Academic · Digital Marketing Simternship
A Google Ads campaign that beat its revenue target
Running a paid-search and display campaign end to end (keywords, bids, targeting, and optimization) against a hard revenue goal, with real metrics deciding whether the decisions worked.
The brief
The simulation handed me a campaign and a target: build and optimize paid search and display advertising to clear a $16,000 revenue goal. Unlike a class essay, I could see the results right away. Every decision on keywords, bids, and targeting showed up in CTR, conversions, and revenue, and I had to adjust round over round to hit the number.
How I approached it
I structured the account around tight, intent-matched ad groups so the keywords, ad copy, and landing pages all pointed at the same buyer instead of routing everyone to one generic page.
- Split ad groups by keyword intent so the ad copy and landing page matched what the searcher was actually looking for.
- Checked CTR, conversions, and revenue by keyword every round, not just the account total.
- Paused or cut keywords burning spend without converting, and moved that budget to the ones that were.
The outcome
The campaign landed a roughly 35% click-through rate and exceeded the $16K revenue target. Getting there took a few rounds of cutting keywords I'd been confident about going in, once the data showed they weren't converting, and moving that budget to what was working.
What I took away
The build I started with wasn't the build that hit the number. Being willing to cut something I'd set up myself, once the metrics said it wasn't working, mattered more than getting the first version right.
Deliverables
- Structured paid-search and display campaign
- Keyword and ad-group strategy with bid management
- Round-over-round optimization against CTR, conversions, and revenue
Tools
- Google Ads (Stukent Digital Marketing simternship)
- Campaign analytics and performance reporting