Hey i keep hearing from the Guru's that 'Tracking' keywords is the most essential part of becoming successful with adwords. What the the most common ways to track keywords, i read Google Cash and it said something about SID, which looks like a very daunting and manual process, is there software or something out there which is much easier or any good websites or blogs on the adwords tracking topic?
Not to state the obvious, but Adwords itself allows you to establish conversion tracking > which would allow you to track the performance of the keywords themselves... Is this what you're referring to? TheAdwordsProfessor.com
I know a site with an awesome keyword tracking script. The only problem with using google's conversion code is they do use it against you in the long run. Just look at all their "experiments" into uk secured loans and other affiliate marketing offers. The people who think they don't use that info you're giving them for free are nuts.
I agree. People, you have to remember that Google is a huge data-mining operation. When they give you something for free ask, "What could they possibly get out of this?" Google ain't Mother Teresa.
Add Google Analytics to your site. The tracking is amazing. Set up a goal (conversion) and you will be able to see which keywords (paid or not) lead to the most conversions, which ads, which SERP position, which geographic location, etc. It is easy to set up and the reports are easy to read.
You can see the exact keyword used, whether it was paid search or natural and what search engine it came from. Very important for optimizing your Adwords campaigns. If you set up goals (conversions), you can see which keywords provided the highest ROI. You can also see which keywords have high bounce rates, pageviews, time on site, etc. If you are not using Analytics, you are wasting money.
Take a look at tracking202.com. It handles everything you need including being able to track referrers (very important for the Google content network).