How to Avoid Losing Money When Using Google AdWords

Use less keywords, not more, when first starting out. Many times our eyes can get bigger than our stomachs when we start to explore all of the "keyword possibilities" within our niche, and we want to conquer them all in one shot. Consequently, we set up ad groups and campaigns that are way too broad and not targeted enough. Narrow your focus. Use Wordtracker's Free Keyword Suggestion Tool (the link is at the bottom) to find good keywords and keyphrases that you can target with "laser focus".

Step2 At the beginning of your AdWords career, turn off the "Content Network" option. The default setting for the Content Network is "On", so you will have to go into your AdWords account and manually switch it to "Off". The Content Network is basically a network of websites from various publishers (think blogs, About.com, niche websites related to your keywords, etc.) that feature Google's ads on their sites. If the Content Network option is "On" in your account, your ads will appear there as well. The conversion ratio on ads in the content network is not nearly as high as with the Search Engine Results Pages. It's nothing that you should rule out altogether, though...it's just better in the beginning for you to stick primarily with SERP marketing, and when you have more money to "play with", you can explore the Content Network option. Step3 I don't know how else to say this...make sure that your ads don't suck. Many people write ad copy that contains poor grammar or misspellings--even misspelling the KEYWORD--as well as writing ads that don't contain the keyword at all! Always, always, ALWAYS, make sure that the keyword you're targeting is included in the ad title AND ad copy. You're bidding on it, for heaven's sake, so put it in there! Step4 In the tradition of the previous step (and I'm treading lightly), make sure that your landing page doesn't suck. Many people will bid on a keyword that's only being featured on a subpage of their site, but they will send the visitors to their home page from the ad. If someone is looking for a specific product/service, and they click your ad in hopes of going directly to it, they're not going to want to bother with searching all over your home page to try and find it. Make sure the landing page is congruent with the ad, and this way it will increase your Quality Score as well. Step5 The name of the game is EXPERIMENT. Test different ad groups, test different ads within one ad group, test different times of the day etc. Testing and tracking, testing and tracking...you can never do enough testing and tracking. Be organized and really give attention to what works versus what's wasting your money. Maximize those areas where you see high conversions and kill the areas where you don't see them. Don't try to beat a dead horse; find out which horse is already in motion and jump on it. Okay, cheesy analogy I know, but you get the point.