A saw, a hammer, and a keyword tracker; What do these three things have in common?
They are all tools.
Now, if you work on AdWords accounts, you probably don’t bring your power tools to the office. But, if you built houses for a living, you would.
Just like a builder and their power tools, AdWords managers need to bring their best tools to work with them.
Tools can help us save time and increase our efficiency.
With good fundamentals and the right strategies in place, PPC tools can help us scale our results.
Today I’m sharing my 10 favorite PPC tools with you. Check out my list below, and pack as many of these tools as you can into your PPC toolbox.
Here’s our list of Top 10 PPC Tools.
#10 Adalysis
Want to automate your ad testing? Use Adalysis. Ad rotation and testing is key to good PPC performance. Turning off poor performing ads and doubling down on ads that convert is one of the best ways to increase your efficiency.
Ad testing takes daily management and statistical analysis. Adalysis tracks, measures, and optimizes your ad selection, allowing you to automate ad copy testing.
#9 Scrape Box
Scrape Box is an old school keyword tool, but it’s still one of the best! This is a desktop application that scrapes search engines and websites for keyword data. You can use Scrape Box to generate 100’s to 1,000’s of potential keyword ideas for your ads.
The best part? Because Scrapebox is a desktop app, it’s a lot harder to get shut down by Google for harvesting the web.
#8 Google Analytics
Google Analytics (GA) is a must-use AdWords tool. The AdWords interface is great at showing you cost and click data. But how will you know what visitors do on your landing pages? That’s where Google Analytics comes into the picture.
Also, integrating GA with AdWords allows you to push conversion tracking, remarketing and cost data back and forth between both interfaces.
GA has eleven reports and counting that are specific to AdWords.
Think of Google Analytics as the jelly in your AdWords peanut butter.
Need help connecting your AdWords account to Google Analytics? Check out our post on conversion linker to learn more about linking AdWords to GA.
#7 KeywordTool.io
Keyword Tool uses Google’s autosuggest to generate 100’s of variations of your target keyword. You can use keyword tool to create comprehensive lists of long tail keywords quickly. This tool is also great for creating negative keyword lists.
#6 SEMrush
SEMrush is one of the most elite all-in-one competitive research tools. This tool allows you to analyze which keywords your competition is targeting. You can also see how much your competition is spending on ads.
SEMrush is the gold standard in digital marketing for competitive keyword research.
#5 AdWords Scripts
AdWord Scripts are the ultimate automation tool. Almost every repetitive task you do in AdWords can be automated using scripts.
You can write scripts to manage your bids, or adjust ad rotation based on conversions. Essentially, you can use scripts to automate just about any strategy or process that has a set of rules.
Using scripts is one of the bests ways to maximize efficiency in large accounts.
#4 Zapier
Zapier isn’t really an AdWords tool. In fact, it doesn’t even integrate with AdWords. But it’s such a effective tool it still makes our list.
Zapier connects 1,100+ apps to each other. Connecting your tools to each other saves you from wasting time on repetitive file transfers and manual data uploads.
You can use Zapier to move your AdWords lead data from a Google Sheet to your CRM. Or you can set up automation to email your leads to clients or co-workers. Zapier can also send you Slack notifications from your sales interface or shopping cart.
Simply put, Zapier can automate almost everything you need to do outside of AdWords.
#3 Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner (GKP) gives you keyword data direct from Google.
Keyword Planner provides search volume, CPC data, and keyword suggestions.
Keyword Planner isn’t the only keyword suggestions tool out there. In fact, it often recommends the most broad/highly trafficked keywords instead of the niche opportunities you can find in Scrapebox and Keywordtool.io. But keep in mind, Google has more advertising data than any other platform. Keyword Planner allows you to tap directly into this data, even if the numbers change as you start to run your own ads.
Killer feature: Keyword Planner allows you to import keywords into your advertising campaigns seamlessly.
#2 Adwords Editor
Adwords Editor is my favorite PPC tool of all time. It has the capability to serve as the central nervous system of all your ad campaigns.
The features inside AdWords Editor allow you to work faster and more efficiently than you can in the AdWords interface.
Did you read our post on creating single keyword ad groups? If you did, then you saw how quickly you can build up an account using AdWords Editor.
Also, AdWords Editor is a desktop application. You can do all the work on your campaigns offline. Then you can import your changes all at once. This saves you from waiting for your browser to load every time you make an edit.
#1 Your Brain
No, this isn’t a cop-out! We didn’t run out of tools to review. We started this post by stating that tools are great if you know your AdWords fundamentals. And that’s the truth!
If your AdWords campaigns are on target, tools will help you work faster and gain efficiency.
But, if you haven’t mastered the fundamentals, tools will only speed up and automate your losses.
The most important part of success in AdWords is strategy. Strategy involves creative thinking. It also involves adding context to your data and your competitive research.
Computers aren’t smarter than us yet. Maybe in another 10 to 20 years computers will be better at AdWords. But, as of today, your brain is the most powerful AdWords tool.
Look for opportunities where your AdWords strategy is succeeding. Then use tools scale your results in those areas.
Want to amplify your AdWords brainpower?
Join PPC Mastery Course. You can get started for Free by signing up for our Mini-Course. The Mini-Course features a full lesson on using keyword and competitive analysis tools.
What are your favorite PPC Tools?
That’s our PPC Tools Top Ten List. What are your favorite PPC Tools? Leave a comment below about your favorite PPC tool.
This post and video was episode 44 in our 90 Day Challenge digital marketing series.
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