Never edit PPC ad copy? This title may shock some of you, but let me explain. I am not implying that you should never edit your copy in order to test new ad copy. Testing new ad copy, at least two per ad group, should be done as much as possible in both Google Adwords and Microsoft adCenter, depending on how fast you accrue impressions and clicks. When editing PPC ad copy, you should always pause the existing ad and create a new ad instead. This sounds like extra work, and it is, but here are two paragraphs quoted directly from Google Adwords Help as to why this recommendation is worth following:

“Editing an ad will delete the original version: Changing your ad text, modifying the content of your ad, or moving your ad to another ad group will delete the original ad and create a new ad version. The new ad’s statistics will begin at zero. It is not possible to resume an ad once you have deleted it.
If you’re not certain whether you’re ready to delete the ad, try creating a new ad first and pause the original version. Allow the new ad to run within the same ad group and compare the performance for both ads.”

If you have extensive experience in managing PPC accounts, you are aware that Google Adwords rarely says anything definitive about account management. As a whole, Google Adwords does not often tell us what or what not to do within our PPC accounts, but oftentimes, it does supply us with clues and tips. The above paragraphs were highlighted in yellow, accompanied with a yellow exclamation point, which tells us that we should pay attention to these recommendations. To read the complete Google Adwords Help page, click here.

What Happens if I Edit PPC Ad Copy or Delete the Existing Ads in an Ad Group?

If you edit or delete the existing PPC ad copy in an ad group, you lose any historical CTR that the ad group has currently earned. According to Google Adwords Help, one of the core components of Quality Score is “the historical CTR of the display URLs in the ad group.” Deleted ads may still carry some Quality Score for the ad group, but after reading Google’s words of wisdom, I wouldn’t take the chance.

It may be a pain to pause an ad, copy and paste it, and then edit the ad, but it will help your overall Quality Score in the long run. And if you find out that the old PPC ad copy converts better than the new ads, you can simply unpause it.