With the holiday season (and probable Steam Sale) fast approaching, it was time to finally bite the bullet and transition from a pre-built HP computer to a fully customized home build. During this process, it quickly became apparent that I was using many of the same skills for this build as I use for building out a new client’s Paid Search program.
Planning Before Spending
Planning before spending may sound obvious, but I have inherited more than one paid search account that end up hemorrhaging money for a mistaken match type or targeting area. Just as I was checking every PC part vendor site for deals, reviews, and compatibility issues; it is of paramount importance to plan campaign structure, which networks to utilize, and yes, targeting.
Plan the PPC account so it is built for your client’s needs. Accounts that are too broad in scope or aren’t properly budgeted can balloon in cost in a matter of hours. Diminishing returns are a very real outcome of a poorly planned paid search account. With my computer build, I capped my budget because I am a casual game player and I wouldn’t notice the quality difference with a higher spend. So too should planning include assessing your client’s cost per acquisition and ensuring that money spent will earn sufficient revenue. What are your client’s key performance indicators? These are important metrics to study in comparison to paid search spend. If a paid search account is properly planned during setup, less time will be wasted correcting errors and oversights, leaving more time for expansion and analysis.
I Need an Adult!
Whether you’re building a new PC or are building out your client’s paid search campaign, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips. Google’s own Inside AdWords blog will keep you up to date on new features while showing real world implementation examples. Anyone looking for help building a PC will find helpful forums on Reddit and Tom’s Hardware as well as the component vendor sites. With some planning, your client’s can see immediate success using paid search platforms. Now that my computer is built, it’s time for the hard part: waiting for Half-Life 3.