Why won't my PMax campaign spend its full daily budget? And how do I implement Google Consent Mode V2?

It's time for your bi-weekly PPC health check-up. Let's get into it.

Q: I have a question about a PMax campaign that I’ve been running for about a year. It’s on tCPA bidding and consistently hits the tCPA target. The conversion volume is decent, but I’d love to see more. I recently increased the daily budget from $450 to $550, but daily spend is still hovering around $450. Why won’t it spend more?

A: It sounds like your PMax campaign is a little spend-shy! This is likely because it’s consistently hitting your tCPA target, and Google is limiting the spend to maintain that efficiency. One of the golden rules of paid search health is to always consider the cost vs. efficiency tradeoff. The more you spend, the less efficient that spend will be. It’s up to you to decide if the additional conversions you’ll get are worth a higher CPA.

One approach is to gradually increase your tCPA target by a small percentage, like +10% a week. This will give the campaign more room to spend while still maintaining a CPA close to your target. You could also consider switching to a "Maximize Conversions" strategy if your main goal is to drive more volume, but keep in mind this will likely lead to a higher CPA.

Sometimes, refreshing your creative assets or expanding your audience targeting gives the algorithm more opportunities to find users that’ll convert. The key is to make changes gradually and monitor the impact closely to ensure CPA stays on track.

Q: What is Google Consent Mode v2, and what do I need to do to ensure my site complies with it?

A: Google Consent Mode v2 (CMv2) helps advertisers comply with privacy regulations while still acquiring data from users who have consented to tracking. It allows you to adjust the behavior of your Google tags based on users' consent status so that when users opt out of tracking, the tags adapt to respect their preferences. The newer version (v2) offers enhanced control with two new parameters—ad_user_data and ad_personalization—and two consent modes: Basic and Advanced.

To ensure your website complies, you need to implement Consent Mode in your Google Tags, set up the necessary signals, and configure your campaigns to adjust based on user consent. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Implement Consent Mode in Google Tags: Update your website’s Google Tags to include CMv2.
2. Configure Consent States: Determine whether to use Basic or Advanced mode. Basic mode handles consent simply, while Advanced mode gives you more granular control over how data is collected and processed based on user consent.
3. Set Parameters: Use the new ad_user_data and ad_personalization parameters to control how Google processes data for advertising and personalization based on consent.
4. Work with a CMP (Consent Management Platform): Integrate a CMP that supports CMv2 to manage and communicate consent preferences on your website.
5. Test and Monitor: Regularly test your setup to ensure it's functioning correctly and that consent is being respected according to the latest regulations.

Let us know if any other questions come up while you’re implementing! 

Q:  A few days ago I created a Meta advantage plus campaign with a lot of different creative variations. The campaign is active but not spending. It says it’s in the Learning Phase. How can I get it to start serving my ads?

A: It sounds like your campaign might need a bit more time to kick into gear. When a campaign says it’s in the learning phase, it’s adjusting to find the best audiences and placements, so it’s normal for spending to be slow initially. However, if the trend continues, there are a few things you can troubleshoot.

It may sound obvious, but start by QAing your setup to ensure the campaign has active ads and ad sets. I know I’ve forgotten to enable an ad or two in my day! Once you’ve confirmed your settings are correct, you can dig deeper.

Check your audience size—if it’s too narrow, there might not be enough users to target. You could try broadening your audience or expanding your targeting settings. Also, review your bid strategy and budget. If your bid is too low, it might not be competitive enough to enter auctions. Similarly, if your budget is limited, the system may be cautious about spending it too quickly. Consider adjusting these settings slightly to see if it helps.

And that's a wrap on this week's digital marketing health checkup! Got questions for our PPC Docs? Share them here.

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