1.9 Cross-negatives and negatives of use
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 9:04 am
One of the secrets to the success and profitability of many large e-commerce companies may undoubtedly be to correctly negative-target their campaigns.
There is a lot of traffic that can reach our campaigns that is not really relevant and makes us lose a lot of money.
Correct negative targeting is the key to avoiding wasting your advertising investment on terms that are not relevant to your business.
On the other hand, using cross-negatives correctly allows us to direct our traffic exactly to the ad group that we want the search to enter, when there are several valid matches.
1.9.1 Refusals to use
We are referring to the typical negative terms that have a high cost in our campaigns and that do not convert.
In the example below we can see some search terms that trigger our ads and that have a significant level of spend and do not convert.
The ideal would be to make them negative.
Add negatives to Google Ads on a recurring basis
But more interesting than gathering specific terms, which is also necessary, is identifying patterns in traffic that does not convert.
Let's assume we are seeing clearly, going back to the Zalando example, that searches that include "air force 1" generate an added cost of €200 and do not convert.
Well, in that case, we can consider its negativization.
Otherwise, we would have to negativeize every single search that includes "air force 1," which adds complexity (we need more negatives) and doesn't solve the root problem: future searches for "air force 1" will continue to come in and generate costs.
There are third-party tools that allow us to do this when the complexity of our accounts is high, such as Optmyzr.
If not, we can also use a filter in the Google search terms view and test different terms to see their cost and added conversion value and make decisions.
Detecting terms that generate high costs and do not convert - Google Ads Campaigns
1.9.2 Cross-negatives
These are the negatives that allow us to sculpt our traffic to direct it exactly to the most relevant ad group.
Going back to the Zalando example, let's remember those two adgroups we had with "zalando sweatshirts" and "zalando hoodies".
The search "zalando hoodies" could easily be triggered by the keyword from the first group (+zalando hoodies) or the keyword from the second group (+zalando hoodies +hoodie).
If we negative "hood" in the group of Sweatshirts without hoods , then the traffic will enter exactly where we are interested in, through the group of sweatshirts with hoods.
Let's see it graphically:
Example of cross-negatives to direct traffic correctly - Google Ads Campaigns
The task of cross-negativization can become a bit complicated when our campaign structure is large. We can do it manually, studying the possible paths that may overlap.
Again, we have very advanced tools like Optimyzr that help us define these unique paths that dramatically sculpt our email list india traffic and direct it exactly where we want it.
1.10 DSA as an ideal complement to our campaigns
DSA campaigns are one of the most useful types of campaigns we can think of when it comes to covering traffic to our website that we may have been overlooking up until now.
In this type of campaign, Google decides which search terms our website is interesting for and displays ads tailored to these searches, directing them to the most appropriate section (always at its discretion).
DSA covers traffic to your website that might otherwise be very difficult to reach.
If you want to take your SEM campaigns one step further, we guide you step by step on how to do it in this blog post .
The only requirement is that the SEO positioning of our website is adequate.
Considering that a very high percentage of searches performed on Google every day are completely new (they have never been performed before), it is vitally important to consider this.
There is a lot of traffic that can reach our campaigns that is not really relevant and makes us lose a lot of money.
Correct negative targeting is the key to avoiding wasting your advertising investment on terms that are not relevant to your business.
On the other hand, using cross-negatives correctly allows us to direct our traffic exactly to the ad group that we want the search to enter, when there are several valid matches.
1.9.1 Refusals to use
We are referring to the typical negative terms that have a high cost in our campaigns and that do not convert.
In the example below we can see some search terms that trigger our ads and that have a significant level of spend and do not convert.
The ideal would be to make them negative.
Add negatives to Google Ads on a recurring basis
But more interesting than gathering specific terms, which is also necessary, is identifying patterns in traffic that does not convert.
Let's assume we are seeing clearly, going back to the Zalando example, that searches that include "air force 1" generate an added cost of €200 and do not convert.
Well, in that case, we can consider its negativization.
Otherwise, we would have to negativeize every single search that includes "air force 1," which adds complexity (we need more negatives) and doesn't solve the root problem: future searches for "air force 1" will continue to come in and generate costs.
There are third-party tools that allow us to do this when the complexity of our accounts is high, such as Optmyzr.
If not, we can also use a filter in the Google search terms view and test different terms to see their cost and added conversion value and make decisions.
Detecting terms that generate high costs and do not convert - Google Ads Campaigns
1.9.2 Cross-negatives
These are the negatives that allow us to sculpt our traffic to direct it exactly to the most relevant ad group.
Going back to the Zalando example, let's remember those two adgroups we had with "zalando sweatshirts" and "zalando hoodies".
The search "zalando hoodies" could easily be triggered by the keyword from the first group (+zalando hoodies) or the keyword from the second group (+zalando hoodies +hoodie).
If we negative "hood" in the group of Sweatshirts without hoods , then the traffic will enter exactly where we are interested in, through the group of sweatshirts with hoods.
Let's see it graphically:
Example of cross-negatives to direct traffic correctly - Google Ads Campaigns
The task of cross-negativization can become a bit complicated when our campaign structure is large. We can do it manually, studying the possible paths that may overlap.
Again, we have very advanced tools like Optimyzr that help us define these unique paths that dramatically sculpt our email list india traffic and direct it exactly where we want it.
1.10 DSA as an ideal complement to our campaigns
DSA campaigns are one of the most useful types of campaigns we can think of when it comes to covering traffic to our website that we may have been overlooking up until now.
In this type of campaign, Google decides which search terms our website is interesting for and displays ads tailored to these searches, directing them to the most appropriate section (always at its discretion).
DSA covers traffic to your website that might otherwise be very difficult to reach.
If you want to take your SEM campaigns one step further, we guide you step by step on how to do it in this blog post .
The only requirement is that the SEO positioning of our website is adequate.
Considering that a very high percentage of searches performed on Google every day are completely new (they have never been performed before), it is vitally important to consider this.