Ah yes, the crux of it all. Is it even necessary to have your campaign run by someone who is an Adwords professional? No, it’s not. I have seen campaigns run by owners of limo companies that have impressed me, and that isn’t easy to do. This isn’t very common, however.

Google Adwords Reps

Here’s the thing: anyone can learn Adwords if you have the time. Google offers a free course that will educate you on all of the different ins and outs of Adwords. They even have Google Adwords reps that will give you phone support, and try to help you run your own campaign! That’s pretty cool, and who better than a Google rep to give you advice on Adwords?

Not so fast.

While Google does offer reps to help you out in setting up and managing your account, they should not be mistaken for Adwords professionals. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen a shoddy account setup only to hear that, “I’ve called Google hundreds of times and they helped me,” I probably wouldn’t be writing this article.

While the reps at Google can sometimes be helpful, they are not Google Adwords professionals.

I am not saying that they claim to be professionals, however. It isn’t their job to ensure that your campaign is giving you a good ROI. They are primarily there to diagnose problems, not so much to setup your account properly.

Theoretical vs Practical

One other important thing to remember is that the real learning comes from the doing. When I first went through Google’s Adwords course I thought I had things figured out. Since then, I’ve been through courses and books by both Perry Marshall and Brad Geddes (both are fantastic by the way, and linked to) and while I learned a lot, it was all just theory.

The only way to get really good at Google Adwords is running your own campaigns, preferably several of them in multiple locations and different verticals.

What you will find is that there are some rules that can be broken. For example, I usually eschew Broad match keywords in most of my campaigns; virtually every PPC course I have been through recommends being extra vigilant with them.

I would even go as far as to say that if you are new with Adwords, you shouldn’t be using them, period (opt for modified Broad instead). I have however had several campaigns that have seen success with Broad match keywords. Keep in mind, these campaigns all had extensive lists of negative keywords.

Running your own Campaign? Read This!

I can guarantee you one thing, no matter how many courses you take, or books you read, there will always be a learning curve with Adwords. If you are hell-bent on learning Adwords yourself, and running it for your own company, there are a few things I would keep in mind.

First off, you want to start with a small and very precise group of keywords that exactly matches what you do. Most new campaigns I see have too many keywords.

Second, do not use Broad match keywords. If you don’t know what a Broad match keyword is, you shouldn’t be running your own campaign.

Why shouldn’t you use Broad match? Check out a small sample of a search term report of an account I audited recently:

Keep in mind, this guy was in the Limo business!

Lastly, you really want to focus on the types of rides that give you the greatest ROI. For example, if you do wine tours and airport runs you very likely want to focus on wine tours, as they are a higher dollar ticket item.

You must consider the CLV, or customer lifetime value, as well. Check out the other article I wrote on that here. Essentially, just because a ride is only $80 doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the customer acquisition cost, if it leads to more business.

So, should you use a PPC Manager?

Wait for it, wait for it… it depends. You knew that was coming didn’t you?

If you are a brand new business that doesn’t have money, but you have time, it might be best to try and learn it yourself. If you’ve been in business a while, and have the extra funds, but do not have the time, than working with PPC manager can be very beneficial. It’s even better if they’re familiar with your industry!

If you have any questions about pay per click marketing, or would like to see if your Adwords account is performing optimally, drop me a line! I can be reached atMark@LimoAgency.net or 714-369-2477.