I’ve received several new accounts lately. Setting up a new PPC account is not as relative to the company’s individual industry as one might think. My clients range from consumer goods to high-tech b2b engineering companies. All of the “getting started” steps are the same.

Another client wanted to give a bonus for “achieving a set number of clicks” for the month. I eagerly accepted this challenge. I completed it within 15 minutes.

Step into my PPC Classroom…

So, for the first PPC 101 post, I’d like to talk about the initial settings that I look at for Adwords campaign management. I always start out the same (although sometimes it does change). And, this is by NO means all there is to PPC management, this is just the first (and easiest) step to Adwords success!

In Adwords: Click a campaign, then click “edit campaign.” Here’s what to look for…

Budget – Set a realistic budget. How much do you really want to spend? I choose to manage/optimize PPC campaigns based on this set budget (more on that later), and I *will* spend the entire budget, so choose wisely. $20-$50 a day is a good, round amount to begin campaign optimization.

Delivery Method – Always choose “Accelerated.” If you choose “Standard” this forces Google to guess about your search volume. They aren’t always good at guessing. Not to mention that their “guessing” can lead to a higher CPC.

Networks and Bidding: Click everything! (Well, almost). 
Search and Content Network – Be sure to start with both the search and content networks — Some are “afraid” of the content network. Never fear! It has gotten better over the years, and you don’t know it won’t work until you test it. Be sure to allow for the content network to have it’s own, separate bids. Most (almost every) time you can get a much cheaper Adwords bid for the content network.

Position Preferences – Be sure to click this feature and USE it! This is my 2nd best way to optimize. The position preferences help your CTR by boxing OUT those far out position placements that will never see a click. This will help your CPC by increasing your overall CTR (leading to a better QS).

Target Audience – Be sure that this is set to the broadest target market that you can allow (for your specific product). This will allow for the largest potential for impressions/clicks. You can always narrow the scope later.

That’s my advice!

Shanee
Don’t DIY, hire a PPC advertising company today!