If you’ve advertised on Google AdWords, you probably have a wish list of features that you’d like to see. Perhaps you’d like bulk bid changes and an easier way to remove duplicate keywords. Well, Google already provides a tool that allows advertisers to do the above and much more. The tool is the AdWords Editor. Editor is fast, it’s functional and best of all—it’s free!
No matter how big or small your account, AdWords Editor can work for you. Whether you manage million dollar campaigns or a $500 monthly budget, the AdWords Editor can help. The Editor is a standalone software application that allows you to work on your accounts offline, automatically saving your work until you are ready to post the changes into your account. This is helpful when you are building accounts, as you shift keywords around and finalize your structure. It’s also useful when optimizing campaigns, as you can review all your work before finalizing any major changes.
The AdWords Editor is the fastest way to move keywords, ad text and even whole ad groups. You can copy and paste any area of the account that you want to move, such as an ad group you’d like to test on the content network. Google’s best practice for advertising on the content network is to keep content in a separate campaign. This is great for tracking purposes, but is also time-consuming. Editor reduces it to simple copy and paste!
Perhaps you aren’t looking to duplicate any of your keywords for testing. Perhaps your problem actually is duplicate keywords. It is common to find keyword duplications across ad groups and campaigns in most accounts, particularly as the account grows. The problem with unintentional duplicates is that the traffic is split between the two keywords. If one keyword is converting at a fantastic rate, the duplicate keyword could be a drag on your bottom line. AdWords Editor contains a duplicate keyword finder, which lists duplicates across campaigns. Once you find the duplicates, you can download cost and conversion data directly into AdWords Editor to help you find and remove the non-performing keyword.
Downloading data on your account is the most common use of AdWords Editor. Once you’ve downloaded cost and conversion data, the Editor has the power to sort by cost, conversions and much more. Do you have a number of keywords falling off the first page of search results? Filter by average position and boost the bids on all these keywords at once. Are you looking for keywords that have never converted? Filter them out and pause them all at once! AdWords Editor makes optimization a snap with its advanced sorting and bid changing features.
Once you’ve used AdWords Editor to get your Google campaigns into top shape, you can actually use it to quickly import your account into Yahoo! and MSN as well. Most online advertisers use outlets beyond Google, so the teams at Yahoo! and MSN have taken advantage of the AdWords Editor’s ability to export accounts in spreadsheet format. With a little adjustment, you can save hours of work and import campaigns directly from Google to Yahoo! and MSN.
While you can edit just about any aspect of your AdWords campaigns in the Editor, there are several things you cannot work on through AdWords Editor. These include:
• Ad scheduling
• Ad rotation
• Position preferencing
• Demographic bidding
• Video, audio and print ads
If you use any of these advanced features, you will have to work through the web interface rather than AdWords Editor.
The few things you can’t do in the AdWords Editor are blown away by the list of all the things you can do. Search marketing professionals regularly utilize it for the speed and ease with which it allows you to make changes across all three major search engines. The more you work in AdWords Editor, the more uses you’ll find for it. With so little to lose and so much to gain by trying this free, flexible tool, isn’t it time you tried AdWords Editor for yourself?
For more information, or to download AdWords Editor, visit:
http://www.google.com/support/adwordseditor/bin/static.py?page=about.html
By Jean Lloyd
jeanl@ebizinsider.com
