Growing up in the 1980’s, I can still remember the fad of the Rubik’s Cube. Kids of all ages would challenge themselves and others to solve the puzzle by aligning all the colors on each the sides.
Once you were able to solve the puzzle, the next step would be to see how fast you can solve the puzzle.
Over the years, there have even been competitions on how fast people can ‘solve the cube’. Today, the world record currently is at an amazing 3.47 seconds!
There are certain steps that you need to take to solve the Rubik’s Cube and if you are interested in learning those steps, you can easily find them by searching YouTube.
All master Rubik’s cubers have one thing in common – they have a process.
I admit that personally I stink at ‘the cube’. I recall only being able to ‘solve the cube’ once and it took a couple days and it was mostly done by stumbling upon the solution.
However, for businesses that advertise using Google Shopping they may find themselves trying to solve the problem of why their sales suddenly decline or why costs suddenly skyrocket.
Now this is a puzzle that I could enter a competition in solving!
Below is a recent thread between myself and a member of the Make Each Click Count Facebook group as well as some running commentary that I have added.
If you are currently using Google Shopping, you may want to pay attention to the steps (to the process) that I take to identify the issue and then solve the problem of lower sales:
Commentary – He has been running Google Shopping ads a few months. However, the same ads which were performing well a few months back are now not performing nearly as well.
Commentary – Suggestion to fix an immediate issue (incorrectly using negative keywords) and questions to identify whether the reason for the decline. Trying to discover if the decline in performance is due to a change within the Google Ads Interface.
Commentary – It looks like nothing has changed. Immediate responses are typically to change your pricing or change your bidding or both (which commonly lower the profitability of your account). Note, that before you make immediate changes you will want to make sure you identify the problem.
Commentary – More questions and answers working to determine whether the problem is consumer based or advertiser based. If the problem is consumer based, such as less searches or if someone has the exact product at half the price, then the fixes will need to come from outside Google Shopping. However, if the problem is advertiser based, then we should be able to identify and find a solution within Google Shopping.
Commentary – We have now identified the issue (decrease in click-through rates). Now we must determine the best course of action.
Commentary – I believe the best course of action is to introduce Positive Keywords to the account. By formatting shopping ads in such a way, the advertiser can reduce negative keywords for unwanted terms that need to be added and he will be able to gain more market share for his relevant keywords. In addition, without those unwanted mostly irrelevant keywords, he will be able to identify his true CTR for converting search terms.
Commentary –This advertiser took immediate action to fix his advertising. He immediately ordered and read the chapter of my book, Make Each Click Count Using Google Shopping that was recommended. There were just a few hours between my post directing him where to find more information on Positive Keywords and his post that he had purchased the book, read the recommended chapter and implemented the strategy. Wow that is dedication to wanting to improve his results and do it fast!
Google Shopping for many eCommerce retailers can be an incredibly successful source of profitable revenue; however, it does take work. There are many moving parts and many places where you can go astray (including blindly following Google’s recommendations).
Final Word
The above was a thread between myself and a member of the Make Each Click Count Facebook Group. This group is FREE to join and offers immediate access to myself as well as other marketing experts, many whom have made guest appearances on my Make Each Click Podcast.
In addition, my book that was reference in this thread, Make Each Click Count Using Google Shopping, is currently available as an immediate electronic download by clicking here.
Or if you prefer the softcover edition of the physical book mailed to you, you can request to do so during checkout for a few dollars more.
Solving the puzzle to fixing issues with Google Shopping is not too complicated if you take the calculated steps to correctly identify the problem and are able to implement a proper solution.
However, that is the same thing the guy solving the Rubik’s cube in sub-five seconds says as well:>
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Happy Marketing!
Andy Splichal
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Splichal is the founder of True Online Presence, author of the Make Each Click Count book series, host of the Make Each Click Count podcast, founder of The Academy of Internet Marketing and certified online marketing strategist with twenty plus years of experience helping companies increase their online presence and profitable revenues. To find more information on Andy Splichal, visit www.trueonlinepresence.com or read The Full Story on his blog, blog.trueonlinepresence.com.