3 Steps to Maximise Your Google Ads Performance
Are you finding it hard to align your online and offline strategies? Or dealing with separate KPIs and siloed teams? The key to unlocking growth is treating your channels as a united force. By using data from your stores in your performance marketing, you can create a powerful growth engine.
The profitable growth engine
If you’re not using offline data and omnichannel KPIs in your marketing, you’re missing a big opportunity to grow beyond traditional methods and gain an edge. We’ve developed a three-step strategy to help you make the most of your marketing and reach customers across all channels.
Define your “true” goal
Fuel Google AI with offline data
Find your most valuable customers
Define your “true” goal
To unlock omnichannel growth you need a holistic approach that paints a clear picture of your overall customer journey and total campaign effectiveness. You should stop relying solely on e-commerce KPIs, and instead define comprehensive business goals that encompass both online and offline sales channels. Develop a new KPI framework that integrates offline data points like in-store visits, in-store conversion rates and in-store sales alongside online metrics.
So, instead of using siloed e-commerce KPIs, you should emphasise total digital-influenced sales, encompassing both online and offline touchpoints to offer a more accurate metric of success in today’s omnichannel landscape. Once you have achieved this, you can train Google’s AI to deliver on your true business objective:
Drive Total Sales Growth: Increase total sales by X% over Y period by measuring both online (web & app) and in-store sales to get the full picture on total sales impact from your digital campaigns.
Fuel Google AI with Offline Data
Once you have your omni KPIs in place, it’s important to connect your first-party data to train Google’s AI. AI runs on data, so make sure to build a strong data foundation. Building, connecting and activating your first-party data in a privacy-first and -safe way is how you gain a competitive edge.
Failing to leverage your data, however, puts you at risk of encountering significant disadvantages, especially against competitors who are actively using the same AI tools to drive total sales. With everyone having access to similar technology, the true differentiator lies in who can harness the power of their data most effectively. Within omnichannel there are two important first-party data sources to integrate:
Find Your Most Valuable Customers
Find your most valuable customers by activating all media, across channels. Unify your customer data across online and offline channels to identify your most valuable customers. Use Google to target high-value individuals across platforms, driving omnichannel engagement. By leveraging your customer data across online and offline you can use different tactics to find your most valuable customers:
Segment your uploaded store sales data and tailor your message to e.g. returning or most loyal customers. By analysing demographics, interests and behaviour, you can create more targeted ad campaigns that resonate with your ideal customers, both online and offline.
Use Google’s automated Smart Bidding strategies, across channels, and factor in your in-store sales data. This allows the AI to optimise your bids based on the likelihood of driving a sale, either online or in-store, maximising your total omnichannel return on investment.
In short: By embracing offline data and breaking away from traditional commerce limitations, you can unlock major growth potential. Tear down those organisational barriers, adjust your performance KPIs, and focus on what really matters to your business – growing your total sales. Implement these strategies, and you’ll be well on your way to using Google Ads to drive growth and stay ahead of your competitors.
Want a real-life example of how to fuel Google Ads with offline data?
Explore how Matas tracks the customer journey from online interactions to in-store purchases, integrating this data into Google AI for optimised campaign effectiveness and improved ROAS.
This article was written based on the expertise of:
Omnichannel Retail Specialist, Google Northern Europe
Senior PPC Consultant, IMPACT Commerce
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