People have the best of intentions when they take on PPC without the help of a professional. And why wouldn’t they have high hopes when Google makes it look so easy in its myriad of fanciful videos?

Now, I’m sure there are a lot of smart, self-taught business owners and in-house marketers who have found some success with PPC. But they also have their day jobs, and that’s where it gets tricky to stay on top of all the newest paid search features, trends and strategies that are essential for staying ahead, not to mention trying to monitor and optimize the account daily in between everything else.

Not surprisingly, many do-it-yourselfers end up seeking professional help at some point, and at Sprocket, we’ve inherited a few of those types of clients. From those, we typically see three common mistakes that DIYers make.

Let’s look at those now, and if you’re a DIYer, you can ensure you’re not succumbing to these common pitfalls.

1. Bidding Too Low

Let’s start by looking at one of our clients in the finance field who started out as a DIYer. Their bids were set to $5 for “personal finance” keywords. (If you’re familiar with the finance field, you know that sometimes, clicks can cost upward of $30.)

This resulted in less than a 10-percent impression share for this business, and when the ads did show up, they were low in the SERPs, and the click-through rates were dismal.

What DIYers often don’t know is that you can still frequently stay within your budget when it comes to cost per click if you show Google you’re serious and willing to pay (That means jacking up your bids).

While you might initially pay more for the clicks, over time, as your account begins to improve and your Quality Score shows it, you may end up paying around what you initially wanted to spend on clicks — but the icing on the cake is that you’ll probably have more conversions.

When we took over this clients account, we cranked up the max we were willing to pay for a click to $15. The impression share jumped 90 percent, which made them competitive enough to show up in the search results.

And, over time, their cost per click was between $7 and $9 — not much higher than the $5 they originally bid.

2. Trying To Do Too Much In One Ad Group

Each ad group should have one job to do, with one focus. A common mistake is to try to make one ad group do too many things by including keyword phrases that are too dissimilar.

Having focused ad groups helps you better tailor the message of the ads that are served for those key terms to make them more relevant to your audience and your business.

3. Not Keeping Up With Innovations

One of the hardest parts of AdWords management is keeping up with all the new features and strategies. It truly is a full-time job. So when you already have a full-time job, it’s nearly impossible to do.

This means you can miss out on big opportunities. Opportunities which our finance friend wasn’t exploring at the time although there were a number available that would have greatly enhance the performance of his campaign.

If you’re a DIYer, remember that if you take even a couple of weeks off from PPC, you might come back to five new AdWords features you now have to learn in addition to your regular workload. It’s just not worth it!

However, if you like being a do-it-yourselfer, here are some resources to help you stay on top of new AdWords developments:

AdWords blog
AdWords Google+
AdWords help center
AdWords Advertiser Community forum
AdWords on YouTube

In the end (even though I’m sure Google would beg to differ), businesses that want to remain competitive in the SERPs — and make good money from PPC — should always consider hiring a professional to manage their accounts full time and this is even before we start to talk about the benefits of using sophisticated campaign automation software.

If you’re a DIYer, make sure you at least look into some of the pitfalls I outlined here to see if you can make immediate improvements to your PPC account.

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If you are looking for a result-focused agency, you can't go wrong with Sprocket!Beautiful You Holidays ★★★★★ Covid lockdowns meant complete operational shut down for our small NZ owned business. However, in the last few months we have finally got back up and running again with the help from Josh and his Sprocket team.Their understanding, resources and communication has been unwavering in this process and we have seen measurable results month on month. Trust plays a big role in digital marketing and I believe their formula is full proof.Sprocket has had a big role to play in getting our small business back on it's feet. I couldn't recommend this company enough!Megan Blincoe ★★★★★ We are a new Client of Sprocket and I cannot fault them! Especially Ethan, he has been so available and clearly knows what he's talking about. He has been very patient with us and has thoroughly updated and explained every part of the set up and progress to date. Highly recommend using Sprocket DigitalKetaki Rasmussen ★★★★★ Sprocket has experts who can take your digital marketing to the next level, and you get personalised service with a dedicated account manager to help you achieve growth. Great to deal with.Mark Chapman ★★★★★ Great start with Sprocket. Particularly like the data driven methodology, transparency and friendliness.Louis Chan ★★★★★ Sprocket have been great to deal with from the start and have brought in great results. Highly recommended :)cam scott ★★★★★ So far all of my requests from Sprocket Digital have been handled very professionally and timely. I am really enjoying the level of communication and how easily approachable the team is.Andrew Tuioti ★★★★★ Super pro-active group of professionals. Our sales have doubled in a matter of weeks and looking forward to working with Ronnie, Dan and the team for the for-seeable future.Andrina Shieffelbein ★★★★★ Sprocket has been amazing for my small buisness! 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We're pleased with the results so far and the growth we've seen, and look forward to continuing to grow both the business and our relationship!Cuddle Me Baby Ltd New Zealand ★★★★★ We love working with the Team at Sprocket Digital. They really take a personal interest in your business and come up with some fantastic marketing ideas, that have seen our sales grow in just the short time we have been working together. 100% trustworthy and love that they are NZ based and only a phone call away when you need them.NZ-Online-Pharmacy ★★★★★ The results speak for themselves. Our website has been lifted to the next level, in both hits & resulting translations into physical orders. Thanks Kieran & Team!Alastair Pope ★★★★★ Harry and the Sprocket team have been amazing in connecting with and successfully converting a new audience for our business. During these challenging economic conditions, the additional revenue they've generated has proven to be invaluable. Their professional, transparent, and data-driven approach has rekindled my confidence in the agency model.Sheree Palmer ★★★★★ Great Team to work with, communication is great and they are actively engaged with working with you.Josef Arnet ★★★★★ Sprocket Digital has been great to work with and has provided great inside and addition to the digital side of our business (Kitchen Things) their SEO team is fantastic and Harrison their Email marketing specialist is an absolute savant when it comes to knowing how set up email campaigns, templates as well as automatic email flows and the logic required to make them impactful and effective for a business. They always continue to impress with the work they do.Lily Richards ★★★★★ I really enjoy working with Sprocket. I've worked with them on two different projects now; they're data driven, great communicators & listeners as well as extremely good value/above board. They helped us improve our Google quality and conversions by nearly double. I would definitely recommend them.Brent Alexander ★★★★★ We have been working with Ronnie and the team at Sprocket for a few months now and have been stoked with the results. Super helpful, very responsive to questions and great to work with. Would highly recommend.Matt Boylan ★★★★★ This is the second time I have used Sprocket Digital in my role as Marketing Manager for small to medium sized businesses. Given our marketing team is very small and we don't have a specific digital marketing resource internally, it gives me peace of mind knowing that all our digital needs are being outsourced to Sprocket. On both occasions of working with Sprocket, the team have very quickly got up to speed on our business. The setup is seamless and my regular meetings with the team help to identify opportunities for us to leverage. The entire team are really knowledgeable and down to earth even though they have some very experienced people working on our account. I would highly recommend Sprocket to any other business who wants expert advice and guidance on their digital marketing with an accessible and down to earth approach.Nudi Point ★★★★★ FINALLY... a digital marketing company that actually gets the results. This is the 5th business I have dealt with in the last 7 years - and the only business that has proven results. Our sales have increased hugely and it's only been 1 month. Harry is amazing to work with and the whole team at Sprocket Digital know exactly what they're doing. The results speak for themselves. Highly recommend!Chris Sinclair ★★★★★ Great team to work with, we've experienced growth from day 1 and we're still going! Thank you team Sprocket DigitalGabi Metz ★★★★★ Working with Sprocket has been so easy! Like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders. And the results so far have been fantastic!Gavin Sheppard ★★★★★ Ronnie and the team at Sprocket have done an awesome job of understanding what our business needs, and helping to develop the digital marketing strategy for TankMate.Lance Metz ★★★★★ Sprocket has been an incredible digital marketing partner, helping us grow our monthly turnover. They are extremely helpful and are quick to respond to any needs we may have. I would highly recommend for any company looking to take on a digital transformation journey.Daisuke Kirihara ★★★★★ I have been working with Sprocket for about 6 months, and the team has delivered outstanding results, giving us one of the best return for every dollar we spent through them. I have worked with digital agencies across Asia, Europe, and NZ over 15 years, but the ROI improvement I have seen Sophie and the team deliver is best in class. If you are a result-focused marketer who needs an agency to get you results, try letting them run your campaign. It worked great for us.Richie Stott ★★★★★ It has been a seamless transition to Sprocket and they have delivered on the goods. Very happy with the service and results. Our account manager, Kieran is great to deal with.Dylan Carter ★★★★★ Sprocket Digital is the real deal! They have turned our company around in our initial month of working with them and I could not recommend them more.The team is super helpful always making the time to have meetings with us and answer our endless amounts of questions.We are looking forwarded to working with them for the long term!Hybrid Bikes Ltd ★★★★★ We have been working with Sprocket Digital for 3 month now and I am very happy with the team. They offer great service from analyzing our needs as a business to delivering a great action plan. I can highly recommend to any business which is looking for a fantastic marketing team. Kind regards FrankPhillip Wards ★★★★★ Harry and the team at Sprocket have done an amazing job for our start up company. It's been an absolute pleasure having them onboard, pushing our sales and helping make our business what it is today, this has only taken one month. Looking forward to many years to come.Thanks teamSpeednation ★★★★★ Outstanding, the team at Sprocket have been tremendous, and taken our store to the next level. Ronnie and the team are on to it and get things done quickly to a high standard. If you are looking for a marketing team, this is your one stop shop for all your marketing needs!Team at Speednation.co.nzjs_loader

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