Google Ads Optimisation Score now includes Shopping Campaigns

In 2018 we saw Google Ads introduce the Optimisation Score in the Recommendations tab. This score is meant to be used by advertisers as a way to understand how optimised their accounts are: 100% meaning that your campaigns are setup to perform at their full potential at that time. Today, Google has announced that Shopping campaigns will now be included.
What’s the update?
Score is combined at Account level, separate scores for Search and Shopping at campaign level
Optimisation Score for Shopping campaigns works in the same way as Search. You will still see the scores range from 0 to 100%. You’ll now see though a separate score for Shopping and Search campaigns at Campaign level, whilst still seeing the combined score at Account level.
Unique recommendations for Shopping
Google have said that there will be some unique recommendations available just for Shopping campaigns. These include recommendations such as switching to Smart Shopping campaigns and adding seller ratings.
What does this mean for you?
Better understanding of how the foundations of your Shopping Campaigns are setup
The optimisation score can be used as a sense check to see how well your Shopping Campaigns are setup for success. I use it regularly to determine if there are any obvious gaps across the account, and then act accordingly.
What’s good is that the score is in real-time. So if you make a recommended change, you’ll most likely see your score improve almost instantly. Realistically though, you should probably only need to check this score once a week or so.
There is still some scepticism over the Optimisation Score. You decide…
Since it’s introduction, the Optimisation Score has been met by many advertisers with scepticism. One reason is that the score is based on Google’s best practice rather than your own best practice which can sometimes be different. Google’s recommendations tend to favour where the biggest opportunity lies for growth and spend increase, but your goal may be to drive efficiency with less spend. So sometimes there is conflict.
However, it’s really up to you how you use the Optimisation Score. You have the option to ‘Dismiss’ suggestions and cards that you feel aren’t relevant. Ironically, this sometimes feeds into the scepticism over the score too as you can easily improve the score by dismissing all recommendations.
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