Keyword selection is immensely important. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about checking in on these pillars of your campaign. Remember to use the Keyword tool regularly in order to get a gauge of which keywords are performing at the highest levels, or the lowest comparatively on the general display network. You can search phrases that you might use in your ad headlines, website URL’s and even industry categories to find the corresponding keywords that will work best for you. Having this information should feed into your strategy. You can even estimate the levels of traffic you can expect by selecting certain words. Feel free to click around and experiment with some keyword by visiting this link.

 

Along the same lines, you may find yourself using the “Insights for Search” tool, which will show you how your keyword and campaign performance measures up against your biggest competitors. Here you can see how your keywords are performing in relation to other variables such as categories, seasonality, geographic distribution and more. You can see how you compare in the market by exploring Insights for Search.

 

While we are on the subject of keyword performance, you’re also going to want to know which of them are faulty. You can use the “Diagnose Keywords” tool within AdWords to help decipher which keywords are either performing poorly or are not being triggered at all. Some likely causes for phantom ads might be that the keyword was never approved, poor quality scores, or a number of other reasons. This tool allows you to see these issues upfront.

 

 

Once you’re all set up in the keyword department you’ll want access to an easy tool that can show you how you are performing overall. You can do this quickly by using the toggle graphs tool. You can compare metrics at a glance such as your position and CTR ratio, or even conversion rates. You can easily toggle between these graphics to see how your campaigns are performing over a set date range.

 

If you find certain metrics helpful and easy to navigate, then try visiting the Columns option under the Campaigns Tab. This option gives you the ability to add custom metrics columns to automatically appear within AdWords. These can be swapped at any time and are easy to organize with a user-friendly add and remove setup. You can also access the Filters option from the same tab. You can apply metrics filters on the campaign, ad group, and ads levels. These options allow you to look at and compare the different facets of your campaigns with a click of a button.

 

It’s no question that as a business owner you want to be cautious with how you spend your money, especially when planning PPC campaigns. Did you know that there is a tool that can alert you to the most economical times to place bids on your keywords? Under the Settings Tab in AdWords you will find a feature for Ad Scheduling. This will act as your personal assistant to allow you to bid more or less during certain times of the day. The idea here is that if you are able bid lower during hours that might be less profitable and higher for higher traffic times. This is all about strategy, so you may find that this tool conflicts with your plan, but give it a shot to see if it works for you.

 

Google offers you the ability to download reports throughout your campaign, as well. Depending on which tab you’re working under, just click the pointing-down arrow in order to download a quick and handy report. You can also use your segment options to include or exclude any information from the report. You can examine a full list of your Segment Options by visiting the Campaigns tab. You can segment by device if you’re running campaigns for mobile platforms like phones or tablets. You can segment by time, placement – the sky is the limit here. This provides great ways to compare your campaign performance.

 

Finally, if you’re running multiple campaigns at once, you’re probably finding the PPC rat race to be rather time consuming. The Automate Function can help you manage the amount of time it takes to apply standard rules at the campaign, ad group, ad and even keyword levels. For example, you can create certain rules to all your ads at once instead of having to manually apply a change for each one. You can set a number of rules, but be sure to monitor these closely because as campaigns change, rules can start to conflict. You might find that it is worthwhile in some instances to engage in manual changes to enhance your performance and avoid any problems.

 

You will need to explore AdWords to find which of these tools are most useful for you. Google is great at providing options for you to customize how you manage your campaigns. In the end, everyone has to find their perfect way to do so. If you are just beginning, these are some great options to investigate; if you’re an AdWords veteran then it doesn’t hurt to go back to basics every once in a while.

 

As the number of campaigns you manage increases, you may want to consider integrating the use of applications to reach more consumers. The AdWords API refers to the system that allows developers to create applications that directly engage the AdWords functions. The API allows you to manage your accounts by providing access to custom reports based on keyword, ad text, URL and more.

 

Visit the My Client Center to create your own account for API. Once you are set up, you will be able to access your account details by clicking the “My Account” tab within AdWords. This system provides synergy to ensure that you are getting the most out of your accounts by soliciting your campaigns across a series of platforms. You may want to consider hiring outside developers because of the intense amount of knowledge required for a solid set-up.

 

Please note that the utilization of AdWords API is most useful for companies managing a mass quantity of campaigns at once. This includes but is not limited to Search Engine Marketers (SEMs) and companies that are responsible for a large number of client accounts. You will need to adjust your accounts to an additional set of revised limits within your API account such as Headline Length, Display URL length, and more. For a full set of limits visit the developer link at the AdWords Help Center: https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/appendix/limits.

 

With the new increase, it is unlikely that you will have to worry about reaching your limit, however, should you get close, a notice will be posted to your account. When you are building your keyword list, go into the project with the customer in mind. Choose the words that are most likely to be triggered by search queries, and try not to waste space on phrases and words that won’t result in sales. Depending on whether you opt to use broad, phrase or exact matches you’ll want to try to limit your keywords to around 20 per campaigns (give or take a few depending on how specific you want to be). You’ll also want to consider grouping keywords thematically to get the most effective results. Keeping these tips in mind will help you get the most out of your campaigns without maxing out on your AdWords limits. Remember as a rule of thumb, unless you’re managing a huge quantity of campaigns at once, less is usually more.

 

Despite the new increase, the basic rules for creating your campaigns stays the same. Try organizing your campaigns by theme, and use the appropriate demographics to reach the most relevant audience. You will need to be extra careful to check that you are not using the same keywords across multiple ad groups. Even though you may be handling a larger number of campaigns than usual, still maintain specificity among ad groups and pick placements that are going to be most accessible for your potential customers. When in doubt, imagine that you are working on a smaller scale. Even though the number may have made a jump, your general know-how should assist you in creating successful campaigns. One exception to that: should you decide to work across applications, you may want to reach out to developers who are a bit more tech-savvy in that department. You can view the full list of increases by visiting the AdWords Help Center.

 

Starting in the middle of May, Google has announced that they are releasing a revamped version of their exact and phrase match tools. This upgrade will ensure that your ad will be displayed to relevant customers, even if they slip up and confuse a word or search on a variant. In addition to misspellings, the new formula will work to include other variants of your keywords or phrases including by not limited to acronyms, plural and singular forms, accents, abbreviations and even “stemmings.”

 

Stemmings refer to base words which can take on a variety of other meanings. For example “Gardening” is a stemming of “Garden.” You can see why it’s so crucial that these words are also being included within the phrase and exact match universe. With the new upgrade, you won’t have to worry about potentially missing out on eager audiences whose phrasing of a search was slightly different from your keyword.

 

Previously, exact and phrase match options made for more limited returns on search queries. For example if someone triggered your ad on a Phrase match: “keyword” then your ad would have only appeared because it was the in the exact word order. If they searched for “Pizza Delivery” only ads with the words “Pizza Delivery” in that order and spelling would appear. With the new changes, ads will return on searches such as “Fast Piza Delivery” or “Pizza Delivering Now.” Similarly, before with Exact matches, your ad would only appear if the search query matched the keyword exactly and excluded any other words in the search term. Now when someone searches for [Pizza Deliveries] or [Piza Delivery] this will still be considered an exact match on [Pizza Delivery].

 

These changes will be put into effect automatically, but you can deactivate this new feature should you choose to restrict the exact and phrase match options to exclude variants. When you are modifying a campaign under the “Settings” tab in AdWords, simply click the “Keyword Matching Options” link located inside the “Exact and Phrase Match” section. You’ll want to click the box labeled, “Do not include close variants.” The keyword matching options are located within the “Advanced Settings” section.

 

Because of the changes, you will also see some differences in the related search terms reports. For example, the “Match type” column will now designate whether the type of search term match was exact or if it was a close variant of your set keywords. You can also segment this data in an attempt to try to get a deeper understand of how your keywords, and their variants, are performing.

 

One other important thing to know – your exact keyword is used exclusively to calculate your Quality Score and first page bid estimates. Close variants are not included in the determining factor of this number.

 

To get started, simply log into your AdWords account and click on the “Ad Extensions” tab. Here you will choose the type of extension for which you want to see data. This can be a location or a sitelink. Once you have selected the type of extension, you’ll need to set up your data parameters. You will choose the conversion metrics (i.e. Conversion (1-per-click), Cost/Conversion (1-per-click) and Conversion Rate (1-per-click). After you hit the save button, your conversion report should appear for your specified active ad extensions.

 

This first look can be very insightful, but you’re really only scraping the surface. You also have the ability to segment your data so you can see more than just the top line information. At first glance you will be able to see conversions, impressions and clicks that were a result of when your extension was used alongside your text ad. When you segment your data you will be able to see how those extensions performed independently from the normal text ad. You can choose to examine your data by segmenting specifically by the extensions such as “Top vs. Other”, “+1 Annotations” or any other extensions you have set up for specific campaigns. This is helpful when deciding how to organize your campaigns overall.

 

Many PPC professionals are praising the ability to segment by Sitelinks. Sitelinks are the additional links that you can choose to appear on your text ad other than the headline. These often display information and links to sites that are not included on the main landing page. Using Sitelinks as part of your ads allows potential customers to click directly into deeper, mores specific parts of your website. It gives them a clear through-line to a specific product or service in which they may be interested. With the new extension conversion data, you can see how many clicks were generated by your headlines versus those coming from your Sitelinks. Having that information, you may decide to develop new campaigns focusing specifically on some of those Sitelinks, or you might want to refigure your headlines entirely. Because Sitelinks often offer access to directions, specific products and more, you might even be able to gather that this information helped lead to increased conversions.

 

Unfortunately, the Sitelink conversion data is not foolproof at this point. The main thing to remember is that Sitelink data is cumulative and combined, meaning you cannot see separated conversion data for each and every individual sitelink. This means that you have to fill in some of the blanks on your own, and there’s no proper way to test and see specifically which links are attracting customers the most. Considering Google still hasn’t officially announced these features, hopefully this means that additional features will be developed soon so you can get even more from these data improvements.

 

Now you don’t have to worry whether investing in a certain extension is a total crapshoot. You will have access to substantial conversion data that will help you shape your campaigns to ensure that you are getting the most out of every text ad. Check your ad extension conversion data thoughtfully and often to make sure your campaigns are up to speed and increasing your conversions overall.

 

The best part of all – you will find that applying a filter within AdWords is quite easy. All you need to do is log in to your Google AdWords Account and select the tab of the level on which you’d like to apply the filter (campaign, ad group, ad text, etc.). Within the selected tab, locate the filters menu above your statistics table and click “Create Filter”. Here you will set the guidelines of the filter. When you are satisfied, click the “Apply” button. Once your parameters are set, you will see automatic data updates in your statistics table. If you want to see your original settings, you will have to close out of the filters tab.

 

Setting custom filters is a great way to optimize your accounts and make sure that you are getting the most out of your campaigns. Keep in mind that you will have to set filters for each of your campaigns, even if the guidelines are the same. Because of this, make sure that you remember to apply filters to all of your campaigns separately. You can save your settings by clicking “save”. You will be able to select from these options in the future. You can set filters that are outlined by conversions, costs, clicks, and many more depending on the levels at which you’re looking to apply them.

 

Campaign filters are most helpful when you have many campaigns running at once, however if you only have a few, you may want to work on a more micro-level to reap the most benefits. Setting a conversion filter can assist you with weeding out campaigns that turn low conversion numbers at a high cost. You can also check this filter against the cost to see the actual value of each conversion through your ad. This will help you decipher which campaigns are turning the most profit. Within campaigns you can even set filters to help you see which campaigns are recruiting the highest level of invalid clicks. Anyone who has run a PPC campaigns knows that these pesky campaigns should be revised ASAP.

 

Next are the Ad Group filters, which you may decide are the best way to stay organized. These settings can make it easy for you to see which ad groups are lucrative. Filters like “Impressions” can quickly reveal ad groups that are generating the most (or least) exposure for your business. Combining the “Impressions” filter with the “Clicks” filter will uncover which ad groups are actually driving traffic to your site. If you have poor CTR’s, then chances are that may be affecting the success of your campaign. You can decide how to manage your bids using this information.

 

You should also keep general statistics in mind when setting filters at the ad group level. For example, you already know that ads appearing in the top three positions on the search network tend to perform better than those on the side or bottom. You can fiddle with the “Average Position” filter to ensure that your ads aren’t running in low-yielding positions for longer than absolutely necessary.

 

Setting filters on the Keyword level is about the same as setting them on the ad group level, with a few important additions. Thankfully, Google already provides to you with a nice, clean list of keywords that yield low search volume on the Home screen. Because of this, you can eliminate or revise these selections with the click of a button. You can also check low Quality Scores, making your keyword list manageable.

 

Finally, we reach the most minute level at which you can set your filters: Ad Text. Again these are quite similar to the aforementioned, however you can quickly filter out disapproved ads so that they can be fixed and sent back out in the wilds of the search display network. You can also optimize at the ad text level by filtering out specific phrases that may no longer be relevant (such as a special offer, or holiday promotion) or if you need to make changes to outdated landing page URLs. These updates become simple and nearly instant.

 

Take some time to explore what filters can do for you. These are helpful tools that with the right amount of research and care can bring your campaigns to the next level. Keeping close attention to detail is great, but unfortunately it is not fool proof. These little gems do more than just lend a helping hand; they help you optimize entire campaigns with the click of a button.