PPC Checklist

Adwords’ default settings are tuned up to make Google money, not you!

It’s not all that bad, just keep in mind that investing in ppc optimisation without much experience can cost you money rather than bring it in. Use the below list to check your ad campaigns are configured effectively and be sure to have the basics of a profitable campaign in place before increasing monthly spend.

Stop! – before you start, some basic best practices

adwords research – learn the basics before you spend any money
keyword research – use free tools to collect relevant keyword phrases
competitor research – use Google search to snoop on competing ads
marketing research – use the AIDA checklist to make compelling ad copy

Build tightly targeted ad groups

edit campaign settings to rotate ads evenly and turn the content network off
evaluate how much each click is worth to you before setting bid prices and budget
add tightly targeted broad, phrase and exact match keywords to each ad group
create a range of ads containing your main keywords with differing creative content

Understand what works

study impressions – see which keywords get the most impressions – cut the rest
test your bid price – lower keyword bid prices until clicks start to drop
compare your ads – see which get most clicks and understand why – cut the rest
improve your ads – add the best elements of winning ads to a control ad and beat it

Optimising for conversions

control impressions – add negative keywords to filter out unwanted clicks
be very specific – add qualifiers – price, location and product spec to qualify clickers
get them while they’re hot – add phrases people search for when ready to buy
target tightly – include the search term in keywords, ad title/text and landing page

Setting up conversion tracking and adding a £ value for each sale allows Adwords to calculate your daily profits for each keyword/ad combination and there are heaps of free tools available to help you find further keyword phrases that can bring more sales from niche search markets already searching for the stuff you sell.

Find out how to improve your ads, optimise click through rates, quality score, conversion rates, ad positioning and landing pages by signing up for search marketing advice or have me review your Adwords campaign and get expert recommendations with a free Adwords PPC campaign review.

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