Getting Started with PPC Advertising? A friend recently asked for some resources on getting started with PPC, so I figured I would explain how I learned PPC, then provide resources for him and anyone else that is interested in PPC advertising.

In 2008, I accepted a business development job at a start-up called WordStream, a keyword management tool for PPC advertising.  At the time, I knew very little about PPC Advertising and since the software was not built yet, I had about 3 months to ramp up and learn PPC.  What did I do?  I drove to Barnes and Nobles and purchased 3 books:

1. Boris Mordkovich’s Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing Handbook: Low Cost Strategies for Attracting New Customers Using Google, MSN, Yahoo & Other Search Engines
2. Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd’s Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes
3. Bruce C. Brown’s The Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Marketing: Pay Per Click Advertising Secrets Revealed

All of the books are good if you want to start from square one from the history of paid search to where paid search was back in 2008.  I read all three books before work, during lunch and after work.  One day WordStream’s founder, Larry Kim walked by my desk, saw the books and literally started laughing.  For someone who had been running paid search campaigns for years with tremendous success, then engineered his own paid search product and received Venture Capital funding, it was funny for him to see someone that really was a novice.  Thankfully, he was nice enough to take some time out of his day and give me personal PPC training.  I am forever grateful for the lessons he and Tom Demers, WordStream’s Director of Marketing taught me.

Enough about me, let’s get to the Beginners PPC Guide!

Starting a PPC Campaign from Scratch

The Rimm-Kauffman Group has an excellent blog post on “How To” start a PPC Campaign from scratch.

PPC FlowChart from PPCBlog

PPC Flowcart via PPCblog.com

photo source ppcblog

Beginners Guide To PPC Advertising Resources

1. Google’s Insider’s Guide To Google AdWords (in PDF format)
2. Distilled’s Beginner’s Guide To PPC (in PDF format)
3. SearchEngineLand’s PPC Academy
4. Brad Geddes’ AdWords Training, Tools and Forums – Certified Knowledge

PPC Advertising Blogs

1. Inside AdWords - Google’s Official Blog for News, Information and Tips on AdWords
2. PPChero - Heroic feats in Pay Per Click Management
3. bgTheory - Providing Google AdWords, PPC, SEO and Internet Marketing Training
4. The RKG Blog – The Rimm-Kaufmann Group’s Blog. RKG is a Paid Search Marketing Agency
5. Traffick Andrew Goodman’s Blog on the Business of Search
6. PPCblog Aaron Wall’s sister site to SEObook.com.  Provides PPC Training and expertise
7. YSMblog The Official Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
8. Microsoft adCenter Community The Microsoft adCenter Community Blog
9. ClickEquations Blog Paid Search Management Blog
10. Acquisio Blog Paid Search Software Blog
11. WordStream’s Blog WordStream’s Keyword Management Blog
12. SEMgeek Pay Per Click Marketing Blog
13. AimClear Blog Search Marketing Agency Blog
14. Distilled Blog Online Marketing Blog from UK Internet Marketing Agency
15. PPCproz Blog PPC at it’s best behaviour
16. PPC Lab The real deal on Paid Search
17. Gordon Choi Gordon’s PPC Blog

Get Social And Follow PPC Experts On Twitter

1. @LarryKim Founder of WordStream
2. @TomDemers Director of Marketing for WordStream
3. @Szetela Owner of Clix Marketing
4. @Andrew_Goodman Owner of Page Zero Media
5. @PPCPROZ Dan Perach is the owner of a PPC Agency, PPC Proz.
6. @John_A_Lee Account Manager at Clix Marketing
7. @JoeKerschbaum Director of Client Services at Clix Marketing
8. @keyrelevance Christine Churchill, owner of Search Engine Marketing firm KeyRelevance
9. @PPChero Hannapin Marketing’s PPC Hero Blog on Twitter
10. @bgTheory Brad Geddes, owner of Certified Knowldge, an AdWords Training company
11. @DaveDavis Managing Director of RedFly Marketing
12. @SEMGeek Greg Myers, author of SEMgeek.com
13. @aimClear Marty Weintraub, owner of aimClear search marketing
14. @AlanMitchell PPC Consultant
15. @AaronWall SEO and PPC Expert. Owner of SEObook.com and PPCBlog.com
16. @GeordieCarswell Contributor at Aaron Wall’s PPCBlog.com
17. @PortentInt Ian Lurie, owner of Portent Interactive, Internet Marketing Agency
18. @annatalerico VP at Ion Interactive, post-click marketing agency
19. @MarcPoirier Founder of Acquisio
20. @ClickEquations Paid Search Marketing Software for Agencies and Advertisers
21. @DigitalAlex Marketing Manager at ClickEquations
22. @MediaTwo Interactive Marketing Agency
23. @Amelia_Dawson Lover of all things PPC
24. @Matt_Umbro Google AdWords Qualified Professional
25. @AskHowie Howie Jacobson, Author of “Google AdWords for Dummies”
26. @Eloi_Casali Bi-lingual PPC Consultant in France

I hope these resources are helpful.  Do you have any PPC Resources not on this list?

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I posted yesterday on the launch of Google Instant, real-time search results that appear as you query Google.  Like any change in Google, Google Instant provides new opportunity for SEOs and PPC Advertisers.  This post will focus on the potential effects of Google Instant on PPC Advertising.  If I am running PPC Campaigns on Google AdWords, here are some things to consider immediately.

Google traditionally served advertisements based on the search query.  To understand the effects of Google Instant on PPC, you should first understand how Google’s ad rank ecosystem works.  Advertisements are ranked based on the equation Max Bid X Quality Score = Ad Rank.  Quality Score is the key to reducing the cost associated with each click, ad rank and subsequently, PPC Advertisers bottom line.  The primary factor of determining the Quality Score is Click Through Rate (CTR).  CTR = Clicks / Ad Impressions.  Simply put, the higher the CTR, the higher the quality score which will result in lower Cost-per-click (CPCs).

Google Instant’s 3 Second Rule For Ad Impressions

According to Google,

• The user begins to type a query on Google and clicks anywhere on the page (a search result, an ad, a spell correction, a related search).
• The user chooses a particular query by clicking the Search button, pressing Enter, or selecting one of the predicted queries.
• The user stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of three seconds.

So Google will now count ad impressions if a searcher stops typing for 3 seconds and a SERP and ads are impressed upon the searcher.  Let’s take a step back and re-read the previous paragraph.  If the primary factor in determining the Quality Score is CTR, it seems like Google may have just found a way to drive up ad impressions and drive down CTR, which will drive down Quality Score and subsequently increase CPCs for PPC Advertisers.

Will Ad Impressions rise and CTR decrease over the coming months?  I don’t know.  What I do know is if I am running Google AdWords Campaigns, I am watching my Quality Scores like a hawk over the next few months and testing new strategies.  I am anxiously awaiting to hear what the RKG team and Andrew Goodman have to say on Google Instant’s effect on PPC Advertising.

PPC Strategy To Test With Google Instant

Consider purchasing all variations of your brand related search terms and grouping them into tightly formed ad groups.  For example, if I am buying keywords related to my employer “HubSpot” I will consider creating a new adgroup containing keywords: hub, hubs, hubsp, hubspo, hubspot.  The goal here is to test out ways to maximize brand exposure through Google Adwords.

The Future of PPC Advertising On Google: Pay Per Scroll?

Author of Web Analytics World, Manoj Jasra had a fascinating and thought provoking post on The future of PPC Advertising on Google with the release of Google Instant: Pay Per Scroll? I highly encourage you to click that link and check out this mock up of what Manoj thinks may be up Google’s sleeve.

via Manoj Jasra @WAWorld

(original mock-up photo attribution)

Looking for Niche Keywords?  On September 16th, 2009 WordStream Launched The Free Keyword Tool for PPC and SEO. That’s right, WordStream is giving away high quality, profitable, long-tail keywords for FREE.  For more detailed information on the keyword data that WordStream provides, you can check out Frequently Asked Questions.

*In order to build out successful Search Engine Marketing Campaigns, relevant keywords must be identified, well organized and managed on an ongoing basis.*

Free Keyword Tool for PPC and SEO

How can PPC Advertisers leverage WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool for Success?  Here are a few Ideas:

• New to PPC Advertising and looking for Keywords to build out a SEM Campaign
• Experienced with PPC Advertising but would like additional keyword ideas
• Launching a new product or service and would like to expand upon the initial keyword list

Once you have identified a particular list of relevant keywords, the next step would be to organize them semantically into specific keyword groupings. (While there is not a “magic number” of keywords one should have in each adgroup, the smaller the number of keywords per adgroup, the better).  Search Engine Marketers should pick out discriminating words/phrases to use as a foundation for a particular keyword grouping, then drill down by grouping even more specific variations of that particular word or phrase.

For Example, if you query the Free Keyword Tool for “baseball bat,” 8,203 keyword phrases containing baseball+bat plus another word or words are returned.  The goal is to pick out discriminating words like:

• Wooden baseball bat
• Easton baseball bat
• tpx baseball bat

While all three of these keyword phrases contain the same root keyword “baseball bat,” these three phrases should be broken up into separate keyword groups.  Many prefixes and suffixes can be added to create variations of these keywords and create specific types of keywords.  Instead of having a general, informational query like “wooden baseball bat,” you should probably add transactional queries like “buy wooden baseball bat, low-cost wooden baseball bat, discount wooden baseball bat.”  These transactional queries can be added to the “Wooden baseball bat” keyword group.  The “keyword groups” will then become AdGroups for PPC and content will be created using those words for on-site SEO landing pages.

Most Search Engine Marketers use Excel Spreadsheets to organize keywords for PPC and SEO.  One way to very quickly organize all of your Keyword data is to group your keywords using WordStream’s Keyword Management Solution.

Keywords are the foundation for efficient Search Engine Marketing Campaigns, but keywords are only as useful as the PPC Advertiser and SEO behind them.  Keywords are a starting point.  Intelligence, organization, research, creativity, and continual keyword management must be applied in order to have successful PPC and SEO Campaigns.  Take advantage of WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool and leverage it as a part of your Diverse Inbound Marketing Strategy.

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Attention Marketers attending the Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose August 10-14th:  WordStream’s Founder and VP of Products, Larry Kim will be speaking on Thursday, August 13th at #SESSJ at the Advanced PPC Track Session: Brainstorming the Paid Search Super Tool.

The competition is fierce in paid search! From small in-house accounts to ones with millions of keywords, it’s the new advances in SEM technology that might just make the difference between success and failure. Are there tools you could be using right now to help double your conversions, lower your costs, or save your team hours of time every week? At this panel, top paid search tool vendors will showcase their latest features in bid management, campaign workflow efficiencies, and reveal what the future holds for the industry. As well, the audience will be asked to brainstorm what the “paid search super tool” should include and create a wish list recommendation to tool providers.

Keyword grouping and organization provides a strong foundation for long-term search engine marketing success. Start with an extensive of keywords related to your industry (products and/or services) and then organize those keywords into semantically related keyword groups.

In an ideal world, the Search Engine Marketer will want to have one keyword per keyword group (AdGroup), multiple ads that speak directly to that keyword and a destination URL/Landing Page that is optimized for the keyword in the AdGroup. There simply is not enough time in the day for Search Engine Marketers to organize their keywords at the aforementioned granularity, but there are efficiency tools in the marketplace to help. The most widely used tools for keyword grouping are Microsoft Excel and the Google AdWords Editor. Other Keyword Grouping Tools include Google’s Keyword Grouping Tool, Keyword Grouper, and WordStream.

Here are some Video Tutorials on Keyword Grouping Tools:

Google’s Keyword Grouping Tool from MarketingToolsExpert.com

Keyword Grouper (short version)

WordStream’s Keyword Grouping Tool for Efficient PPC Advertising

3 Major problems with Microsoft Excel, Google AdWords Editor, Google’s Keyword Grouping Tool, Keyword Grouper and just about every other Keyword Grouping Tool in the marketplace is that they are all STATIC. In order to group keywords, the SEM must upload keywords into the grouper in order to then take action on those keywords. Another Major problem is that it these keyword grouping tools are not collaborative. A final problem with these keyword grouping tools is that it is difficult to merge data in these tools.

WordStream is the only Dynamic Keyword Grouping Tool in the marketplace that allows for multiple users to simultaneously take action on web analytics data from anywhere in the world. WordStream is a private, rules-based keyword database that allows the SEM to take action on relevant keyword data. WordStream has a snippet of JavaScript that will capture all search queries that generate organic and paid clicks to your website and pull those queries into your database and automatically organize those queries based on the rules that you have created (read, the keyword groups that you have created).

Which Keyword Grouping Tool do you use?

***Full Disclosure: WordStream is my employer***