Google Adword Toolkits?

[Wesley]

Hi All,
There are a few companies out there that are selling tool kits on how to get the best out of your Adword campaign. Has any one had any experience with these and was it worth it?

Many Thanks

[Duncan Pollock]

Well I don't think you can do any better than becoming aware of the help you can get from Perry Marshall. You can find out about him and his undeniable familiarity with the Adwords program via his relevant home page at http://www.perrymarshall.com/google/
I recently ended up downloading his whole manual and have found it chockful of tips and advice about using and making the most of Adwords.
As Perry says, there's a learning curve involved, but the end results make spending some money with him (and it's certainly not a lot) worth every red cent.

Duncan

[Wesley]

Thanks for the info Duncan, that was actually one of the sites I was looking at. Are you currently using Adwords? if so, has the manual helped you to increase your campaign productivity?

Many Thanks

[Duncan Pollock]

Wesley: Yes and yes!
I've been using Adwords for several months, but with only a limited understanding of how to make them as successful as I've been convinced they could be. Just four weeks ago, however, I took a look at what Perry Marshall had -- thanks to a tip per these WPW postings! -- and have found his basic free notes very useful but his full manual ($49 US) absolutely invaluable.
I must admit that I've not had any real problems with Google cancelling my ads, except for the very first couple of them, but my instincts told me there were ways and means to increase their effectiveness.
The only reservation I have -- and it's because of my limited market, rather than anything that can be levelled in Perry's direction -- is that I'm looking at no more than five or six clicks and a few dozen hits a day at most, with everything spread over nine Ad Groups at that. This does and can only mean that my success is going to move upwards at a decidedly slow rate.
Even so, my statistics are already better than they were. I'm seeing CTRs well above those I had before, and I reckon I'm only half way through the ideas I can put to use.
Two aspects that I particularly appreciate are Perry's down-to-earth view of marketing and his recurring touches of humour. It's kind of like he wants to get you laughing all your way to the bank!

Duncan

[Duncan Pollock]

Wesley: Just a couple of extra small points, to wit:
1. There's an affiliate program that Perry Marshall invites subscribers to join. However, my testimonial is absolutely unsolicited. I am not and have no intention of ever recommending him on that sort of basis!
2. One of the first things you'll realize is that you need to find out exactly who your prospects are and precisely what search words/phrases they're using. The secret to success lies in finding the keywords and the ad wording that will get you the optimum click-through and conversion rates. Therein lies the learning curve. To give you just one example of the experiments you'll be encouraged to go through, I'm currently testing 126 (yes, 126) versions of "real estate st. catharines" to find the ones that work the best. BPM (Before Perry Marshall!), I had just six of them set against my relevant AdWord!

Duncan

[ianb]

Hi Duncan,
I found your article particularly interesting, as I have been 'grappling' with the ad-words stuff here.

Thanks for the most enlightening info. I will spend the USD$49 and see how it goes...

Regards, Ian Baker
Phillip Island - Australia
A small luxury hotel-style guesthouse B&B
www.glenisla.com