Chapter 2: Gaining Visibility

1. Critical Issues:

When you first sit down at your desk in the morning with your fresh cup of coffee/tea, your number one priority should be to check your client portfolio for any critical issues.  If left unattended, these issues can severely erode the client relationship and affect account performance.  They can also pop up when least expected, so staying on top of them daily is a wonderful best-practice activity.

Examples include:

• Failed credit card payments
• Live ads or extensions directing to 404 error pages
• Disapproved live ads
• Campaigns that have ceased serving ads.
• Specific conversion actions that stop working

In Adpulse we call these ‘Critical’ alerts, and we scan for them daily.

You should also check Google’s MCC level Notification Center which provides info you can’t see in third-party tools like Adpulse (these are not available in Google’s API).  You’re looking for things like: 

• A new form of payment is required (ads still running but will stop soon if not fixed)
• Advertiser verification required 
• Your account is suspended

2. Budget Pacing

Maintaining even and predictable budget spending benefits PPC managers in several ways:

• Optimal resource utilization – even distribution maximizes ad visibility and captures audience attention.
• Stable performance – consistent spending reduces fluctuations, ensuring more reliable campaign outcomes, particularly when driven by smart bidding strategies. 
• Budget efficiency & allocation – even spending patterns prevent wastage and optimize resource allocation.  It also allows analysis-based budget allocation to favor your better-performing campaigns for increased performance. 
• Improved data analysis – even distribution enables accurate performance evaluation and informed decision-making.  
• Client satisfaction – predictable spending showcases professionalism, delivering consistent results, and fostering long-term relationships.

3.  Performance vs a relevant benchmark

Monitoring performance against a business-centric benchmark is crucial for PPC Managers due to the following reasons:

• Evaluation – it provides an assessment of how well the campaign is performing compared to predefined goals or industry standards.
• Goal Alignment – benchmarks help set realistic targets and ensure the campaign remains aligned with the business objectives.
• Competitive Analysis – comparing against benchmarks reveals insights about industry competition and opportunities for optimization.
• Optimization – benchmarks guide adjustments to bidding, targeting, and other campaign elements for improved results.
• Client Reporting – performance comparisons against benchmarks enable transparent reporting and productive client discussions.