As I manage quite a norton antivirus 2010 download few PPC campaigns I always notice the silly and sometimes not so silly mistakes that norton antivirus 2010 download advertisers make with their PPC programs. Mistakes when creating PPC ads, click fraud detection, and norton antivirus 2010 download lack of testing are just a few of them. Fixing each of these mistakes could mean an norton antivirus 2010 download extra 70% of revenue or a savings of thousands of dollars every month.

Below is a list (we all love those lists don’t we?) of the most common mistakes marketers make with their Pay-Per-Click(PPC) advertising campaigns.

1. Bidding Broad - It’s important to norton antivirus 2010 download not be lazy when setting up that campaign of yours. Every industry has norton antivirus 2010 download their giant keywords that bring the most traffic but there are norton antivirus 2010 download many more variation of keywords that are being searched. The more you norton antivirus 2010 download focus on the “long tail keywords”, the less you’re going to norton antivirus 2010 download pay per click. Furthermore, your ads will be ranked higher if the norton antivirus 2010 download keyword is closer matched. Take your 100 keywords and make them into 200 by just looking at your norton antivirus 2010 download own web statistics for exact keyword variations people use to search for norton antivirus 2010 download your product.

2. Fighting for #1 Spot - Most of the time (from my experience), being #1 ad in paid search results is norton antivirus 2010 download not the brightest strategy, especially if you’re paying a norton antivirus 2010 download lot per click and the keyword is broad. I found that norton antivirus 2010 download one of THE best ranks in paid search is being #3 (top left side for Google). Look, most people do research before they buy online. Being #1 could mean that you’ll attract visitors who norton antivirus 2010 download might have not used the right keyword for their search or norton antivirus 2010 download ones that are just starting their research and thus … you’ll be remembered last when they are ready to buy.

3. Avoiding Geo-targeting - Even if what norton antivirus 2010 download you sell works all over US or world, people are still more keen on using a norton antivirus 2010 download local provider or at least a company that recognizes “their state”. It’s just a norton antivirus 2010 download psychological thing. Google and other search engines allow you to norton antivirus 2010 download geo-target your PPC ads by state. Create 50 ads and norton antivirus 2010 download drop in the state name inside the ad. You will surely get a norton antivirus 2010 download higher click through rate (CTR) and thus a lower CPC. Furthermore … right from the start, your visitor will know that you “recognize” their location.

4. Losing Relevance on Landing Page - Whatever you say in your ad … repeat it on the landing page where you’re taking the visitor! If you are advertising an 80% sale in your norton antivirus 2010 download ad, you can be sure that people are looking for norton antivirus 2010 download it when they land on your landing page. If they don’t see it … they leave. It’s kind of like a norton antivirus 2010 download scent they pick up on when they read your PPC ad and norton antivirus 2010 download look for when they land on a page you take them to.

5. Getting Rid of Fraud Networks - Every paid search engine, be norton antivirus 2010 download it Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc, has a network to which they distribute your norton antivirus 2010 download ads. Unfortunately, many of these networks are fraudulent and do not refer quality traffic. Look into your norton antivirus 2010 download web statistics and find domain names that bring you traffic with a norton antivirus 2010 download high bounce rate. Usually it will be around 90%. Google allows you to drop these domains into a “negative excluded sites” folder while Yahoo and norton antivirus 2010 download others make you call them to address the problem. Doing this norton antivirus 2010 download will prevent you from paying for garbage traffic.

6. Being Boring - I still see marketers go online, search for norton antivirus 2010 download a keyword, look at the advertisers (competition) and create ads to fit in with the “community”. Silly right? Unfortunately, very true. Anytime you norton antivirus 2010 download create a paid ad you MUST look at what is already being said by the norton antivirus 2010 download advertisers and come up with something unique and yet relevant. It’s a norton antivirus 2010 download tough one but you have to identify what is unique about you norton antivirus 2010 download and why people should buy from you. Just make sure that norton antivirus 2010 download it’s what your target market wants and cares about.

7. Using Telephone Numbers - Using a norton antivirus 2010 download telephone number within your PPC ad is an eye catcher … that’s all. Not many people will pick up their phone and norton antivirus 2010 download dial your number if they see your ad. So what you’re doing is norton antivirus 2010 download just wasting space that can be used for a good message. Tests have norton antivirus 2010 download been done and this was proven quite a few times … get rid of that phone number in the ad.

8. Not Bidding for Your Name - If your norton antivirus 2010 download competition is targeting your company name as a keyword I’d suggest taking legal actions (if applicable). In our company we send out those legal letters at least every other month to norton antivirus 2010 download a competitor. If you’re in a different situation … bidding for norton antivirus 2010 download your keywords will mean more traffic and another real estate space devoted to norton antivirus 2010 download you on that search results page. I’d even bid for norton antivirus 2010 download the company name if there were no competitors at all. You will pay around 0.05 to norton antivirus 2010 download 0.10 cents per click and see the amount of searches (impressions) that norton antivirus 2010 download are done for your brand name. A little of extra statistics that norton antivirus 2010 download shows you the possible growth of your company.

9. Lack of Affiliate Control - The company name is norton antivirus 2010 download usually the highest converting keyword. Your affiliates know this and advertise under your norton antivirus 2010 download company’s name in paid search. What happens is norton antivirus 2010 download that not only do you now have to pay your norton antivirus 2010 download affiliate for the sale “they” brought in, but you’ve already paid your norton antivirus 2010 download due with your own advertising methods for that customer to know your norton antivirus 2010 download name before the search. Be sure to prevent your affiliates advertising in paid search for norton antivirus 2010 download your company’s name. All they are norton antivirus 2010 download doing there is collecting the cash from your own advertising.

10. Not Separating Content Match from Search Results - This is norton antivirus 2010 download a mistake 101. Yes it takes time, but any campaign should separate their regular search advertising from norton antivirus 2010 download content match. This will allow you to get better reporting, set different cost per click, different budget and norton antivirus 2010 download overall have a cleaner look at both of these campaigns. Just separate into 2 campaigns. Both will have norton antivirus 2010 download same keywords but one campaign will be created only for “search” and the other one for “content match”.

11. Ignoring the Seasonal Copy - It works. Including a seasonal discount or a “holiday special” in your norton antivirus 2010 download ad copy is a great way to increase your CTR and norton antivirus 2010 download get more sales. Furthermore, your ad will clearly stand out from norton antivirus 2010 download the rest. Make it a Christmas special, Spring special, Summer blow out, etc. Make it norton antivirus 2010 download relevant to “today”.

12. Lack of “Exact Tracking” - You must be norton antivirus 2010 download able to track every visit to your site from PPC advertising by the norton antivirus 2010 download exact keyword, campaign and ad group used. To do so you norton antivirus 2010 download can set variables (yourcompany.com/?keyword) or norton antivirus 2010 download integrate your PPC campaigns with your website analytics software. This is norton antivirus 2010 download the only way you can really calculate the effectiveness of every keyword you norton antivirus 2010 download use to get traffic.

13. Paying for Negative Keywords - Google and norton antivirus 2010 download other search engines allow you to report keywords for which your norton antivirus 2010 download ads should not be shown. If you’re paying for “broad match” keywords, you’ll see a lot of visits from people who’ve typed your keyword with a word “free” or “stock” or “jobs”. Do you want to pay money for visitors who’re looking to pay $0 for what you sell? Do you norton antivirus 2010 download want to pay money for visitors who are researching stock info on what norton antivirus 2010 download you sell? Be sure to use that “negative keyword folder” to get rid of these worthless clicks.

14. Mistaking CTR with conversion rate when testing ads - We love to test and that’s great, but what norton antivirus 2010 download should marketers look for when choosing which ads to keep and norton antivirus 2010 download which to delete? Looking only at the CTR (click through rate) is norton antivirus 2010 download a false indication of a better performing ad. If you add a norton antivirus 2010 download word “FREE” to your ad, you’ll see a jump in your CTR but what good will it do?

15. Not Using Keywords in Ad Copy - This is norton antivirus 2010 download a simple one. Put keywords into your ad copy for which you norton antivirus 2010 download are serving the ad. Not only will your ad be more relevant but the norton antivirus 2010 download keywords in it are going to be bold.

16. Not Calling Google - Ok, I am not a fan of being a “rat” or telling on someone, but my friend … when norton antivirus 2010 download it comes to business and playing fair, you have every right to norton antivirus 2010 download raise a flag when you see a competitor engaging in bad techniques. You’ll notice some of your norton antivirus 2010 download competitors creating multiple accounts and having 2 ads simultaneously on the norton antivirus 2010 download Google PPC results page. Google has a policy against this. Call Google and norton antivirus 2010 download let them know if your competitor is doing anything that’s against the rules of the search engine. You’ll be amazed how quickly they take care of the problem.

17. Avoiding Brand Name Keywords - It is norton antivirus 2010 download unfortunate, but many companies do not take advantage of their competitors. How do you norton antivirus 2010 download do this? Bid on their brand / company name. Think about it … anyone searching for norton antivirus 2010 download your competitor could easily be your customer instead. Why not have norton antivirus 2010 download your ad show up under that keywords? What if they are still shopping around? What if they are searching for your competitor’s name because they saw their TV or norton antivirus 2010 download radio ad. Bottom line is, bid on your competitor’s brand names. Most of the norton antivirus 2010 download time the ROI on those keywords is excellent. If you get a norton antivirus 2010 download “legal letter” from the competitors and it holds water, I’d suggest comply with it.

Feel free to let me know if you have more to add to the list.

Not long ago, Google has norton antivirus 2010 download introduced several features into the AdWords platform. And they’re not just cosmetic changes, so it’s worthwhile for you to become familiar with them. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new:

1) Content Network Placement Report

One of the norton antivirus 2010 download reasons that many advertisers have been hesitant to use the Content Network is norton antivirus 2010 download the limited information about where their ads appear. The Placement Performance Report for norton antivirus 2010 download the Content Network opens the curtain for a very revealing look at that norton antivirus 2010 download data. Among the stats you can see for each page your norton antivirus 2010 download ads are shown on are the URL, impressions and clicks, CPC, and norton antivirus 2010 download conversion data.

Anyone that is already using the Content Network has to norton antivirus 2010 download take a close look at this sort of information. If your norton antivirus 2010 download reports look anything like mine do, you’ll start excluding irrelevant sites from your campaigns (or norton antivirus 2010 download reporting them for using hidden text to target keywords not at all related to norton antivirus 2010 download the site) and norton antivirus 2010 download start site-targeted campaigns for those that are providing a good ROI. This is norton antivirus 2010 download a terrific improvement that was sorely needed for the Content Network.

2) Search Query Report

Another new reporting feature that looks promising is the Search Query Report, which lists the search queries that triggered your ads. If you’re using broad match and norton antivirus 2010 download phrase match within your ad groups, then all you have seen previously in the norton antivirus 2010 download AdWords reports is the aggregated data for the associated keywords. The new Search Query Report breaks down that norton antivirus 2010 download data into specific keyword variations for which your ads appeared.

Like the norton antivirus 2010 download Placement Report, this is another attempt at transparency from Google; unfortunately, it’s not nearly as useful. In the reports that I’ve run, I’ve seen a significant number of impressions listed as “All other queries” rather than the actual query text. According to Google Purchase adobe acrobat 9 pro, this is done for “queries that don’t meet [their] privacy and volume requirements.” But I see plenty of queries with just 1 or norton antivirus 2010 download 2 impressions that have the actual search query listed in the norton antivirus 2010 download report. And in my server log files, the referrer info shows the norton antivirus 2010 download keywords used for many of those that Google lumps into “All other queries.” Google’s reason for aggregating the data doesn’t quite make sense to me.

In any case, because the norton antivirus 2010 download information currently provided by the Search Query Report isn’t quite as thorough as it could be, it’s still important to norton antivirus 2010 download mine your server log files to extract the keywords yourself.  But Google’s report can norton antivirus 2010 download help you supplement that effort, especially with the conversion data.

3) IP Address Exclusion

Have you norton antivirus 2010 download ever had an annoying competitor that kept clicking on your norton antivirus 2010 download ads regularly? Or maybe you like to use the Search Network but you don’t particularly like getting traffic from norton antivirus 2010 download AOL. Well, now you can use the IP Exclusion Tool to norton antivirus 2010 download prevent up to 20 IP address ranges per campaign from seeing your norton antivirus 2010 download ads. I think this feature may get limited use, but those that norton antivirus 2010 download do use it will find it extremely useful.

4) Ads Customized to Your Search History

You may be norton antivirus 2010 download surprised to learn this, but Google is now customizing ads based on your norton antivirus 2010 download search history.  If you norton antivirus 2010 download search your own keywords frequently to check up on your ads, you norton antivirus 2010 download may have noticed that the ads often do not appear in the norton antivirus 2010 download position where you expect them. The reason for this is that norton antivirus 2010 download the AdWords engine is taking into account your search history and norton antivirus 2010 download the ads you clicked, and then trying to show you ads that norton antivirus 2010 download it thinks will interest you most while giving less weight to norton antivirus 2010 download ads you don’t really want.  For example, if you’ve been norton antivirus 2010 download served a few dozen ads for eBay for a variety of different search queries and norton antivirus 2010 download you haven’t clicked on a norton antivirus 2010 download single one of them, then you will probably see the position of eBay ads dropping as you norton antivirus 2010 download continue to perform more searches.  This customization sounds a lot like personalization of organic results, doesn’t it? I believe there are norton antivirus 2010 download some difference between the two, but there are certainly some similarities also.

The easiest way to norton antivirus 2010 download get around the customization feature is to use the Ad Preview Tool, which will show you norton antivirus 2010 download the ads unchanged. Another way is to remove the ‘PREF’ cookie for norton antivirus 2010 download google.com from your browser. Interestingly, whether or not you’re logged in to norton antivirus 2010 download your Google account is irrelevant to the way ads are customized. That behavior seems to norton antivirus 2010 download indicate that ad customization is tied to your cookie rather than norton antivirus 2010 download to the web history of your account.

Have any of these new features made a norton antivirus 2010 download difference in the campaigns you manage for yourself or for your norton antivirus 2010 download clients?