In the last article we discussed PPC mistakes and how to avoid making them so here are more of the common mistakes made by the pros and how to avoid them.

Mistakes with Geo-Targeting

Off the bat, the common errors by the experts are:

• Targeting the wrong county in a campaign
• Targeting the whole of the UK rather than one city
• Forgetting to set up local geo-targeting at all

With the introduction of Enhanced Campaigns with bidding modification by location, geo-targeting isn’t an easy process. You can mistakenly spend hundreds by running a campaign country-wide with broad industry keywords when you should have been targeting just one city.

Avoid these pitfalls by mapping out your campaign structure first. Then check your Enhanced Campaign has both campaign level settings and location adjustment level. Double check the work of any new employees and once live, check again using your online interface to spot any anomalies before your spending gets out of control.

Mistakes with keywords

Match types, dynamic keyword insertion, and of course the biggie – spelling. There are many factors to consider when setting keywords and you can easily trip up. Your campaign spend can rocket if you’ve set your keywords incorrectly.

Check your keyword ideas through a keyword tool to first spot any words in a list which are irrelevant. Be extra cautious with Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) by using a spreadsheet to spot bad matches when seen in context of the ad.

Send your list to the client for approval to avoid any embarrassment. Better to have them spot an errant keyword before you start spending their money on it.

Mistakes with Conversion & Tracking

• Failure to check conversion codes in AdWords
• Forgetting to check display tests
• Paying for clicks to 404s
• Wrongly installed tracking code

These technical slip-ups affect even the experienced PPC experts which is why accurate conversion tracking is so important. Schedule in regular conversion audits to make sure you’re tracking the right things and keep on top of your URLs to make sure they’re still live and not hitting the dreaded 404 page.

Conclusion

Mistakes will happen, but implementing strict checks and scheduled audits will help toward catching errors early and will go a long way to reducing losses as well as keeping your client or boss happy.