Keep Optimising

Silvia Correas Osorno is one of the experts at award-winning digital marketing agency Stellar Search where over the last 11 years she’s risen from junior Digital Marketing Executive to Managing Partner! Driving results for big name brands across luxury, beauty and fashion including huge names like Bloom & Wild, Hotel Chocolat, Moss Bros, Trinny London, and even Tottenham Hotspur.In this episode, Silvia shares how to move beyond bottom-of-funnel Google Ads and build a full-funnel approach that reaches customers across the buying journey. We explore how to choose the right channels, creative and budgets to grow your results without spreading your efforts too thin.Dive in:[05:35] Understanding the marketing funnel stages[06:41] Evaluating marketing platform options[09:48] Choosing the right social media platform[13:28] Understanding Media Measurement Challenges[18:35] Insider Tips from Silvia![21:39] Episode sponsored by Stellar Search. Get your free Audit from Stellar Search >> https://keepopt.com/stellarBuild Beyond Bottom-of-Funnel Google AdsGoogle Ads can capture customers who are already ready to buy, but it cannot create all the demand your business needs. Silvia recommends getting your bottom-of-funnel activity working first, then expanding into channels that build awareness and reach new customers. Meta, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, and Reddit can all play a role, depending on your audience and goals. This full-funnel approach helps create demand that can later convert through Google, organic search, email and other channels. For eCommerce brands, the goal is to build a marketing system that supports the whole customer journey, not just the final click.Choose Fewer Channels and Test Them ProperlyAdding more ad platforms does not automatically mean getting more growth. Silvia recommends choosing channels based on where your customers spend time, what creative you can produce, and what your budget can support. Rather than testing five new channels at once, focus your budget on one or two strong opportunities. Give each test enough spend and time to produce meaningful data. For eCommerce teams, this approach makes it easier to understand what is working and avoid wasting budget across too many weak tests.Measure Full-Funnel Marketing Beyond ROASTop-of-funnel advertising will not always deliver the same ROAS or CPA as Google Search, because it has a different job. Its value may show up later through more branded searches, organic traffic, email sales or new customers. Silvia recommends allowing at least one to three months to see the wider impact of this activity. Where budgets allow, marketing mix modelling can also help measure the effect across multiple channels. eCommerce teams need to look beyond individual platform numbers and understand how their marketing activity works together to drive overall business growth.Takeaways:Want to get more from your Google Ads? Start with a strong bottom-of-funnel setup, then build up the funnel. Don’t just jump to the newest channel. Be strategic and pick what fits your audience and brand.Testing new ad platforms? Don’t try everything at once. Focus your budget on a couple of channels with great creative. This way, you’ll get clear results and real insights into what moves your brand forward.Creative matters more than ever in digital ads. Tailor your content to the channel: polished for Meta, organic for TikTok. Your audience scrolls fast; make your message stand out at every touchpoint.Top-of-funnel ads are harder to measure, but they matter. Don’t expect instant results. Full-funnel marketing is about building recognition so your brand is top of mind when it’s time to buy.The rise of AI platforms like ChatGPT is changing how brands reach people. Start experimenting now. The future of marketing isn’t just about where you show up, but how you show up and engage.Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/323Support our Sponsors >> Get your free Audit from Stellar Search >> https://keepopt.com/stellar**** Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.com Love the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify. Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsorAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ger Hayden is the Chief Digital Officer at Core Optimisation and has been deep in Performance marketing for over a decade, and somehow also finds time to be a Digital Marketing Lecturer. Ger’s worked across various sectors and for many clients winning awards and frequently driving triple digital year on year growth.In this episode, Ger and Chloe take a big-picture look at Google Ads and why now is the time to fully review your strategy. They explore how changes in the platform, customer search behaviour, data, creativity and AI should shape the way you approach Google Ads today.Dive in:[03:40] Copywriting in big corporations[06:36] Google Ads and Analytics Changes[12:51] Optimizing Google Ads with Data[14:50] Optimizing PMax for Better Placements[20:39] Attracting new eCommerce customers[22:16] Evolving Strategies for Google Ads[23:36] Insider Tips from Ger!Start Your Google Ads Strategy with Your Customer, Not the PlatformGoogle Ads is still about reaching real people with real needs. Before changing campaigns, bidding or targeting, step back and look at how your customers search and buy. Search is becoming more conversational, with longer and more specific queries driven by tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. This means your website, content and ads all need to answer customer questions at different stages of the journey. Use tools like Keyword Planner to understand what your customers are really looking for, rather than focusing only on clicks and CPCs.Make Your Data Work for Your BusinessGood Google Ads performance starts with good data. Your first-party customer data should be connected to Google Ads so the platform can optimise towards the customers and sales that matter most. Make sure your tracking, CRM data and commercial numbers are reliable before you start making strategic decisions. Ger also warns that a strong ROAS does not always mean your business is growing, as Google may be taking credit for sales that would have happened anyway. Look at Google Ads alongside your total revenue, new customer numbers, repeat purchases and other channels to understand the real impact.Treat Google Ads as a Bigger Growth ChannelGoogle Ads is no longer just about keywords, bids and bottom-of-funnel sales. Performance Max can reach customers across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover and Google Maps, so eCommerce teams need to understand where their budget is going. Creative is also becoming more important as Google Ads moves closer to the way social and other media channels work. Keep reviewing your campaigns, creative, placements and goals instead of treating automated campaigns as a black box. As AI takes over more of the day-to-day optimisation, your biggest job will be setting the right strategy, data and business goals for it to work towards.Takeaways:Success in Google Ads isn’t just about data – it’s about people. Real ads connect with real needs. Insights start with understanding your audience, not just chasing numbers.Your Google Ads strategy should evolve with your customers and technology. Always review your goals, data, and creative to stay ahead of the curve.Don’t let automation make you forget creativity. As AI transforms Google Ads, creativity and compelling copy are now the real differentiators in performance marketing.Attribution isn’t perfect – for true growth, track the full impact of your marketing. Focus on real commercial outcomes, not just channel metrics.Small brands can be more agile in adopting new Google Ads strategies. Using great data and creative quickly is a unique competitive edge – don’t wait to innovate!Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/321 Support our Sponsors >> Get your free Audit from Stellar Search >> https://keepopt.com/stellar**** Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.com Love the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify. Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsorAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jyll Saskin Gales spent 6 years at Google helping their largest advertisers to grow internationally. Now she’s all about helping all of us to improve our Google Ads results via her coaching and courses, the “Inside Google Ads” Podcast AND her bestselling, book “Inside Google Ads: Everything you need to know about Audience Targeting”.In this episode, Jyll cuts through the latest Google Ads updates, explaining which new features are worth using and which you can safely ignore. She also shares what advertisers should be doing now to prepare their campaigns for the holiday season.Dive in:[04:58] Explaining Google Shopping campaigns[09:12] Explaining Smart Bidding Exploration[11:17] Explaining Customer Lifecycle Goals[13:17] Common Google Ads mistakes[19:33] Google Merchant Center AI features[23:11] Using AI for product photos[25:49] Using YouTube for holiday campaigns[29:52] Insider Tips from Jyll!Focus on the Google Ads features that can improve holiday performanceGoogle is adding more bidding, targeting and automation features, but that does not mean every eCommerce business needs to use them. Jyll recommends starting with the features that solve a clear problem in the account. For example, Maximize Conversion Value can help Shopping campaigns focus on revenue rather than clicks, while Promotion Mode is designed to help campaigns respond to a sales period. The key is to choose features that match the business goal and the campaign stage. Don’t switch on new features simply because they are new.Get your customer data and product feed right before relying on AIGoogle’s newer features depend more than ever on good data. Customer Lifecycle Goals can help advertisers target new, existing and high-value customers, but only when the customer lists are set up correctly. Jyll also highlights the growing importance of the Merchant Center feed, with new product attributes helping Google understand and present products in more ways. This means eCommerce brands should review their customer lists and product data before the holiday rush. Better inputs give Google’s automation and AI a stronger foundation to work from.Don’t chase every new AI featureAI Max for Shopping, AI creative tools and new automated campaign features can open up new opportunities. But Jyll’s advice is not to adopt every feature just because it is available. AI Max for Shopping, for example, offers a middle ground between Standard Shopping and Performance Max for advertisers who want more automation. Google’s AI tools can also help smaller teams create backgrounds, scenes and video assets without relying on a large creative team. The best approach is to test the features that solve a real need, while keeping strong campaign structure, tracking and creative fundamentals in place.Prepare for the holidays early and resist the urge to over-optimiseHoliday Google Ads success starts well before Black Friday. Jyll recommends having the holiday strategy locked by September and campaigns ready by October at the latest. eCommerce brands should plan beyond Black Friday and Cyber Monday, including December, post-Christmas and potentially January. She also warns against making constant changes in the name of optimisation, as too much testing can hurt performance. Plan early, give campaigns time to work and focus your changes on the things that can make a real difference.Takeaways:Ads don’t fix a bad offer – they amplify it. Before pouring budget into Google Ads, ensure your product has genuine demand and your website converts. Otherwise, it’s just burning money on more of the same.AI is transforming Google Ads, but the basics still win. Solid campaign structure, tight conversion tracking, and a well-managed Merchant Center feed prepare you for every new algorithm or shiny update.Creative in eCommerce isn’t just pretty images. Google now values videos, lifestyle shots, and even product Q&As. Feed your Merchant Center rich, diverse content to stand out in the age of AI shopping.Build demand before you capture it. Don’t wait for Black Friday to launch ads; start video and demand gen campaigns months ahead. Warm audiences convert better and help sustain sales beyond peak season.Resist the urge to optimize everything daily. Zoom out, do less, and focus on big strategic changes. Sometimes, the real magic comes from stepping back and letting strong fundamentals do their work.Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/319Support our Sponsors >> Get your free Audit from Stellar Search >> https://keepopt.com/stellar**** Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.com Love the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify. Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsorAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy