MORE ABOUT OUR PPC CURRICULUM

From keyword research to ad copy to formula-based bidding strategies, PPC remains one of the more complex disciplines in Internet marketing. With your competition getting smarter every day, it's critical to have not only a strong foundation in PPC principles, but advanced understanding in PPC economics and customer psychology.

See Sample Video

INTRODUCTION TO PPC: PPC ART AND SCIENCE/HOW THE PPC MACHINE WORKS
We'll start the curriculum with an overview of paid search and the underlying principles of direct response advertising in general, including an understanding the goals of both search engines, advertisers, and customers.

You will learn:

• The Art and Science of PPC Advertising.
• How The PPC Machine Works.
• Understanding Customers and Objectives.

PPC BASICS AND FUNDAMENTALS
You'll learn a comprehensive and cross-discipline overview of designing, building, and maintaining your PPC programs. Everything you need to understand how to run a single campaign or manage dozens of clients is here in one module. Campaign setup, keyword building, bidding strategies, content networks, and landing pages are all covered.

You will learn:

• Building Out Your PPC Keyword List.
• Writing Effective Ad Copy.
• Structuring Your PPC Account.
• Driving High Quality Traffic from Content Networks.
• Choosing the Best Landing Page for Your PPC Account.
• Bidding for Success.
• Keyword Matching Options.
• Advanced Bidding Strategies.

See Sample Video

YOUR FIRST CAMPAIGN: KEYWORD LISTS & CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE
From keyword research to ad structure to campaign settings, this first hands-on section covers all the initial steps necessary to build and launch your first campaign. It's a dense section that includes a lot of information, so be prepared to take a lot of notes, ensure you can answer the questions posed in the study guide, and do well on the quiz.

You will learn:

• Creating Great PPC Ads.
• Building PPC Keyword Lists.
• Creating Your First Campaign.

ADWORDS EDITOR
In this AdWords Editor primer, David Szetela gives you a guided tour of the ins and outs of using this powerful (and free!) desktop tool from Google. Navigate your account, make bulk changes, copy or move items between ad groups and campaigns, and share your proposed changes with other users, all from the untethered freedom of your desktop. Then upload your changes to Google to make them live.

You will learn:

• Google AdWords Editor.
• Google AdWords Editor: Advanced Techniques.

See Sample Video

LANDING PAGE DESIGN
Once people click on your ads...then what? Your landing page strategy and the way you communicate with your potential customers is an absolutely critical piece of the entire PPC puzzle. Follow along as David guides us into what makes up good landing pages and how you can maximize your chances for changing your visitors into customers.

You will learn:

• Designing Effective PPC Landing Pages.
• Testing and Optimizing PPC Landing Pages.

CONTENT NETWORKS
Content advertisements are considered risky, scary, and a good place to lose money. Why? Because advertisers treat them like search ads, and they end up in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong message. In this section, David explains how content ads vary from search ads, and how advertisers can exploit those differences and reap great rewards from good campaigns.

You will learn:

• Content Networks.
• Content vs Search Ads

See Sample Video

PPC ECONOMICS
This next section deals with an often overlooked, but critical, aspect of PPC account management: the financials. For ultimate campaign and paid search success, it's critical to ensure a solid understanding of optimal bid management as well as auditing existing campaigns in order to weed out unprofitable ads and maximize exposure for successful ones. David is joined in this section by veteran paid search colleagues Alan Rimm-Kaufman and George Michie to flesh out the necessary financial details and strategies.

You will learn:

• PPC Economics & Bid Optimization.
• Auditing Your PPC Program: Spreadsheet Audit.

See Sample Video

LAUNCHING YOUR CAMPAIGN & POST-LAUNCH REPORTS
Now that all the pieces are in place, it's time to launch your PPC campaign. Before you do so, however, it's important to ensure all your I's are dotted and T's are crossed. In this next section, David discusses the critical elements to ensure are in place before making your campaign visible. This section also includes an overview of AdWords post-launch tools. Understanding how these strategies work will help you analyze and modify your campaigns as customers interact with your ads and landing pages.

You will learn:

• Pre Launch Checklist for AdWords Campaigns.
• Google AdWords Performance Reporting Part 1.
• Google AdWords Performance Reporting Part 2.