AdWords Optimization - Account Structure

Account structure optimization is the process of analysing and re-structuring an account in order to improve its overall performance. A well-structured account provides a foundation on which you can build. You can effectively organize an account and increase its effectiveness by combining your main objectives and your knowledge of AdWords.

Overview

The account structure is the overall setup of an account and consists of campaigns and Ad Groups. Each account can contain up to 25 campaigns, and each campaign can contain up to 100 Ad Groups. When structured effectively, it can considerably improve an account’s overall performance.

Account structure optimization is the process of analysing and re-structuring an account in order to improve its overall performance. A well-structured account provides a foundation on which you can build. You can effectively organize an account and increase its effectiveness by combining your main objectives and your knowledge of AdWords.

Define your goals

You should be relatively familiar with your business. When optimizing for account structure, you should also keep your initial goals in mind. Keep the following factors in mind when setting up or editing an account:

Campaign settings:

1.      Daily budget

2.      Start/end dates

3.      Geographic/language targeting

4.      Ad network distribution preferences

Ad Group settings:

1.      Keywords

2.      Ads

3.      Maximum CPC

4.      Destination URL

Note that the maximum CPC and destination URL are set at the Ad Group level and serve as the default for each keyword and ad unless otherwise specified at the keyword level.

Plan your strategy

Based on your business characteristics, decide on how to best organize the account. This is also a good time to decide if multiple campaigns are necessary. Get ideas on how to organize the account from your website. This information will not only help you create the keyword list and ad text, but it will also strongly influence how to effectively structure their account.

Restructuring an account

There are several effective ways to reorganize an account and/or creating new campaigns and/or Ad Groups. When grouping relevant keywords with related text together, consider the following methods to keep the account structure as efficient as possible:

1.      Products/service

Organizing an account by product/service names is pretty straightforward. Most companies do offer more than one product/service on their website. You can then sort by product names or model numbers. If you sell household products, you can organize the campaigns by bedroom, living room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, etc. Within, say, the bedroom campaign, you can then organize the Ad Groups by bed, dresser, desk, nightstand, etc.

2.      Brand names

You can also consider organizing an account by brand names for applicable companies, such as those that sell clothes and electronic goods. Categorizing the different products within the brand names is also effective.

3.      Companies/websites

You may be promoting a variety of products/services from different companies and websites, such as affiliates or agencies. It is definitely to your best interest to put the different companies in their own campaigns.

4.      Geographic locations

 
For products/services that are geo-targeted, such as real estate sales and car dealers, give each city/area its own Ad Group to differentiate it.

5.      Competitive market advantage

For competitive businesses, such as web hosting, you may want to get into the specific benefits of this particular service, such as discounts, more web space, and any special offers you may be promoting with the packages.

6.      Seasonal products/services

Products and services that may be more popular during certain times of the year, such as SARS masks and swimwear, will benefit from having their own campaign and/or Ad Groups so they can be easily paused or deleted when the merchandise is no longer in season.

7.      Destination URL

The destination URL of the ad should be accurate. Make sure that it takes the user directly to the product/service advertised.