Day-to-day PPC management takes time, know-how, and a keen understanding of the current state of the industry, which is why many small business owners find paid search so intimidating. It’s just as easy to get mired in the small details and miss the big picture as it is to go too high-level and fail to capitalize on the little opportunities that can add to make an account successful. This is why it’s so important to lean on PPC professionals for advice and direction when it comes to managing your paid search efforts.
If you’ve struggled with any of these common pain points, here’s some practical advice on how to cope!
If you’ve struggled with any of these common pain points, here’s some practical advice on how to cope!
Pain Point: It Takes Too Much Time!
One great way to reduce the time investment needed to manage your PPC accounts is to use AdWords Editor. This is the single easiest way to make bulk changes for easy ad testing, keyword modifying, and bid changes. It’s free, intuitive, and lets you check your work before making any changes live. As a bonus, it also allows you to work offline in case you’d prefer to do some PPC work on the go… or perhaps waterside! :-)
Pain Point: There are Too Many Options!
There are a ton of different settings that you can employ in any given campaign, which means that figuring out what will work best requires a whole lot of combination testing. This is why it’s so critical to keep good records of what you did when, and why! Sure, there’s the change history tool, but that will only give you a laundry list of every slight change you’ve ever made, not what your rationale was behind making that change. By keeping your own log of what you’re changing, you can be sure that the strides that you’re making are in line with the goals that you set out at the beginning instead of getting distracted by shiny metrics along the way.
Pain Point: The Data is Confusing!
Google’s data isn’t perfect – we all know that. This means that there’s room for overlap and contradiction. If your data seems to be saying one thing in one place and something entirely different elsewhere, this is often a good opportunity to bring in an expert to advise you on what may really be going on. If you don’t want to pay a professional to consult on your account, you can always crowd source your questions and concerns to online forums. Just be cautious about the advice that you receive if you don’t know who’s giving it. The Official Google AdWords Community is a good place to read up on what people are saying and get reputable advice.
Pain Point: It’s Always Changing!
There’s really no way around this one. The constant changes inherent with online advertising are something that even the best marketing agencies struggle with at times. This is why it’s good to have a dedicated Google rep (or use an agency that has one)! You can rely on them to keep you abreast of the most important changes and make recommendations to keep you up to date with the most current offerings. I can hear you asking now “How do I get a Google rep?” Unfortunately, you don’t get them – they get you. If you don’t have one, start looking for a digital marketing agency that can be your liaison to Google.
Need some PPC pointers? Want advice on what you’re doing right and what you could be doing better? Contact us for a free, no obligation, AdWords Audit! We’ll go through your existing AdWords account and make detailed actionable recommendations to help you get more out of your paid search!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and son and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!
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