It’s no secret that the Google search terms report changes have had some extreme ramifications for data-hungry advertisers.
By altering its search terms reports to only include large volumes of search terms, more and more information has become restricted.
Understandably, a business can become frustrated when having to continually adapt to these digital obstacles.
Luckily, as any good marketing company knows, where there is change, there is also opportunity.
Better Automation. Less Data.
Google is all about the user experience. Implementing these new changes are for the convenience of those searching on its search engine. Of course, people may benefit from this improved automation, and business may gain the ability to advertise with greater ease.
However, while these changes have potentially helped businesses to advertise better, the actual advertising companies are left with a vital missing piece in their overall marketing strategy puzzle – the ability to better understand which search terms are working best.
No matter how good the intentions were in making these changes, better automation has meant that less data is readily available. For advertising, this spells less available day to day information and potentially becoming lost in the great big Google black hole.
What this means for your business
A large reduction in the search terms we are able to see is inevitably going to impact how we gain important information when developing a marketing strategy.
Google has restricted circa an additional 20% of all searches within an account and this was already restricted. Useful campaign methods like adding negative keywords to refine your marketing are now more difficult than ever.
So, what does this mean for your business? It means that blocking irrelevant terms you don’t want to regularly rank and appear for is now a challenge.
Why is it a challenge? Because we can no longer see most of these terms.
How to get ahead of the Google Search Terms Report Change
Where there’s a will, there’s most certainly a way around this challenge. Even when it comes to search engine juggernauts like Google.
Taking control of your refined campaigns is the most effective way of staying one step ahead of the Google search terms report changes. So, how do you do this and continue to save money on non-relevant search terms?
Ultimately, there are two options:
1. Using the early available data
- Look back at campaigns from before these changes were implemented (September 2020);
- Use the data available to add more negatives and words you don’t want to rank for;
- Find new useful themes that you do want to rank for;
- Use a keyword tool like Google Keyword Planner to identify phrases you do not want to appear for;
- Explore Google Analytics for additional hidden search term data.
2. Use another platform to give you more data.
We use other search platforms like Microsoft Advertising to improve the Google strategy of businesses we work with and keeping them one step ahead of these changes.
Taking advantage of this opportunity has helped advertising companies add negatives to their Google account and find new opportunities to give them a more level playing field.
Access our FREE report and stay ahead of Google
MICROSOFT ADVERTISING OPEN APPROACH
Their data gives you the upper hand when looking for search terms. Microsoft campaigns will also show you all search terms including which terms have resulted in 0 clicks but have had impressions. Yes zero.
This is not only great for finding negative keywords (words you want to block) but also keywords that have converted (resulted in a lead or sale) that you cannot see on Google!
So what should you be doing?
There are two options when it comes to making the most of Microsoft Advertising for the benefit of your business.
Option 1: The Eight-Step Process
Step one: Get a Microsoft Ads account and download the search terms data for a specific period.
Step two: Do the exact same thing for your Google account.
Step three: Collate all of the data using Vlookup to identify the keywords appearing in Microsoft Bing ads that aren’t appearing in Google.
Step four: Separate these keywords by conversion and non-conversion.
Step five: Download a full list of active and negative keywords from your account, and the campaigns they’re applied to.
Step six: Cross-reference every last keyword with what you have in your search terms list.
Step seven: Manually filter through every single keyword.
Step eight: Create an upload sheet with all these new keywords generated from the search terms.
Of course, If you have more than one account, you’ll need to repeat this process for every account you have.
Option 2: The One-Step Process
Use our report to do all of the above heavy lifting for you with easy setup and filters that access from our data warehouse. Then just sit back and discover how to get ahead of the Google search terms report change!
A Solution to the Google Search Terms Report Change
In the example below, from Google we had 43,000 clicks in 3 months.
The search terms for 17,781 of the 43,000 clicks were hidden and we had data for 10,004 search terms.
As we have Microsoft Bing running, we were able to successfully identify 6667 search terms with no conversions
and 242 search terms with conversions that are not present as keywords or search terms in Google.
What does this mean? Well, it means that with just 10-15% of ad budget allocated to Microsoft Bing, we can potentially identify 30-40% of the overall search terms missing from Google.
In other words, while the Google search terms report change has narrowed the gap, Microsoft Bing has provided users with access to almost half of the missing Google search terms while increasing lead volume and lowering the cost per lead.
Marketing and advertising companies will feel the impact of Google’s search term changes more than anyone. Having access to this vital information is the lifeline to ensure your business stays in the search engine race.
The benefits of Microsoft Ads :
- Cheaper cost per clicks
- Higher conversion rates
- Multiple incentives for advertisers
- Identify key search terms missing from Google
- Small budget marketing with access to big-budget data
Don’t have a Microsoft account? No problem!
We are offering to set up your account for FREE using your Google data and our best practices. Once this is done, we can set it to a low budget to start accumulating data.
Then all you’ll need to do is sit back and access your FREE REPORT.
Sometimes in advertising, we depend on information such as low-volume keyword data in order to thrive. Losing important information means less ability to update your keyword lists and stay on top of changing trends.
But with the right tools and a little smart marketing, you can weave in and out of these obstacles and come out on top of the Google search terms report change.
Why are we offering this report for free?
Simply put, we can offer it for free because we know it works. And when you access the report data, you’ll see for yourself. Once you’ve seen the benefits and cost-saving abilities, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t an essential new tool in accessing the data you need.
Once your report has been set up you’ll be able to discover some of our other reports and our platform, Adinvestor.co.
This platform provides quick and easy multi-channel solutions and gives you a clear picture of your performance across Google, Microsoft and Facebook.
We can even set up a trial on Adinvestor for you to access our ‘reduce wasted spend’ alert, which uses data science techniques to identify negatives you can add to both Google and Bing.
Don’t Get Lost in the Shuffle
As frustrating as it is for improved automation to have this severe effect on marketing companies, it cannot be undone. So, when it comes to the Google search terms report change, we must accept some truths:
- Google has reduced your visibility
- this means fewer insights and data available to you
- without key insights, your businesses could be lost in the shuffle
- to avoid this, you’ll need access to this data
- accessing this data keeps you one step ahead of Google
The Google Search Terms Report Change:
A Summary
Despite these new obstacles for advertisers, Google would argue that hiding these terms avoids you from adding negatives that their algorithms pick up as potentially convertible, but may not be appropriate for you.
Of course, some accounts can do perfectly fine with smart bidding algorithms and broader terms. But if you have the data to know exactly what you could be achieved, you’re able to make more informed choices.
In advertising, every last bit of information is essential. It can be the difference between losing a customer and capturing a user’s imagination.
When the Google search terms report change was announced last year, very little information was given to advertisers. And yet, these changes have ultimately impacted them the largest.
Fewer keywords in your search terms report mean fewer chances of capturing a conversion. That’s why embracing new methods and avenues to accessing this data is so essential.
Expand on your tools and stay visible online. Stay ahead of the Google search terms report change. Keep your business exactly where it should be; in front of the people actively searching for your products and services.
Want to see the results of Microsoft Ads for yourself? Add negatives to your Google account and stay ahead of the curve with our FREE REPORT.
Access our FREE report and stay ahead of Google
