What Should I Do If Google Suggests Closing and Duplicating My Campaign?

Short Answer: If Google reviews your campaign and finds everything reasonable but the campaign still isn’t performing, it’s recommended to create a new campaign from scratch. You can duplicate your existing campaign, make a small adjustment such as updating the Google tag, then leave it untouched for about two weeks to properly assess the results.

Full Explanation

Sometimes, despite Google’s review showing that your campaign setup is correct, the campaign does not deliver the desired performance. This situation can be compared to rebooting a computer when it’s not functioning properly. Instead of trying to optimize the existing campaign endlessly, the advisable approach is to close the current campaign and start fresh. Duplicating the campaign allows you to keep the original framework and settings intact but resets performance tracking and data collection under a new campaign.

One small but important change to implement when duplicating is to update your Google tag. This helps signal Google’s system that the campaign is new and requires fresh evaluation. After establishing this new campaign, it is crucial to avoid making further changes immediately. Give it about two weeks to gather sufficient data and observe how it performs effectively before making any decisions or adjustments.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

1. Review Campaign: Ensure Google’s review confirms your campaign setup makes sense.
2. Decide to Reboot: If the campaign is still underperforming, decide to create a new campaign instead of continuing with the current one.
3. Duplicate Campaign: Copy your existing campaign to maintain settings but reset the environment.
4. Make a Small Change: Modify the Google tag slightly to signal a new campaign to the system.
5. Launch and Wait: Start the newly duplicated campaign and avoid touching it for two weeks.
6. Analyze Results: After two weeks, review the results to decide the next steps.

Real Examples

While this method applies broadly, think of when you have a campaign that looks well-structured and Google’s review flags no major issues, yet your clicks or conversions are low. Rebooting the campaign by closing and duplicating it often resets campaign data and allows Google’s algorithms to refresh their evaluation. Making a minor change like updating the Google tag adds a clear signal of change, helping the system optimize anew.

Common Mistakes

• Continuously Tinkering: Making frequent changes to the new campaign immediately after launching can confuse data interpretation and slow learning.
• Neglecting the Tag Change: Failing to adjust the Google tag could make the system treat it exactly like the old campaign, reducing the benefit of duplication.
• Premature Judgement: Assessing campaign performance too soon before the two-week period can lead to false conclusions.

FAQs

Why duplicate instead of editing the current campaign?

Duplicating resets the campaign’s performance data and provides a fresh start while preserving setup configurations.

How significant should the Google tag change be?

The change should be small but noticeable enough to alert Google’s system to treat the campaign differently.

Can I make changes during the two-week waiting period?

No. It’s important to leave the campaign untouched to allow a clear evaluation of its performance.

Key Takeaways

• When a Google-reviewed campaign makes sense but underperforms, starting fresh by duplicating is effective.
• Making a minor change like updating the Google tag helps signal a new campaign status.
• Waiting two weeks without adjusting the new campaign is crucial for accurate performance assessment.