The gym is always extra-crowded this time of year, full of people redoubling their fitness efforts and trying to stick to their weight loss resolutions. The good news is, you can apply the same enthusiasm to your AdWords account without having to park at a crowded gym and fight for a spot on a bench or in your favorite class!
Are you ready to kick some AdWords ass in 2013? Try out these 25 tips from our Customer Success team to save time and money and get better results.
Enable Sitelinks
Sitelinks! They are quick and easy to implement (through WordStream software or AdWords), cost no additional money and can have an enormous impact on CTR’s.
Erin Sagin, Customer Success Specialist
Log Your Performance
I track my results daily. First thing I do every morning is log yesterday’s account level performance into a daily tracking spreadsheet. In this sheet I set up formulas to project the data in the month-to-yesterday and have the formula average the current performance over the remaining days in the month. What I’m left with every day is an understanding of what my performance will be at the end of the month. Since I (should) have clicks, impressions, budget and/or conversion goals already established, I know exactly where I’m going on any given day. If I only have one account I can do this at the campaign level but If I have multiple accounts (agencies) then it allows me to prioritize which account needs work now.
No tricks other than that from me. It’s a lot of optimizing based off of behavior given the time.
Rich Griffin, SEM Manager
Set PPC Resolutions
Resolution #1: Build a mobile website and landing pages.
Resolution #2: Start using phone tracking like Mongoose Metrics, or at least put different phone numbers on different pages.
Resolution #3: Start using the Dimensions Tab to find how to convert better.
Resolution #4: Split out your mobile and desktop campaigns (if you haven’t done so).
Resolution #5: Check your queries once again and work more with negatives.
Resolution #6: Try targeting display ads by placements and topics. Don’t rely only on keywords. Use retargeting as well.
Resolution #7: Get rid of the “limited by budget” sign. You are losing a lot of opportunities.
Resolution #8: Switch broad matches to “modified broad match.”
Resolution #9: Create ad scheduling (if you haven’t done so).
Resolution #10: Don’t leave your AdWords account on autopilot, hire an agency if you do not have time to manage it.
Sergey Rusak, PPC Marketing Strategist
Take it Slow
Usually I tell clients if they are looking to restructure their accounts and make big changes to help with optimization they need to take is slowly. Making big changes too fast can be detrimental to your account. Take it slow, PPC is a marathon not a sprint.
Another thing I tell a lot of clients is that nothing in PPC happens overnight and nothing is 100% guaranteed so if something doesn’t work right away, don’t panic, try a new approach. Making subtle changes to the account can help.
Lisa Wilkinson,Customer Success Specialist
12 More Advanced PPC Tips for 2013
- Tag all of your Bing destination URLs with Google Analytics tracking code to ensure data is importing properly.
- Create a campaign that targets select managed placements on Google's display network based off what you know about your target market. Create some really great banner ads using the display ad builder.
- If you are e-commerce, make sure you have revenue tracking set up in Google Analytics.
- If you a service based company, integrate AdWords with your CRM to better understand the value of each click.
- Duplicate campaigns based off customer-value from specific geographic regions. Spend more money where the average customer is worth more.
- If you don't know, spend some time this year understanding what the lifetime value of a new acquisition is. Always look at click price with this in mind.
- Set up remarketing through Google Analytics. Create separate ad groups to target different people.
- Avoid searching for your own ad online. It is not a clear indication of performance and can easily distract you. Look at the data within AdWords, Analytics and other tools to make decisions.
- Utilize Google Places and +1. Make sure you have linked AdWords with Places if you rely on local business.
- For e-commerce, enable Google Shopping by setting up a Merchant Center account. Also check out Bing Shopping, as they are making regular improvements to it.
- Read the Google Analytics Blog every day.
- Always keep your Google Analytics Tab and your AdWords/WordStream tab open at the same time to make better bidding decisions.
Nick Weidman, Paid Search Specialist
This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.