Managing a paid search marketing campaign without the right tool set can be a challenge. Here are a few of the PPC tools I rely upon when creating and managing campaigns. Each should save you some time, money or maybe both.
Jumbo Keyword
Use this tool to place terms found during keyword research in the approproate match types. With a click of a button, you can format your terms in Phrase and Exact match prior to placing them in Google Adwords.
Mergewords
For the purpose of maximizing coverage for a set of keyword phrases, you can combine various descriptors and core terms to create a healthy list of relevant terms. This tool can be used in combination with the Google Keyword Tool to find pertinent phrases to substantially grow click volume the right way and leave no stone unturned.
Keyword Niche Finder
A great tool for finding “long tail” search terms, the Keyword Niche Finder from WordStream allows you to expand different derivatives of a phrase core to your business. Unlike the Google Keyword Tool that requires filters and patience to find a healthy set of keyword phrases very specific to your research purposes, the Keyword Niche Finder allows you to locate and pick out gems quite easily.
SpyFu
SpyFu offers competitive intelligence for search engine marketers. Enter your top competitors’ names, websites addresses or terms they would likely target in their own search marketing efforts to learn more about what they are spending daily, their relative ad position for all target terms and the relative level of traffic they earn from paid vs. organic search efforts.
Compete.com
Another competitive tool that you can use to measure your site’s traffic and top keywords to your chief competitors. Compete is a free service with upgrade options to view more competitors at one time, view competitor search terms and other sources of traffic.
Google URL Builder
Google provides a tool to easily add tracking code to your paid search ads. While most Adwords Campaigns will be visible in Google Analytics by the campaign name, specific tracking code can be added for Bing or to determine which landing page, ad or set of keywords is producing more sales than another. Simply paste in the URL for the landing page and add in tracking attributes to generate a URL ready for campaign tracking.
Google AdWords Editor
Google Adwords Editor is a server side tool that you can download to your own machine. Built to provide pay per click marketers an easy way to make bulk changes to campaigns, AdWords Editor can save an enormous amount of time. Use this tool to make simple changes to keywords, ads or campaigns that you will want to apply across your entire account.
MockFlow
Creating and designing landing pages for paid search campaigns can be arduous without the use of wireframes to carefully design page layouts and determine the spatial relationship between elements on a page. Mockflow is a free, web-based tool in which you can create useful page wireframes in minutes. Store your previous mock-ups for editing later and export the files as PDFs, Word documents or PNG images.
What did I miss? Do you have a favorite PPC tool you can share?