Objective: Understand the difference between a Starter Edition and a Standard Edition account and which account is better for you. Learn how to sign up for an account, how to run the most basic version and how to graduate to Standard Edition.

Google AdWords offers two types of accounts: Starter Edition and Standard Edition.

• Starter Edition is a highly simplified version of AdWords that lets new users advertise a single product or service, using a one-page sign-up form. A Starter Edition account has no ad groups, rich ad formats, placement targeting or other advanced features.


• Standard Edition is the more typical account, which includes multiple ad campaigns and ad formats, plus advanced features like ad scheduling, Google Analytics and more.

Which account is better for you? Starter Edition is usually useful for advertisers who want to advertise a single product or service through a single campaign. Standard Edition is better for advertisers who want to run multiple ad campaigns and who want greater flexibility.

To sign up for either a Starter Edition or a Standard Edition account:

• Visit the AdWords homepage and click the button to get started.
• Select Starter Edition or Standard Edition, and click Continue.

• If you already have a Google Account, we suggest that you use it as your login address and password for AdWords as well. But you can also choose a different email address (one that you use often) and a secure password (at least seven characters that include both letters and numbers). This information is what you'll use to log in to your account in the future.


• It's OK to experiment. With AdWords you can always change your ad campaigns and other information as you go. The only exceptions to this are the billing currency and time zone information for your account; you'll select these when you first submit your billing information and they can't be changed later. But those small points aside, AdWords is built for change.


• The first campaign that you create in Starter Edition will be a keyword-targeted campaign. If you set up a Standard Edition account, you will have more flexibility with your first campaign; you'll be able to start creating your campaign with either keyword targeting or placement targeting (but you can use both together if you prefer). See the Step-by-Step Guide for more information on the sign-up process. Or, read through the Learning Centre to get a better idea of AdWords features before sign-up.

  Activating Your Account

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  After you sign up for an account, Google will send you an email asking you to verify your account. Your account won't be activated - and your ads won't run - until you verify your email address and set up your billing information.

  The process is slightly different for Starter Edition and Standard Edition campaigns. In Starter Edition you will have created your first ad campaign already, so you'll be asked to submit your billing information as your next step. The process will go like this:

  • Tick the 'in' box of the email account that you submitted when signing up for AdWords. You should find a verification email from AdWords. Open the email and click the link to visit the AdWords login page.
  
  
  • Sign in to your AdWords account using the same email and password.
  
  
  • Click the link in the red box at the top of your account page asking you to submit your billing information.
  
  
  • Select a billing address and time zone for your account.
  
  
  • Choose your payment option.
  
  
  • Complete the activation process by agreeing to the AdWords terms and conditions and clicking Save and Activate on the last page.
  If you created a Standard Edition account, you won't yet have created your first campaign. So the process will go like this:
  • Tick the 'in' box of the email account that you submitted when signing up for AdWords. You should find a verification email from AdWords. Open the email and click the link to visit the AdWords login page.
  
  
  • Sign in to your AdWords account using the same email and password.
  
  
  • Decide whether you'd like to create an ad campaign or submit your billing information first. You can do these in either order, but you must do both things before your ads can begin running on AdWords.
  • To create a campaign, click the button Create your first campaign. Follow the instructions to target your audience, create an ad and select a budget. When your campaign is finished, you'll be returned to the main page of your account.
  • To enter your billing information, click the My Account tab. Then click the Billing Preferences link and enter your billing information, including the time zone for your account. Then click Save and activate.

  In both cases, your available payment options will depend on your billing currency and location. Review our payment options page for more information. If you choose to pay by direct debit or credit card (which we recommend), your ads will run soon after you submit your billing information. If you opt for bank transfer, your ads will run after we receive your first payment (typically 10 working days after you initiate the transfer).

  With both Starter and Standard Editions, you'll be asked to choose a time zone for your account. This time zone determines the official "working day" for all billing, reporting and statistics in your account. Choose your time zone carefully; once selected, it can't be reset.

  If you chose to create a Starter Edition account, continue reading the rest of this lesson. If you chose Standard Edition, skip to AdWords Account Structure.

  Running a Starter Edition Account

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  The My Ad Campaign page is the first page that you see whenever you sign in to your Starter Edition account. This page gives you information on two topics:

  1. The text and settings for your ad
  2. The performance statistics for your ad
  Text and Settings

  The text and settings for your ad can be seen on the side of the page, above the keyword table. If you have multiple ads, they can be viewed and edited by clicking the Ad Variations tab.

  • Click Edit settings to change the target language and location as well as the budget for your ads.
  • Click Pause to stop your ads from running. If you pause your ads, this link will change to read Resume. Once paused, your ads will not appear to users until you click Resume.
  Performance Statistics

  The lower section of the page shows you the performance of your current keywords. The Keywords tab includes impressions (the number of times that your ads have been displayed for each keyword), user clicks on your ads and the total cost for those clicks. By clicking the Graphs tab, you will see graphs depicting the performance of your keywords.

  Add new keywords by clicking Add keywords. Remove any keyword permanently by clicking Delete in the same row.

  Near the bottom of your keyword table, the row labelled Content network shows the performance statistics for your ads on content sites. Click the Turn off link in that row to remove your ads from the content network.

  In the upper right corner of the page, the health meter shows you how your account is performing. If your keywords and ads are working well, you will see the message Your ads are showing as they should. If an ad is disapproved or if there are other problems with your account, you will be alerted in this space.

  At the very top of the page, click the My Account tab to edit the basic settings of your account, including your email address, your billing preferences and other settings.

  Graduating to Standard Edition

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  A Starter Edition user can graduate to Standard Edition at any time. Once you graduate to Standard Edition, you cannot return to Starter Edition. (Users who created a Standard Edition account to begin with also cannot switch to Starter Edition.)

  To graduate, click on the Graduate to Standard Edition link at the bottom of the My Ad Campaign page.

  Graduation transfers all the account information to a full Standard Edition account. Your existing ads become part of the first ad campaign in the new account and your ads continue running.

  The remainder of the Learning Centre lessons focuses primarily on Standard Edition accounts. To learn more about Starter Edition, visit the Starter Edition section in the Help Centre.