Best of 2009 (So Far): AdWords Tips and Tactics, Part 1

What common mistakes made by AdWords marketers should you avoid in order to optimize your results? What are some AdWords myths you shouldn't believe? How is the AdWords quality score calculated, and what can you do to improve scores in your campaigns? Which element of campaigns is often overlooked, but should be optimized and tested just like ad text or landing pages?

Discover this information and more, here in the first set of the best posts about Google AdWords from 2009 (so far).

Top 11 Money-Wasting AdWords Mistakes by Alibaba.com

The ubiquitous Jon Rognerud lists 11 common mistakes made by small companies and those new to AdWords, such as duplicating search ads on Google's content network (the ads need to be different due to the different context in which they are seen), using too many keywords, sending visitors to your home page, and not properly testing ads.


5 Common AdWords Myths Absolutely Destroyed by Search Engine Journal

Brian Carter demolishes five common misconceptions about AdWords, explaining the real story in detail. Among the myths: "AdWords is an auction"—well, sort of, but quality score, which is influenced by the click-through rate, is as big a factor as your bid, and "Google is out to get me"—a common feeling, but as Brian responds to this: "Sure, in some ways. But not so much that you can’t get incredibly good ROI from AdWords for the right offering, if you know what you’re doing" (or are willing to hire professional help from the outside).


Search Ad Quality Score 101, Part 2 by Search Engine Watch

Ron Jones explains how to increase your quality score in AdWords, which gets you a higher ad position at a lower cost. Among his recommendations: small (15-20 term), tightly-focused ad groups; including keywords in landing page copy; and experimenting with different matching options. Another interesting AdWords-related post worth checking out from the team at Search Engine Watch is Get More Attention with Legal PPC Ad Symbols. David Szetela recommends experimenting with using symbols in your ads to increase CTRs, though commenters call him out on the practice.


PPC Web Spy For Competitive Keywords Analysis by WordPress Howto Spotter

Alex Sysoef reviews and recommends PPC Web Spy, a free keyword research tool for AdWords and organic search optimization. The post is a little spammy (as is the PPC Web Spy landing page), but the tool sounds interesting. For any keyword, the tool displays statistics like the average cost per click and number of clicks per day. If you have any experience with this tool, feel free to share it in the comments.


Do more with less -- Part 2 of 3 by Inside AdWords

Amanda Kelly explains how the free AdWords Conversion Optimizer tool can improve the productivity of AdWords campaigns: "The Conversion Optimizer helps you get the most conversions for your ad spend by using your conversion tracking data to improve your advertising efficiency. It does this by optimizing the placement of your ads in each auction based on the likelihood of a conversion. This process helps to avoid unprofitable clicks and to get you conversions without requiring you to spend as much time managing your bids."


Everything You Need To Know About AdWords Display URLs by Search Engine Land

Brad Geddes recommends testing the display URL portion of your AdWords ads as thoroughly as you would any other elements, and offers several examples that fall within Google's requirements.


How Does AdWords Determine a Keyword’s Quality Score Before It’s Even Activated? Find Out! by PPC Hero

This post explains how Google determines a quality score for your keywords as soon as your campaign is launched, by using the experience of other advertisers who have used that keyword as a base. How can you use this information? As the author notes, "If you load a series of new keywords and they all have a low Quality Score, then you may want to re-think these additions. This is because other advertisers have not had success with these keywords. On the other side of the coin, if the Quality Score for a keyword is 9 or 10, this means that previous and current advertisers are having success with this keyword, and competition could be more fierce. You may want to give this keywords special attention and place them into their own ad groups."

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Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom