Making money from Adwords or just holding your own is more than just knowing how to create campaigns or do keyword research. There is an art to getting the most out of Adwords. Top Adwords professional spend a lot of their time designing their campaigns, setting up their landing pages, choosing their budget and target regions, and testing. It is not something one can master in one day but these 4 Adwords books should help beginners get started with Adwords on the right foot:

Ultimate Guide to Google Ad Words: one of the most powerful Adwords books around. The earlier edition of this book was a huge hit. The new edition covers some of the changes Adwords has gone through. It teaches you how to set up your campaigns, do some testing, and optimize your existing campaigns.

Advanced Google AdWords: written for those who are serious about making their Google Adwords campaigns a success. It teaches readers how to test your campaigns, increase your conversion, and get more out of Google’s content network. (more…)

Online marketing is a very competitive business. There are plenty of people who are doing it, but not too many are innovating and applying new techniques in their niches. That’s why those who take the time to learn new skills and apply them to their markets are in with a better chance to top their competitors. It’s one thing to know Google Adwords inside and out. It’s a whole other issue to know how to optimize a campaign, make changes that matter, and try new channels to bring high Adwords CPA’s down.

Online marketers today need to be more well-rounded than ever before. It’s not enough to be just good at one thing anymore. If you happen to be interested in expanding your horizon and mastering the art of search advertising from ground up, here are 3 books you should read to get you started:

Ultimate Guide to Google Ad Words: I don’t like giving people more credit than they are do, but you have to tip your hats to Perry Marshall. He comes up with some of the best training material we have seen on a consistent basis. His Adwords books are classics and keep getting better. If you want to learn Google Adwords once and for all, you should get this book.

Web Analytics 2.0: if you are not a data cruncher, you better start getting into the game. No matter how talented a marketer you are, there are things you can’t figure out without using your Analytics software to its fullest. Web Analytics 2.0 shows you how you can go about optimizing your campaigns and turning your data to actionable information. (more…)

Online advertising is one of the best ways to drive traffic to any business and generate more leads. But there is a science to it all. It’s true that mastering Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing services gives you a leg up over your competitors. There are a lot of online marketers that focus on learning all these nifty advertising tricks on search engines, but it always pays to go beyond that and learn the science behind advertising. If you are an online marketer hoping to learn new tricks and take your business to the next level, here are 5 killer advertising books you should read:

Creative Advertising: one of the best advertising books I have ever read. The book won’t make you creative but it shows you how the creative minds work. If you do have an open mind, this book can be a game changer for you.

The Online Marketing Inside Out: you learn how to use your web site to generate income. It shows you the ins and outs of what it takes to take your online business to the next level by marketing your website properly.

Search Engine Advertising: addresses many areas that you need to master to grow your business online. Covers search engine advertising, your ad copy, and every other aspect of your online advertising campaigns. (more…)

A lot of dummies books turn people off due to having a title that is not so complimentary to readers. But people at Wiley have done a wonderful job with the dummies series. Every-time you pick up a dummies book, you do so with a certain set of expectations. You do expect to get the best tips and training on a specific topic. Google Adwords for Dummies is no different. It’s a wonderful book that is written to help anyone interested in the pay per click marketing industry to get a good handle on Google Adwords and what it takes to set up successful campaigns, design better campaign structures, and save money on your bids in the long run.

Google Adwords is not that complicated of a system, but at the same time, you need to know what you are doing if you want to avoid paying through your nose for your top keywords. Google is notorious for slapping certain accounts with higher bids, and that could definitely run you out of business if you are not too careful. Learning how to create campaigns from scratch and restructuring existing campaigns is not too complicated, but having someone show you how to get it done the first few times certainly help. Google Adwords for Dummies shows you what it takes to get started with Google Adwords as fast as possible. The book is designed for beginners and those who do not feel that strong about their Google Adwords knowledge. It walks you through the basics and shows you a few cool tricks to set up your 1st page bids and get the best ad structure in place. (more…)

If you have been following this blog for a while, you probably know how strong an advocate I am for testing all the time. The concept of “always be testing” is not something new but a lot of companies cut corners when it comes to setting up sophisticated tests for their online campaigns. Don’t get me wrong. You can get lucky and make a lot of profit from a campaign that is not fully optimized, but you are leaving money on the table if you don’t test often. Worse, your luck will run out eventually, and you’ll be left with campaigns that are not optimized, and you may lose a lot of money in the process as well. It’s OK to be skeptic about the whole testing process, but once you start giving it a try, you are going to realize why testing is important.

Always Be Testing is a super book that shows you why you should be testing all the time, and how to go about doing it. It’s one thing to know the importance of testing your campaigns. It’s a whole other thing to know how to go about doing it. The book is very well written and designed for anyone interested in the science and art sides of online marketing. It shows you how to define objectives for your campaigns, what metrics you need to pay attention to, and how to meet your goals with your online campaigns. Some people like to pay more attention to CTR while others focus more on EPC or ROI. There are advantages and disadvantage for each of these approaches and not every business works the same. But reading this book will let you know what you should keep an eye out for and what metrics apply the best to your business model.

So what is testing really? It’s more than a word. It’s about honing every aspect of your campaign and optimizing your landing pages in a way that let you convert the most. It’s not just about how your landing page is designed. It’s about layout, colors, fonts, and even the copy on your landing page. You should test everything. One way or another your tests will tell you if the changes you are making are working in your favor.

Here are the must-read topics covered in this book:

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I don’t know about you but books help me stay in touch with the latest technologies and developments in my niches. Pay per click books are not necessarily the best way to go if you are already a master of this art, but if you are just getting started with pay per click marketing or if you feel you don’t have enough experience with pay per click marketing, PPC books are the best way to go:

Pay Per Click Book You Should Read

Ultimate guide to pay per click marketing: one of the best pay per click marketing books on the Internet. It walks you through the history of pay per click industry, and it talks about the trends in pay per click marketing industry. A very good book for starters.

Adwords For Dummies: a very good book on the ins and outs of Adwords. Keep in mind that this book doesn’t teach you Yahoo! or MSN but it’s very solid when it comes to covering Adwords.

The Online Advertising Playbook: this is one of the few books that digs deep into the philosophy behind paid and media advertising. It talks about the strategies that are effective in each of these channels and goes behind the reasoning behind each approach. If you are into research, this book is a good starting place.

Landing Page Optimization: you want to have success with your paid campaigns? You can’t do so without a good landing page strategy. If you don’t know how to properly test your landing page to improve your conversion rate, you are going to throw your money away. This books goes over the Taguchi method and other advanced landing page optimization techniques.

Perry Marshall Books: Perry Marshall is the guy in the pay per click industry. His book, “ultimate guide to Google Adwords,” is still a legendary resource for Adwords marketers. The Definite Guide to Google Adwords is still being talked about among those who are getting started in this industry. But Perry Marshall has many conferences and one and one coaching sessions that you can take advantage of to get the best PPC training possible. I do encourage you to check his free 5 day training course for more information.

What did I miss? What are your favorite pay per click marketing books? Please comment below.

Just wanted to post a quick update on a deal that Joel Comm is running with his famous Adsense book. He is giving it away for free if you try his monthly newsletter. Basically, you can cancel before 30 days an get nothing and keep the book. Here is the link.

Adsense Secrets is a great book for those interested in creating Adsense portals for revenue. It shows you tactics on how to generate more click and earn more. I don’t think you can beat the free deal that Joel is offering, so check it out before the offer expires.

I have been searching a product that provides a blueprint for a quick start on pay per click marketing. Most products that you find on the Internet pretty much repeat the same old stuff that you can get from books. Having success in pay per click marketing is more than just paying Google and showing your ads at position number one. It’s all about having a system that you can use time and time again to make online profits. Here is why I am very impressed with the new version of Adwords Profits:

• Products: Choosing the right market and products to promote is often very important when it comes to affiliate marketing. But even if you are not an affiliate, it is essential to have the right mindset to promote any product. Let’s say you are working for a pharmeceutical company. Knowing what makes people click is essentially a big part of the whole game and an area that a lot of marketers struggle with. Any product that discusses the mentality that is needed to succeed in pay per click marketing has my vote.
• Ads: so you have a product. You know Google Adwords inside and out. What good is it if you can’t write ads that make people want to click and buy from you? That’s what writing effective ads is all about. Not many people know how to do it though.
• Landing Page: let’s say you get people to come and click on your ads. You even get your Adwords clicks to as low as 5 cents per click. If your landing page is awful, you are not going to make it. Landing page optimization and the Taguchi method are essential for any marketer. Not a lot of folks talk about how you can do this (I got to give props to Tim Ash and his book “landing page optimization.” His book was truly a breath of fresh air).
• Google System: Adwords has become a highly strategic game these days with all the changes that Google is making to quality score. One thing is constant and that is the quality score of your landing page. But how can you improve your quality score and survive the wave of Google slaps is what makes Adwords Profits 2.0 special.
• Product Creation: one thing that many affiliates don’t understand is the less work you put upfront, the less potential you have to make money. Take a look at anyone who has made it, and you will see that they have their own products. To be honest, I still don’t have my own product yet, but I am working on it diligently. When you think about creating a new product, there are a lot of uncertainties and risks. I wish I had a blueprint that I could use to create a product. But you can certainly have it in Adwords Profits 2.0.

Now Adwords Profits is not a cheap product but it’s not that much more expensive than some of other books that are out there. What I like about it though is that it’s practical. You can see things done and implement them right away. So in that sense, it’s well worth the price. But don’t take my word for it. Check out the author’s page. for more information.

The A/B testing seems really simple on the surface, but there is actually a whole lot of science and art behind it (and we are not even talking about Taguchi method). I have been looking for a book that explains the most relevant A/B testing methods out there and finally the book is here: A/B Always Be Testing.

I like the book not because it’s the only real A/B testing book on the market but rather for how it teaches you to pay attention to details as a marketer. Whether its the colors, fonts, or the usability of your pages, this book has it all. It also covers accessibility, which is quickly becoming a must-test item for popular websites.

This book is not an advanced multivariate testing book, but rather an advanced A/B testing book, and it serves its purpose brilliantly. Definitely a must check out book.