The Correct Way To Introduce New Google Ads Campaigns To Avoid Sales Dips

Transitioning Google Ads campaigns without causing a dip in sales is crucial for maintaining consistent performance, especially for eCommerce brands. At Growth, our marketing agency has developed a specific strategy to seamlessly transition from old Google Ads campaigns to new growth campaigns, preventing disruptions to sales.

Why Transition Gradually

When launching new Google Ads campaigns, particularly Performance Max (PMax), it's important to understand that they go through a learning phase. Depending on ad spend, this phase, which can last anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks, can cause performance drops if handled improperly. Turning off existing campaigns before new ones are fully optimized can lead to significant losses in sales. Therefore, we implement a gradual transition process, ensuring sales remain stable while new campaigns ramp up.

The Strategy Breakdown

Here's how to transition campaigns over a five-week period to avoid any sales dips:

Week 1

Reduce and allocate 20% of the ad spend from old campaigns to new ones. Old campaigns will operate at 80% of their original budget, while new campaigns start with 20% of the total budget.

Week 2

Shift another 20% of the budget from old campaigns to new ones. At this stage, old campaigns will have 60% of the budget, and new campaigns will use 40%.

Week 3-5

Continue reallocating 20% of the budget from old to new campaigns each week. By week five, your new campaigns should be fully funded, and the old campaigns should be completely phased out.

This phased transition ensures that the new campaigns have time to collect data and optimize performance without causing any major disruptions to sales.

Adjusting Budgets Timing and Frequency

Budget adjustments should be made once or twice a week, depending on the account's ad spend and response to changes. Some accounts may react poorly to small adjustments, while others remain stable. In the first couple weeks, monitor the account's performance after each adjustment to determine whether weekly or biweekly changes are necessary.

Bidding Strategy and Target ROAS

For eCommerce clients, we typically use a bidding strategy called Maximize Conversion Value with Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). However, we don't recommend introducing Target ROAS immediately. Setting an ROAS target too early can limit campaign reach during the learning phase, slowing optimization. Instead, Target ROAS should be introduced three weeks after the campaign has gathered enough data and stabilized. This helps boost performance without extending the learning period.

Conclusion

By following a structured transition strategy, you can introduce new Google Ads campaigns without causing significant performance drops. Staying disciplined and following the outlined steps is important, even if early results appear promising. Rushing through this process can lead to issues, so take a measured approach to maintain consistent sales throughout the transition.