This document provides an overview of Google Adwords concepts and best practices for different ad formats. It covers the basics of setting up Adwords accounts and campaigns. Key ad formats discussed include text, image, video, mobile, and rich media ads. The document also reviews targeting options for keywords, locations, and placements on the search and display networks. Best practices are provided for creating effective ads across different formats and for monitoring and optimizing keyword and account performance.

2. 1. Introduction to Adwords
2. Account Set-up and Basics
3. Ad Formats
4. Targeting and Placements
5. Bidding and Budgets
6. Ad Quality Topics

3. Module 1

6. Relevance
Return on Investment
Reach

7. Keyword
Placement
Image Ad
Campaign
Ad group
Impression
Click

8. Click-through Rate
Cost per Click
Maximum Cost per Click
Cost-per-thousand Click
Quality Score
First page bid estimates
Optimization

9. Module 2

10.  Google search
 Mobile search
 CPC
 Google search partner sites
 Text ads on websites
 Image ads on websites
 Video ads on websites
 Ads on mobile websites
 Managed placements
 CPM

11. Account
Unique email address
Password
Billing information
Campaign Campaign
Daily budget
Geo-targeting
Syndication preference
Start and end dates
Daily budget
Geo-targeting
Syndication preference
Start and end dates
Ad Group Ad Group Ad Group Ad Group
One set of keywords
One or more ads
One set of keywords
One or more ads
One set of keywords
One or more ads
One set of keywords
One or more ads

12. Module 2

13. MONITORING ADWORDS
ACCOUNTS
 All critical account alerts related to payment problems, pending budget end dates,
credit and bank card expirations, ad disapprovals, and other issues that will cause
your ads to stop being displayed are shown in the Campaigns tab, at the All
Online Campaigns level.
 The alerts can be changed at the Notification settings page
 (under My Account)
 You can also set up SMS alerts

14. Module 2

15. KEY CONCEPTS
 From the campaigns tab:
 Receive alerts
 Create a new campaign
 Change campaign settings
 See the list of campaigns
 View campaign status
 Enabled: Set to run normally
 Paused: Temporarily suspended and not currently running
 Deleted: Deleted and no longer running
 Pending: Not yet started running
 Ended: No longer running as end date has already passed

16. KEY CONCEPTS Clicks: The clicks accrued for the ads in each campaign
 Impr. (impressions): The number of times that the campaign's ads have been displayed on Google or
on sites in the Google Network
 CTR (click-through rate): The number of clicks divided by the number of impressions that the ads
have received. This is expressed as a percentage: 2 clicks for 100 page views equals a 2% CTR.
 Avg. CPC (average cost per click): The average cost accrued for clicks on the ads within that
campaign.
 Cost: The total costs that a campaign has accrued during the time frame that you selected.
 Avg. Pos. (average position): This refers to the average position on a search result page that an ad
appears in when it's triggered by that keyword.
 Conv. (1-per-click) (conversion rate): The number of user clicks that turned into actual conversions
for the advertiser. Conversion rate equals the number of conversions divided by the number of ad
clicks.
 Cost/Conv. (1-per-click): The total cost divided by the total number of conversions. This tells you how
much each conversion costs. This applies only to users who have set up conversion tracking.
 Conv. rate (1-per-click): Number of conversions divided by total clicks. This tells you your conversion
rate. This applies only to users who have set up conversion tracking.

17. KEY CONCEPTSFrom the campaigns tab:
 Account tree: Use this menu beside your account pages to switch between campaigns and ad
groups.
 Performance summary graphs: Use these customised graphs to compare trends on every level
of your account. Click the "Change Graph Options" link to see data points such as clicks,
impressions and average position or to compare two of these metrics at once.
 Networks tab: This is where you manage your placements. You'll also see the summary
statistics for both your Search and Display Networks.
 Campaign roll-ups: 'Roll-up' views let you see and edit all a campaign's keywords, placements
or ads in one place, instead of finding and changing them ad group by ad group.
 Dynamic help content: Help sections display the FAQs that you most likely need for the page
that you're viewing. Of course, you can also always click the "Help" link in the top corner of
your account to see the full Adwords Help Centre.

18. KEY CONCEPTS
Actions you can take from the Campaigns tab:
 Campaign and ad group creation workflow: Create new campaigns and ad groups with
the New+ button at the top of any table.
 In-line editing: Edit ads, keywords, placements and bids within the tables on the campaign and
ad group tabs in your account. Just position your cursor over a row to reveal the editable fields.
 Copy/move: A click of this button lets you copy and move keywords, placements and ad groups
between campaigns without leaving the campaign management interface.

19. Module 2

20. AD GROUP MANAGEMENT
 Ad groups can be separately named, sorted by results, paused, edited
 Groups can host different keywords, placements, ads, bids
 But location and bidding occur at a campaign level
 Ad groups tab shows you a summary of performance/issues in all groups

21. Module 3.1 + 3.2

24. TEXT ADS OR SPONSORED
LINKS

25. TEXT AD GUIDELINES
 Editorial and format:
 Character limit: Your intended headline, text and URL must fit within the required limits and
not be cut off.
 Prices, discounts and free offers: If your ad includes a price, special discount or "free" offer, it
must be clearly and accurately displayed on your website within 1-2 clicks of your ad's
landing page.
 Punctuation and symbols: Among other requirements, ads may only contain a maximum of
one exclamation point.
 Content: These policies relate to the products and services that you advertise, and may
apply to ads and the content of your site. For example, advertising is not permitted for
the promotion of certain weapons or for aids to pass drug tests.
 Link: These policies relate to the Display and Destination URLs in your ad. For
example, the Display URL must be accurate and links to your website must allow
users to enter and exit the landing page easily.

26. TEXT AD GUIDELINES
 Ads should:
 Be simple and enticing
 Include prices and promotions
 Strong call to action
 Include the keywords in the text

28. IMAGE ADS
 Animated or static
 Never on the search network
 The power of the image
 Give each image a title
 Don't exceed 50 characters
 Include an image description
 Include the campaign or ad group name
 All image ads need to first be approved by Google before they start running
 The display ad builder allows for template designs

29. IMAGE BEST PRACTICE
 Call to action - such as "learn more", "buy now" or "visit us today"
 Prominently showing your Display URL which typically contains a company's name, is a major
component of a text ad. You have more room in an image ad, so don't be afraid to use your brand
or logo as well
 Include details like prices, delivery details and relevant special offers
 Ads lead to a relevant landing page
 Use appropriate capitalisation - the nice thing about display is that you can have all caps
 Promote a sense of urgency in your display ads if you have time-sensitive pricing or offers. Use
phrases like "hurry!", "limited time" and "special offer" to capture a user's attention and push
them to take action
 Keep it simple
 Include product images
 Each frame should hold its own weight (has logo)

31. VIDEO ADS
 Think entertainment audience
 One of the largest formats of media consumption
 Formats
 In stream text ads
 In stream graphical overlay
 Click-to-play ads
 CPM or CPC + always Display network
 You must use the display ad builder for your ads
 Managed placements or keyword targeted campaign
 Low impressions = increase bid

32. VIDEO AD BEST PRACTICE
 Video audiences are not captive (unlike TV)
 Display your message as quickly as possible (ppl drop off quickly)
 Be clear about your message (there might not be a web visit)
 Sight must equal sound
Opening image
 Money shot
 Rich sharp colours
 Include a few words to describe offering
 Tell users to click play to learn more
 Different placements have different opening image sizes
 Don’t turn your banner image into your video opening image
 Don’t cram text

33. VIDEO AD BEST PRACTICE
 Wait 30 days before testing results
 In interaction is low = change videos and images
 Rather bid by impression, if using CPC use negative keywords
 Focus on interaction rates not click through rates as measure of success
 If one site is performing better, ad more sites like it

35. MOBILE ADS
 Smaller to fit on smaller screens
 Mobile ads MUST lead to a mobile website
 They can include a ‘Call’ functionality
 iPhones (and others) display normal ads, not mobile ads
 Create a separate campaign (rather)
 Mobile image ads work the same as the desktop versions except 12 or 18 character
limits

36. MOBILE ADS BEST
PRACTICE
 Link policy language
wml (WAP 1.x)
xhtml (WAP 2.0)
chtml (imode, etc.)
PDA-compliant html
No flash!
 6:1 Aspect Ratio
 300 x 50, less than 7.5 KB file size
 216 x 36, less than 4.5 KB file size
 168 x 28, less than 3 KB file size
 4:1 Aspect Ratio
 300 x 75, less than 7.5 KB file size
 216 x 54, less than 4.5 KB file size
 168 x 42, less than 3 KB file size
 Japan-standard size
 192 x 53, less than 5 KB file size

37. MOBILE ADS BEST
PRACTICE
 Start early
 Be aggressive
 Separate desktop and mobile ad campaigns
 Choose different keywords for mobile vs desktop
 Catchy ads win
 You can still use display in mobile!
 Apps work too
 Target per device

39. RICH MEDIA ADS
 Include videos, flash, animation, or a mix of text & images
 Gallery in the Display Ad Builder (must use)
 Managed placements (recommended at least 10) or keyword targeted
 CPC or CPM

40. RICH MEDIA ADS BEST
PRACTICE
 Always respect copyright on the images you use
 All ad policies apply
 You may not use the ad to collect private information
Strategies for bidding
 Compete – place ad with text ads and the one that performs the best will
automatically be shown more often (remember you are then bidding the same
rate)
 Own ad group – In the ad auction text ads and display compete against each other

41. RICH MEDIA ADS BEST
PRACTICE
 Customising your ad
 Colour
 Strong call to action
 Balance images and text in ad
 Include a visible URL
 Experiment! (copy, templates, colour, call to action)

42. RICH MEDIA ADS BEST
PRACTICE
 Measurement
 Driving sales
 Compare cost to leads or conversions
 Narrow targeting to focus on customers
 Look at hover over rate
 Analytics to understand website behaviour
 Use conversion tracking

43. SUMMARY AD FORMATS
Format Network Cost Format
Text Search or partner CPC 25,35,35,35
Image Only partner CPC or CPM Ad builder
Video Only partner CPC or CPM Ad builder
Mobile Only partner CPC or CPM 18,18,18, Call
Rich Only partner CPC or CPM Ad builder

44. Module 4

45. THE GOOGLE NETWORK
Search Network Display Network
Google + AOL etc.
Google search does not equal Search
Network
Gmail, YouTube, News24 etc.
By default ads are automatically placed on BOTH networks
Keyword targeting:
- Search phrases
Keyword targeting:
-Contextual targeting
No placement Placement targeting
- Managed placements (specific sites)
Quality score is calculated separately for the two networks, so even in one campaign the
same ad may have different quality scores for search and display
Text ads Text ads + images, video, rich etc.

46. TARGETING
Search Targeting Keyword-targeted ads on Google search + Search
Network
Target languages, location & keywords
Display Network Targeting An entire website, or subsection or even a specific ad
unit on a page
Contextual targeting
Device Platform Targeting 1. Desktops and laptops or
2. iPhones or other HTML providers
• Applied at campaign level
• Can target the Google network
• Stats with device breakdown
• No impact on mobile campaigns

47. KEYWORDS &
KEYWORD
TARGETING

48. MATCH TYPES
Type Characteristics Keyword Matching searches
Broad Default
Largest reach
Includes plurals and
synonyms
PR Agency PR Agencies
Advertising PR agency
PR JHB agency
“Phrase match” Keywords in exact
sequence
“PR Agency” JHB PR Agency
FH PR Agencies
PR Corporate agency
[Exact] Matches exactly
consumer search phrase
[PR Agency] PR Agency
PR Agencies
JHB PR Agencies
-Negative Prevent your ad from
appearing when another
word appears in a
search
PR Agency –Cape Town PR Agency
JHB PR Agency
Cape Town PR agencies
-{Embedded] Removes an embedded
exact search phrase
-[Philips] Lighting Philips lights
Philips lighting
Philips

49. KEYWORD LISTS
Build keyword
list
• Using the Google
Keyword tool
Group
keywords by
theme
Set the right
match for each
keyword
Refine list Test & refine

50. MONITORING KEYWORDS
 Quality Score (disabled by default)
 Keyword analysis tool
Remember to adjust poor performing keywords and change the match rules
 Keywords must match what your advertising

51. KEYWORDS BEST
PRACTICE
 Group keywords
 Broader match give scale but could blow budget
 Narrow match gives fewer targeted clicks and can save $
 Negative keywords rock
 Don’t forget about campaign level settings/adjustments
 Keep keyword list tight 20-30
 Two or three word phrases work best
 Keep testing keywords and refining.

52. ADWORDS
LOCATION
TARGETING

53. LANGUAGE & LOCATION
 Language – Target up to 40 languages
 Location – Any combination
 Target the language spoken by the audience that you're trying to reach. This should
also be the language in which your ad is written.
 Target countries or territories if you want to reach a wide audience across one or more
countries.
 Target regions and cities if your business serves specific geographic areas or if you
want different advertising messages in different regions.
 Target customised areas to reach specific geographic areas which may not be available
in region and city targeting.
 You can combine these targeting options any way you like within the same campaign.

54. HOW THIS STUFF WORKS
Language = Google interface language
Location =
Google Domain (e.g www.google.fr = france)
Search term (e.g. Johannesburg PR agency = JHB)
IP address

55. LOCATION
 Regional or City Targeting
 Proximity or radius targeting

56. LOCATION CHALLENGES
 IP address shows wrong location
 A user outside the target area searches for something specific in it (they will still
see your ad, automatically)
 You target country level, Google then uses their domain, but the user is actually in
a different location (e.g. Chris using google.co.za in Amsterdam)

57. BEST PRACTICE
 Before setting location, check Google Insights for search, optimise for country
traffic
 Check on campaign performance where traffic actually comes from and optimise
 Different regions can have different landing pages
 Add location extensions to your ads

58. PLACEMENT
TARGETING
(Display Network)

59.  Display network reaches 70% of all internet users in 20 languages in 100
countries
 Automatic placements: If you have keywords in your ad group and are targeting
the Display Network, using contextual targeting
 Managed placements: If you choose to manage placements separately for
increased control, you'll use managed placements.
 Excluded placements: You can also choose certain placements on which you don't
want to run ads.

60. Contextual Targeting Individual Placement targeting Managed placements
Your keywords are used to match
page level content
Remember this is set by default
Bidding (in order)
• Individual placement bids
• Managed placements bid
• Display Network bid (or your
campaign if you leave it blank)
Placements
No keywords required, you
choose the sites. Ads appear
regardless of content
Can be the entire site, section or
ad unit
Must be part of the network
Placement tool will help tell you
where to place
You still compete in the bid for
that space
Can exclude up to 5 000 sites
Allow for placement targeting or
restrictions
Separate bid management
First Google uses keyword
contextual targeting, then
managed placement rules
3 ways to select placements:
• Manually
• Automatic
• Placement tool
Bidding (in order):
• Individual bid.
• Ad group managed placement
bid.
• Ad group Display Network bid
• Ad group default bid

61. MONITORING
PERFORMANCE
 Run a URL report and check:
 Implement Google's conversion tracking so that you can understand how individual sites are
converting for you.
 Don't focus on lower overall click-through rates (CTR). Remember: A low CTR on a given site
does not necessarily mean that your ads perform poorly. Users behave differently on Display
Network pages than they do on search sites. For more telling information, rely on your
conversion data.
 When you find placements where ads from one ad group convert well, consider adding them as
managed placements on the Networks tab in your ad group. Try raising your bid so that your ads
will have a better chance of appearing whenever your keywords put your ad on that placement.
Or try doing the opposite with poorer-performing placements: lower your bid to seek a better
ROI on those specific placements.
 Respond only to statistically significant data. It may take several weeks before you can see how
your ad is doing on a specific site. We recommend waiting until you have enough click and
impression data before making decisions.
 Use the report to identify and exclude sites that are not converting for your campaign.

62. OTHER TARGETING
OPTIONS
 Videos can be targeted, using the placement tool
 Ability to target game sites
 Ability to target RSS feeds
 Ability to target mobile sites

63. BEST PRACTICE
 Using the right keywords
 Select placements that match your ad
 Try using rich media
 Use placement diagnosis to uncover problems

64. Module 5

65. Cost per Click Cost-per thousand impressions Conversion Optimiser
Only pay when someone clicks
Automatic bidding – You set a daily
budget, Adwords gives you the most
clicks a day for that budget. You can
also still set a max CPC
Manual bidding – Set individual bids
at group, keyword or placement level
Great for branding and visibility
Set on group or placement level
When CPC and CPM compete against
each other eCPM is used (or effective
CPM). I.e. working out a CPC into a
CPM prising model
Set a cost per conversion per campaign
Using the conversion optimiser, Google
attempts to give you a lower cost per
conversion, lowers your bid
automatically for less likely clicks.
Campaign must receive at least 15
conversions in the last 30 days and
maintain a similar conversion rate
You can still set a max CPA

66. • When setting up an account consider the value of a click and your daily budget
• Adsheduling - Adjust bids by time of day (using the bid multiplier, 10% to 1000% of the
original CPC.
• Note this affects all ads in the campaign
• Demographic bidding ( Bid + %) – Increase your bid when the right demographic is being
targeted
Best practice:
• Choose the bidding strategy that fits your goals
• Consider automatic bidding for new advertisers
• Use bid simulator to see possible advertising results with different bids and keywords
• Review where the best bids come from and shift focus

67. Daily budget = amount your willing to spend per campaign on average
Up to 20% over budget on a given day, but never over 100% of the budget over the lifespan of a campaign
Standard delivery
Impressions are spread out through the day
Accelerated delivery
Display your ad as quickly as possible to your budget
Google’s recommended budget is calculated as follows:
• Determining your total potential impressions
• Comparing potential impressions with your recent performance and costs
• Combining daily estimates
• Tempering recommended amounts to allow for testing

68.  Keep your total account spend in mind when specifying your campaign
 Remember your bidding amount when setting your budget
 You may change your budget a max of 10 times a day

69. Module 6.2

70.  Google strives for relevance, in searches and ads (this makes the quality score so
important)
 Quality Score is based on your keyword's click-through rate (CTR); the relevance of
your ad text, keyword and landing page; and several other factors.
 This is calculated for EVERY relevant search
 Landing page quality is influenced by the usefulness and relevance of information
provided on the page, ease of navigation, load time, how many links are on the page
and more
 Quality score is used in:
 influencing your keywords' cost per clicks (CPCs)
 determining whether a keyword is eligible to enter the ad auction that occurs when a user
enters a search query
 affecting how high your ad will be ranked
 estimating the first page bids that you see in your account

71. Google Search Network
 CTR
 Account History
 Ad group CTR
 Relevance of keywords to ad
 Account performance in region
where ad would be shown
 More
Display Network
Contextually targeted
 CPC:
 The historical CTR of the ad on this
and similar sites
 The relevance of the ads and keywords
in the ad group to the site
 The quality of your landing page
 CPM:
 The quality of your landing page
 Placement targeted

72.  Influenced by:
 Usefulness
 Relevance
 Ease of navigation
 Load time
 How many links and more
 Each keyword receive a landing page relevance score

73. Relevance Transparency Navigation
How relevant is it to the user query
Originality, feature unique content
Don’t link or redirect traffic
Content of substance
Define what your business does
Honour deals
No changing usual web behaviour
No software installs
Policy in handling user data
Easy flow paths
Avoid pop-ups etc
Loads quickly

74.  Data collection sites
 Sites designed to show ads
 Malware sites
 eBook sites
 Get rich quick
 Comparison shopping sites
 Travel aggragators

75.  This can fluctuate
 Keyword analysis:
 Eligible
 Disapproved
 Paused/Deleted
 Low search volume
 Below first page bid
 Low Quality Score
 You need to enable the quality score tab to view the analysis

77. DirectMarketing
Ads distributed
to those directly
interested in
your product
Generate leads
ROI focus
CPC
AdWords
Discounter
Smart Pricing
BrandMarketing
Builds
awareness
Display network
reach
Every stage of
purchasing
decision
Message testing

78. •Search query, Language & Location
•Networks devices, placement targeting & exclusion tools
Targeting
•CPC
•AdWords Discounter
•Smart Pricing
Pricing options
•Changes allow 24/7
•Account Snapshot | Keyword Report
•Campaign Statistics | Ad Report
•Conversion Tracking | Placement Report
•Google Analytics | Search Term Report | Hourly Report
Reporting
Saves time buying ads & measuring success

80.  Start with a clients need assessment
 You can perform a needs analysis to determine a client's current online marketing
involvement, learn about their company/organisation landscape, know who the decision
makers are and uncover company weak points.
 Points to consider:
 Review their website: Have a basic understanding of the advertiser's business. What is their
flagship product or service?
 Do some research: Are there articles about the business online? Are they already doing online
marketing? Are they in the organic search results? How competitive is the ad space?
 Learn to speak their language: What vertical are they in? What is their sales cycle? Are there
unfamiliar terms? Is there seasonality? What challenges might they face?
 Begin to plan: How might you build an AdWords account for this advertiser? What products or
services would you include in an initial marketing strategy? What products or services might
you recommend for expansion?

81.  Aligning client needs with Goals and Opportunities
 Typical problems:
 Limited time: Unable to effectively pursue new marketing strategies
 Lack of experience: Mistakes in online marketing campaigns
 Resource constraints: Cutting corners
 Not targeting audience effectively: Failure to generate revenue
 Inability to measure success: Sub-optimal use of marketing budget
 Limited marketing strategy: Missing out on customer segments
 Limited budget: Limited investment in future


82.  Manual clicks to increase your costs OR automated tools
Google has three powerful tools for protecting clicks on AdWords ads:
 Detection and filtering techniques:
Each click on an AdWords ad is examined by our system. Google looks at numerous data points
for each click, including the IP address, the time of the click, any duplicate clicks and various
other click patterns. Our system then analyses these factors to try to isolate and filter out
potentially invalid clicks.
 Advanced monitoring techniques:
Google uses a number of unique and innovative techniques for managing invalid click activity.
We can't disclose details about the software, except to say that we're constantly working to
expand and improve our technology.
 The Google Team
In addition to our automated click protection techniques, we have a team that uses specialised
tools and techniques to examine individual instances of invalid clicks. When our system detects
potentially invalid clicks, a member of this team examines the affected account to glean
important data about the source of the potentially invalid clicks.

83.  The Google Network lets advertisers reach users across the Internet - from small newsletters to large search engines. Since
search results pages make up a very small fraction of all pages viewed online, the Google Network provides a cost-effective
way to reach users on the greater portion of the web. The Google Network is split into the Search Network, which includes
Google and other search sites like Ask.com, and the Display Network, which includes Gmail, newsletters and sites like the
New York Times and HowStuffWorks.
 In the Search Network, search targeting applies to keyword-targeted ads shown on Google search results pages and on other
search sites. Ads shown on these pages appear alongside, above or below the search results and are specific to that particular
search query. If the advertiser's keyword matches the user's search term, the advertiser's ad could appear.
 The Display Network has the advantage of reaching potential customers at different points of the buying cycle. Not every
potential customer is focused on conducting a search. Not every visitor is ready to buy at a given moment. The advertiser's
challenge is to capture their attention at the right time.
 For example, a user might begin a search for digital cameras with just an interest in reading reviews. However, while reading
a review, that user might take note of online retailers' ads or click the ads themselves. With search-only advertising, this
customer would have been missed.
 With the Display Network, you can run ads in text and rich media ad formats. Image and video ads can be especially
important in branding and marketing efforts. Google charges no additional fee to serve these ads. That's just another benefit
of partnering with Google AdWords.
 Here's one more benefit: If our data shows that a click from a Google Network page is less likely to turn into actionable
business results - such as online sales, registrations, phone calls or newsletter sign-ups - we may automatically reduce the bid
for that site. With no extra effort from you, Google technology helps you realise consistent value across Google and the Google
Network.

85.  Keep your client updated on progress often
 Offer multiple metrics for success
 Don’t share your login credentials

87. Phrase searches: place phrases between quotation marks
Negative terms: since many words in English have more
that one meaning, e.g. bat the animal, bat the baseball
equipment, placing a negative sign in front of a term (–
baseball) will help narrow your search for the animal
I’m Feeling Lucky: takes you to “the most relevant website
… found for your query”

88. GOOGLE CHEAT SHEET
 All of the previous “advanced” operations and a lot more can be done from
Google.com if you know and use the Google Cheat Sheet
 For example: “+” before a word will find the word even if its automatically excluded
 “~” before a word will find synonyms
 Two numbers separated by two periods will find results within a given range

89. Above the general search box in Google are “top links”:
Web – Images – Groups – News – Froogle – Local – more
>>
Clicking on one of these will take you a specific Google
page where you can search for pictures, groups of users,
news stories, consumer goods, and local businesses
It can really get interesting if you click on “more >>”!

90. GOOD LUCK
Kantinath Banerjee
Digital marketing personnel
www.about.me/kantibanerjee
9990270113