How to Set Up Google AdWords: Step 5
Create your first campaign: Advanced Settings
Last time we set up bidding and budget, and today it’s time to learn some of the advanced settings for when your ad(s) will populate.
Schedule
First, choose the start and end date of your campaign. Would you like to start it today, but have it end in a week? Or perhaps this is an ongoing campaign that will never end, but you want it to start next week.
Then, you can decide when your ads will show. As you can see, Google isn’t allowing me to insert this information until I enter billing information.
Typically, you’ll be able to schedule your ads to specific times and days. For my pet shop, I might leave the settings at their default 24/7. For a service-based, 9-5 business, I might change them to something like this:
If this is your first time using AdWords, keep these settings at 24/7 and see what times are the most popular for clicks and more importantly, conversions. Running this campaign, I might have noticed that people clicked early and late on the weekends, but didn’t convert. This way, my ad doesn’t even show during these times.
Ad delivery
Ad rotation is essential for ad testing. When you create more than one ad in the same campaign (targeting the same set of keywords), Google will start by showing them equally. Then, as one acquires a higher click through rate (CTR) and Quality Score, that ad will begin showing more often. You’ll be able to see which ad this is in your “% served” column in the AdWords admin.
Frequency capping applies only to Google’s content network. With it, you can control how many impressions (or number of times your ad appears) for a unique visitor. This setting would typically be helpful only after you’ve gained some statistics – perhaps your content network impressions are extremely high, with a low click through rate. In this case, a frequency cap might help increase your CTR.
Congratulations!
You’ve completed your ad’s advanced settings. As mentioned, many of these settings may require some initial stats; but don’t worry, you can always come back and change them! Tomorrow we’ll discuss creating your first ad.