This is for those of you who have Google Adwords PPC campaigns. Of course, you know I believe if you are trying to market your site, you should be using Google Adwords.

Do you search Google for the keywords you bid on to monitor your ad positions? If so, think about this. Anytime you or your co-workers search a keyword associated with your ad, that ad accrues an impression. Over time, this may decrease your CTR (as the number of impressions increases but the clicks do not) and, in turn, may lead to a lower Quality Score. That, in turn, means you may begin to see your ad in a lower position than before.

Did you know that Google offers a way to check for your ads that won’t negatively impact your campaigns? It’s called the Ad Preview page and it enables you to view ads (and search results) as they would appear on a regular Google search results page to most users, without accruing extra impressions for your ad.

The Ad Preview page isn’t the prettiest tool Google offers, but if you have been searching for your own search terms, it is a tool you should use. Over time, it will save you money.