Are Your PPC Ads Competing Against Each Other?
Ever feel like your own ads are fighting each other for the top spot? You’ve got a red t-shirt and a blue t-shirt, and they’re both showing up for the same searches, driving you crazy. This is a classic PPC puzzle, and it’s easy to overcomplicate the solution.
Expert Advice: Is It Actually a Problem?
I was digging into this exact problem and came across some fantastic advice from expert Navah Hopkins. She brings up a brilliant first question: is it actually a problem? If both your red and blue shirt ads are profitable and getting clicks, you might just have two winners. Navah points out that true cannibalization is when one product’s ad actively hurts the performance of another, not just when they both appear.
Solutions for Standard Shopping
For those situations where it is a real issue, her solutions are practical and platform-specific. In Standard Shopping, Navah suggests using campaign priorities to tell Google which product to favor for certain searches. You can also use negative keywords to guide traffic, ensuring a search for a “blue t-shirt” doesn’t trigger your general t-shirt ad.
Tackling Cannibalization in Performance Max
When it comes to Performance Max, the game changes. Navah warns against the common mistake of putting every single product variation into its own asset group. This can starve the algorithm of the data it needs to learn and optimize effectively. Instead, she recommends a much cleaner approach: using listing groups within a single asset group. This lets you manage all your similar products without fragmenting your campaign’s learning power.
The Key Takeaway: Focus on Profit, Not Perfection
What I find most valuable about Navah’s analysis is the focus on results over unnecessary complexity. It’s a great reminder that the ultimate goal is profit, not a perfectly structured account that no one but you will ever see.
There’s a lot more to her strategy, especially on the technical setup. I highly recommend you read Navah Hopkins’s full guide on preventing PPC ad cannibalization to get all the details.