How do you avoid keyword cannibalization and bidding wars in search ads?

All keyword audits are not equal. Let’s consider how to audit specifically with the two goals of this article in mind - avoiding cannibalization and bidding wars in your paid ad efforts First: check recent performance. ROAS if you can; definitely QS, CTR, CPA, Click Share, Impression Share, Device performance. Ask: What trends do you see? Second: check-in on your negatives, your match types, & longtail. Do: prune low performers & irrelevant kws Last: communicate what you’ve done! Create reports on your findings to share with your colleagues. Write down what you’ve done to create step-by-step processes that you and your team can follow in the future to repeat the process! If you found this helpful I’d love your upvote here

To avoid keyword cannibalization and bidding wars in search ads, it's essential to conduct thorough keyword research to identify unique and relevant keywords for each ad group. Additionally, segmentation of campaigns and ad groups based on themes or target audiences can help prevent overlap and competition between keywords. Regular monitoring of ad performance and adjusting bids based on ROI (Return on Investment) and competition levels can also mitigate bidding wars. Lastly, employing negative keywords strategically can further refine targeting and reduce the risk of cannibalization.

Organize your ad groups by "intent". For instance, if you're advertising a B2B SaaS business, you could organize your ad groups to match your funnel stages. Think of it this way: you won't run the same ads to audiences who have just become aware of you as you would to audiences deeply familiar with you, so you ought to group those ads separately. eCommerce marketers can organize for intent by organizing ads into Generic, Category, Brand, and Product groups. For example: Headphones, Noise-cancelling Headphones, Bose Headphones, Bose QC35ii headphones. Once you've got your groups mapped out you should write ads and landing pages specifically for each group. Matching intent to the message is critical to your success!

To avoid keyword cannibalization, conduct thorough keyword research, create tightly themed ad groups, and use negative keywords. Ensure ad copy alignment with keywords and regularly monitor search term reports for adjustments. For bidding wars, analyze competitors, use bid adjustments strategically, work on improving Quality Score, consider automated bidding, manage budgets wisely, and conduct A/B testing for optimal results. Regular monitoring and data-driven adjustments are crucial for successful search ad campaigns.