Like any good carpenter, as a PPC manager you need to have a number of tools available to you in order to get the job done and done right. Through the years, I have come to find a number of different PPC tools to help in a variety of different areas, from competitor analysis to setting up conversion and analytics tracking. Here are some of my favorites!
PPC Tools for Setting Up Analytics and Conversion Tracking
Google Analytics URL Builder: One of the most time exhausting tasks is setting up Bing in order to properly track it in Analytics – you have to go in and add the special coding to the ad (or even keyword) destination URLs. Google offers a simple tool that allows you to fill in a few fields and then spits out a full URL with Analytics codes added! Just change the destination URL to the new URL and it will start tracking in Analytics in no time!
Tag Assistant by Google: One of the most frequent questions I get is "How do I know if my Analytics or AdWords conversion tracking is set up correctly?" Google must have received this question a number of times as well because they created a handy-dandy Chrome extension that quickly and easily tells you whether your Analytics and AdWords tracking is set up properly. It even tells you what is wrong if it's set up improperly. The only downside is that it doesn't check Bing conversion/analytics codes.
Bulk Editing Tools
AdWords Editor: Make bulk changes to your AdWords accounts offline. Change anything from bids to match types to even campaign settings. Everything is done offline so you don't have to worry about making any mistakes before posting.
Bing Ads Editor: Just like the AdWords Editor, but for Bing!
PPC Tools for Keyword Expansion and Research
WordStream: The best around! Build out ad groups using our database of over a BILLION keywords or find new keywords from your own search queries using our QueryStream tool.
Jumbo Keyword: This tool allows you to copy your list of keywords into multiple match types quickly. Just add your list of keywords, click the type of match types you need created, and voila!
Google Trends: So your top keywords had a bit of a dip last week but you didn't make any changes to your account? Check out Google Trends to see if it's seasonality and affecting your competitors as well. Provides interest over time, regional interest, and even some related terms to help build out your keywords.
Google Ad Preview Tool: Check to see if your ad is showing no matter where you are and what your targeting settings are! If you use it within your AdWords account (under Tools and Analysis), it will also tell you why it is or isn't showing and what keywords it's triggering.
That's it for now! Stay tuned for my next installment which will go over tools for competitor analysis, landing page creation, and some other tools to help you with account and client management.
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!
This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.
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