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7 Essential PPC Tools for Campaign Management

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Creating effective PPC tools is no simple task but luckily there are some epic PPC tools available that can help make the process easier. 

These are specialist software, online tools, and apps that specialize in certain areas of PPC management such as keyword research, ad creation, and reporting and they often integrate with the underlying ad platforms such as Google Ads.

If you feel like your business is simply treading water with your PPC campaigns, I delve into the world of PPC management tools below and give seven fantastic options that could help.

Understanding PPC Tools

Let’s start with a quick introduction to PPC tools. These are typically created by third-party companies (but sometimes by the PPC platforms themselves) and aim to improve your PPC management efficiency via methods such as automation, leveraging AI, and streamlining PPC processes that are usually time-consuming.

We can typically break PPC tools into four main categories:

  • Keyword research.
  • Ad creation and optimization.
  • Big management.
  • Analytics and reporting.

Keyword research tools take away the tedious manual work and allow you to find relevant keywords for your PPC campaigns in a shorter period of time.

There are also tools that concentrate on ad creation and optimization which could include automated copy creation, ad testing, and budgeting.

Bidding is an important aspect of PPC campaigns and some tools specialize in bid management to make sure your budget is spent wisely, and you get the best results from your bids.

Lastly, using metrics, reports, and analytical data is essential for a successful PPC campaign so there are a range of analytical tools that give you a comprehensive PPC analysis breakdown.

7 Great PPC Tools to Effectively Manage Your Campaigns

Not all PPC tools are worthwhile and some are severely lacking. I want to help you avoid this and have listed some of the top PPC services and tools you can find that cover each of the four tool types I previously mentioned.

1. SEMRush Keyword Magic - Keyword Research

SEMRush has an excellent set of PPC tools and is one of the most renowned SEO companies. One tool that stands out is the Keyword Magic tool which is dedicated to keyword research. It essentially offers a range of keyword suggestions and a host of other useful information relating to keywords such as their search volume, competition on Google Ads, and CPC.

2. Google Keyword Planner - Keyword Research

If you want to utilize tools from the PPC platform, Google Keyword Planner is an obvious choice as it integrates easily with Google Ads. It’s free to use and gives you a wealth of metrics relating to keywords including search volume, bid range, and competition level. This tool also excels at localized PPC as you can filter your keyword research for local demographics relating to your business.

3. Google Ads Editor - Ad Creation and Management

A great starting point for ad creation and management is Google Ads Editor. Like Google Keyword Planner, it’s free to use and a brilliant feature is the bulk-editing tool. This allows you to make sweeping changes to multiple ads which can improve efficiency and editing times. The tool can also be downloaded and used offline which is an advantage compared to online-only PPC tools.

4. AdEspresso - Ad Creation and Management

AdEspresso is great for those who want to simplify the PPC ad creation and management process as it has an easy-to-use and understand dashboard. It works specifically with Google Ads and offers one of the most robust split testing features available so you can quickly test multiple ad iterations to find the most effective ad copy. If you wish, you can also get a handy 10-minute review from AdEspresso experts who give advice to improve the optimization of your ads.

5. Shape - PPC Bid Management

Shape is a dedicated PPC bid management tool and it has a range of features that help automate the bidding process, control spending, and optimize your bids. For example, the AutoPilot feature stops ad campaigns once a pre-defined budget is met. Alternatively, the Cruise Control feature uses AI to adjust your daily budgets and bidding to keep in line with your overall PPC budget.

6. Marin Software - Analysis and Reporting

Marin Software primarily helps you identify potential areas for growth in your PPC ad campaigns and it is one of the best PPC analysis tools available. It analyzes data from your PPC campaigns and has a range of automated features that allow you to create forecasts relating to profit, conversions, and expected revenue from your ads. While it is primarily used with Google Ads, Marin Software also works with Amazon, Instagram, and Bing.

7. Dashthis - Analytics and Reporting

Dashthis is one of the top PPC tools for reporting and analyzing key metrics of your PPC campaigns. The setup is incredibly easy, and you can create custom reports in a matter of minutes that show only the data you need. Examples of metrics you can analyze include CPC, conversion rates, search impression share, CTR, clicks, and impressions.

Make Use of These PPC Analysis Tools to Boost Your Campaigns

PPC can be complex at the best of times so it’s important to leverage whatever tools you can to improve efficiency and get the most out of your campaigns. Examples of great PPC tools include Google Keyword Planner for keyword research, Google Ads Editor to create and manage your ads, and Dashthis to provide you with a wealth of analytical and reporting info.

Article by:

Joshua George is the founder of ClickSlice, an SEO Agency based in London, UK.

He has eight years of experience as an SEO Consultant and was recently hired by the UK government for SEO training. Joshua also owns the best-selling SEO course on Udemy, and has taught SEO to over 100,000 students.

His work has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, AgencyAnalytics, Wix and lots more other reputable publications.