Everyone makes mistakes. From seasoned pros to those just getting into pay per click advertising, no one can avoid the thralls of a mistake. And in a world like PPC where everything is a test and nothing is guaranteed, its easy to overlook some things. Some mistakes can be more costly than others and for some, you may not even know you were making them! In this presentation, experts from Wordstream and Hanapin Marketing walk through 15 of the most critical PPC mistakes and give you tips on how to avoid them. They will discuss mistakes in areas like quality score, text ads, remarketing, display advertising, and AdWords campaign settings. You’ll get expert level tips like: *Keeping your geographic targeting in line with your business model *Utilizing dayparting and ad scheduling *Managing successful text ads *Common mistakes in campaign settings

1. The 15 Biggest PPC Mistakes and
How to Avoid Them
Brought to you by:
www.wordstream.com/learn
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2. www.wordstream.com/learn
Want to get smart in paid search?
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3. Join the Conversation on Twitter
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@Hanapin
@WordStream
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4. Today’s Presenters
Helen Edwards
PPC Coordinator, WordStream
Rachael Law
Account Manager, Hanapin Marketing
@Law_Rachael
Headshot Headshot
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5. What is your experience with paid search?
a) <1 year
b) 1-2 years
c) 3-5 years
d) 6+ years
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6. Text Ads

7. Text Ad Mistakes
1. Not Testing Ad Copy
2. Too Many or Too Few Ads per Ad Group
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8. #1 Not Testing Ad Copy
Testing can result in:
Incremental gains in CTR
Increase quality scores
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9. #2 Too Many Ads! (or too few..)
• It becomes increasingly difficult to determine which
ad has winning ad copy the more ads you have.
• For accurate testing, you want to be able to isolate
tests (i.e., testing different headlines or display
URLs)
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The Fix: Run two ads per ad group.

10. Quality Score

11. Quality Score Mistakes
1. Ignoring Quality Score
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12. #3 Ignoring Quality Score
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13. #3 Ignoring Quality Score
Bottom Line: Focusing on quality score saves YOU money!
Ad Rank
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
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14. The Fix
• Relevant Landing Pages
• Ad Copy Relevancy
• Ad Extensions
• Patience (Historical Account
Performance)
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15. Campaign Settings

16. Campaign Setting Mistakes
1. Targeting Irrelevant Geographies
2. Ignoring Day Parting
3. Incorrect Ad Rotation Settings
4. Forgetting About the Search Partner Network
5. Not Segmenting Search from Display
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17. #4 Targeting Irrelevant Geographies
The Fix: Check to see which locations are spending money
without converting then set up Geographic Targeting.
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18. #5 Ignoring Dayparting
The Fix: Schedule your ads.
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19. #7 Forgetting about the Search Partner Network
The Fix: Exclude search partners if the CPL is too high.
Search Partner Network can Skew:
• Average Position
• Cost-per-lead (CPL)
• Cost-per-conversion (CPC)
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20. #8 Not Segmenting Search & Display
← BAD (Search & Display Combined)
← GOOD (Search Only)
← GOOD (Display Only)
The Fix: Segment search and display campaigns.
Get more control over KPI’s and budget.
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21. #9 Choosing the Wrong Delivery Method
Standard Delivery:
Ads are shown evenly
throughout the day
Accelerated Delivery: Ads
are shown every time a
search matches a keyword
until the budget is exhausted
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22. Display

23. Display Mistakes
1. Not Utilizing Display Exclusions
2. Not Utilizing Site Category Options
3. Not Excluding Moble Aps
4. Not Using Text AND Image Ads
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24. #10 Not Utilizing Display Exclusions
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25. #11 Not Utilizing Site Category Options
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26. #12: Not Excluding Mobile Apps
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27. #13 Not Using Both Text AND Image Ads
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28. Ad Format Share of Impressions Average CTR Average CPC
Text Ads 67.40% 0.23% $2.31
Image Ads 32.60% 0.31% $0.48
Source: Mark Irvine, Data Scientist, WordStream, 2014
WordStream Agency Clients with at least 10 different GDN ad formats
#13 Not Using Both Text AND Image Ads
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29. Remarketing

30. 1. Not Running Remarketing
2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
3. Using the Wrong Keywords for RLSA
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Remarketing Mistakes

31. #14 Not Running Remarketing
The Fix: Use remarketing! It’s great for capturing non-
converting traffic from all sources.
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32. #15 Targeting the Wrong Audience
Not Excluding Converters
• This can be particularly important for lead gen (or any
instance where a second conversion is not valuable)
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33. Mistake: Using an audience that’s too broad
• All Visitors is a popular audience to use for remarketing, but in many
cases you’re better off using a more specific list
• This allows for more tailored ad copy and higher conversion rates
Audience Options
• Cart Abandoners
• Specific URL visitors
• Analytics Lists
#15 Targeting the Wrong Audience
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34. Most conversions are set at a 30 day conversion window, but for
some accounts valuable conversions happen after 30 days.
#15 Targeting the Wrong Audience
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35. Bonus #16 Using the Wrong Keywords for RLSA
The Fix: Use broader keywords in RLSA campaigns, as you’re
already advertising towards a qualified audience.
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36. Thanks!
Let’s stay in touch:
kgwozdz@wordstream.com
marketingteam@wordstream.com
@WordStream
Marketing@hanapingmarketing.com
@Hanapin
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Next Webinar:
5 Major Trends that Will Make You Rethink PPC in 2015
http://bit.ly/1szXEnH

37. www.wordstream.com/google-adwords www.wordstream.com/landing-page
Grade Your AdWords Account Grade Your AdWords Landing Pages
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38. Special Offers
I would like…
A. A FREE 1-on-1 AdWords & Landing Page Audit
B. WordStream Advisor Individual Demo
C. Solutions Blueprint from Hanapin Marketing
D. I don’t need any help with my PPC
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39. #PPCmistakes