Search Training

Owned by Brenton Rose
Last updated: Apr 05, 2023
3 min read

Prerequisites

Overview

Person must have Admin access to Google Ads

Recommended Discovery questions for Sales Sales to ask

  • Are they currently using a dynamic Search Solution?

  • Will they want to run ads on Bing?

  • Are they using a bid management platform/auto bidding

Prep Items

Authenticate The Hoot Platform with Google

  • Found in the client setting area under Authentication

  • This should be done at the client level (It can be done at the individual advertiser but Google limits each user to 50 authentications so this can cause issues if multiple advertisers are set-up using a unique authentication.)

  • It is recommended you create a unique User with Admin access or use an existing Team ID so this does not need to be changed if employees leave the agency.

    • This id is also the id associated with any changes our system might make within the Google Platform.

Create Campaign Shell (Only if you plan to use Auto Templates) *Sales Person should give direction to client if this step is needed

Inside Google Ads create a target campaign, ad group, ads and keywords are irrelevant so skipping these steps is acceptable. Google will by default a single ad group called “adgroup 1”. Once the campaign is deleted this can be removed.

Add Advertiser

  • Enable Search Feature inside Hoot (Templates cannot be set-up without the advertiser being configured)

  • Enter Google Account CID (Google Account ID) - If you authenticated at the client level you should not need to authenticate this when saving. If you get an authentication pop up upon saving you can simply follow the authentication steps.

  • Enable Ad Customizers (if applicable)

Training Call Overview

Suggested Discovery Questions:

  • How much/often do you customize Ad Copy?

  • Do you create ad copy by model?

  • Example: Do you have different ad copy for New Camry vs Corolla?

  • Do you have campaigns for low inventory circumstances where a Model Count filter would be necessary?

  • Do you have Custom Used Campaigns that Target Segments of inventory like cars under x, or used trucks?

  • How active are you in Adwords/Editor?

  • If a new vehicle hit the market , do you want to manually add it to your campaigns or do you expect it to automatically update?

  • Does your team make a lot of keyword/ad copy changes inside Google or other Campaign Management Tool? Example: Kenshoo, Marin…..

Search Strategy Best Practices:

Auto Templates are recommended for the following use cases:

  • Used Car Campaigns (New inventory updates based upon actual inventory)

  • Model Count Inventory campaigns (I want to build campaigns by inventory level, or segment by price categories)

  • VDP Landing

  • Client seeking more real time pushes/updates with “Save and Apply” functionality

Pre Build are recommended for the following use cases:

  • Client wants to manually edit in Google Ads

  • New Car Campaigns when client creates custom ad copy by new car model

    • A|B testing

    • Detailed Ad Copy Segmentation

  • Keyword definition by model

Highlighted Features:

Pre-build:

  • Libraries: How to create initial Default Library, How to add Make/Model/Trims, Custom Libraries, Subscribe function & “Use Only Products Added Since” field

  • Year Range

  • Max CPC view / context on that

Auto Templates:

  • Notification schedule opt-in

  • Additional placeholders beyond Make, Model, Trim, Year ( ex. VIN, Fuel Type, Model Count, etc)

  • Filters (same as display)

    • Filters are not available until Auto Templates are configured initially-This is normal and expected behavior for workflow process

  • Download preview button as QA tool

  • Campaign selection (Shell must be created first to show up in drop down)

  • URL Custom Parameters

  • Template Error Logs and History

  • Support Team Final URL Access for faster updates when needed

All Setups:

  • Advertiser and Feature level calendar scheduling for end dates

  • Campaign Builder on side panel (overarching view of all templates/dealerships)

  • Client level authentication (under Client Settings)

  • Tab 5 – CID, Authentication, Campaign check in correlation to potential errors and alerts

  • Ad Customizers (if being opted-into)

  • CMS Guide (External version and version on Final URL field)

  • Available Placeholders ( Advertiser_dba, Make/Model Alt etc.)

  • Show alternate fields button for catch-alls

  • Keyword import function

  • Make Filters

Post Call Collateral: