Review: Winning Results with Google AdWords

Winning Results with Google AdWords by Andrew Goodman (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2005, ISBN 0072257024, 352 pages, paperback) has been worth waiting for. Goodman is an expert on Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns using Google AdWords, an experienced practitioner, supervising campaigns for scores of clients, both Fortune 500 firms and small business companies.

When I started reading this book I was struck by the depth with which author presents all aspects of AdWords marketing. He offers a rationale for PPC ads over just organic search, assesses the size of the market, and recounts how paid search developed. The book is written for three levels of users, beginning with three basic chapters in Part II, "How to Play the AdWords Game," explaining how to get started. One overlooked key is how to organize your AdWords campaign so you keep you sanity. Goodman covers this well in a chapter on "Setting Up Ad Groups."

Part III is for those at an intermediate stage. Here he describes the ins and outs of AdWords features, keyword research, and bidding strategies. One of the most helpful chapters was on "Writing Winning Ads." Goodman offers six rules for better AdWords copy, explaining each with examples from his own practice:

1. Match ad titles to searched keywords.
2. Send appropriate cues to your target audience.
3. Filter prospects.
4. Insert a call to action.
5. Run a test, keep the winning ads.
6. Inject some flair.

He explains how to test ads, track results, and assess statistical significance in the testing process. This section also includes a chapter on planning, forecasting, and selling the boss on your campaign. Chapter 9, "Expanding Your Ad Distribution: Opportunities and Pitfalls," provides several expert techniques that can rescue marginal words, determine how well ads are working in content-targeted sites, and export a campaign to other PPC services. The final section includes a chapter on tracking, explaining how to use tracking information to improve a campaign. The book concludes with chapters on increasing conversion rates through effective landing pages and a look at future trends.

As Goodman puts it, "Even if you're a grizzled search engine marketing veteran, you'll probably still learn a few new tricks from this book. This is because I have been so obsessed with getting the answers to tough AdWords questions." Those new to the field will also get a thorough education. This is the best book I've read yet on setting up and running a profitable Google AdWords campaign. Highly recommended.

At this writing the book was available through Amazon for US $16.99, Canada CDN$23.77, UK £12.26, Germany €22,90, France €21,29, and Japan ¥2,474.