Google AdWords™ For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Spending Too Much in the Beginning

If you open your wallet too much by specifying too high a monthly budget or daily spend, you'll lose all your money before you have time to learn the ropes. When you figure out that something isn't working, turn it off right away while you make changes. Chances are — even with this book under your belt — you'll take some time to get the feel of AdWords and develop proficiency. If you rush, you'll blow through your budget several times and walk away going, “This stuff doesn't work.”

If you ever took a driving lesson, you may remember that your instructor made you drive slowly for a long time, showing you how to steer and brake and stop fiddling with the satellite radio settings, before ever letting you open up on a highway. Your AdWords budget is your miles per hour — take it easy until you learn how to drive safely.

Remember the expansion protocol we discuss in Chapter 16, about campaign cloning. For “wallet-out” businesses, start with low-volume exact match keywords and expand into phrase and broad match keywords only when the exact match campaigns turn profitable. For lead generation businesses, start in the cheaper Display network and only add more expensive Search campaigns after you're profitable in Display.