landing page optimization needed)

OPTIMIZATION ACTIONS DURING DATA COLLECTION PHASE:

Weeks 1-2:

• Add negative keywords daily from search terms report
• Test 2-3 ad variations per ad group
• Monitor device performance (mobile vs desktop)

Weeks 3-4:

• Pause keywords with 0 conversions and high spend
• Increase bids on high-converting keywords by 10-20%
• Expand to phrase match for proven exact match winners
• Start building remarketing audience

Weeks 5-8:

• Analyze time-of-day and day-of-week patterns
• Apply bid adjustments based on device/location performance
• Prepare for Target CPA transition
• Document current CPA to set realistic target

EXPECTED PERFORMANCE MILESTONES:

Conservative Scenario:

• Clicks: 500-600/month (17-20/day)
• Conversions: 25-30 trials/month
• CPA: $75-90
• Conversion rate: 4-5%

Realistic Scenario:

• Clicks: 600-750/month (20-25/day)
• Conversions: 35-45 trials/month
• CPA: $50-65
• Conversion rate: 5-6%

Optimistic Scenario:

• Clicks: 750-900/month (25-30/day)
• Conversions: 50-60 trials/month
• CPA: $38-50
• Conversion rate: 6-8%

TIME TO FIRST RESULTS:

• First clicks: Day 1
• First trial sign-up: Days 3-7 (if later, check tracking)
• Pattern recognition: Weeks 3-4
• Smart Bidding ready: Weeks 6-10