AdWords (Pay-per-Click) Management Tips

Today I am planning to write some AdWords management tips which can help you in your PPC account optimization & to get better ROI.

I will cover the complete article in a series of posts. Each post will cover different areas of an AdWords account.

AdWords management & optimization is a constant learning process, especially in the beginning and don’t forget that everything takes practice, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Let’s start with our first topic:

How Does AdWords System Work & what is the Best Way to Organize AdWords Account

How Google AdWords Ads Works

AdWords is Google’s advertising program for advertisers. It is a part of Google’s Search Engine Marketing.

When a user enters a search query on Google, it (Google) scans keywords on each webpage in its index to see if that page matches the user’s query. Google then displays the web pages that most relate to the word or phrase entered in the query. These results are called organic search engine result pages.

Google also displays some listings on the “right side & top of the pages” under Sponsored Links heading. These are ads in response to search queries. But with ads, Google scans the keywords that you’ve chosen to represent your business. When a user searches for keywords you’ve selected for your ads, your ads can appear next to the search results.

Ads on Google search results pages are available on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. This means that you’re charged only when somebody clicks on your ad and visits your website. (Google also offers pricing on cost-per-1000 impressions (CPM) basis for site-targeted campaigns.)

How to organize the AdWords Account

Account organization is the key factor to starting off strong. If your account is not organized then it will be very difficult for you to manage & track the account performance.

This is the basic structure of Google AdWords account.

Here are some easy steps which will help you in account organization:

Step 1: Define the GOAL for each campaign & try to stick one goal per campaign

Don’t start your campaign randomly. Define a goal or objective first. Ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve with this campaign?” your goals might be to get sell for a specific product range or to get leads or to get more sign ups or many others.

Every account starts with a single campaign. Structure each campaign based on a simple, overarching goal.

Google suggest you separate campaigns by theme or product line (such as printers, printer’s inks, computers, beauty products etc.). Or use the same structure for your campaigns as you do for your website.

If your website is already grouped into categories, your job is almost done. Map your structure on excel sheet or paper first. This step produces an easy-to-use template.

Don’t try to put different product range of different purpose or theme in to one campaign like say if you are dealing in different brands of ink cartridges & printers. Then it is advisable to create 2 different campaigns; one for ink cartridges & other for printers instead of common for these two.

Step 2: Make Ad Groups out of your theme keywords

Just like your campaigns, your Ad Groups should be organized by common theme or product or services. Think about which keywords you want to use. Then group similar keywords together. You should be able to come up with at least three groups per campaign. Finally, make a distinct Ad Group for each group of keywords.

For example, if your goal for one campaign is to sell printers, keyword groupings for each Ad Group might be:

Step 3: Don’t forget your keywords optimization- Review, test, and refine

Take a look at one campaign at a time. Are your keywords logically grouped into Ad Groups? Does the campaign help you achieve a goal? Does your budget match your goals? If you have a low budget, scale down the number of keywords & keep very relevant keywords only. Remember to check your progress and continually refine your keywords and your ad text in your account.

Also, take care of the right matching option. Avoid using one word & generic keywords otherwise it might bring a lot of irrelevant traffic to your site which can terrifically reduce your ROI.

Conclusion:

• Create multiple Ad Groups per campaign instead of just one Ad Group and one big keyword list
• Group campaigns and Ad Groups by theme, price, geography, or product line
• Continue refining your keywords and ad text
• Don’t mismatch keywords in the same Ad Group
• Continue refining your keywords and ad text as per past performance & campaign stats

These are some of very important steps to organize the AdWords account. I hope this post will be helpful for you in your PPC account management.

Note: The actual inspiration of this post is Google. I am suggesting the tips from Google guidelines itself.

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Thanks for reading!!

Tags: adwords management, google adwords account, Google PPC keywords, PPC management, ppc tips