Pay Per Click enthusiasts turn out in force at Addison Treehouse
The very first PPC Lunch and Learn attracted more than forty attendees for an informal luncheon followed by a deep dive into Adwords scripting with Steve Hammer
Adwords Scripts were the first topic covered at the inaugural DFWSEM PPC Lunch and Learn event in Addison on April 21st.
As initiator of the series for those interested in developing their pay per click (PPC) skills, DFWSEM Board member Susan Wenograd welcomed 42 participants. The Lunch and Learn series will cover a range of techniques and topics across all skill levels.
DFWSEM President Scott Vann spoke briefly, welcoming members and guests to the new series. Scott encouraged all attendees to provide feedback in the follow-up survey, which will help the organization tailor the PPC Lunch and Learn series to the needs of those attending.
Guest Speaker Steve Hammer was introduced and set the tone for the event with a Lego-themed presentation on the Building Blocks of Google Adwords scripts.
Starting out with Adwords Scripts
Steve suggested that those who are just getting started with scripts keep things simple while getting to know how things work. Those with limited experience in the subject appreciated his step-by-step introduction to the “Worst Script Ever”. From this we learned how each of the different parts of a script fit together to complete the task you want to achieve. Steve demonstrated how the Method, Logger, Selector, Iterator and Variables function together and what they look like when coded.
After pointing out that it wasn’t possible to teach people how to write Javascript in the time allowed, Steve explained that he was actually teaching “how to hack it”.
“I can't teach you Javascript in 10 mins, which is the basic foundation or scripts; I’m teaching you how to hack it.” @armondhammer #DFWSEM
— RankHammer (@RankHammer) April 21, 2015
For those not comfortable with writing scripts from scratch, Steve shared a number of great resources where basic scripts can be found and also a great learning resource for those already feeling perhaps they may like to learn.
First and greatest resource for getting started http://t.co/zfSg52EeWn @armondhammer @dfwsem #PPC #LunchAndLearn
— Sha Menz (@ShahMenz) April 21, 2015
W3Schools – which is great for HTML – is also great to learn Javascript, which is the basis of #AdwordsScrips. #DFWSEM @armondhammer
— RankHammer (@RankHammer) April 21, 2015
There was also a script bonanza included when the RankHammer agency also dropped the link to their own repository of 92 Google Adwords Scripts for attendees to experiment with.
Here’s the Rankhammer list of 92 Adwords Scripts: http://t.co/1XKWFgkQPD #DFWSEM
— RankHammer (@RankHammer) April 21, 2015
Adwords Editor as a debugger
Perhaps the most interesting take away from the event was discovering that the Adwords Editor itself can be used very effectively as a debugger, providing a visual indication of what is happening that makes it much simpler to identify issues. The most important thing to remember when doing this is to download the contents of your account first, so you also have a simple undo capability when you need it.
You can use Adwords Editor as a debugger for your Adwords script. Remember to download your account first. #Dfwsem
— RankHammer (@RankHammer) April 21, 2015
Improving efficiency with scripts
As he wrapped up his presentation, Steve Hammer told the group that almost anything you can do in the Adwords console can be done with scripts. This will greatly improve efficiency and in many cases help avoid costly mistakes that often cause problems in pay per click campaigns. For those who are just getting started with scripting, reporting scripts which output to a spreadsheet are a great way to get comfortable with what you are doing. Steve suggested that the Broken Link Checker script is a good one for beginners.
Basic tips for getting started
- Pay special attention to formatting
- Run your script on a single ad group first, rather than an entire campaign or account
Keep the scope small to start out. Run on just one ad group so you can debug more easily & get it right @dfwsem #PPC @armondhammer
— Sha Menz (@ShahMenz) April 21, 2015
Slideshare
In closing, Steve invited attendees to reach out to him if they have questions or problems in working with scripts.
PPC Lunch and Learn in May
Susan Wenograd took the floor again to thank Steve Hammer for his presentation, thanking everyone for attending and announcing that next month’s PPC Lunch and Learn guest speaker will be Aaron Levy of Cast Iron Digital.
Sign up early for next month’s PPC Lunch and Learn…it is already a hot ticket and news is spreading fast.