How to Set Up a Solid PPC Campaign - Organizing Your PPC Keyword List

In our last post we discussed creating a master PPC keyword list. Now that you have that long list of search terms, it's time to break them down into smaller categories.

There are a few reason you want to break down your keywords into categories...

1) The smaller tighter groupings are easier to manage than a large lump of search terms.

2) This will allow you to write very specific ads for these smaller groupings

3) It also allows you to send traffic to certain pages on your web site.

4) Both 2 & 3 will increase your quality score and reduce costs.

5) It will make life easier when managing and setting bids.

6) In some cases negative keywords may be needed for only certain categories as opposed to an entire campaign

Now that you know why, it's time to get to the how....

Honestly, the choice is yours on the best way to break things down. Using our comic book store as an example, you may want to break down your keywords into character groupings. Spider-Man, Bat-Man, or The Sentry (who?!). Or you can do it by publisher - DC, Marvel, Vertigo (what?!)

The logic is to determine which keywords can have specific ads and specific landing pages. So if I am looking for a Captain America comic and Google that search term, I'd prefer to see an ad that says "Captain America Comics". That would entice me to click on your ad as opposed to an ad that says, "Lots of Comic Books".

On that same note, send me directly to your Captain America page. Don't make me find it. I'll probably leave your web site unless Cap is in my face and if not, you just wasted a $1.32 click charge. Put Wing-Head right in front of me when I click on your Cap ad. You have less than 3 seconds to grab my attention, don't waste that time.

Now you don't have to go crazy. There are well over 500 issues of Captain America. And while you "could" have 500 keywords, you don't need 500 ads or categories. Put all the Cap keywords in one category. "Captain America comics", "Captain America Comic Books", etc. This way when you're ready to write the ads, you only need a handful of ads for Cap. Then a few for the Spidey category and so forth.

And you can apply this logic to a lot of industries. Bakeries - chocolate doughnuts, wedding cakes, apple pies. Sporting Goods - volley balls, tennis rackets, World Champions Phillies Jerseys (that's right!). You get the idea.

Now you can organize this anyway you want, but I find the best way is to do it on an Excel spreadsheet and every tab is a category. So the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing gets a tab, Silver Surfer gets a tab, Green Lantern gets a tab, and so forth. And don't forget a tab for those negative keywords. I can't stress enough how important they are.

The Excel method will also make life easier when you're ready to write ads, but that's a topic for a different post...which is next. See you in the funny papers!

Google Adwords in Foreign Countries and Languages

A lot of U.S. PPC advertisers would like to reach beyond the United States and even beyond English-speaking countries. But how does one do that? If you want to advertise in Spain, do you run English ads? Spanish ads?

The answer is both...sometimes. If you have a country where the native tongue and English are both used, then you may want to consider targeting two languages with your search engine marketing efforts.

Let's use France as an example. You want to target people in France who search Google using English, but you also want to capture those searching in French. Here's what you do....

1) Create a campaign just targeting France. Use English keywords, English ads, and send the traffic to the correlating landing page, which should be in English. Easy enough. Same as you do in the U.S.

2) Now, comes the tricky part. Create a separate campaign for France again. Set the target language as French. Use French keywords. Write French ads. Send the traffic to a French landing page.

While the concept seems simple, the execution is not. Especially if you don't speak French. You need to translate all your keywords and ads. And also make sure they flow. You wouldn't click on a Broken-English PPC ad, so don't expect people to click on a Broken-French ad. On top of that you need a strong French landing page.

So the key key here is having a good translator. As you know, creating tail versions of your keywords is difficult enough in your own language, but you're going to need a lot of help when using a foreign language. Also, there is the whole challenge of optimizing the campaign. Running search query reports to find negative keywords. Testing and editing different ads. Tweaking landing pages. It can be done, but a search engine marketer needs to be very careful.

This is why I highly recommend separate campaigns for separate languages even if you are targeting the same country. For one, you should have a good handle on the English campaign. Two, you'll be able to differentiate which campaign performs better, the native language or the foreign language. And three, if you are having difficulties with the native tongue, you will at least get some exposure with the English campaign.

One last thing to mention regarding this issue. Quality score. Landing page is part of your quality score. So if you are sending French ads to a French landing page, that helps. However, what if you slap a French landing page on an English site? According to Google that may play a factor in your quality score.

There may not be much you can do unless you want to have separate web sites for different languages or even microsites. That may not be feasible. However, I just want to make you aware of the fact in case you are struggling with lower Q-scores in the foreign language campaign.

Like I said, the theory seems simple enough, but the execution is a different matter all together. Not to say it can't be done because many people are doing it. However, take the time to get it right and hedge yourself with an English-campaign as well.