When performing audits of PPC campaigns that are in progress, the top 5-10 points to be focused on to uncover issues or opportunities are;

First point is Advertiser’s Goals:
Discuss Client’s Marketing goals so as to look through an account, also to make sure that everything in their account is helping them reach their goals.

Second point is how they are tracking goals:
Is analytics, conversion tracking, or phone call tracking, etc being used. Often just by increasing the efficiency of the tracking, the account can take advantage of other features such as CPA bidding.

Third point is how the account is being constrained:
An examination of impression share and quality score distribution across an account quickly, lets you know, if there are budget, bid, or quality score issues that need to be worked through.

Some best practices that every account should be focused around. The major difference between small and large accounts is scale. Try to know the best PPC practices around some simple questions:

* Are all keywords in an ad group related?
** Are the appropriate match types being chosen?
*** Are the ads in an ad group related to all the keywords?
**** Are the ad copies leading to the best landing pages possible?
***** Are ad copies being tested?
****** Are landing pages being tested?

Adwords Conversion Tracking

You do a dummy booking to test the technicality of your site is OK. Again to check the same to make sure the conversion are well tracked by Adwords Interface; You do search with a keyword query in Google Search Engine. See your Ads pops up in the Sponsored Ads. Now you go forward to click your ad, & then you are directed to the respective landing page that has been defined in your Keyword Destination URL.

Now you carry on with your conversion procedure and lands on either the “Thank You” or “Confirmation Page. Done.

Conclusion Is:

Intention: Dummy Test Booking Completed.

Action: Process Followed & Completed

Testing: OK on the Landing Page

Till now Adwords has not yet displayed the Dummy Booking conversion in your interface, but Testing procedure is completed.

After few hours, Adwords displays a conversion. Very happy, since for few particular industry campaigns, seeing 1 conversion is all that you’re struggling for.

Irony Is:

Meanwhile, you have forgotten that the conversion recorded is due to the dummy test booking, and then, the very next moment someone reminds you of it.

Just imagine, How you GOT to FEEL the moment?

Lesson: Be Attentive

This has always been a question for clarification by most beginners in PPC. One says, “71% of the total traffic comes from Direct Traffic, which means most of the users are aware of the brand then, what is the need of spending budget by bidding on Brand terms?

It is essential to be present both on Sponsored & Organic listings to drive user’s attention and impression. Again, it’s only on the brand that your bid value is 5-10% that of Generic or Specific keyword bid value while being in top 1-3 position. There are other reasons too, why you should bid on the brand queries;

• If you are not bidding, then your competitor will bid on your brand terms and take away your share of profit easily.
• The new feature called Sitelinks (Ad Extension) suits very well with Brand, since sitelinks works only when your ad is shown in 1-3 position, and with Brand, you are easy enough to be in 1-3 without any concern that may not be the same for Generic or Specific keyword where the competition is much aggressive. (Below is the screenshot on sitelinks for your reference)

There is a complication while building up your Brand completely to a new target market audience. In that case, you have to concentrate much on generic and specific keyword with brand related adcopies, so that users are getting aware of the ads mainly targeting brand theme.

For example; Many online and offline users might be knowing about Norton Antivirus and McAfee Antivirus, but rarely about Kaspersky which is new in the antivirus products. So gradually showing up its Brand theme related adcopies on generic terms like “anti virus” will help to spread brand awareness and gradually improve its establishment in the specific market to be in competition in coming days. Below is a screenshot for your reference)