Ashton Clarke

Paid Media Team Lead at Knucklepuck | #PPC | #CFC

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

I've been nerding out with custom columns in my Google Ads accounts over the past few months.

In this most recent blog post, I wanted to share the most helpful ones we've found & use for all clients – https://t.co/TWcL2oSvMT

Hope everyone has had a productive Monday! #PPCChat

[Search Engine Land @sengineland]

How to make PPC work for SMBs via @adclarke10 https://t.co/2Hb41HxDa1

[Kirk Williams @PPCKirk]

@rustybrick @adclarke10 How to know you’re a monopoly #476:

Your customers who pay you to use your service have to pay to get support to use your service and then you lay off a bunch of those support people anyway cause lulz what are your customers actually going to do and where would they go?

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

@beyondthepaid Couldn't agree more. This, combined with certifications no longer being free (and being proctored), is just crazy!

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

Has anyone else seen or used the "$50 per appointment" option for Google Ads support? Is there any value in it? Can't say I'm super inclined to spend $50 just for someone to tell me "turn on auto apply recommendations" or "use Broad Match"...
#PPCChat

[Search Engine Land @sengineland]

How to approach weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual PPC reporting via @adclarke10 https://t.co/Qikg4odjZj

[Search Engine Land @sengineland]

3 steps for effective PPC reporting and analysis via @adclarke10 https://t.co/EWijcfc3yI

[SPORTbible @sportbible]

Comedian Karl Porter does an incredible impression of footballer goal celebrations in slow motion 🤣👏

[PPC Live @ppcliveuk]

Interesting...just as Google is encouraging you to migrate Display to PMax - we had one of our brilliant writers @adclarke10, take us through the future of Google Display Campaigns.😏 Some eerily accurate predictions there. The future is now! #PPCChat
https://t.co/ZvAnpwFWrU

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A3: Yes, all of the above 🙂
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Q3: Have you joined any of our other channels (Slack, Discord and/or LinkedIn Group)?

If so, why and which one(s)?

And if not, why not?

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A2: The community & everyone's willingness to help with a problem, share their experiences, etc. Also a great resource when big news drops or we see something funky in an account.
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Q2: What is the biggest value you get out of PPC Chat currently?

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A1: A and C! Try to listen to Thursday audio chats when possible too
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Let's get to it!

Q1: How do you participate in PPC Chat most frequently:

A. Tuesday Twitter chats
B. Thursday audio chats
C. Via Twitter throughout the week
D. On another PPC Chat Channel
E. Lurking

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A5: Tbh I don't really have a solution in mind yet, so interested in other answers here 😅

Maybe test landing pages that are only used for paid channels, so if someone converts on the page we know it only could have come from us. Not easily scalable tho (esp for SMBs).
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Q5: With Apple potentially stripping out UTM parameters as early as Q4 2023, including Google and Facebook ads parameters, how do you plan to capture conversions that should be attributed to ads?

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A4.2: Also not having access to a client's CRM, Analytics, or other platforms makes it hard to get the full picture on my own. I try to combat this by talking about lead quality/volume on every call. "What do you see on your end", "Do those numbers align internally" etc.
#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A4: The GA4 switch & making sure that data is accurate has been a struggle for some clients. Cookie consent banners & privacy updates have also impacted if conversions are attributed properly (or if they fire at all).
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Q4: What are the biggest roadblocks you encounter when it comes to properly tracking PPC conversions in 2023?

How do you handle those situations?

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A3: I like to default to Google Analytics data, mostly bc that's what clients tend to refer to as their main source of truth. Especially true if I know/trust the people who did the GA implementation.

On the flip side, there always seems to be a discrepancy with FB & LI.
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Q3: Do you find some platforms are better at or easier to track conversions on?

If so, which are better and worse and why?

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A2.2: Some of this is due to clients setting up GA4 incorrectly (or still troubleshooting), so I provide the numbers we can & then ask what they see on their end to try to figure out what's most accurate. Also trying to get CRMs integrated with platforms where we can.
#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A2.1: Like others mentioned, GA4 has some discrepancies compared to what shows in each ad platform. We've seen this impact Social in particular, like LinkedIn.
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Q2: Have you encountered any issues with conversion tracking lately?

If so, on which platforms and what did you do to try to solve it?

#PPCChat

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

A1: Most of my clients are focused on lead gen or B2B, so we mainly track Form Submissions & Phone Calls (if relevant).

Methods kinda vary depending on the website/client, but historically we've tried to use imports from Google Analytics when possible (or the GAds tag)
#PPCChat

[Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon]

Let's get to it!

Q1: What types of conversion actions are you currently tracking in your PPC campaigns?

What method do you use to track the conversions (Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, third party tool, etc.)?

#PPCChat

[Search Engine Land @sengineland]

5 tips for handling client and stakeholder requests for PPC projects via @adclarke10 https://t.co/A2z5ajlWwc

[Ashton Clarke @adclarke10]

@revaminkoff @teabeeshell @NeptuneMoon Same here! Behavior Flow was a great report in UA, and the GA4 version just isn't the same at this point. #PPCChat