---
title: Kirk Williams | DMC 2016
description: Ecommerce? Google Shopping? Kirk Williams has you covered!! Kirk shared his ecommerce & PPC wisdom w/ SLCDMC attendees. Read on for some killer tips!
---

[![Utah DIgital Marketing Collective](https://www.utahdmc.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Utah%20DMC%20Logo.png?width=175&height=175&name=Utah%20DMC%20Logo.png "Utah DIgital Marketing Collective")](https://www.utahdmc.org/)

- [Home](https://www.utahdmc.org)
- [Events](https://www.utahdmc.org/#events) 
    - [New Online Events](https://www.utahdmc.org/online-events)
    - [Code of Conduct](https://www.utahdmc.org/code-of-conduct)
- [About Us](https://www.utahdmc.org/#about)
- [Contact Us](https://www.utahdmc.org/contact-us)
- Slack
- Jobs Board
- Sponsors
- Membership
- [Blog](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog)

# The Utah DMC Blog

## Kirk Williams | DMC 2016

by [Bryan Phelps](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/author/bryan-phelps), on Oct 10, 2016 8:36:37 AM

## Master This  in Ecommerce PPC (Before Google Changes It All Again Next Year)

Kirk Williams is a very experienced PPC search engine marketer with some serious ecommerce chops. Much of Kirk’s presentation focused on Product Listing Ads, or PLAs, as Google Shopping is playing a more significant role and was incredibly useful for SLC|SEM attendee working in the ecommerce space in ecommerce. He specifically address campaign setup, the role of RLSAs in ecommerce, labels, and bidding tactics specific to PLAs.

### Google Shopping On the Rise!

To help the audience understand the significance in Google Shopping in today’s ecommerce environment Kirk highlighted some of the recent changes Google has made to search that have shifted SEM’s focus towards PLAs. Here are a few:

- Requires GTINs (Global Trade Item Number) for PLAs
- Added Image Search Ads
- Added “Buy” box on mobile shopping
- Improvements made to Google Merchant Center
- Added Showcase Shopping Ads

Kirk also discussed something that he believes is an issue with Google Shopping; the topic of bidding. In most of paid search you bid on keyword and the intent the searcher communicates behind their query. Conversely, you bid on products in Google Shopping and don’t have full control over your campaign. Kirk and his ecommerce tips to the rescue!

 

### Campaign Setup

Kirk didn’t spend too much time discussing campaign setup, but he didn’t leave us hanging. He directed us to his guide at Search Engine Land that takes you [step-by-step into into query-level bidding on Google Shopping](http://searchengineland.com/step-step-guide-query-level-bidding-google-shopping-228309). However, he did mention the basic structure of this strategy.

- High-priority campaign left quite generic
- Medium-priority campaign brand & SKUs filtered through
- Low-priority campaign with SKUs filtered through.

### Custom Labels

When Kirk brought up custom labels he only brought it up talk about how custom labels aren’t very useful, which is decidedly against what most PPC experts profess. Kirk mentioned a few reasons why he doesn’t use them. For example, Kirk doesn’t use custom labels on anything that doesn’t change your bidding practice and many searchers don’t buy the product you think they should (and so having Google bring attention to them becomes unwise). Lastly, labels create duplicate products in your campaigns, duplicates that you might not even be aware of.

Conversely, Kirk does use custom labels for sale and clearance items, a brand’s top products where they want visibility.

### RLSA for Shopping

Shopping ads are great and remarketing ads are great. When you put them together they’re even better. However, Kirk recommends that you separate your Shopping and RSLA

First, random bid modifiers can be absolute monsters making it difficult to manage the count. Second, return customers are not the same as new customers and so a one-size-fits-all approach is a bad one. Third, budget control. Need we say more?

As far as setup Kirk likes to set up his remarketing lists inside of Google Analytics with broad behaviors. From there he copies the current shopping campaign, pastes and renames, and ads the RLSA lists to ad groups in bulk. Simple enough.

### Bidding

Lastly, Kirk talked about bidding strategies. He gave some very specific examples in his slides. Here’s what he talked about:

- There are no automated rules in Google Shopping, but you can use filters to bid up or down.
- Use custom columns with attribution columns to give yourself more information to make bidding decisions.

Kirk’s presentation was fantastic. He shared remarkably useful strategic and tactical information that will help your next ecommerce campaign flourish!

Topics: [Event Recaps](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/event-recaps) [ppc](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/ppc) [ecommerce](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/ecommerce) [DMC2016](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/dmc2016)

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

### About Our Blog

This is where you find event recaps, guest blog posts, and other newsworthy items from Utah DMC.

### Subscribe to the Utah DMC Blog

### Recent Posts

### Posts by Topic

- [Event Recaps (113)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/event-recaps)
- [Events (40)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/events)
- [strategy (24)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/strategy)
- [ppc (23)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/ppc)
- [DMC (22)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/dmc)
- [News (21)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/news)
- [digital marketing utah (21)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/digital-marketing-utah)
- [DMC2018 (16)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/dmc2018)
- [Blog (15)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/blog)
- [DMC2016 (12)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/dmc2016)
- [DMC2017 (12)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/dmc2017)
- [marketing (12)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/marketing)
- [seo (11)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/seo)
- [content marketing (10)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/content-marketing)
- [social media (9)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/social-media)
- [digital marketing (8)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/digital-marketing)
- [data (6)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/data)
- [video marketing (6)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/video-marketing)
- [analytics (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/analytics)
- [artificial intelligence (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/artificial-intelligence)
- [facebook (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/facebook)
- [paid search (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/paid-search)
- [paid social (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/paid-social)
- [social media advertising (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/social-media-advertising)
- [Google (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/google)
- [advertising (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/advertising)
- [personal branding (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/personal-branding)
- [AdWords (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/adwords)
- [Uncategorized (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/uncategorized)
- [business (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/business)
- [ecommerce (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/ecommerce)
- [jobs (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/jobs)
- [sem (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/sem)
- [social media optimization (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/social-media-optimization)
- [Display Advertising (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/display-advertising)
- [Guest Post (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/guest-post)
- [Members (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/members)
- [Programmatic Display Advertising (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/programmatic-display-advertising)
- [SEM trends (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/sem-trends)
- [Videos (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/videos)
- [YouTube (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/youtube)
- [agency (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/agency)
- [attribution (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/attribution)
- [automation (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/automation)
- [content (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/content)
- [facebook funnels (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/facebook-funnels)
- [job searching (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/job-searching)
- [quora (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/quora)
- [seo tips (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/seo-tips)
- [slc meetups (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/slc-meetups)
- [slc|sem (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/slcsem)
- [snapchat (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/snapchat)
- [CMO (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/cmo)
- [CRO (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/cro)
- [Community (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/community)
- [Dungeons & Dragons (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/dungeons-dragons)
- [Facebook Ads (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/facebook-ads)
- [Ginny Marvin (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/ginny-marvin)
- [Google trends (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/google-trends)
- [Google, algorithm, Ted Waz, SLCSEM, DMC (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/google-algorithm-ted-waz-slcsem-dmc)
- [Growth (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/growth)
- [Hiring (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/hiring)
- [James Svoboda (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/james-svoboda)
- [John doherty (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/john-doherty)
- [Justin Rondeau (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/justin-rondeau)
- [PR (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/pr)
- [Remarketing (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/remarketing)
- [Sales (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/sales)
- [Survey (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/survey)
- [Virtual Events (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/virtual-events)
- [West Barnell (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/west-barnell)
- [aaron levy (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/aaron-levy)
- [branding (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/branding)
- [buzzstream (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/buzzstream)
- [casie gillette (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/casie-gillette)
- [chat bots (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/chat-bots)
- [christi olson (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/christi-olson)
- [conversion rate optimization (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/conversion-rate-optimization)
- [crawling (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/crawling)
- [customer experience (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/customer-experience)
- [education (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/education)
- [events (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/events-2)
- [facebook messenger (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/facebook-messenger)
- [google data studio (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/google-data-studio)
- [googlebots (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/googlebots)
- [hubspot (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/hubspot)
- [impressions (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/impressions)
- [influencer marketing (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/influencer-marketing)
- [influencers (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/influencers)
- [joe martin (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/joe-martin)
- [lead genereation (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/lead-genereation)
- [linkbuilding (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/linkbuilding)
- [machine learning (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/machine-learning)
- [marketing automation (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/marketing-automation)
- [marty weintraub (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/marty-weintraub)
- [micro moments (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/micro-moments)
- [mobile (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/mobile)
- [networking (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/networking)
- [networking events (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/networking-events)
- [online marketing (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/online-marketing)
- [reporting (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/reporting)
- [roi (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/roi)
- [search (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/search)
- [social (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/social)
- [utah (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/utah)
- [visual sale (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/topic/visual-sale)

see all

### Blog Archive

- [September 2015 (18)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/09)
- [October 2018 (17)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/10)
- [November 2017 (16)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2017/11)
- [September 2019 (16)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2019/09)
- [January 2017 (7)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2017/01)
- [October 2016 (6)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/10)
- [January 2020 (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/01)
- [July 2020 (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/07)
- [December 2021 (5)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2021/12)
- [November 2011 (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2011/11)
- [January 2012 (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/01)
- [May 2017 (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2017/05)
- [October 2017 (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2017/10)
- [August 2019 (4)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2019/08)
- [October 2011 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2011/10)
- [February 2012 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/02)
- [October 2014 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/10)
- [September 2016 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/09)
- [April 2019 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2019/04)
- [September 2020 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/09)
- [November 2020 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/11)
- [March 2021 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2021/03)
- [July 2021 (3)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2021/07)
- [December 2011 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2011/12)
- [March 2012 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/03)
- [April 2012 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/04)
- [July 2012 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/07)
- [September 2012 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/09)
- [November 2012 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/11)
- [February 2013 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/02)
- [March 2013 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/03)
- [April 2013 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/04)
- [July 2013 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/07)
- [September 2013 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/09)
- [August 2014 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/08)
- [February 2015 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/02)
- [May 2015 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/05)
- [August 2015 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/08)
- [February 2018 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/02)
- [April 2018 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/04)
- [December 2018 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/12)
- [June 2020 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/06)
- [December 2020 (2)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/12)
- [June 2012 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/06)
- [August 2012 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/08)
- [December 2012 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2012/12)
- [January 2013 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/01)
- [May 2013 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/05)
- [June 2013 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/06)
- [November 2013 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/11)
- [December 2013 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2013/12)
- [January 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/01)
- [February 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/02)
- [March 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/03)
- [May 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/05)
- [June 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/06)
- [July 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/07)
- [September 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/09)
- [December 2014 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2014/12)
- [March 2015 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/03)
- [April 2015 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/04)
- [June 2015 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/06)
- [October 2015 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/10)
- [November 2015 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/11)
- [December 2015 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2015/12)
- [January 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/01)
- [March 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/03)
- [April 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/04)
- [May 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/05)
- [June 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/06)
- [August 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/08)
- [December 2016 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2016/12)
- [June 2017 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2017/06)
- [August 2017 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2017/08)
- [March 2018 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/03)
- [June 2018 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/06)
- [July 2018 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/07)
- [August 2018 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2018/08)
- [February 2019 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2019/02)
- [March 2020 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/03)
- [August 2020 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2020/08)
- [May 2021 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2021/05)
- [June 2021 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2021/06)
- [October 2022 (1)](https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/archive/2022/10)

see all

### Contact

**SLC|SEM DBA Utah Digital Marketing Collective**  
Salt Lake City, Utah 

### From Our Blog

### Subscribe to updates

### Connect With Us

<https://www.youtube.com/user/slcsem><http://www.slideshare.net/slcsem><https://www.facebook.com/149767721785484><https://www.instagram.com/theutahdmc><https://www.linkedin.com/company/15598802><https://twitter.com/TheUtahDMC>

© 2026 Utah DMC / SLCSEM

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Bryan Phelps",
    "url" : "https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/author/bryan-phelps"
  },
  "datePublished" : "2016-10-10T14:36:37.000Z",
  "headline" : "Kirk Williams | DMC 2016",
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.utahdmc.org/blog/master-this-in-ecommerce-ppc-before-google-changes-it-all-again-next-year",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://www.utahdmc.org/hubfs/Utah%20DMC%20Logo.png"
    },
    "name" : "Utah Digital Marketing Collective"
  }
}
```