3 Basic Tips for those Setting Up Google Adwords for the first time

If you read our blog regularly, you’ll see we post tips and advice on Google AdWords and Google Analytics, amongst other topics. A number of recent posts have focused specifically on some of the more advanced features within Google AdWords. While these are useful tips, they do often require the reader to have at least some familiarity with the AdWords tool.

We’ve now been asked a couple of times for a few basic tips for those completely new to setting up AdWords. Not advanced features or strategies, just some simple suggestions to make sure new accounts have a good grounding.

This weeks blog is exactly that. After some internal office discussion, here are 3 suggestions that we feel can help those starting out … giving a good foundation without having to know to much about AdWords.

1. Search Network v Search & Display Networks

One of the initial settings options when setting up a campaign in Google AdWords is whether the campaign should be targeted at “Search Network”, “Display Network” or “Search & Display Network”. The first option in the list is “Search & Display Network”, meaning it’s the option that many people use.

The Display Network targeting in AdWords can have its benefits, and certainly drives traffic at fairly low cost. However, it needs close management and, if left to run in the background without any management, can be responsible for eating up a significant chunk of spend budget without delivering any real results. We’d recommend switching it off in the short term, and plan for its use in the longer term.

2. Keyword Research

Seems an obvious one, but quite often those new to AdWords stop the research process as soon as they start building their first campaign. This can often result in targeting of only a handful of generic, competitive, expensive keywords.

Keywords are what users search for and what you bid on, so it’s important that you’re targeting various relevant terms and not just the high cost generics. AdWords contains tools specifically to help with keyword research, but we’d also recommend looking at competitor sites, Google search results and more to investigate alternative keywords that may drive better quality traffic at lower cost.

3. Keyword Match Types

Match Types can be confusing to those new to Google AdWords. Options of Broad Match, Modified Broad Match, Phrase Match, Exact Match and Negative Match often put new users off from learning, and so they simply end up with AdGroups filled with only Broad Matched terms. Those that do go on to learn about match types will know that Broad Match is the lowest form of targeting of all the match type options available.

Before populating your new Adgroups with your newly found keywords, do some research on the various match types available – what they are, how they are used etc.

We wrote a recent post about managing negative match type keywords, and will be writing about other match types in future.

For more tips and advice, why not get in touch with us to arrange a chat.