At the end of last week I was read a couple instances where people think AdWords Editor is unnecessary or will be obsolete within the next few months. I have to say, I couldn’t disagree with them more. For many, many reasons. I’m not trying to get in to any big tussle about it, just wanting to share my opinions. And hey, sharing is caring, right? Here’s my thought for why AdWords Editor is still one of the number one tools in my tool box.
My Work Flow
Whether it’s ad copy testing, expanding keywords and ad groups, or running account audits, you can find me in AdWords Editor. In my eyes, the biggest benefit is an offline work space. There’s no waiting for screens to reload, no irritating red bar of death saying YOU HAVE TO REFRESH THE SCREEN BEFORE YOU DO THAT (and yet some how after refreshing your changes saved anyway), no waiting for your changes to be saved or data being refreshed, and ample time for you to check, double check, and triple check your work before uploading and making your changes live in the account. Shoot, you can even share with a colleague for a fresh look just in case.
I also find it’s collaboration with Excel extremely easy on my time. Rather than using the interface to download a report, which takes up my computer’s storage space, opening, editing, and re-uploading using the bulk edit option, I can simply copy and paste the account section in front of me into a spreadsheet, edit it, then paste it back into the Editor with the Add Multiple Keywords/Ad Groups/etc. buttons.
Summary: If it’s not a change to a single line, I’m probably going to do it in AdWords Editor.
Interns
We love them, but we all know the uptake on PPC is hard. We’ve all been there. It’s like learning to ride a bike all over again. Giving interns a low pressure situation to learn AdWords couldn’t be more valuable and Melissa Mackey wrote a post earlier this year on why she starts new hires in AWE. She highlights it’s ability to teach account structure more effectively than the interface due to less distractions. Preach it sister.
After that, the biggest benefit I find for interns or newbies using Editor is that you can share changes and check work without uploading or standing over their shoulder. Once their finished, they can email you their proposed changes which you can then review, make edits on, and send back for them to upload. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Team Collaboration
In similar fashion to checking an intern’s work before it’s posted, AdWords Editor allows you and your team to collaborate on bigger account changes or builds before they go live. With all of the different styles of account structure out there, it’s important to make sure all team members are on the same page.
You and your team might also have a workflow that highlights everyone’s strengths when building accounts. One person is killer at account structure so they put campaigns and ad groups in place. Someone else is great at getting lots of keywords in the system with match types and initial bids quickly. Then yet another team member comes in and writes some killer ad copy. All of this done offline and able to be shared and approved by each team member before going live.
Admitted Drawbacks
• Doesn’t support all features of an account (call extensions, labels, category targets for display)
• Sometimes has some hiccups when a new version is released.
• Gets a little slow if you make tons of changes without saving or uploading.
That’s it. And all of them are mostly curable. First, the features not supported, for the most part, are able to be sent to an intern or freelancer because they’re pretty low difficulty. Second, if there are hiccups, Google usually releases a fix within the first 2-3 days of #ppcchat complaining. (Love you guys!) Third, the slow down makes Editor just as slow as the interface and can easily be solved by closing and reopening the app. Done and done.
All in all, I don’t argue that Editor has it’s downfalls, but I certainly don’t see it falling out of my workflow anytime in the foreseeable future. So I’ll sum everything up with a tweet.
TL;DR
