The key advantage of contextual advertising lies in the fact that ads are shown to an audience already interested in a specific topic or product and likely ready to make a purchase.
Campaign optimization is a crucial factor in increasing the effectiveness of contextual ads. Regular analysis and adjustment of campaign settings help maximize reach within the target audience and drive a higher number of desired actions.
- Increase the number of clicks: The more relevant the ad and the better it matches the user’s search intent, the more clicks it generates.
- Reduce cost per click: Ongoing analysis and testing help fine-tune the budget and keyword selection, which leads to lower advertising costs.
- Boost conversions: Optimizing campaign settings such as keywords, negative keywords, geographic and demographic targeting - results in more targeted actions (calls, purchases, etc.).
- Improve ROI and ROAS: Well-optimized campaigns ensure maximum return on ad spend and overall investment.
In this case, we focus specifically on the setup and optimization of advertising campaigns in Google.
About the Client
The company’s core business is the sale of components for well drilling, site setup, and the development of autonomous water supply or irrigation systems. The product range offers practical solutions for a wide variety of water supply needs.
Key advantages skvagina.com.ua:
- Official warranty on all products
- Direct cooperation with manufacturers and official importers
- Fast and convenient delivery within 48 hours (Nova Poshta, Autolux, Delivery, Meest)
- Personalized approach - comprehensive solutions tailored to each customer’s needs
- Wide product range at competitive prices (with regular discounts and promotions)
- Quick order processing and expert assistance in selecting the right equipment
Google Ads Setup
The client already had experience running Google contextual advertising before partnering with ITForce. The owner of skvagina.com.ua approached our agency due to a change in contractors. We started working on the project right before the peak season, so speed and efficiency were top priorities. The main objective was to quickly restore the previous level of sales.
As the spring 2024 season approached, it was critically important to train the ad algorithms as fast as possible in order to drive a strong flow of targeted traffic to the website. Achieving this required a sufficient advertising budget, which at the start of the campaign was set at 4,000 UAH per day. As the account developed and ads were scaled, the budget for contextual promotion increased.
Our first step before launching campaigns in Google Ads was to create a new advertising account, since the online store owner had changed the payment method in the previous one.
At the start of work on the client’s account, we also completed the following:
- Set up conversion tracking for “Purchase” and “One-Click Order” in Google Analytics
- Created a goal for Binotel callback requests
- Linked Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts
- Imported goals: Purchase, Binotel call, and Callback request
- Linked Google Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts
- Launched Shopping and DSA campaigns, added ad extensions, and negative keywords
- Prepared all necessary settings for launching Performance Max
- Filtered products in both the Shopping campaign and Performance Max
- Added negative keywords to the Shopping campaign
- Configured tracking for messenger clicks and consultation form submissions
Target region: Ukraine. Ad schedule: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Initially, all campaigns targeted the full product catalog. Later, we introduced segmentation by product categories and geographic regions.
Ad appearance in the network:
Fig. 1 - Examples of customized ads
As data collection progressed, we launched Performance Max campaigns segmented by high-priority product categories.
Night campaign testing
To improve performance and achieve the desired results, we proposed a test launch of a night-time campaign featuring all relevant top-selling products. The campaign ran from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM and used the Performance Max format. The campaign goals were purchases and call requests. We manually assigned a conversion value for calls, based on the average value of a purchase and the proportion of users who typically make a call. The value of each purchase was tracked automatically through the e-commerce system.
After just five days, the night-time campaign delivered highly satisfactory results:
Fig. 2 - Night Campaign Results
Taking the first 7 days, the results were as follows:
- 475 ad clicks
- 192.62 UAH cost per conversion
- 3.59 UAH average cost per click
- 1.86% conversion rate
- ROAS 1161%
In other words, roughly every ninth interaction with the ad during nighttime hours led to a conversion, indicating exceptionally high efficiency of the test campaign. The cost per targeted action was 192.62 UAH, while the return on ad spend reached 1161%. It’s worth noting that the client initially had doubts about the potential of nighttime traffic. However, the performance of the test campaign proved strong enough to change that perception. As a result, we moved forward with it and continued working on scaling the campaign’s performance.
Planned optimization tasks during the collaboration with skvagina.com.ua:
- Managing search queries: non-relevant ones were added to the negative keyword list
- Applying system recommendations to improve the account’s quality score
- Adjusting bidding strategies and budgets as needed
- Disabling underperforming campaigns, ad groups, and keywords when necessary
- Adding high-intent search terms to the keyword list
- Disabling ineffective geographic targets
- Performance Max: segmenting campaigns and adding search themes
- Stopping underperforming DSA groups
- Enabling image enhancements in Google Merchant Center
Since July 2024, we have been actively working to increase the number of leads, focusing on achieving a cost per lead within the 250–300 UAH range. For the client, valuable leads include purchases made through the shopping cart and incoming phone calls. Throughout this period, we optimized ad campaign settings to attract users most likely to perform key actions on the website. All of these efforts contributed to improved advertising performance.
Advertising Setup Results
Let’s start by analyzing the volume of traffic we managed to drive to the website during the collaboration with skvagina.com.ua.
Number of visitors from each traffic source:
Fig. 3 – Number of visitors by source
From April to June 2024, contextual advertising (via Cross Network, Paid Search, and Paid Shopping channels) brought in 72,475 users. This made it the second most effective traffic source among all available channels.
Number of key events by traffic source:
Fig. 4 – Key events by traffic source
When we look at the number of conversions, currently defined as key events on the website, paid advertising channels generate 3,920 key events, outperforming organic traffic in terms of conversions.
In other words, while SEO brings more targeted traffic to the site, contextual advertising (PPC) delivers a higher number of conversions. This indicates that the ad campaigns were correctly configured for the target audience. That’s why a combined marketing approach proves to be more effective.
Ad performance results for April–June 2024:
Fig. 5 – Campaigns in the Account (June/April 2024)
- 122,879 ad clicks
- 3.92% conversion rate
- 4,902.48 conversions
- 142.42 UAH cost per conversion
Campaign performance by segment:
Fig. 6 – Ad campaign performance
The most effective campaign in terms of both the number of conversions (942.48) and cost per conversion (100.20 UAH) was the Performance Max campaign focused on a specific product category (Pumps).
The night campaign continued to deliver stable results, with 316.17 conversions for 149.24 UAH per conversion.
The Performance Max – All Products campaign targeting a specific geo had the lowest cost per conversion at 73.13 UAH and the highest conversion rate in the account, 8.08%. This means that every 12th ad click resulted in a conversion. Overall, segmenting the Performance Max campaign by high-priority product categories proved highly effective in the client’s account. Each campaign generated a significant number of conversions at an acceptable average cost per conversion (except for two specific product categories). DSA and Shopping campaigns fulfilled their roles, each generating over 100 targeted actions during the three months.
We successfully achieved the KPIs set by the client. The configured ad campaigns contributed to increased sales during peak season and continue to generate steady monthly revenue. The cost per conversion for each campaign remains below the client's critical threshold, and we continue to adjust ad settings to reach an optimal CPA.
We regularly analyze and refine bidding strategies and budgets. We review search queries and expand the negative keyword list based on irrelevant terms. System recommendations are processed consistently to improve the account’s quality score. We monitor products in the Merchant Center and pause underperforming ones in Performance Max campaigns and search ad groups as needed. Ineffective geos are excluded, and Performance Max campaigns are further segmented for better targeting.
