1. Download and Use the AdWords Editor

The AdWords Editor is a tool that helps you edit and manage your account in an Excel-type layout. Spreadsheets are easily imported and exported so you can use Excel to help manage your account. Using filters, find & replace, and copy & paste functions help you fly through an account setup (and once you master the keyboard shortcuts there is no slowing down).

2. Keep Your Campaigns Separate but Equal

I know “separate but equal” went out the door years ago, and rightfully so, but splitting up your account as much as possible is a great technique. Create separate campaigns for your different marketing “themes” (ie. products, services, etc.) and borrow as many relevant ad groups from other campaigns as possible to manage different groups of keyword variations (ie. test, evaluation, exam, etc.). Not only does it save time to copy ad groups with common keyword-related themes, it gives you a chance to use that find & replace function in Excel or the AdWords Editor to quickly change one group of similar keywords to a totally differently themed Campaign.

3. Get Creative with Negative Keywords

While there are a number of tools to help discover negative keywords, don’t limit yourself to just those. The Keyword Tool, Google Analytics, and AdWords reports can be very helpful to look for ideas, but use your brain too. Look through the keywords you chose and think of variations that are totally irrelevant to your company and you wouldn’t want to show up for. Take advantage of Google’s auto-complete and related search features to see what other searchers may be thinking when typing in your search terms. You may have to link together two completely unrelated searches but it will save you impressions, increasing your click-through-rate, and potentially help prevent useless clicks.

Check back next week for some more great tips that I wish I knew while I was launching a PPC campaign. Set it up right to start, and optimizing will be so much easier and more effective in the end.

My name is Dave and I’ve decided to keep a blog as I learn the everything there is to know about PPC management and online marketing. From the basics of AdWords to the last technical detail, I want you to come along and learn the right way to market your website.

Let’s start from the beginning. I do have some background in online marketing. I’ve been a consultant with Ajax Union for the past couple of months and have tried to learn everything within my reach about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Optimization (SMO), and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

That brings me to where I am today. I’ve accumulated enough knowledge and interest to take the next step into working with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. I recently studied for my Google AdWords Fundamentals Exam and passed with a 95%! On Monday I’ll be diving into the world of click-through-rates, conversions, keyword, cost-per-clicks, and an endless list of terminology that I want to guide you through as I learn it myself.

To start I recommend reading the Google AdWords Certification Center. There is a massive amount of information here that is invaluable in the learning process. Read it. Study it. Do the eLearning sections. You won’t regret knowing as much information as you can when you are taking the test.

Check back for the next article next week: Where do I begin?