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3 free AdWords testing tools to adopt today

Columnist Todd Saunders discusses the importance of data-fueled decision-making with regard to ad copy and suggests a few tools to help you test and optimize your search ads.

Todd Saunders on March 8, 2017 at 1:30 pm

As advertisers, we can’t afford to ignore data in our decision-making.

Since you probably just sighed a little bit or rolled your eyes at that sentence, here are four facts that reveal why ignoring data is like ignoring the fact that you are currently on fire:

1. Online advertising is getting more competitive

Since AdWords and other PPC platforms are auction marketplaces, or “pay to play” channels, more players means more money needed to play.

Each year, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC releases their “Internet Advertising Revenue Full-Year Report,” which compiles revenue data from companies that sell online advertising. Their most recent full-year report, from 2015, shows annual revenues for these companies growing steadily year over year since 2009, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 percent over the past 10 years.

Internet advertising revenue per year, 2005–2015. Source: “2015 Internet Advertising Revenue Full-Year Report” by PwC & Interactive Advertising Bureau

The steadily growing revenue suggests that more and more companies are entering the online advertising arena — and that they are investing more in it, too. Greater competition means higher costs for advertisers. Having to pay more to play makes the consequences of ignoring potential money-saving opportunities in the data greater.

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Todd Saunders

Todd is the CEO at AdHawk, a digital advertising software that aggregates and optimizes digital ad data. Before taking the startup plunge, Todd spent worked on the AdWords team at Google, where he helped high growth startups and small businesses with their digital advertising strategies. He is an expert at optimizing advertising accounts and improving ROI.