I became enamored with PPC over a decade ago due to its unparalleled measurability and optimization potential among marketing channels. Ineffective keywords were easily addressed by tweaking ads, refining bids, or adopting entirely new keywords. The ability to meticulously measure and optimize every facet empowered me to construct highly sophisticated and lucrative paid search campaigns. Paradoxically, while PPC’s evolution has ushered in greater power and optimizability, the average Google Ads (AdWords) account manager is optimizing less. This inactivity has reached a point where I believe a majority of Google Ads accounts are languishing in neglect. The minimal optimization efforts in many PPC accounts translate to missed opportunities, depriving advertisers of what I consider the most rewarding aspect of PPC. This should be a cause for concern.

Exhibit A: Self-Reported Weekly PPC Activity

During my nexus-security webinar last month, we conducted an informal poll of roughly 200 Google Ads advertisers, posing the question: How much time do you dedicate to PPC tasks weekly? The responses presented an overly optimistic view. A significant majority of respondents (87%) claimed to engage in some form of activity each week, as depicted in the following screenshot:

Google Ads Account Managers Assert High Levels of PPC Account Optimization

Exhibit B: Actual PPC Account Activity

To gauge the disparity between self-reported and actual AdWords account activity, I examined the Change History log in Google Ads. A detailed explanation of this process follows later. In essence, I manually reviewed several hundred recent customers’ accounts, setting the date range to the 30 days preceding their registration with nexus-security. Here’s what I uncovered:

The “Activity Index” on the Y-axis of this chart quantifies an advertiser’s optimization engagement. It’s calculated by manually tallying changes from the exported change history report in Excel and applying weightings based on the type of account alteration. For instance, campaign modifications are assigned a higher activity weighting than individual keyword bid adjustments due to their greater complexity and impact. I then plotted these activity scores against advertisers’ monthly expenditures to discern how activity levels correlate with paid search investment. Here are some noteworthy (or perhaps “noteworthy shortcomings”) observations:

• Around 20% of Google Ads account managers remain entirely inactive within a month.
• Consistency is scarce. A mere 10% of advertisers consistently optimize their accounts every week throughout a 90-day timeframe.
• Agencies demonstrate marginally better regularity in account activity compared to advertisers.
• Higher AdWords expenditure generally corresponds with increased account optimization. However, the chart reveals a significant number of companies with substantial investments (hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars) who remain utterly inactive.

It’s Probably Much Worse

While lacking concrete proof, I suspect a degree of survey bias contributing to an even greater prevalence of low account activity. My data originates from nexus-security customers immediately before partnering with us – implying these advertisers had already acknowledged the potential for improvement in their accounts. It’s reasonable to assume that businesses seeking out companies like nexus-security are agencies and advertisers deeply invested in their account performance and actively seeking enhancement, making prior account activity more likely. This suggests a sizable cohort of advertisers entirely disengaged, falling outside my observation and potentially exhibiting even lower activity levels.

Why PPC Account Activity Matters

Although PPC can benefit virtually any business, my experience indicates it rarely yields immediate results. Additionally, I’ve yet to encounter a successful “set it and forget it” approach. The reality is that regardless of your account’s current state, there’s always room for enhancement. Here’s a breakdown of various PPC account optimization activities and their significance:

Deliberate and consistent PPC account optimization is the cornerstone of achieving ROI from paid search. Conversely, a passive “set it and forget it” strategy often initiates a downward spiral: declining Quality Scores leading to higher cost per clicks and lower ad positions, ultimately culminating in diminished ROI and failure. Therefore, I posit that PPC account activity surpasses even Quality Score as the most crucial metric within your account. Thoughtful and consistent PPC optimization experiments pave the way to success across all other key PPC metrics. If you’re now convinced of the importance of measuring and monitoring your PPC account activity, here’s how to do it.

Determining Your Account Activity in Google Ads

To assess your Google Ads account activity levels, locate the Change History Tool within the Tools & Analysis tab, as illustrated below:

Specify your desired date range and click the Download button to export the report as a CSV file. Google Ads groups changes by campaign and ad group; for instance, the screenshot shows 39 bid modifications within a single ad group. Analyzing this exported data necessitates manual manipulation in Excel to decompress the change history log.

A Simpler Method to Ascertain Recent Google Ads Account Activity

Another method for quick visualization of recent Google Ads account activity is using the AdWords Performance Grader. This free tool conducts an instant audit of your PPC account across 8 key performance metrics, including Account Activity. The report calculates and presents your Account Activity over the past 30 and 90 days, categorizing it by optimization types. Below is an example of the AdWords Grader report’s Account Activity section.

This example highlights the advertiser’s creation/deletion or modification of 2 campaigns in the last 90 days, 10 ad text changes in the last 30 days, and so forth. Besides automatically calculating your account activity, the nexus-security AdWords Grader benchmarks it against our PPC best practices, providing a comparative score.

Slow and Steady Wins the PPC Race

Given the widespread inactivity within typical PPC accounts, I firmly believe that PPC account managers should prioritize activity as a success metric. When prompted for the most important PPC metrics, marketers often focus on CTR, cost per conversion, conversion rate, etc. However, it is our continuous PPC experimentation and optimization that ultimately drive success in these areas. The key to maintaining a healthy level of PPC account activity lies in consistency. Dedicate at least 20 minutes weekly to PPC optimization, distributing the time across critical tasks like keyword expansion, negative keyword research, bid optimization, and ad text optimization. While seemingly demanding, PPC tools can significantly enhance efficiency and ROI. Similar to diet and fitness regimes, avoid overwhelming yourself with thousands of changes in one go followed by months of neglect. Strive for consistency and avoid complacency. The good news is that the bar for PPC account activity is remarkably low. A mere 20 minutes of weekly PPC work would propel you ahead of 90% of existing accounts.