You’ve probably heard the same song and dance from multiple marketers: “wait and see” or “give it time.” We know that this can be frustrating, particularly when you really need to increase car count. However, these sayings do ring true in some cases, especially when it comes to brand new Google Ads.
While Google Ads may be one of the quickest ways to fill your bays, they don’t work at the snap of a finger. This is because Google Ads go through an important learning phase, so patience is key.
What is The Learning Phase?
Google is a ginormous platform and it takes some time to move through the review and approval process. Once your ads are officially turned on, Google must review and approve them before they start showing to people. Then, enter the learning phase.
Think of the learning phase as the information gathering phase. In the learning phase, Google:
- Learns your business and ad topic
- Studies your target audience
- Assesses your competition (those running similar ads and bidding on similar keywords in your area)
This is all in an effort to gather information you will need to successfully optimize your campaigns.
During this time, it’s important to know that you won’t receive many clicks, impressions and/or conversions, which means you won’t reach your entire budget since Google Ads are CPC (cost per click). If you aren’t receiving any clicks or impressions, then you should revisit your campaign set up. Otherwise, this is the time to sit back and let Google work its magic.
What Triggers The Learning Phase?
The key during the learning phase of your campaign is to not make too many changes. Some campaign level changes can cause your ads to reenter the learning phase and extend this process thus taking more time for your ads to mature and produce the results you’re looking for.
Changes that are okay to make during this time include:
- Adding/removing search keywords
- Adding/removing negative keywords
- Minor changes to ad copy
Changes that you should avoid making while your campaign is in the learning phase include campaign level changes such as:
- Changes to conversion actions
- Significant changes to budget
- Most (if not all) changes having to do with bid strategy
So When Should I Expect Results?
When we sign a new digital ads client, our minimum contract length is three months. This is because you will typically see ads reach full maturity at 90 days. You should see results steadily increase, but at the 90 day mark, your campaign has normally collected enough data and results to know if it will be successful in the long-term or if large scale changes should be made.
At this time, if you are seeing good metrics and reaching your full budget, consider investing more money into your campaigns to let them grow even more. Afterall, more money = more results.
All this being said, it’s important to remember that Google Ads are not an exact science. What is true for your campaigns may not be true for the shop down the street. The important thing is to monitor your results closely but also be patient and trust the process.
