If you’re getting ready to take a serious look at PPC as an option for your website, then you should be congratulated on an excellent decision. PPC (short for pay-per-click) is a relevant and potentially profitable addition to any complete web marketing campaign. It not only allows you the ability to fine-tune and target your marketing efforts in exactly the ways you want to, but you’re likely to see results really quickly to boot.
However, it’s important to understand that PPC only seems like it’s so simple a monkey could do it. In actuality, it requires skill, experience, and understanding. It also requires a thorough, well-planned strategy. Without those things, you won’t get the most out of the platform or reap the benefits that you should.
The key to approaching PPC from the right angle is to keep focused on conversions, not just clicks. That said, the following are just a few of things you need to keep in mind as you explore PPC for yourself.
1. Keep careful track of your conversions.
If you don’t track, monitor, and analyze your conversions, then the chances are pretty good that you’re going to go way over budget with your campaign sooner or later. “Conversion” is the term used when one of your website visitors completes a desired action. Conversions don’t have to make you money directly, but they do need to be worth something to you, either as an individual or as a businessperson. Examples may include but aren’t necessarily limited to:
● Purchasing a product or service
● Registering for an account on your site
● Downloading an offered resource
● Completing a sales inquiry form
Keeping track of your clicks isn’t good enough. You need to keep careful records in regards to what percentage of your PPC-generated clicks are yielding the desired result. Many PPC platforms come with built-in conversion tracking utilities, but you can utilize analytics software as well.
2. Set a reasonable budget for your ads and stick to it.
The “right” amount to spend on a given PPC ad is going to vary from business to business and campaign to campaign. That said, you need to be really honest with yourself about how much you can realistically afford to spend right out of the gate, and make a decision to stick to it. Later on, if you’re seeing results, you can reevaluate that amount and increase it if need be.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to make sure the amount you’re spending per click is always less than the total profit you wind up earning per click. However, determining whether or not this is really the case once all factors are considered can be tricky if you’re not an expert on PPC or web marketing.
3. Make viable niche keywords a part of your marketing plan.
If you’ve already invested much time, money, or effort in search engine optimizing your website, then you also have an understanding of how valuable the right niche keywords can be. Sure, people search broad terms a lot more frequently, but those terms are significantly more competitive. Most people are going to see better results targeting “Portland bike detailing” than they will just “bikes.” They’re more likely to attract exactly the types of people that are looking for their services.
The same logic applies to PPC keywords. Broad terms do generate a lot more searches, but since they’re so competitive, those key terms are also going to be more expensive. Niche keywords not only cost you less, but are more likely to attract clicks that result in conversions.
4. Never underestimate the value of compelling writing.
The great majority of the PPC platforms out there require the advertiser to pen a couple of brief, descriptive sentences describing their site, product, or service. Far too many people don’t feel it really matters what they write or how they word things, but those people are missing a golden opportunity to increase the effectiveness of their ad.
At minimum, you need to make sure that your writing is correct as far as grammar, spelling, and general diction. It also needs to fulfill any requirements called for by the platform and by the search engines.
5. Always prioritize quality over quantity.
It’s a phrase every last one of us has heard before, but it’s just as true when it comes to PPC advertising campaigns as it is in regards to anything else. Major search engines like Google and Bing have something called a quality score that they assign based on not only your ad and its performance, but the quality of the page to which it points.
It really pays to make sure your ads earn high scores here. Some of the specifics in regards to how the scores are assigned include but aren’t necessarily limited to:
● Your account history with the PPC platform you choose
● Your keyword usage within your ads
● Your keyword usage on your landing page
● Your degree of focus when it comes to how you target your ads.
6. For best results, collaborate with a professional PPC team.
As you can see, there really is a learning curve with pay-per-click advertising. How much experience and know-how you have will affect how successful your campaign ultimately is. That said, unless you already happen to be a PPC expert yourself, you’d do well to enlist the aid of a professional PPC team.
Professional PPC experts already know just about everything there is to know about how to succeed on all of the major platforms. They understand how quality scores work, and they know how to make the most of them. They know how to help you get the absolute most out of your budget and, ultimately, meet your business goals.
That said, if you’re serious about making a resounding success of your campaign, you’ll partner up with a successful web marketing team right off the bat. You’re sure to be glad you did.
