The Google Ads Podcast with Fexingo: Search Ads, Display, and PPC Campaign Strategy

Episode 32 of The Google Ads Podcast dives into a hidden flaw in Smart Bidding — it needs conversion data to optimize, and without it, your bids can go haywire. Lucas and Luna break down the real numbers: why Google's automated bidding can increase cost per acquisition by 30-50% in the first week of a new campaign, and how to protect your budget. They cover the minimum conversion threshold (15 con...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive deep into why broad match keywords are silently draining your Google Ads budget in 2026. Lucas explains how Google's automated bidding and broad match have evolved to prioritize ad spend over relevance, citing a specific case where a home services company saw 40% of clicks from irrelevant searches like 'how to fix a leaky faucet' and 'plumber near me' for a key...

In Episode 30 of The Google Ads Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into custom intent audiences—a targeting option that lets you reach people based on their recent search behavior rather than keywords alone. Lucas explains how one ecommerce brand selling ergonomic office chairs used custom intent audiences to increase conversion rates by 112% while reducing cost per acquisition by 35%. They break down t...

In this episode of The Google Ads Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into why audience-first targeting is outperforming keyword-first strategies in 2026. They discuss a real-world case: a mid-sized B2B SaaS company that shifted 60% of its Search budget from keyword-heavy campaigns to audience-targeted campaigns, driving a 34% lower cost per lead and 22% higher close rate. Lucas explains how...

In Episode 28 of the Google Ads Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the hidden danger of broad match keywords. They unpack Google's 2021 shift to broad match as the default, how machine learning expands queries far beyond intent, and why a single broad match term like 'yoga mat' can trigger searches for 'yoga pants' and 'yoga classes.' Using a concrete example of a $10,000 monthly spend...

Lucas and Luna dig into a problem many PPC managers are facing in mid-2026: Performance Max campaigns that silently steal traffic and budget from your well-optimized search campaigns. Using a detailed case study of a mid-market e-commerce brand that saw a 22% drop in search conversion rates after launching PMax, they explain how Google's algorithm prioritizes its own 'portfolio' over your existing...

Lucas and Luna dive into the power of audience segmentation in Google Ads, using a case study of a mid-market e-commerce brand that boosted ROAS by 34% by moving from keyword-focused campaigns to audience-first targeting. They break down in-market vs. affinity audiences, how to layer custom intent segments, and why smart bidding alone isn't enough without the right audience data. Plus, a quick loo...

In this episode of The Google Ads Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the most underutilized tool in PPC management: experiment splits. They break down how to set up a valid A/B test in Google Ads, why most advertisers get the split wrong, and how one ecommerce brand used a campaign experiment to shift budget from generic to branded terms and see a 34% improvement in ROAS over six weeks...

Lucas and Luna dive into the art and science of negative keywords in Google Ads, revealing how a small e-commerce retailer cut their cost per acquisition by 22 percent in just two weeks by aggressively pruning irrelevant search terms. They walk through real examples like 'free' modifiers and job-seeker queries that drain budgets, explain match type behavior for negatives, and share practical tips...

Lucas and Luna dig into Google Ads assets (formerly called ad extensions) and why they matter more in 2026 than ever before. They break down how sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and image assets directly influence your Ad Rank — and your cost-per-click. Using a real example of a mid-market HVAC company that cut CPA by 18% just by adding three asset types, Lucas explains why assets are no...

In Episode 22 of The Google Ads Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into ad customizers in Google Ads — a feature that dynamically inserts countdowns, prices, and location-specific text into responsive search ads. They break down a real case: a mid-size e-commerce brand that tested ad customizers against static ads and saw a 34% lift in click-through rate during a flash sale. Lucas explains the technical...

Episode 21 of The Google Ads Podcast digs into remarketing lists — the one feature almost every advertiser turns on and forgets. Lucas and Luna explain why default remarketing settings often serve ads to people who already converted, why setting a 30-day cookie window destroys your relevance, and how a simple list segmentation strategy can cut wasted spend by 40 percent. They walk through a real a...

Lucas and Luna dig into the messy reality of brand bidding on Google Ads — when competitors bid on your own brand name, when you have to bid on your own brand just to hold position, and how the whole dynamic has shifted since Google relaxed trademark policy in 2024. They walk through a real mid-market SaaS case: a $5 million annual ad spend where brand bidding inefficiency alone was bleeding $400,...

In this episode of the Google Ads Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into Google Ads scripts – a powerful but underutilized automation tool for PPC managers. They walk through a real-world example: using a simple script to pause underperforming keywords daily, saving 15% of wasted spend on an e-commerce campaign. Lucas explains how scripts work within the Google Ads interface, the difference between acc...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down why Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) now outperform the old Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) in Google Ads. They dive into a real-world case study from a mid-sized ecommerce brand that saw a 34% increase in click-through rate and a 21% drop in cost per conversion after switching to RSAs with a disciplined pinning strategy. Lucas explains the machine learning mechanic...

Lucas and Luna dive into a common but costly mistake in Google Ads: relying on default location targeting. They break down how 'presence or interest' settings waste budget on people outside your service area, frame the difference between physical presence and expressed interest, and walk through a real example of a Boston-based HVAC company that bled $3,200 in six weeks on clicks from users 200 mi...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the surprisingly high conversion rates of Google Ads call extensions. They break down the data: phone calls from ads convert at 30 to 50 percent, compared to 3 to 5 percent for click-through forms. They discuss why call extensions work so well for high-consideration purchases like insurance and legal services, and share tips on setting up call tracking and...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how adjusting ad schedules based on time-of-day and day-of-week performance can dramatically improve Google Ads ROI. They discuss a case study of a mid-size e-commerce retailer that increased conversion rates by 34% and reduced cost-per-acquisition by 22% simply by pausing ads during low-converting hours. The hosts break down how to use Google Ads' built-in...

Lucas and Luna unpack one of the most pervasive blind spots in Google Ads: conversion tracking that looks correct but systematically underreports or double-counts. Lucas explains the 'last-click bias' problem with real numbers — how a client's campaign appeared to have a 3x ROAS but actually lost money when accounting for assisted conversions. They walk through the difference between view-through...

Episode 13 of The Google Ads Podcast digs into Google Ads' budget pacing algorithms and how they can silently drain your daily budget before the end of the day. Lucas and Luna unpack a real case from a home-services advertiser who saw a 12% drop in cost-per-click after switching to 'accelerated' delivery, and explain why 'even' delivery isn't always what it seems. They cover how the algorithm fron...

Lucas and Luna dig into a specific Google Ads problem that often flies under the radar: search term isolation. In episode 12, they walk through a real mid-market e-commerce account where the advertiser was spending forty percent of their daily budget on search terms that looked like new customer queries but were actually existing customers typing branded variants into Google. Lucas explains how a...

Episode 11 of The Google Ads Podcast digs into bid modifiers in Google Ads. Lucas explains how the common practice of applying blanket device, location, and time-of-day adjustments often destroys campaign efficiency. He uses a concrete example: a retail store that applied a +20% mobile bid modifier and a +25% location modifier without checking segment-level conversion data, inadvertently doubling...

Lucas and Luna drill into the single most overlooked factor in Google Ads performance: landing page load time. They break down Google's new 'Interaction to Next Paint' metric, share a real case where shaving 0.8 seconds lifted conversion rate by 18 percent, and explain why most advertisers are paying for clicks they'll never convert. No fluff, just the numbers and the fix. #LandingPageSpeed #Googl...

Lucas and Luna dive into a 2026 case study from a mid-market e-commerce brand that ran their own account audit and missed the real problem: a mismatch between impression share data and actual conversion paths. Lucas walks through the three audit mistakes most advertisers make — relying on the Recommendations tab, not running a search-term report with a 30-day window, and ignoring the Google Ads ch...

Episode 8 of The Google Ads Podcast with Fexingo tackles auction-time bidding—Google Ads' shift from keyword-level bids to real-time, user-level bidding. Lucas and Luna break down how this changes campaign structure, budgeting, and optimization, using a real example of a mid-sized e-commerce brand that saw a 30% improvement in ROAS after switching. They explore the trade-offs between control and a...