Does Google AdWords Work?
By: Margot da Cunha
I thought this was a pretty interesting article title, but it is a valid point. We talk a lot about the benefits and possibilities with PPC, but how do we know it really works? In this post, Margot addresses common arguments against AdWordss and provides a counter argument to support the use of AdWords. here are the common arguments
- Google Adwords is too expensive: Yes, AdWords can cost a significant amount of money – some industries more than others. Yes, it can lead to a negative ROI over time, but there are ways to mitigate the risks involved. Increase your skill set with something like PPC Course, be more realistic about budget/ad spend, and learn to use modifiers to restrict your match types.
- We have great SEO so we don’t need to pay for clicks: Solid SEO is great, but if you can use PPC + good SEO to drive even more traffic and more sales while maintaining a positive ROI, why wouldn’t you?
- The traffic I get from AdWords never converts: Well the answer to this should be fairly obvious, but apparently not. The top reasons being poor landing pages (or no PPC landing pages at all), irrelevant ads, poor account structure.
- I don’t have time to manage it: Sure, it can take a great deal of effort to create and maintain AdWords campaigns, but so much of the work comes in the preparation and creation of the account, campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords. Once it is live, the amount of time needed decreases drastically. I am not saying to “set it and forget it” but your monthly maintenance hours shouldn’t be nearly as much as the initial time investment.
Here’s An AdWords Script To Mine Your Search Query Reports
By: Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Gilbert of Brainlabs (and formerly of Google), has created a script that can be used to pull performance data for each keyword in your account(s). The script works by adding up the performance of all the queries in a certain campaign that contains that word. Based on the comments in the article and my own experience, this does have a few issues. I did not spend much time on it yet, but I am getting an error every time I try and run the script. I will make sure to update this post when I get it working. However, it has the potential to be a very powerful tool when configured correctly, so make sure to read the article and try it for yourself!
7 AdWords Shortcuts to Save You Time & Simplify Your Life
By: Erin Sagin
Just as I explained above, running PPC campaigns can be a big undertaking and it can take a lot of time, especially for larger, more complex accounts. Luckily, WordStream has provided seven shortcuts to help make you more efficient with AdWords. here are the tips:
- Delete keyword clutter
- Delete useless ads
- Delete useless landing pages
- Stop obsessing about mobile landing pages
- Try out ad customizers
- Use AdWords scripts for reporting
- Leverage tools and automation
Basically, we want light weight, no-fluff accounts. Quit wasting time with superfluous keywords, multiple iterations of the same ad, poor landing pages, etc. You want to wield a sniper rifle, not a shotgun. Save yourself time and energy and get rid of the clutter and additional items in your accounts that you do not need.
AdWords Testing New Search Query Report Layout
By: Larry Kim
Google has been testing a new search query report within AdWords recently, and WordStream has the initial details. They have moved certain data points around to different tabs and/or within the same tab. Initial reports state that the new layout is much improved over the old one. Hopefully Google rolls this out to all users in the near future as it is still limited to a select few in the initial beta testing phase. Read all the details over at WordStream!
How to Manage AdWords Campaign Settings, for Overall Success
By: Robert Brady
This article is geared more for beginners, especially those setting up their first campaign, but I like the way Robert organized the post. He does a great job covering the basics of the account structure and what the main points of interest are and how to use them. The different sections covered include:
- Campaign settings – The basics of your account – set up all unique details for each campaign here.
- Locations – Adjust location targeting by varying levels.
- Ad Schedule – For those wanting to run campaigns on a custom schedule.
- Devices – Modify bids based on device.
Robert has all the details for beginners in this post, so make sure to give it a read.
Give Yourself A Grade In AdWords
Have you ever wondered how to evaluate your AdWords performance with more than just returning a positive ROI? I know I am always looking for ways to critique my knowledge and skills in order to evaluate my performance and become better a whatever it is I am working on. In this post, the author offers five very different and unique ways to critique our AdWords skills and evaluate your performance across different aspects. The five tests are:
- Lin-Rodnitsky score – Total CPA / CPA of queries with at least 1 conversion
- Vallaeys shopping efficiency score – How much do you control bids for shopping campaigns?
- Account quality score – Does Google evaluate your entire account and not just ads?
- Percent of ad groups that are missing something – pretty self-explanatory, but still interesting!
- Account activity score – Uses account change history to score
I thought this article was super interesting and it provides new ways to look at your own performance within AdWords. Make sure to give it a read.