[B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=4][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=4]Google AdWords ? management tips
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]1) Account structure
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]- Getting the account structure right from the start is important. Within each
account you can create any number of campaigns, however, these should be
determined by your preferred targeting or budget objectives, such as geographic
targeting, daily budget by product line, or targeting by network coverage (search
v display).
- Within each campaign you have a series of AdGroups which form the core of the
marketing as these need to be based around common keyword themes, which
are also reflected by the advertising text of the adverts.
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]2) Campaign settings
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Each campaign that is created should have their Settings reviewed, including:
- Geographic location (Australia or sub-divide to target core markets)
- Networks ? Google / search partners & content network / placement targeting
- Devices ? PC / tablet / mobile coverage
- Bidding and budget options ? recommend manual bidding and ads shown by
standard delivery method as default
- Ad Extensions ? link location to Google Maps listing, also Sitelinks and phone
extensions
- Ad Scheduling ? only use if you know the typical user behavior of your target
customers by day and/or time
- Ad Delivery ? suggest setting rotation for ads if testing different versions
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]3) AdGroups
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Structure your campaign around AdGroups, based on keyword themes so that search
terms and advert text are closely matched. Break down existing AdGroups into shorter
lists of terms if necessary, preferably no more than 20 terms per AdGroup, although you
can mix match types for the same terms here.
Name AdGgroups accordingly so that you can indentify what group of terms are
included.
Use AdGroup levels to review and manage campaign spend, although most bid
management should be done at keyword level.
Review CTR, CPC and conversion rate at AdGroup level to decide if more AdGroups
should be created for better targeting.
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[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]4) Keywords
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Manage each campaign at keyword level ? avoid high peaks of impressions or spend by
splitting terms into more variations (+modified +broad, ?phrase match? and [exact
match]), adding negatives or changing bid levels.
Regular activity for keywords are:
- adjusting bid levels to achieve desired ranking position or if spend is too high /
low, or if conversion costs are too high / low
- add new search terms using the ?Details? button, or by using the keyword tools, or
Opportunities tab
- also add negative terms where applicable, from all the above tools
- aim to achieve CTR over 1% - anything less indicates poor relevancy
- review Quality Scores and try to have QS of 6/10 or higher (access these from
the Columns button)
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]5) Adverts
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Recommended strategy is to run at least 2 adverts, preferably 3 at any one time. Review
weekly and monthly to remove the worst performing advert, based on CTR and/or
conversion rate. Then test a new creative.
Issues to test:
- Headline, target main search terms, test Keyword insertion
- Body content, including offers, relevant search terms, locations
- Try adding punctuation to the end of the first description line to get a longer
headline when the ad appears above the main results
- Display URL with and without www, also include search term at end
- Landing page
- Remember to use Ad Extensions where relevant
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]6) Content / Placement network
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Test this option once the main Google Search is performing well. You may need to
duplicate campaigns and set the network just to content (via AdWords Editor) and then
review and filter out irrelevant sites.
Use Placement Targeting to specifically target adverts on other third party sites that are
relevant to your customer base. Select sites on the same basis as keywords, then
review and adjust bids by website and by AdGroup.
The Display Network is a completely different method of advertising and should be
treated carefully. However, it can be effective for brand ads (using image ads) or
remarketing.
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[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]7) Reporting
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Use reporting options to run regular management review reports, send by email and
track performance by keyword, advert and campaign.
Use campaign level reports to assess Impression Share by day (select additional
columns from the Customise Columns button).
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]Setting a strategy for the campaign
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Every Google AdWords campaign needs to have a strategy, which in turn should meet
the overall objective to achieve the most cost-effective results from the advertising
spend, whether it is enquiries, sales, newsletter sign-ups and so on.
The common strategies for a campaign are:
- achieving the maximum volume of visits at the lowest possible cost
- achieving a ranking position within the top x results
- achieving a clickthrough rate of over x%, or an average cost per visit of less than
$x.xx
- achieving a sales or enquiry rate of x% or a cost per lead/sale of $x.xx
A management strategy is likely to combine 2 or more of these targets, plus the strategy
can also change over time depending on results being achieved.
As the market activity is quite competitive, the best strategy is to maximize the visits to
the website within the current daily budget and to increase the conversions at the lowest
possible cost. This may then change at a later date if the daily budget is increased, or if
the responses to the campaign determine the ongoing criteria.
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]Daily review and adjustments
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]On the basis of achieving the maximum volume of visits at the lowest possible cost, you
should be implementing these checks and changes at least once a day:
i) Review where most of the spend is being concentrated each day and spend
most time adjusting bids to reduce the average cost per click, whilst not
reducing the average position of each advert too low, or the clickthrough rate.
ii) You should set a target range for the average bid levels in each campaign /
adgroup. Working within a budget you should try to achieve close to 100%
impression share (although depending on the number of broad match terms
being used, this may not be possible) and the maximum level of traffic for the
available budget.
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[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]iii) You should be setting a target conversion rate for enquiries / sales coming
from the campaigns. At least 1-2% conversion rate should be acceptable.
iv) You should aim to get all adverts appearing with an average ranking position
of 3
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]rd[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]-5[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]th [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]ideally and no lower than 8[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]th [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3](which is likely to display the advert on[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]the second page of results. Search terms that are appearing higher than 3
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]rd[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]position will attract a higher clickthrough rate but can also be costly and not
as effective.
v) You should be getting a clickthrough rate of at least 1% to indicate that a
search term (or your adverts) are relevant for your market. A higher
clickthrough rate of 10% of more should enable you to drop the bid positions
further, as this may indicate limited competition or an advert that is ranking
too high.
vi) You can adjust the default bid position which will apply to all terms in the
AdGroup, unless they have already had a different bid level set. The default
bid can be a quick way to increase or reduce the overall bid levels for most
terms although individual bid levels for each keyword are a better strategy for
targeting the spend ? on a big campaign, these can be edited using Google
AdWords Editor (see below), where you can select a range of terms and
increase or decrease bids in bulk.
vii) Within each AdGroup, select the search terms that are spending most
money, or have a higher cost per click or high/low ranking position (by ticking
the box to the left of each search term). Then select the Edit Keywords
Setting button at the top of the search term panel.
viii) Depending on what you want to do with each search term, increase or reduce
the bid against each term. If all terms are to have the same bid, you just need
to enter the bid for the first term and then select the down arrow button next
to this so that the bid will be applied to all terms.
ix) If you want to reduce the bid level or the ranking position, set the new bid
slightly lower than the average cost per click from the previous day (or other
selected period). If you want to increase the ranking position, increase the bid
level by 5-10c / 50c / $1, depending on the current bid levels and ranking
positions.
On the basis of achieving the maximum volume of visits at the lowest possible cost, you
should be implementing these checks and changes at least once a day:
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[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]Weekly review and adjustments
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]As the campaign develops and you get more data on the activity through each search
term, you can review activity over the previous 7 days, or for the month to date, to make
further adjustments to the settings based on the performance data (although bear in
mind the daily adjustments that may have also been made over this period).
You should also start to review the performance of each advert in terms of clickthrough
rate, to see if any should be dropped or revised if they aren?t performing to a suitable
level, although this will require visits of 100 or more per advert to give meaningful data.
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3]Google AdWords Editor
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial,Bold][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]For large campaigns, or for easy creation or editing of AdGroups, keywords, adverts etc,
use the Google AdWords Editor. This tool allows you to download the account, make
changes and upload again to the live account.
To download the software go here:
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwordseditor/
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