I manage pay per click campaigns for a variety of clients. It baffles me why I see the same mistakes repeated over and over in Google Adwords or Yahoo campaigns. Let's get started, shall we?
h3. Mistake #1 - Lack of use or no negative keywordsIt works like this: Let's say you sell residential swimming pools in Dallas, Texas. In your campaigns, you need to have negative keywords in the cities you do not sell in, like Arlington, Irving, Duncanville, etc. Also, since you are targeting residential customers, you need to exclude keywords that attract business or commercial interests, like apartments, condos, etc. A negative keyword can be added easily in Yahoo and Google campaigns. You will not receive unneccessary clicks, and you won't get the cost of the unneccesary clicks either.
h3. Mistake #2 - Improper targeting of ads (Network targeting)In Google Adwords, when you set up a new campaign, the Default values for the Network include the Content network. Also, the default bid for the Content network is your maximum CPC, or cost per click! The Content network include sites that show Google ads. When someone clicks on these ads on these sites, the website makes money from the click, and you get charged for a click. Most of the time, I just opt out completely, but depending on the client, I may keep it on. If I do keep it on, I make sure and change the Content network bidding, down to .05 or .10 cents a click to limit my exposure.
h3. Mistake #3 - Not testing new adsSplit testing, or A/B testing, is the process of building two ads in each adgroup. In your campaign settings, under Advanced Options, set the Adserving option to Rotate (you have to change it from the default value of Optimize). This way, your ads are served up equally. After enough impressions and click throughs, you will be able to determine the better performing ad. Pause the ad that is not performing as well, and then build a new ad. Now, with your new ad, try to beat the performance of the previous winning ad. Constantly testing your ads will, over time, dramatically increase your click through rates!
Have a question, post it here for others! And good luck with your PPC (pay per click) advertising!
Cliff
h3. Mistake #1 - Lack of use or no negative keywordsIt works like this: Let's say you sell residential swimming pools in Dallas, Texas. In your campaigns, you need to have negative keywords in the cities you do not sell in, like Arlington, Irving, Duncanville, etc. Also, since you are targeting residential customers, you need to exclude keywords that attract business or commercial interests, like apartments, condos, etc. A negative keyword can be added easily in Yahoo and Google campaigns. You will not receive unneccessary clicks, and you won't get the cost of the unneccesary clicks either.
h3. Mistake #2 - Improper targeting of ads (Network targeting)In Google Adwords, when you set up a new campaign, the Default values for the Network include the Content network. Also, the default bid for the Content network is your maximum CPC, or cost per click! The Content network include sites that show Google ads. When someone clicks on these ads on these sites, the website makes money from the click, and you get charged for a click. Most of the time, I just opt out completely, but depending on the client, I may keep it on. If I do keep it on, I make sure and change the Content network bidding, down to .05 or .10 cents a click to limit my exposure.
h3. Mistake #3 - Not testing new adsSplit testing, or A/B testing, is the process of building two ads in each adgroup. In your campaign settings, under Advanced Options, set the Adserving option to Rotate (you have to change it from the default value of Optimize). This way, your ads are served up equally. After enough impressions and click throughs, you will be able to determine the better performing ad. Pause the ad that is not performing as well, and then build a new ad. Now, with your new ad, try to beat the performance of the previous winning ad. Constantly testing your ads will, over time, dramatically increase your click through rates!
Have a question, post it here for others! And good luck with your PPC (pay per click) advertising!
Cliff
