If you're interested in learning Google Adwords, you'll need to start an actual Adwords account at some point, and for beginners, there are some helpful things to keep in mind.
One is that you can enter your billing information, and potentially spend as little as $25, and you might get an email from Google offering an additional $100 of credit to spend on ads.
The other important thing that's easy to overlook is that Google may keep your first ad campaign going, with no end date. True, many businesses have campaigns that are ongoing - yet not everyone has unlimited resources. So it's good to know how to set an end date for your campaign.
To set an end date to your campaign, go to Adwords at http://www.google.com/adwords, sign in to your account, and click on Campaigns.
Then look for the campaign link and click on it (ex: Campaign #1)
Then click on the Settings tab, and select the Edit link in the "Type" row:
Then click the All Features radio button, and then the Save button:
This will give you access to "advanced settings" - for whatever reason, Google considers setting an end date to a campaign as an advanced feature.
Scroll down on the page until you find Advanced Settings, and click on the "Schedule" link:
Then click the Edit link in the End Date column:
Then click the radio button under "None" to enable the calendar:
And click in the blank field to bring the calendar up:
Now you can navigate through the calendar to choose and end date - click on the date to select the desired date:
(and click Save after you've selected the end date)
Now your campaign should have a nice end date set, and Google won't endlessly drain your bank account!
Congratulations on setting an end date for your campaign. Best wishes with learning Adwords.
Short videos to check out if you're new to Adwords:
What is Adwords? (UK)
What is Adwords? (US)
Ad Writing TIPS
Adwords Fundamentals (longer, paired to Certification exam)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCG3Rp6LDbw
