Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a form of Internet advertising that allows you to drive very targeted traffic to your website. However, many people ignore it because it is not free like search engine optimization (SEO) is. What people frequently forget is that SEO can take weeks or even months to begin driving traffic to a website, and while it is free, it does take a large investment of time and effort.
1. 5 Tips to a Profitable PPC Campaign
By: Martin Armstrong
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a form of Internet
advertising that allows you to drive very targeted
traffic to your website. However, many people
ignore it because it is not free like search engine
optimization (SEO) is. What people frequently
forget is that SEO can take weeks or even months
to begin driving traffic to a website, and while it is
free, it does take a large investment of time and
effort. When done correctly, PPC marketing can
provide an excellent return on investment, and it
can provide instant results. Here are five ways to
make the most of your PPC marketing campaign.
Choose The Right Keywords
The majority of PPC ads show up based on keywords or phrases. For example, search engines will have
you assign a keyword that is associated with your PPC ads. When someone searches for one of your
designated phrases, your ad shows up above or alongside regular search results. Since you pay for every
ad that someone clicks on, you want to be sure that your visitors are looking for things specifically
related to your website.
For example, if your website sells used books online, if you choose a generic keyword association like
"books" you may end up with lots of click-throughs but not a lot to show for them. Instead, you should
associate your ads with phrases like "used books online" or "cheap used books." This will ensure that
people clicking on your ads are those who are most likely to buy from you and make the cost of the PPC
ad worth it.
Use Google AdSense Scores
One of the most popular PPC marketing services is Google AdSense, and one of the best things about
using their services is that they score your ads. With ad scores from Google, you can quickly determine
2. how likely your ads are to be successful. Ad quality scores are based on a number of things, including ad
relevancy, landing page experience and expected click-through rates.
Ad relevancy is measured based on how well your ads and website relate to keywords you associate
them with. Landing page scores are based on how well your website or your landing page relates to
keyword searches and how likely people are to find what they are looking for based on their search
terms. Your expected click-through rates is based on Google's search and AdSense algorithms and
indicate the likely popularity of your ad.
If you find that your ads have poor scores, it is a sign that they need to be adjusted. By paying attention
to your quality scores, you can ensure that your PPC ads are likely to be successful before you begin a
campaign, and you can also use the data you have gathered to develop ads for other PPC marketing
services.
Test Your Ad Campaigns
No matter how well your PPC ad campaigns are put together and how much keyword research you have
done, some ads are duds or don't provide a return on investment. Instead of spending an enormous
amount of money to find out that your PPC ad campaign is not going to perform as expected, it is
important that you test your ads before fully launching a campaign. To begin with, you should
determine what you consider to be a successful ad campaign so that you have something to compare
your ad's statistics to. This will usually include your click-through rate and your conversion rate.
Your click-through rate is the number of times that people click on your ad compared to the number of
people who have seen it. The conversion rate of your ad is determined by looking at how many people
perform a certain action, such as filling out a form or purchasing a product, after clicking on an ad and
visiting your website. The conversion rate is the most important factor in determining the success of
your ad since high click-through rates and low conversions are simply expensive ads that do little for
you.
Take Advantage of Landing Pages
Instead of sending people who click on your PPC ads to your main page, you should create landing pages
for each of your ads. These landing pages should be specific to the keywords that are associated with
your PPC ads so that people see what they are looking for immediately. People are not likely to hunt
through a website for a specific product or information, and landing pages ensure that they find what
they are looking for quickly. Additionally, your landing pages should have a prominent call to action,
3. such as asking visitors to add something to a shopping cart or fill out a form.
Cap Daily Spending Limits
If you have a very popular PPC ad, you can quickly rack up a huge amount of click-through charges.
Therefore, it is important that you determine how much money that you are willing and able to spend
on PPC ads each day and put spending caps on your campaigns accordingly. This will help you control
your advertising budget and ensure that your online marketing campaigns are providing a return on
investment.