Introduction
When you go into Google Ads, you sometimes find that your campaigns have a limited status. Sometimes when Google tells you something, you have to approach it with caution, but sometimes you should actually listen. So today, we’re going to go through and understand what it means when your campaign status is “limited.”
We’ll dive into the reasons Google has given your campaigns a limited status, explain when to listen to them, when not to listen to them, and the implications of continuing on with a limited status. What does it mean for your campaigns?
What Does Limited Mean?
First of all, what does “limited” even mean? Well, limited means only one thing on Google Ads: it basically means Google could spend more.
There are four different types of limited status, but in all four cases, what it essentially boils down to is that Google could spend more. Whether they should spend more and whether you could benefit from them spending more is the question. Let’s get into it, because these four limited statuses will tell you which camp you fall into.
The Four Limited Statuses
The four limited statuses to be aware of are:
- Limited by Budget
- Limited by Target
- Limited by Bid Strategy
- Limited by Search Volume
In all cases, Google is telling you your campaign is limited and they could spend much more money, hopefully driving you more results. But what do each of these limited statuses actually mean? And what are the implications of listening to Google in each case?
Limited by Budget
This is quite an obvious one. If your campaign is limited by budget, Google will apply this label to your campaigns. It basically means you could increase your budget and therefore increase how much you spend on Google Ads, hopefully increasing your traffic, clicks, and conversions as well.
Google’s message here is simple: “Put more money in, and leads should go up.” But is this always the case?
If all things being equal, you don’t touch your bid strategy and you continue with a target CPA or some kind of limiting factor that prevents Google from overspending, increasing your budget can be a good thing. Your CPA target acts as a guardrail to stop Google from going crazy with spending. Even if you set your budget to $50,000 a day, that CPA target will hold the campaign back because Google has to try to achieve that target.
So, if Google is telling you your campaign budget is limited, you can increase your budget. In theory, you should gain incremental sales. The worst that can happen is that you don’t spend the additional money you put in. This status is okay to listen to as long as your business can handle the additional leads.
Limited by Target
This is a completely different story. If your campaign is limited by target, Google is basically telling you that the CPA or ROAS target you’ve set is limiting how much Google can spend.
This status isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Your CPA target should align with your business goals. For example, if you can only afford to pay $50 for a lead because of your conversion rates and sales metrics, then Google’s suggestion to raise the target should be meaningless to you. Google doesn’t know your internal business operations, so don’t feel pressured to change your targets.
If you are willing to pay more per lead, raising your CPA target from $50 to $60 can open your campaign up to more auctions and drive more conversions. However, whether you should do this depends entirely on your business model. If you’re comfortable with your current CPA target, you can safely ignore this status.
Limited by Strategy
Google Ads offers various bid strategies to achieve different goals. Examples include:
- Maximize Clicks: Focuses on generating the most clicks within your budget.
- Target Impression Share: Aims for a certain level of visibility.
- Target CPA: Targets a specific cost per acquisition.
- Target ROAS: Focuses on return on ad spend based on revenue generated.
Google may flag your campaign as “limited by strategy” if it thinks you’re not using the most advanced bidding strategy. For example, moving from Maximize Clicks to Target CPA or Target ROAS represents a progression in Google’s hierarchy of bidding strategies.
However, whether you should adopt Google’s recommendations depends on your goals. For lead generation campaigns that don’t track real revenue, sticking with Target CPA often works better. For e-commerce campaigns with accurate revenue tracking, testing Target ROAS can yield great results. The key is to evaluate whether Google’s suggestion aligns with your campaign objectives.
Limited by Search Volume
This status means your campaign’s keywords have low search volume. Google may suggest switching to broader match types to increase traffic.
Should you follow this advice? It depends. If your campaign is performing well in a niche market with high-quality traffic, you may not need to make changes. However, in broader niches with sufficient conversion data, testing broad match can sometimes improve results. Be cautious, though, as broad match can dilute traffic quality in narrow niches.
Conclusion
When Google tells you your campaigns are limited, the best course of action depends entirely on your specific circumstances. Don’t automatically act on the warning label. Instead, consider the implications of each type of limitation and decide what’s best for your business.
If you found this video helpful, please like it and share your thoughts in the comments. Have you dealt with limited statuses? Did making changes improve your results? Let me know, and I’ll see you in the next video!
Add comment