What are the best practices for managing multiple, large AdWords accounts? (Quora)

A Quora user recently asked “What are the best practices for managing multiple, large AdWords accounts?” Here’s 4 quick tips that I gave.

Look into a third party SEM management tool like Acquisio. Acquisio allows me to manage Bing and AdWords from the same interface. It also allows me to create awesome reports. And last but not least, it allows me to create automated bid rules based on pretty much anything (CTR, conversion rate, ROAS, etc.) There are other tools of course (Wordstream, Kenshoo, etc.) but I’m familiar with Acquisio and it works well for me. Shop around!
Use a script to manage ad tests. This awesome script will automatically run tests on your ads and email you when a winner has been declared at the level of statistical signifigance that you specify. Get it here: Automated Creative Testing With Statistical Significance
Create processes and process docs for everything. Take the time to go through your routine tasks and document each step as much as possible (I love Google docs for this). This way you won’t have to remember the steps next time you do it, and you’ll get quicker. Better yet, this will enable you to teach someone else how to do these things so you can eventually move on to higher value and higher paying activities.
Use project management software. I like Asana because it’s free for up to 15 people, you can assign recurring tasks, and it’s free. Other options are Basecamp (great for client communication), and Trello. A system like this should allow you to keep track of what you’ve done, serve as a reminder to check in on experiments, etc.