Are you finding yourself frustrated with your Google Ads campaigns stuck in the learning phase?
Welcome to the Club – You’re not alone!
Many marketers encounter this challenge, but understanding the learning phase and knowing how to manage it can turn your frustration into planned success.
In this blog post, we’ll talk about everything you need to know about the Google Ads learning phase, from its definition to strategies for speeding up the process.
What is the Google Ads Learning Phase?
The Google Ads learning phase is a period when new or updated campaigns using automated bidding are fine-tuned for better performance. If you see a “Learning” status in your Google Ads account, your campaign is in this phase.
During the learning phase, Google’s algorithm adjusts to how your ad is performing. It figures out the best ways to show your ad to your target audience, learning and making changes in real-time. This helps optimize your ad delivery and enhance performance.
Key Influences in the Learning Phase
The Google Ads learning phase is like the boot camp for your campaigns. Here are some key influences during this training period:
1. Adaptation Period: Google adjusts to the behavior of your ad in real-time auctions.
2. Algorithm Optimization: The algorithm tailors your ad delivery for better performance.
3. Campaign Impact: The learning phase affects how often and to whom your ad is shown. This impacts conversions, costs, and reach.
How Long is the Learning Phase for Google Ads?
The duration of the Google Ads learning phase can range anywhere from one week to one month.
This timeframe is flexible and depends on several factors, like:
- Initial Data: New campaigns or campaigns with limited historical data often require a longer learning phase.
- Frequency of Changes: Regular modifications to budget, targeting, ad copy, or bid strategies can reset the learning process, prolonging the phase.
- Competitive Niches: Highly competitive industries may experience longer learning phases due to the need for the algorithm to compete for visibility and adjust bid strategies.
What Affects the Duration of the Learning Period?
The Google Ads learning phase is where your campaigns get into shape.
Here are the factors that affect the duration of this training:
1. Conversion Quantity: It is the number of conversions acquired by your ad groups, campaigns, keywords, or products. The more conversions your campaigns get, the faster they learn.
2. Conversion Cycle Length: This refers to the time it takes for a click to convert. The quicker a click becomes a conversion, the shorter the learning phase.
3. Bid Strategy Variation: Different bid strategies affect the duration of the learning phase. Strategies like Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversion Value influence the learning phase, while manual CPC does not affect the learning period.
Checking the Learning Phase Status
It’s easy to find out if your campaign is in the learning phase. Just check the bid status in your Google Ads account. If it says “Learning,” your bids are getting optimized by Google Ads.
Why is My Campaign in the Learning Phase?
Curious why your bid status shows as learning?
Here are a few reasons that might cause your bid status to show as learning:
- New Strategy: You’ve recently created or reactivated a bid strategy.
- Setting Change: Any adjustments to your bid strategy settings prompt Google Ads to readjust for bid optimization.
- Composition Change: Adding or removing campaigns, ad groups, and keywords within the automated bid strategy can trigger the learning phase.
Strategies to Speed Up the Learning Phase
Now that we know about the factors that can impact and extend the learning phase let’s look at some smart strategies to speed it up:
1. Minimize Frequent Changes: Avoid making too many changes at once. Each modification resets the learning process and prolongs the phase as the system adapts to these changes.
2. Leverage Historical Data: Campaigns with extensive historical data provide the algorithm with valuable information, speeding up the learning process. A business with years of Google Ads data has a rich dataset that can facilitate faster adjustments.
3. Maintain Consistency: To accumulate stable data, keep ad creatives, target audiences, and budget allocations consistent. This consistency shortens the learning phase duration.
4. Implement Testing Phases: Conduct preliminary testing with smaller budgets to collect data and optimize the campaign before committing to bigger budgets.
5. Gradual Optimization Changes: Make changes gradually to avoid disrupting the learning phase. Sudden and frequent changes can reset and extend the learning process.
6. Harness Your Data: The depth and richness of data directly correlate with the efficacy and speed of optimization. Detailed data, including historical and conversion tracking, can feed the algorithm for better strategy implementation.
7. CPA-Focused Optimization: Align your bidding and optimization with cost-per-acquisition (CPA) goals to guide the system toward more effective performance.
8. Landing Page Relevance: Ensure your landing pages are relevant to your ad content and search terms. This alignment enhances user experience and aids in speeding up the learning phase.
Post-Learning Phase
Even when your bid status no longer shows “Learning,” Google Ads continues to refine its algorithms. The platform learns from user behavior and adjusts ad delivery strategies for ongoing optimization. Although the changes won’t be as notable post-learning phase, the algorithm still adjusts and optimizes based on the data it collects.
Mastering the Google Ads learning phase is important for optimizing ad performance. Dealing with this phase with strategic finesse optimizes ad delivery and ensures campaigns are in sync with evolving market dynamics.
By understanding this phase, staying patient, and making smart tweaks, you can transform a challenging period into a time of significant growth. And if you want some additional advantage of having experienced Google Ads professionals by your side, Partner with InvisiblePPC for expert white-label Google Ads management.
InvisiblePPC will guide you through the learning phase and optimize your campaigns for maximum ROI.
Contact us today and kickstart your journey to successful Google Ads campaigns!
