It seems like every day the bid pricing on Google AdWords is getting more and more competitive. While this is true to a degree, the potential effectiveness of an AdWords campaign has also never been greater. If you haven’t had much experience with Google AdWords campaign management, then you may want to remember these four simple AdWords management strategies for your next foray into the world of PPC advertising.

The first thing you should do is carefully consider your keyword strategy. Just because a PPC service offers a relevant keyword generation feature doesn’t mean you have to use it. Be very selective and precise with your keywords, and do your homework. Make sure that your keyword doesn’t have a double meaning or overlap with another industry. The last thing you need is people clicking up your ads who have no intention of buying your product or service.

The second thing you should consider is the position of your bid. Many inexperienced PPC campaign mangers think that it is better to bid for the top spot. However, this is rarely the case. Unless you are the undisputed leader of your industry, this is not a good idea. The top spot is a very wasteful place to be. You will get many clicks that have no chance of resulting in sales. Instead, try to bid for the first page, but not the first spot. Use your text ad to sell yourself, not your positional ranking. A higher ranking will mean more clicks, but a lower conversion rating on the backend.

One of the AdWords management strategies that goes without saying (but still can’t be said enough) is to test all of your keywords, and then test some more. You need to remember that PPC marketing is like the stock market – it can fluctuate greatly on a daily basis. Ignoring your keyword results or click through rates or conversion rates for too long can spell doom for your PPC advertising campaign. It is vital that you continually monitor your campaign, and make the necessary changes.

The last Google AdWords technique you should consider is placing ads on relevant websites instead of just SERPs (search engine results pages). These ads are placed on a cost per impression basis (usually by the thousand) instead of a cost per click basis, and appear on websites that cater to your target demographic. This can be a great strategy for picking up cheap clicks.

These simple AdWords management strategies can help you with your PPC campaign management and can ensure that you get the most out of your next PPC advertising campaign.