Struggling to learn the Google Ads game?

My very first introduction to learning Google Ads (used be AdWords) was through multiple videos, which comprehensively explained the whole process from setting up a campaign to its ongoing management. Sitting down and watching how all the individual components of AdWords worked together to create the 4-line ad we see on Google was definitely overwhelming. There were so many different terms to learn and settings that could be fiddled with that, as a first time user, AdWords seemed scary.

It wasn’t until I was thrown into the deep end and assigned some campaigns to manage that I began to understand how it all fits together. Although at that early stage I was nowhere near to being good at AdWords, let alone a Guru like the rest of the team, I started to pick up how AdWords worked in practice and the implications of certain decisions. Managing multiple campaigns when I still didn’t fully understand the difference between conversions and converted clicks, was difficult but it was the best way to learn.

Difficult things to learn:

AdWords has so many different components, some intuitive, some not. The most difficult aspect for me to learn was how to set up an effective campaign. This process seems deceptively simple – find keywords, sort those keywords into ad groups, and write the ad copy. However, in order to do these steps effectively, you need to fully understand what the company is about and how your target consumer thinks. If you don’t understand what products or services the company is offering or what words consumer use to search, then it’s going to be difficult knowing which keywords are relevant and how to write effective ad copy.

AdWords also has specific terminology that is used when talking about all aspects of producing an ad. For most first time uses it can be difficult to get your head around all the different terms, however like most things, with experience these terms becomes more familiar. The AdWords interface makes learning all the terminology easy by having question marks near each term which, when hovered over, comes up with the definition as well as links to find out more.

Moving Forward:

The AdWords interface, and the whole Google scene, is constantly changing and evolving to make the user experience more enjoyable. This requires us, as aspiring marketers, to stay up to date with all changes and be ready to react. Just recently, Google announced major changes to the Adwords interface and key reporting metrics.

It is important to always be on the look out for whispers of change within not only the marketing world, but also general trends in the wider society. To keep up to date with developments, I have made a Feedly account, which brings together a range of blogs onto one platform. These blogs, written by marketing professionals, are great in sharing tips and tricks in managing campaigns. Subscribing to several marketing blogs definitely helps me to keep track of the ever-changing world of AdWords and marketing.