It’s not unusual to have that *gasp* moment when you get the bill for your first pay-per-click campaign… especially if you didn’t do your homework first.

Running up a pretty substantial bill with poor results isn’t hard to do… but most newbies don’t do it on this scale:

“I am very new to this google adsense and posting ads. Last night I wanted to do a “TEST RUN ONLY” for Google to monitor before I could run any ad for my blogger.com. This morning 04/27/2009 I see a cost bill of almost $30,000.00?  Oh my GOD, how could this happen?  PLEASE HELP!  This is a mistake!  Please fix this problem and remove this cost of almost $30,000.00 from my account.  I don’t have that kind of money.  I’m a single mom and I’m not even working.  Please help.  I look forward to your response to my request.”

The quote above came from a Google AdWords Help thread and illustrates just how easy it is to get in trouble with PPC.

That’s why newbies should do their homework before they dive into the deep end of the pool!

Don’t get me wrong, I am sympathetic.  I think it’s really sad that this poor woman probably saw some kind of rhetoric online about how easy it was to make money with Google Adwords and jumped right in.

You can make money with Adwords, if you:

  • Promote the right product
  • Use the right keywords
  • Learn to write great ads
  • Pre-qualify people before they click
  • Test and track everything you do

At the very least, learn how to set campaign limits in your account so you don’t rack up the bucks like this!!!

PPC is not for the faint of heart or those who don’t know what they’re doing.  You’ll lose your shirt if you don’t get a little basic education first.

If you seriously want to learn more about how to run a profitable Google Adwards program, then I highly recommend The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords by Perry Marshall.  I own it and thinks it’s absolutely excellent!

However, I’m also a realist and know that most of the people who need the information in Perry’s book won’t actually go out and get the book.

My Free Gift To Subscribers

That’s why I’m also offering my subscribers a free gift:

Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click Basics

This is a six part video series that explains all the basics of setting up an AdWords campaign so that you don’t get taken to the cleaners like the poor woman we talked about earlier.

This video course currently sells on other sites for $27, but I’m giving it away free to my subscribers.

One Warning: These aren’t my videos.  I didn’t produce them.  I have watched them, however, and they do provide a good basic foundation for PPC… although they are a bit dry!

In addition, these videos are no substitute to a solid education in PPC and all the tips and tricks to really make money using it.  For a solid education, I still recommend The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords.

If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll receive the download link in you inbox sometime today.  If you’re a new subscriber, send me a direct message on Twitter or through my contact form and I’ll make sure you get the link to the file!

The bottom line… don’t make a $30,000 PPC mistake like this.  Learn the ropes before you jump into AdWords or any other PPC.

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Filed under: Affiliate Marketing • Online Mistakes • PPC • Search Engine Marketing • Testing & Tracking

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