Google Ads [and Microsoft Ads] can deliver powerful results for search engine marketing (SEM). However, if you’re not careful, costs on the platform can quickly accumulate. Whether you’re a small business owner or a seasoned marketer, controlling ad spend while still reaching the right audience is an ongoing challenge. Below are some recommendations to reduce Google Ads costs without affecting your performance.
1. Change Keyword Match Types
One way to reduce wasted ad spend is by switching keyword match types in an ad group from broad match to phrase match. Broad match keywords can help you find new keywords; however, they often trigger ads for irrelevant searches. If your goal is to generate leads rather than purchases, this can easily eat up your budget. Phrase match keywords offer more control by only showing your ad when the a person’s search query includes the targeted keyword, allowing it to match the search intent and context more efficiently.
Example:
- A broad match for marketing newsletter could trigger ads for email marketing tools or marketing job opportunities.
- Phrase match ensures relevance; your ad only appears for searches like “best marketing newsletter”.
You do not need to switch to Phrase Match for all of your keywords if they are delivering quality results at a reasonable cost. Consider conducting a Google Ads audit to identify which keywords are costing you the most money with minimal return on investment (ROI).
Pro tip: Don’t forget to add negative keywords to help tighten your keyword targeting and prevent wasteful spend!
2. Don’t Run Ads 24/7
Unless your audience is active around the clock, there’s no reason to advertise every hour of every day. Instead, use ad scheduling to run your ads during high-converting hours. You can review your campaign performance data in Google Ads or Google Analytics to determine when users are most likely to interact with your ads. I have also chosen to pause ads from running on certain bank holidays if my client was closed as well; no sense to run ads if you aren’t in the office to respond! By cutting low-performance hours or days you’re closed, you can stretch your budget further without losing valuable traffic.
Pro Tip: Start by running your ads during your hours of operation, including hours that customer service is available to help. Once you get more data from your website, you can extend your ads to run at peak times outside of your hours of operation.
3. Avoid Running Ads on All Device Types
Another effective way to control Google Ads costs is by adjusting device targeting. Not every device delivers the same ROI. For example, I choose to reduce bidding on mobile for my business because of higher click costs and lower conversion rates. For example, my target audience for my freelance marketing services is more likely to engage on work computers, so I focus ad spend on desktop traffic.
In Google Ads, you can adjust device bid modifiers to increase or decrease your bids for mobile, desktop, or tablet traffic. It will give you more control over where your ads appear. For example, you have a mobile app that is only available on the App Store for Apple devices. You can target ads by operating system, such as running them only on iOS devices, to ensure you’re not wasting spend on Android devices that can’t utilize your product.
4. Choose the Right Campaign Format
Not all Google Ads campaign formats do the same thing, or cost the same per bid. Search campaigns tend to have a more predictable cost structure than Performance Max or Display campaigns, which can quickly consume budgets without tight targeting. Search campaigns are also targeted by keyword rather than interest, so you are more likely to capture high-intent searches.
If you’re starting a new campaign or working with a limited budget:
- Stick to Search campaigns targeting intent-driven keywords.
- Use remarketing with a capped bid in Display or Performance Max to re-engage warm leads without overpaying.
5. Monitor Your Daily Budget and Use Bid Caps
Google will try to spend your entire daily budget, often exceeding it by 2x on busy days. While that’s great for ensuring your ads will appear, doing so at the expense of your budget (pun not intended) isn’t ideal. To maintain control:
- Set conservative daily budgets and gradually increase them as performance improves. Start with a budget lower than what you plan to spend daily, allowing Google time to learn.
- Consider using bid caps, such as Target CPA or Max CPC, to avoid inflated costs.
- Set up budget scripts to control daily and monthly spending to prevent overspending.
Automated bidding strategies, such as Maximize Conversions, can be effective, but only if your campaign has sufficient conversion data to inform smart bidding.
Pro Tip: Some leads and clicks will cost more even if you set bid caps, and that’s okay! Google Ads is an auction platform, and competitors will try to outbid you to acquire customers or leads. Not all customers cost the same amount of money to acquire.
6. Regularly Review Search Terms
Don’t let your budget leak away on irrelevant searches. Use the Search Terms Report to find what search queries triggered your ads to appear. You can customize your search terms report to only include information that is relevant to you. Once you reviewed the selected search terms, you have three options for how to handle the search term: add as a negative keyword, add a new keyword, or simply ignore. This will keep your ads focused on high-intent users and relevant searches, ensuring you’re not paying for clicks that won’t convert.
Pro Tip: The frequency at which you run this search term report will vary based on the number of keywords you are targeting and the amount you are spending in the account. Large corporations can review their search term reports daily, while small businesses might run it every three months. Start by reviewing search terms every week, and then adjust your frequency accordingly based on the results.
7. Taking Advice from Google Reps
After setting up your Google Ads account, you are assigned a Google representative to whom you can reach out for help. In turn, they will offer “advice” on how to improve performance in your Google Ads account. These reps can operate more like sales reps rather than tech support to reach their quotas, rather than having your business’s goals in mind. Their recommendations often involve overspending, which may not be feasible if you don’t have the budget. If you are offered any advice from a Google Ads rep, take it with a grain of salt and don’t feel pressured to apply their recommendations to your account.
Final Thoughts
Reducing Google Ads costs doesn’t mean sacrificing visibility or performance. By managing your Google Ads account on a regular basis, you can reduce costs, optimize your ad spend, and increase ROI.
Are you looking for expert help managing your Google Ads account? Byers and Beyond Marketing offers affordable consulting services to help you save money and grow smarter.
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