Online businesses survive – and thrive – based on the amount of highly motivated visitors who come to their site and complete a conversion. Building that audience can be a long and arduous road. Search engine optimization – and other marketing strategies – is effective, but doesn’t typically offer any type of immediate return on investment.
That’s why it’s worth looking into PPC advertising (also referred to as search engine marketing, or SEM). PPC advertising can provide you with immediate, and effective results, as you continue to refine and develop your long-term marketing plans.
But there are a few things you should know before you enter the world of PPC advertising and SEM. Here are 11 tips to help you get started on the right foot.
1. Choosing the right search engine(s)
When it comes to PPC advertising, chances are you’re working with a limited budget. With that budget come some restrictions. You can’t, for example, assume you can conduct a massive PPC campaign that reaches all of the search engines out there.
As such, you have to take the time to consider where your audience is, and which engines will provide you the biggest bang for your buck. For the last few years – and for the foreseeable future – Google is clearly the go-to choice. If you can only invest in PPC for one search engine, Google is it. However, if you can afford to work with other engines as well, you may consider Bing, followed by Yahoo.
2. Set a specific PPC budget
As you design your PPC strategy, it’s important not to put the cart before the horse. You need to know what you have to work with before you commit to a plan. That’s why you have to set aside a budget, so that you know how much you have to spend on such elements as keywords and other expenses. As you decide on how much you plan on spending (for example) for each click you receive, keep in mind perhaps the most important piece of data in your PPC strategy: conversion rates. Invest in the areas that give you the highest conversions.
3. Choosing your keywords
Keywords are at the crux of your PPC campaigns. When you choose your keywords, you need to put yourself in the mindset of your customers. Not only that, but you also have to factor in that your customers may be in different parts of the purchase cycle, and thus will use different keywords as they search online.
Certain keywords may be more expensive than others, but again, it’s all about conversions. Will that keyword help you convert more customers? If so, it may be worth investing in.
4. Separate Display
By default, when you set up your AdWords campaigns, both the Search and Display Networks are targeted. There are many benefits to using the Display Network, as it can help you effectively reach your targeted audience. However, Display and Search are two completely separate concepts. As such, it’s best if you handle each of these networks as individual campaigns. That way you have far more control over both performance and spend.
5. Structuring your account
A well-structured PPC account – one built around business goals and built upon a smart keyword selection – will yield the best results. We recommend you structure your Ad Groups by match types. Use your exact match terms as negatives with the Broad & Phrase ad groups. This will put you in position to set different bids and optimize your ad copy to enjoy the highest Quality Scores.
6. Speaking about your ad copy
It’s vital that the language found on your landing page mirrors that of your Keywords and Ads. This will give you a high Quality Score with Google. High Quality scores are extremely important because they are used to calculate your CPC and Ad Rank.
It’s no secret that your click-through-rate can be improved dramatically by using targeted ad copy, and directing your ad traffic to landing pages with relevant information and verbiage.
7. Don’t forget negative keywords
With all this talk about keywords, it may be easy to overlook the importance of negative keywords. Negative words are used to omit words that don’t match your offering. Use Google’s effective keyword tool to keep abreast of irrelevant terms that may be costing you money and attracting the wrong type of visitor. Here’s a quick tip for finding negative keyword opportunities: sort your data by impression and cost.
8. What to consider with your mobile traffic
Are your ads optimized for mobile devices? If you’re directing traffic to a mobile-optimized website (and these days, this is the standard) then your ads should be optimized for your mobile users. What’s this mean? For example, be sure to use call extensions (so users can call you just by clicking the link). This extension, alone, has proven to increase click-through-rates by as much as 6 – 8%.
9. Don’t be afraid to use ad extensions
Ad extensions help to make your ad stand out from your competition. Not only that, but they are designed to show additional helpful information to your customers. If you use your ad extensions properly, they’ll help you achieve some of the highest click-through-rates possible for your ads, and will help you provide an optimized customer experience.
10. Ad Scheduling and Labels
When it comes to running a successful PPC campaign, organization is key. Labeling is one of the most effective ways to organize and filter all of the data associated with PPC campaigns. Labeling will help you expedite the optimization process and will allow you to quickly identify which segments of your campaign, ad groups, ad copy, and keywords are performing the best.
11. Don’t forget about the destination – the landing page
You could spend all the time and money in the world on your ads, but unless you have relevant landing pages, your investment will be for nothing. When it comes to search, relevancy is key. Unlike other forms of advertising, PPC isn’t trying to change a consumer’s perception. Rather, it’s designed to help consumers find exactly what they’re looking for. Your landing pages should be the logical “next step” in the process, following a click on an ad.
Get help with your PPC campaigns – Commerce Pundit can help
PPC advertising offers an enormous earning potential for online businesses. However, many companies find that managing their PPC is far too consuming, as well as complex. But rather than avoid PPC all together, it’s in your best interest to seek out the advice and support of PPC advertising experts, such as Commerce Pundit.
At Commerce Pundit, we have a dedicated PPC team who understands the complexities (and potential) of search engine marketing. We’ll work directly with you and your team to understand your goals and help you design a PPC strategy that offers fast results.
Contact us today to learn more!
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