Even though I’ve been working with AdWords now since 2004, I’m still learning new things about it all of the time. Perry Marshall likens the AdWords interface to the inside of a 747’s cockpit, and although I’ve never sat in the cockpit of an airplane, it’s sounds like it would be an accurate comparison.
For this reason, I typically call AdWords support several times a week. I actually have them on speed-dial and I remember my customer ID by heart so I can quickly get through to the correct department and get answers to my questions.
I know many advertisers have the opinion that AdWords’ support staff are “$8 per hour kids” that don’t really know all that much, but my experience in general, is that they are highly trained, intelligent professionals, who have a great deal of insight to offer us as advertisers.
AdWords is always evolving, changing and growing, and trying to keep up with everything can be a daunting task, even when you work with the platform every day like I do. These Reps are kept up-to-date on most of the changes, and because they work directly with so many advertisers, they see firsthand how each and every feature of the system works in the real world, and in numerous niches.
I’ve noticed a common phenomenon (if you can call it that) where at first, I am unable to see/find something in the AdWords interface, but as soon as I ask an agent, viola! – I’m able to magically see it. There’s something about getting an alternative point of view on how to use the interface, that opens the door to more possibilities in working with it.
And it’s not uncommon for the agents themselves to tell me that they have also learned something from our interaction, so in this respect, these calls are like a mini-mastermind.
After a recent call, I followed up with the support agent via email, sending her a short screencast video explaining the error I found, to which she replied, “Thanks so much for the video! I must say, that was THE best explanation of an issue I’ve ever gotten so I appreciate that (and it’ll be really helpful). Like I said, I sent it over to the technical team for them to take a look it. As soon as I hear an update from them, I’ll let you know. “.
Participating at this level makes me an active member of the AdWords community – and helps to “shape” it’s functionality in a way that serves us(the advertisers).
For this reason, I recommend to everyone I coach about using AdWords (or readers of this post), to make use of AdWords’ great customer-support as often as needed, to keep your campaigns up to date and stay on top of the powerful (and complex) AdWords interface.
Here are options for contacting AdWords support.
