Google Adwords is set up for one main reason: to make Google as much money as possible. There are campaign level settings you can use to save you money, and keyword bidding strategies (that I will cover in the next post) that you can use that will save you money, and make your Adwords campaigns worth while. This post will focus on the Campaign level Adwords settings that will save you money as a beginner in Adwords. If you are optimizing your Adwords campaigns, skip to the advanced posts.

1-Adwords Strategies - Campaign Settings

In the new Adwords layout you will Click on the "Campaigns" Tab, then the "Settings" Tab. The two tabs are pictured below:


When you choose the Adwords campaign you will be able to choose from several categories:
General
Audience*
Networks and devices
Bidding and Budget
Advanced Settings

The only change you need to make initially is in the Networks and devices section. The other Adwords settings are set by default in a way that will help you the most. We will return to these settings in a post on optimizing your PPC Campaigns

Ideal Networks and Devices Settings in Adwords:

By default the "All available sites and devices" radio bubble is checked. This means that for any search that has your keywords in it, all google searches for your keyword, for people using any device. This makes sense for Google, because it puts your ads out in as many places as possible. This Adwords default setting doesn't make sense for you, now or ever.

In the beginning it is best to focus just on the google searches that people are using, on their computers (unless you have a mobile targeted version of your site, then any device is fine). In the beginning we want to find out the search engine keywords that will be the most profitable for your business, so click on the "Let Me choose" Bubble. The best settings for a beginner will look like this (if you have a mobile site, leave the iPhones and other... bubble checked):

Bidding and Budget Adwords Settings

Based on the strategy I have talked about, you want to get about 100 visitors a day. If your keyword bid is $ .10 you will have a $10 per day budget. That is a good place to start, but you may need to adjust it once you set your keyword bids.

Your Adwords bidding settings are by default, the best for both you and Adwords. The Position Preferences are also set to be the best for you for now, by default. For now, leave the setting to "Focus on clicks, manual maximum CPC bidding". Although Maximum is a scary word it just means that Adwords will place your ad whenever your maximum bid price is enough to get a spot on the page. I will cover that in detail in the next post.

Advanced Settings

Advanced settings include scheduling, placements, and ad rotation settings. Again, the default Adwords settings are fine for a beginner. Once you know the times of day that you get the most conversions, you can focus all of your advertising budget on those times of the day, but when you are starting, you want them to be as even as possible throughout the day.

Adwords Campaign Settings Conclusion

For a beginner, the only change you need to make is in the Networks and Devices Settings. The rest is already set for you. In the next post We will cover to Optimizing your Bidding in Adwords.

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